Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB5553 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R15517 BCH-F
2	2	By: Olcott H.B. No. 5553
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5	5
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to discipline in public schools.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Section 26.015, Education Code, is amended to
12	12	read as follows:
13	13	Sec. 26.015. POSTING OF INFORMATION REGARDING
14	14	ADMINISTRATOR RESPONSIBLE FOR STUDENT DISCIPLINE. A school
15	15	district shall post on the district's Internet website, for each
16	16	district campus, the e-mail address and dedicated telephone number
17	17	of a person clearly identified as[:
18	18	[(1) the campus behavior coordinator designated under
19	19	Section 37.0012; or
20	20	[(2) if the district has been designated as a district
21	21	of innovation under Chapter 12A and is exempt from the requirement
22	22	to designate a campus behavior coordinator under Section 37.0012
23	23	under the district's local innovation plan,] a campus administrator
24	24	designated as being responsible for student discipline.
25	25	SECTION 2. Section 37.0013(a), Education Code, is amended
26	26	to read as follows:
27	27	(a) Each school district and open-enrollment charter school
28	28	may develop and implement a program, in consultation with [campus
29	29	behavior coordinators employed by the district or school and]
30	30	representatives of a regional education service center, that
31	31	provides a disciplinary alternative for a student enrolled in a
32	32	grade level below grade three who engages in conduct described by
33	33	Section 37.005(a) and is not subject to Section 37.005(c). The
34	34	program must:
35	35	(1) be age-appropriate and research-based;
36	36	(2) provide models for positive behavior;
37	37	(3) promote a positive school environment;
38	38	(4) provide alternative disciplinary courses of
39	39	action that do not rely on the use of in-school suspension,
40	40	out-of-school suspension, or placement in a disciplinary
41	41	alternative education program to manage student behavior; and
42	42	(5) provide behavior management strategies,
43	43	including:
44	44	(A) positive behavioral intervention and
45	45	support;
46	46	(B) trauma-informed practices;
47	47	(C) social and emotional learning;
48	48	(D) a referral for services, as necessary; and
49	49	(E) restorative practices.
50	50	SECTION 3. Sections 37.002(a), (c), (d), and (e), Education
51	51	Code, are amended to read as follows:
52	52	(a) A teacher may send a student to an administrator's [the
53	53	campus behavior coordinator's] office to maintain effective
54	54	discipline in the classroom. [The campus behavior coordinator
55	55	shall respond by employing appropriate discipline management
56	56	techniques consistent with the student code of conduct adopted
57	57	under Section 37.001 that can reasonably be expected to improve the
58	58	student's behavior before returning the student to the classroom.
59	59	If the student's behavior does not improve, the campus behavior
60	60	coordinator shall employ alternative discipline management
61	61	techniques, including any progressive interventions designated as
62	62	the responsibility of the campus behavior coordinator in the
63	63	student code of conduct.]
64	64	(c) If a teacher removes a student from class under
65	65	Subsection (b), the principal may place the student into another
66	66	appropriate classroom, into in-school suspension, or into a
67	67	disciplinary alternative education program as provided by Section
68	68	37.008. The principal may not return the student to that teacher's
69	69	class without the teacher's consent [unless the committee
70	70	established under Section 37.003 determines that such placement is
71	71	the best or only alternative available]. The terms of the removal
72	72	may prohibit the student from attending or participating in
73	73	school-sponsored or school-related activity.
74	74	(d) A teacher shall remove from class and send to the
75	75	principal for placement in a disciplinary alternative education
76	76	program or for expulsion, as appropriate, a student who engages in
77	77	conduct described under Section 37.006 or 37.007. The student may
78	78	not be returned to that teacher's class without the teacher's
79	79	consent [unless the committee established under Section 37.003
80	80	determines that such placement is the best or only alternative
81	81	available]. If the teacher removed the student from class because
82	82	the student has engaged in the elements of any offense listed in
83	83	Section 37.006(a)(2)(B) or Section 37.007(a)(2)(A) or (b)(2)(C)
84	84	against the teacher, the student may not be returned to the
85	85	teacher's class without the teacher's consent. The teacher may not
86	86	be coerced to consent.
87	87	(e) A student who is sent to the [campus behavior
88	88	coordinator's or other] administrator's office under Subsection (a)
89	89	or removed from class under Subsection (b) is not considered to have
90	90	been removed from the classroom for the purposes of reporting data
91	91	through the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS)
92	92	or other similar reports required by state or federal law.
93	93	SECTION 4. Section 37.005(d), Education Code, is amended to
94	94	read as follows:
95	95	(d) A school district or open-enrollment charter school may
96	96	not place a student who is homeless in out-of-school suspension
97	97	unless the student engages in conduct described by Subsections
98	98	(c)(1)-(3) while on school property or while attending a
99	99	school-sponsored or school-related activity on or off of school
100	100	property. The principal or other appropriate administrator [campus
101	101	behavior coordinator] may coordinate with the school district's
102	102	homeless education liaison to identify appropriate alternatives to
103	103	out-of-school suspension for a student who is homeless. In this
104	104	subsection, "student who is homeless" has the meaning assigned to
105	105	the term "homeless children and youths" under 42 U.S.C. Section
106	106	11434a.
107	107	SECTION 5. Section 37.006(a), Education Code, is amended to
108	108	read as follows:
109	109	(a) Subject to the requirements of Section 37.009(a), a
110	110	student shall be removed from class and placed in a disciplinary
111	111	alternative education program as provided by Section 37.008 if the
112	112	student:
113	113	(1) engages in conduct involving a public school that
114	114	contains the elements of the offense of false alarm or report under
115	115	Section 42.06, Penal Code, or terroristic threat under Section
116	116	22.07, Penal Code; or
117	117	(2) commits the following on or within 300 feet of
118	118	school property, as measured from any point on the school's real
119	119	property boundary line, or while attending a school-sponsored or
120	120	school-related activity on or off of school property:
121	121	(A) engages in conduct punishable as a felony;
122	122	(B) engages in conduct that contains the elements
123	123	of the offense of assault under Section 22.01(a)(1), Penal Code;
124	124	(C) sells, gives, or delivers to another person
125	125	or possesses or uses or is under the influence of:
126	126	(i) a controlled substance, as defined by
127	127	Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, or by 21 U.S.C. Section 801 et
128	128	seq., excluding marihuana, as defined by Section 481.002, Health
129	129	and Safety Code, or tetrahydrocannabinol, as defined by rule
130	130	adopted under Section 481.003 of that code; or
131	131	(ii) a dangerous drug, as defined by
132	132	Chapter 483, Health and Safety Code;
133	133	(C-1) possesses, uses, or is under the influence
134	134	of, or sells, gives, or delivers to another person marihuana, as
135	135	defined by Section 481.002, Health and Safety Code, or
136	136	tetrahydrocannabinol, as defined by rule adopted under Section
137	137	481.003 of that code;
138	138	(C-2) possesses, uses, sells, gives, or delivers
139	139	to another person an e-cigarette, as defined by Section 161.081,
140	140	Health and Safety Code;
141	141	(D) sells, gives, or delivers to another person
142	142	an alcoholic beverage, as defined by Section 1.04, Alcoholic
143	143	Beverage Code, commits a serious act or offense while under the
144	144	influence of alcohol, or possesses, uses, or is under the influence
145	145	of an alcoholic beverage;
146	146	(E) engages in conduct that contains the elements
147	147	of an offense relating to an abusable volatile chemical under
148	148	Sections 485.031 through 485.034, Health and Safety Code;
149	149	(F) engages in conduct that contains the elements
150	150	of the offense of public lewdness under Section 21.07, Penal Code,
151	151	or indecent exposure under Section 21.08, Penal Code; [or]
152	152	(G) engages in conduct that contains the elements
153	153	of the offense of harassment under Section 42.07(a)(1), (2), (3),
154	154	or (7), Penal Code, against an employee of the school district; or
155	155	(H) engages in verbal or physical aggression
156	156	against an employee of the school district.
157	157	SECTION 6. Sections 37.009(a), (a-1), and (a-2), Education
158	158	Code, are amended to read as follows:
159	159	(a) [Not later than the third class day after the day on
160	160	which a student is removed from class by the teacher under Section
161	161	37.002(b) or (d) or by the school principal or other appropriate
162	162	administrator under Section 37.001(a)(2) or 37.006, the campus
163	163	behavior coordinator or other appropriate administrator shall
164	164	schedule a conference among the campus behavior coordinator or
165	165	other appropriate administrator, a parent or guardian of the
166	166	student, the teacher removing the student from class, if any, and
167	167	the student. At the conference, the student is entitled to written
168	168	or oral notice of the reasons for the removal, an explanation of the
169	169	basis for the removal, and an opportunity to respond to the reasons
170	170	for the removal. The student may not be returned to the regular
171	171	classroom pending the conference. Following the conference, and
172	172	whether or not each requested person is in attendance after valid
173	173	attempts to require the person's attendance, the campus behavior
174	174	coordinator, after consideration of the factors under Section
175	175	37.001(a)(4), shall order the placement of the student for a period
176	176	consistent with the student code of conduct.] Before ordering the
177	177	suspension, expulsion, removal to a disciplinary alternative
178	178	education program, or placement in a juvenile justice alternative
179	179	education program of a student, the school principal or other
180	180	appropriate administrator [behavior coordinator] must consider
181	181	whether the student acted in self-defense, the intent or lack of
182	182	intent at the time the student engaged in the conduct, the student's
183	183	disciplinary history, and whether the student has a disability that
184	184	substantially impairs the student's capacity to appreciate the
185	185	wrongfulness of the student's conduct, regardless of whether the
186	186	decision of the principal or other administrator [behavior
187	187	coordinator] concerns a mandatory or discretionary action. If
188	188	school district policy allows a student to appeal to the board of
189	189	trustees or the board's designee a decision of the school principal
190	190	[campus behavior coordinator] or other appropriate administrator,
191	191	other than an expulsion under Section 37.007, the decision of the
192	192	board or the board's designee is final and may not be appealed. If
193	193	the period of the placement is inconsistent with the guidelines
194	194	included in the student code of conduct under Section 37.001(a)(5),
195	195	the order must give notice of the inconsistency. The period of the
196	196	placement may not exceed one year unless, after a review, the
197	197	district determines that the student is a threat to the safety of
198	198	other students or to district employees.
199	199	(a-1) If a disciplinary alternative education program is at
200	200	capacity at the time a school principal or other appropriate
201	201	administrator [campus behavior coordinator] is deciding placement
202	202	under Subsection (a) for a student who engaged in conduct described
203	203	under Section 37.006(a)(2)(C-1), (C-2), (D), or (E), the student
204	204	shall be:
205	205	(1) placed in in-school suspension; and
206	206	(2) if a position becomes available in the program
207	207	before the expiration of the period of the placement, transferred
208	208	to the program for the remainder of the period.
209	209	(a-2) If a disciplinary alternative education program is at
210	210	capacity at the time a school principal or other appropriate
211	211	administrator [campus behavior coordinator] is deciding placement
212	212	under Subsection (a) for a student who engaged in conduct described
213	213	under Section 37.007 that constitutes violent conduct, as defined
214	214	by commissioner rule, a student who has been placed in the program
215	215	for conduct described under Section 37.006(a)(2)(C-1), (C-2), (D),
216	216	or (E):
217	217	(1) may be removed from the program and placed in
218	218	in-school suspension to make a position in the program available
219	219	for the student who engaged in violent conduct; and
220	220	(2) if removed from the program under Subdivision (1)
221	221	and a position in the program becomes available before the
222	222	expiration of the period of the placement, shall be returned to the
223	223	program for the remainder of the period.
224	224	SECTION 7. Section 37.010(f), Education Code, is amended to
225	225	read as follows:
226	226	(f) If a student is expelled under Section 37.007, [on the
227	227	recommendation of the committee established under Section 37.003 or
228	228	on its own initiative,] a district may readmit the student while the
229	229	student is completing any court disposition requirements the court
230	230	imposes. After the student has successfully completed any court
231	231	disposition requirements the court imposes, including conditions
232	232	of a deferred prosecution ordered by the court, or such conditions
233	233	required by the prosecutor or probation department, if the student
234	234	meets the requirements for admission into the public schools
235	235	established by this title, a district may not refuse to admit the
236	236	student, but the district may place the student in the disciplinary
237	237	alternative education program. Notwithstanding Section 37.002(d),
238	238	the student may not be returned to the classroom of the teacher
239	239	under whose supervision the offense occurred without that teacher's
240	240	consent. The teacher may not be coerced to consent.
241	241	SECTION 8. Section 37.023(c), Education Code, is amended to
242	242	read as follows:
243	243	(c) Not later than five instructional days after the date of
244	244	a student's release from an alternative education program, the
245	245	campus administrator shall coordinate the student's transition to a
246	246	regular classroom. The coordination may [must] include assistance
247	247	and recommendations from any appropriate school district personnel
248	248	[:
249	249	[(1) school counselors;
250	250	[(2) school district peace officers;
251	251	[(3) school resource officers;
252	252	[(4) licensed clinical social workers;
253	253	[(5) campus behavior coordinators;
254	254	[(6) classroom teachers who are or may be responsible
255	255	for implementing the student's personalized transition plan
256	256	developed under Subsection (d); and
257	257	[(7) any other appropriate school district
258	258	personnel].
259	259	SECTION 9. The following provisions of the Education Code
260	260	are repealed:
261	261	(1) Section 37.0012;
262	262	(2) Section 37.003; and
263	263	(3) Section 37.005(b).
264	264	SECTION 10. This Act applies beginning with the 2025-2026
265	265	school year.
266	266	SECTION 11. This Act takes effect immediately if it
267	267	receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
268	268	house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
269	269	If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
270	270	effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2025.