| 1 | 1 | | 89R5521 CJD-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Hughes S.B. No. 804 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | |
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| 6 | 6 | | |
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| 7 | 7 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 8 | 8 | | AN ACT |
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| 9 | 9 | | relating to transportation to school for a child required to attend |
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| 10 | 10 | | school as a condition of probation. |
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| 11 | 11 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 12 | 12 | | SECTION 1. Section 54.043, Family Code, is amended to read |
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| 13 | 13 | | as follows: |
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| 14 | 14 | | Sec. 54.043. SCHOOL ATTENDANCE AS A CONDITION OF PROBATION; |
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| 15 | 15 | | MONITORING SCHOOL ATTENDANCE. (a) If the court places a child on |
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| 16 | 16 | | probation under Section 54.04(d) and requires as a condition of |
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| 17 | 17 | | probation that the child attend school: |
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| 18 | 18 | | (1) the court shall: |
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| 19 | 19 | | (A) consult with: |
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| 20 | 20 | | (i) the child's parents; |
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| 21 | 21 | | (ii) school officials from the school the |
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| 22 | 22 | | child attends; and |
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| 23 | 23 | | (iii) the probation officer charged with |
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| 24 | 24 | | supervising the child; and |
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| 25 | 25 | | (B) specify in the order placing the child on |
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| 26 | 26 | | probation a plan to ensure that the child is not absent from school |
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| 27 | 27 | | due to lack of transportation; and |
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| 28 | 28 | | (2) [,] the probation officer charged with supervising |
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| 29 | 29 | | the child shall monitor the child's school attendance and report to |
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| 30 | 30 | | the court if the child is voluntarily absent from school. |
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| 31 | 31 | | (b) For the purposes of determining whether a child is |
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| 32 | 32 | | voluntarily absent from school under Subsection (a)(2), the |
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| 33 | 33 | | probation officer shall consider whether transportation was |
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| 34 | 34 | | reasonably available to the child on the date the absence occurred. |
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| 35 | 35 | | SECTION 2. (a) Section 54.043(a), Family Code, as added by |
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| 36 | 36 | | this Act, applies to a probation order issued on or after the |
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| 37 | 37 | | effective date of this Act, regardless of whether the conduct for |
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| 38 | 38 | | which the child was placed on probation was committed before, on, or |
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| 39 | 39 | | after the effective date of this Act. |
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| 40 | 40 | | (b) Section 54.043(b), Family Code, as added by this Act, |
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| 41 | 41 | | applies to a child placed on probation regardless of whether the |
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| 42 | 42 | | child was placed on probation before, on, or after the effective |
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| 43 | 43 | | date of this Act. |
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| 44 | 44 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |
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