Olcott Bill Lets Counties Under 200,000 Drop Juvenile Justice Programs

The text as introduced · 1,339 words

89R8293 GP-D

By: Olcott
H.B. No. 2592

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the operation of a juvenile justice alternative

education program in certain counties.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 37.010(a), Education Code, is amended to

read as follows:

(a) Not later than the second business day after the date a

hearing is held under Section 37.009, the board of trustees of a

school district or the board's designee shall deliver a copy of the

order placing a student in a disciplinary alternative education

program under Section 37.006 or expelling a student under Section

37.007 and any information required under Section 52.04, Family

Code, to the authorized officer of the juvenile court in the county

in which the student resides. In a county that operates a program

under Section 37.011, an expelled student shall to the extent

provided by law or by the memorandum of understanding immediately

attend the educational program from the date of expulsion, except

that in a county with a population greater than 200,000 [ 125,000 ],

every expelled student who is not detained or receiving treatment

under an order of the juvenile court must be enrolled in an

educational program.

SECTION 2. Sections 37.011(a), (a-1), (a-3), (a-4), (k),

and (m), Education Code, are amended to read as follows:

(a) The juvenile board of a county with a population greater

than 200,000 [ 125,000 ] shall develop a juvenile justice alternative

education program, subject to the approval of the Texas Juvenile

Justice Department. The juvenile board of a county with a

population of 200,000 [ 125,000 ] or less may develop a juvenile

justice alternative education program. For the purposes of this

subchapter, only a disciplinary alternative education program

operated under the authority of a juvenile board of a county is

considered a juvenile justice alternative education program. A

juvenile justice alternative education program in a county with a

population of 200,000 [ 125,000 ] or less:

(1) is not required to be approved by the department;

and

(2) is not subject to Subsection (c), (d), (f), or (g).

(a-1) For purposes of this section and Section 37.010(a), a

county with a population greater than 200,000 [ 125,000 ] is

considered to be a county with a population of 200,000 [ 125,000 ] or

less if:

(1) the county had a population of 125,000 or less

according to the 2000 federal census; and

(2) the juvenile board of the county enters into, with

the approval of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, a memorandum

of understanding with each school district within the county that:

(A) outlines the responsibilities of the board

and school districts in minimizing the number of students expelled

without receiving alternative educational services; and

(B) includes the coordination procedures

required by Section 37.013.

(a-3) For purposes of this section and Section 37.010(a), a

county with a population greater than 200,000 [ 125,000 ] is

considered to be a county with a population of 200,000 [ 125,000 ] or

less if the county:

(1) has a population of more than 200,000 and less than

233,500;

(2) has five or more school districts located wholly

within the county's boundaries; and

(3) has located in the county a juvenile justice

alternative education program that, on May 1, 2011, served fewer

than 15 students.

(a-4) A school district located in a county considered to be

a county with a population of 200,000 [ 125,000 ] or less under

Subsection (a-3) shall provide educational services to a student

who is expelled from school under this chapter. The district is

entitled to count the student in the district's average daily

attendance for purposes of receipt of state funds under the

Foundation School Program. An educational placement under this

section may include:

(1) the district's disciplinary alternative education

program; or

(2) a contracted placement with:

(A) another school district;

(B) an open-enrollment charter school;

(C) an institution of higher education;

(D) an adult literacy council; or

(E) a community organization that can provide an

educational program that allows the student to complete the credits

required for high school graduation.

(k) Each school district in a county with a population

greater than 200,000 [ 125,000 ] and the county juvenile board shall

annually enter into a joint memorandum of understanding that:

(1) outlines the responsibilities of the juvenile

board concerning the establishment and operation of a juvenile

justice alternative education program under this section;

(2) defines the amount and conditions on payments from

the school district to the juvenile board for students of the school

district served in the juvenile justice alternative education

program whose placement was not made on the basis of an expulsion

required under Section 37.007(a), (d), or (e);

(3) establishes that a student may be placed in the

juvenile justice alternative education program if the student

engages in serious misbehavior, as defined by Section 37.007(c);

(4) identifies and requires a timely placement and

specifies a term of placement for expelled students for whom the

school district has received a notice under Section 52.041(d),

Family Code;

(5) establishes services for the transitioning of

expelled students to the school district prior to the completion of

the student's placement in the juvenile justice alternative

education program;

(6) establishes a plan that provides transportation

services for students placed in the juvenile justice alternative

education program;

(7) establishes the circumstances and conditions

under which a juvenile may be allowed to remain in the juvenile

justice alternative education program setting once the juvenile is

no longer under juvenile court jurisdiction; and

(8) establishes a plan to address special education

services required by law.

(m) Each school district in a county with a population

greater than 200,000 [ 125,000 ] and the county juvenile board shall

adopt a joint memorandum of understanding as required by this

section not later than September 1 of each school year.

SECTION 3. Section 53.02(e), Family Code, is amended to

read as follows:

(e) Unless otherwise agreed in the memorandum of

understanding under Section 37.011, Education Code, in a county

with a population greater than 200,000 [ 125,000 ], if a child being

released under this section is expelled under Section 37.007,

Education Code, the release shall be conditioned on the child's

attending a juvenile justice alternative education program pending

a deferred prosecution or formal court disposition of the child's

case.

SECTION 4. Section 54.01(f), Family Code, is amended to

read as follows:

(f) Unless otherwise agreed in the memorandum of

understanding under Section 37.011, Education Code, a release may

be conditioned on requirements reasonably necessary to insure the

child's appearance at later proceedings, but the conditions of the

release must be in writing and a copy furnished to the child. In a

county with a population greater than 200,000 [ 125,000 ], if a child

being released under this section is expelled under Section 37.007,

Education Code, the release shall be conditioned on the child's

attending a juvenile justice alternative education program pending

a deferred prosecution or formal court disposition of the child's

case.

SECTION 5. Section 37.011(a-2), Education Code, is

repealed.

SECTION 6. A juvenile court that has placed a child on

juvenile probation or deferred prosecution under Title 3, Family

Code, and required as a condition of probation or deferred

prosecution, as described by Section 37.011(b), Education Code,

that the child attend a juvenile justice alternative education

program in a county that is not required to operate a juvenile

justice alternative education program under Section 37.011,

Education Code, as amended by this Act, shall modify the conditions

of probation or deferred prosecution if the county discontinues

operation of the juvenile justice alternative education program.

SECTION 7. This Act applies beginning with the 2025-2026

academic year.

SECTION 8. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives

a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as

provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this

Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this

Act takes effect September 1, 2025.