HB5553 - Relating to discipline in public schools.

  89R15517 BCH-F     By: Olcott H.B. No. 5553       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to discipline in public schools.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Section 26.015, Education Code, is amended to   read as follows:          Sec. 26.015.  POSTING OF INFORMATION REGARDING   ADMINISTRATOR RESPONSIBLE FOR STUDENT DISCIPLINE.  A school   district shall post on the district's Internet website, for each   district campus, the e-mail address and dedicated telephone number   of a person clearly identified as[ :                [ (1)     the campus behavior coordinator designated under   Section 37.0012; or                [ (2)     if the district has been designated as a district   of innovation under Chapter 12A and is exempt from the requirement   to designate a campus behavior coordinator under Section 37.0012   under the district's local innovation plan, ] a campus administrator   designated as being responsible for student discipline.          SECTION 2.  Section 37.0013(a), Education Code, is amended   to read as follows:          (a)  Each school district and open-enrollment charter school   may develop and implement a program, in consultation with [ campus   behavior coordinators employed by the district or school and ]   representatives of a regional education service center, that   provides a disciplinary alternative for a student enrolled in a   grade level below grade three who engages in conduct described by   Section 37.005(a) and is not subject to Section 37.005(c).  The   program must:                (1)  be age-appropriate and research-based;                (2)  provide models for positive behavior;                (3)  promote a positive school environment;                (4)  provide alternative disciplinary courses of   action that do not rely on the use of in-school suspension,   out-of-school suspension, or placement in a disciplinary   alternative education program to manage student behavior; and                (5)  provide behavior management strategies,   including:                      (A)  positive behavioral intervention and   support;                      (B)  trauma-informed practices;                      (C)  social and emotional learning;                      (D)  a referral for services, as necessary; and                      (E)  restorative practices.          SECTION 3.  Sections 37.002(a), (c), (d), and (e), Education   Code, are amended to read as follows:          (a)  A teacher may send a student to an administrator's [ the   campus behavior coordinator's ] office to maintain effective   discipline in the classroom.  [ The campus behavior coordinator   shall respond by employing appropriate discipline management   techniques consistent with the student code of conduct adopted   under Section 37.001 that can reasonably be expected to improve the   student's behavior before returning the student to the classroom.     If the student's behavior does not improve, the campus behavior   coordinator shall employ alternative discipline management   techniques, including any progressive interventions designated as   the responsibility of the campus behavior coordinator in the   student code of conduct. ]          (c)  If a teacher removes a student from class under   Subsection (b), the principal may place the student into another   appropriate classroom, into in-school suspension, or into a   disciplinary alternative education program as provided by Section   37.008.  The principal may not return the student to that teacher's   class without the teacher's consent [ unless the committee   established under Section 37.003 determines that such placement is   the best or only alternative available ].  The terms of the removal   may prohibit the student from attending or participating in   school-sponsored or school-related activity.          (d)  A teacher shall remove from class and send to the   principal for placement in a disciplinary alternative education   program or for expulsion, as appropriate, a student who engages in   conduct described under Section 37.006 or 37.007.  The student may   not be returned to that teacher's class without the teacher's   consent [ unless the committee established under Section 37.003   determines that such placement is the best or only alternative   available ].  If the teacher removed the student from class because   the student has engaged in the elements of any offense listed in   Section 37.006(a)(2)(B) or Section 37.007(a)(2)(A) or (b)(2)(C)   against the teacher, the student may not be returned to the   teacher's class without the teacher's consent.  The teacher may not   be coerced to consent.          (e)  A student who is sent to the [ campus behavior   coordinator's or other ] administrator's office under Subsection (a)   or removed from class under Subsection (b) is not considered to have   been removed from the classroom for the purposes of reporting data   through the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS)   or other similar reports required by state or federal law.          SECTION 4.  Section 37.005(d), Education Code, is amended to   read as follows:          (d)  A school district or open-enrollment charter school may   not place a student who is homeless in out-of-school suspension   unless the student engages in conduct described by Subsections   (c)(1)-(3) while on school property or while attending a   school-sponsored or school-related activity on or off of school   property.  The principal or other appropriate administrator [ campus   behavior coordinator ] may coordinate with the school district's   homeless education liaison to identify appropriate alternatives to   out-of-school suspension for a student who is homeless.  In this   subsection, "student who is homeless" has the meaning assigned to   the term "homeless children and youths" under 42 U.S.C. Section   11434a.          SECTION 5.  Section 37.006(a), Education Code, is amended to   read as follows:          (a)  Subject to the requirements of Section 37.009(a), a   student shall be removed from class and placed in a disciplinary   alternative education program as provided by Section 37.008 if the   student:                (1)  engages in conduct involving a public school that   contains the elements of the offense of false alarm or report under   Section 42.06, Penal Code, or terroristic threat under Section   22.07, Penal Code; or                (2)  commits the following on or within 300 feet of   school property, as measured from any point on the school's real   property boundary line, or while attending a school-sponsored or   school-related activity on or off of school property:                      (A)  engages in conduct punishable as a felony;                      (B)  engages in conduct that contains the elements   of the offense of assault under Section 22.01(a)(1), Penal Code;                      (C)  sells, gives, or delivers to another person   or possesses or uses or is under the influence of:                            (i)  a controlled substance, as defined by   Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, or by 21 U.S.C. Section 801 et   seq., excluding marihuana, as defined by Section 481.002, Health   and Safety Code, or tetrahydrocannabinol, as defined by rule   adopted under Section 481.003 of that code; or                            (ii)  a dangerous drug, as defined by   Chapter 483, Health and Safety Code;                      (C-1)  possesses, uses, or is under the influence   of, or sells, gives, or delivers to another person marihuana, as   defined by Section 481.002, Health and Safety Code, or   tetrahydrocannabinol, as defined by rule adopted under Section   481.003 of that code;                      (C-2)  possesses, uses, sells, gives, or delivers   to another person an e-cigarette, as defined by Section 161.081,   Health and Safety Code;                      (D)  sells, gives, or delivers to another person   an alcoholic beverage, as defined by Section 1.04, Alcoholic   Beverage Code, commits a serious act or offense while under the   influence of alcohol, or possesses, uses, or is under the influence   of an alcoholic beverage;                      (E)  engages in conduct that contains the elements   of an offense relating to an abusable volatile chemical under   Sections 485.031 through 485.034, Health and Safety Code;                      (F)  engages in conduct that contains the elements   of the offense of public lewdness under Section 21.07, Penal Code,   or indecent exposure under Section 21.08, Penal Code; [ or ]                      (G)  engages in conduct that contains the elements   of the offense of harassment under Section 42.07(a)(1), (2), (3),   or (7), Penal Code, against an employee of the school district ; or                       (H)     engages in verbal or physical aggression   against an employee of the school district .          SECTION 6.  Sections 37.009(a), (a-1), and (a-2), Education   Code, are amended to read as follows:          (a)  [ Not later than the third class day after the day on   which a student is removed from class by the teacher under Section   37.002(b) or (d) or by the school principal or other appropriate   administrator under Section 37.001(a)(2) or 37.006, the campus   behavior coordinator or other appropriate administrator shall   schedule a conference among the campus behavior coordinator or   other appropriate administrator, a parent or guardian of the   student, the teacher removing the student from class, if any, and   the student.   At the conference, the student is entitled to written   or oral notice of the reasons for the removal, an explanation of the   basis for the removal, and an opportunity to respond to the reasons   for the removal.   The student may not be returned to the regular   classroom pending the conference.   Following the conference, and   whether or not each requested person is in attendance after valid   attempts to require the person's attendance, the campus behavior   coordinator, after consideration of the factors under Section   37.001(a)(4), shall order the placement of the student for a period   consistent with the student code of conduct. ]  Before ordering the   suspension, expulsion, removal to a disciplinary alternative   education program, or placement in a juvenile justice alternative   education program of a student, the school principal or other   appropriate administrator [ behavior coordinator ] must consider   whether the student acted in self-defense, the intent or lack of   intent at the time the student engaged in the conduct, the student's   disciplinary history, and whether the student has a [Text truncated for display. 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