Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB832 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R3668 TSS-F
2	2	By: Gervin-Hawkins H.B. No. 832
3	3
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5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to procedures regarding hearings and meetings held by or
10	10	involving the University Interscholastic League.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Chapter 33, Education Code, is amended by adding
13	13	Subchapter D-1 to read as follows:
14	14	SUBCHAPTER D-1. UNIVERSITY INTERSCHOLASTIC LEAGUE HEARINGS AND
15	15	MEETINGS
16	16	Sec. 33.125. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
17	17	(1) "League" means the University Interscholastic
18	18	League.
19	19	(2) "Legislative council" means the governing body of
20	20	the league that proposes, implements, and administers rules and
21	21	procedures for the league as provided by this chapter.
22	22	Sec. 33.126. CONSTITUTION AND CONTEST RULES. (a) The
23	23	legislative council shall amend the league's constitution and
24	24	contest rules as necessary to comply with this subchapter and
25	25	submit the proposed amended constitution and rules to the
26	26	commissioner for approval. The commissioner may not approve a
27	27	provision of the proposed constitution or a rule submitted by the
28	28	league that conflicts with the requirements of this subchapter.
29	29	(b) The league's constitution and contest rules must:
30	30	(1) clearly describe the procedure, process, and
31	31	timing for a hearing or meeting held by, the reconsideration of a
32	32	decision made by, or an appeal taken from a decision made by a
33	33	district executive committee of the league or the state executive
34	34	committee of the league; and
35	35	(2) provide a person or school district campus
36	36	guidance for actions available following the exhaustion of
37	37	administrative remedies.
38	38	Sec. 33.127. DISTRICT EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE DUTIES. (a) A
39	39	district executive committee of the league shall, when holding a
40	40	hearing or meeting relating to an alleged violation of a league
41	41	contest rule by a person or school district campus:
42	42	(1) hold the hearing or meeting in a school district in
43	43	which the person or campus does not compete;
44	44	(2) permit the person or campus to object to a member
45	45	of the committee's participation in the hearing or meeting due to
46	46	the member's conflict of interest and resolve the objection before
47	47	holding the hearing or meeting; and
48	48	(3) allow a person or campus to appeal the decision of
49	49	the committee before an administrative law judge in accordance with
50	50	Section 33.131.
51	51	(b) In a hearing by a district executive committee of the
52	52	league to determine whether a student changed schools for an
53	53	athletic purpose, the committee:
54	54	(1) must, in determining the purpose of the student's
55	55	change in schools, give the greatest weight to the purpose given by
56	56	the student's parent or person standing in parental relation;
57	57	(2) may only consider the student's unhappiness with a
58	58	coach at the student's previous school as a minor indicator of the
59	59	purpose of the student's change in schools;
60	60	(3) may consider the student's removal from
61	61	participation in Amateur Athletic Union athletics or other club
62	62	athletics as an indicator of the purpose of the student's change in
63	63	schools; and
64	64	(4) may impose as a penalty for a student determined to
65	65	have changed schools for an athletic purpose a prohibition from
66	66	varsity league athletics of not more than one year.
67	67	Sec. 33.128. STATE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE DUTIES. The state
68	68	executive committee of the league:
69	69	(1) must accept any appeal taken from a decision of a
70	70	district executive committee of the league; and
71	71	(2) may not impose a penalty until the penalty is
72	72	reviewed and approved by the commissioner.
73	73	Sec. 33.129. LEAGUE CONTEST RULES. The rules of the league
74	74	shall, for any hearing or meeting by a district executive committee
75	75	of the league or the state executive committee of the league
76	76	regarding an alleged violation of league contest rules by a person
77	77	or school district campus:
78	78	(1) require the burden of proof to be borne by the
79	79	person or campus alleging the violation or the district executive
80	80	committee of the league or state executive committee of the league
81	81	if the committee alleges the violation;
82	82	(2) provide that only the minimum penalty applicable
83	83	may be imposed for the first violation by the person or campus;
84	84	(3) require the hearing or meeting to be audio- and
85	85	video-recorded and made accessible through the league's Internet
86	86	website not later than 24 hours after the end of the hearing or
87	87	meeting;
88	88	(4) require the district executive committee of the
89	89	league or state executive committee of the league to provide, not
90	90	later than five business days before the date of the hearing or
91	91	meeting, written notice of the hearing or meeting, including a list
92	92	of any evidence or witnesses the committee intends to present at the
93	93	hearing or meeting relating to the alleged violation, to each
94	94	person or campus involved in the alleged violation;
95	95	(5) prohibit investigation or use of an anonymous
96	96	complaint by the district executive committee of the league or
97	97	state executive committee of the league;
98	98	(6) require testimony presented by a person or campus,
99	99	the district executive committee of the league, or the state
100	100	executive committee of the league against a person or campus to be
101	101	provided in person, under oath, and subject to cross-examination;
102	102	(7) to the extent practicable, require the Texas Rules
103	103	of Evidence to apply to the hearing or meeting in the same manner as
104	104	those rules apply in a court of law;
105	105	(8) require the district executive committee of the
106	106	league or state executive committee of the league to ensure the
107	107	presence of an attorney licensed in this state at the hearing or
108	108	meeting to ensure compliance with applicable law and the league's
109	109	constitution and contest rules;
110	110	(9) permit a person or campus to:
111	111	(A) be represented by legal counsel; and
112	112	(B) participate, on the person's or campus's own
113	113	behalf or through legal counsel, including by allowing:
114	114	(i) opening statements;
115	115	(ii) closing statements;
116	116	(iii) cross-examination of witnesses; and
117	117	(iv) submission of and objections to
118	118	evidence consistent with the Texas Rules of Evidence;
119	119	(10) prohibit the district executive committee of the
120	120	league or state executive committee of the league from setting a
121	121	predetermined time limit on the duration of the hearing or meeting;
122	122	and
123	123	(11) require the district executive committee of the
124	124	league or state executive committee of the league to include in any
125	125	decision of the committee issued after the hearing or meeting
126	126	written findings of fact addressing the witness testimony and any
127	127	evidence presented.
128	128	Sec. 33.130. SUBPOENA. On the motion of any party to a
129	129	hearing or meeting relating to an alleged violation of league
130	130	contest rules, a district executive committee of the league or the
131	131	state executive committee of the league may issue an administrative
132	132	subpoena to compel the production of records relating to the
133	133	hearing or meeting or the attendance of any person at the hearing or
134	134	meeting.
135	135	Sec. 33.131. ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING. (a) A person or
136	136	school district campus may submit a motion for hearing to the State
137	137	Office of Administrative Hearings to contest the decision of a
138	138	district executive committee of the league regarding an alleged
139	139	violation of league contest rules by that person or campus. The
140	140	State Office of Administrative Hearings shall grant a motion timely
141	141	submitted under this subsection.
142	142	(b) The state executive committee of the league shall stay
143	143	the imposition of a penalty ordered by a district executive
144	144	committee of the league until the State Office of Administrative
145	145	Hearings enters a decision in the matter.
146	146	(c) An administrative law judge who conducts a hearing under
147	147	this section shall:
148	148	(1) consider the matter de novo, without deference to
149	149	the decision by the district executive committee of the league;
150	150	(2) determine whether each hearing or meeting of the
151	151	district executive committee of the league at which the alleged
152	152	violation was considered was conducted consistently with the laws
153	153	of this state and the league's constitution and contest rules, and,
154	154	if not and if appropriate, revise the decision and any recommended
155	155	penalty; and
156	156	(3) permit any relevant party to provide testimony or
157	157	submit relevant evidence.
158	158	(d) The administrative law judge shall include in the
159	159	judge's decision written findings of fact and recommendations to
160	160	the state executive committee of the league for action by that
161	161	committee. The judge shall permit a relevant party to timely submit
162	162	a motion for reconsideration of the judge's decision before
163	163	submitting the judge's decision to the state executive committee of
164	164	the league.
165	165	SECTION 2. Subchapter D-1, Chapter 33, Education Code, as
166	166	added by this Act, applies only to a hearing or meeting conducted by
167	167	a district executive committee, the state executive committee, or
168	168	any other committee of the University Interscholastic League
169	169	commenced on or after the effective date of this Act. A hearing or
170	170	meeting commenced before the effective date of this Act is governed
171	171	by the law in effect on the date the hearing or meeting commenced,
172	172	and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
173	173	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.