Allen’s bill barring enrollment denials over student history

The text as introduced · 1,502 words

89R12811 AND-F

By: Allen
H.B. No. 3325

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to a public school student's transition from an

alternative education program to a regular educational

environment, including parental rights related to that transition,

and the admission of certain students with a criminal or

disciplinary history.

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

SECTION 1. Section 12.104(b), Education Code, is amended to

read as follows:

(b) An open-enrollment charter school is subject to:

(1) a provision of this title establishing a criminal

offense;

(2) the provisions in Chapter 554, Government Code;

and

(3) a prohibition, restriction, or requirement, as

applicable, imposed by this title or a rule adopted under this

title, relating to:

(A) the Public Education Information Management

System (PEIMS) to the extent necessary to monitor compliance with

this subchapter as determined by the commissioner;

(B) criminal history records under Subchapter C,

Chapter 22;

(C) reading instruments and accelerated reading

instruction programs under Section 28.006;

(D) accelerated instruction under Section

28.0211;

(E) high school graduation requirements under

Section 28.025;

(F) special education programs under Subchapter

A, Chapter 29;

(G) bilingual education under Subchapter B,

Chapter 29;

(H) prekindergarten programs under Subchapter E

or E-1, Chapter 29, except class size limits for prekindergarten

classes imposed under Section 25.112, which do not apply;

(I) extracurricular activities under Section

33.081;

(J) discipline management practices or behavior

management techniques under Section 37.0021;

(K) health and safety under Chapter 38;

(L) the provisions of Subchapter A, Chapter 39;

(M) public school accountability and special

investigations under Subchapters A, B, C, D, F, G, and J, Chapter

39, and Chapter 39A;

(N) the requirement under Section 21.006 to

report an educator's misconduct;

(O) intensive programs of instruction under

Section 28.0213;

(P) the right of a school employee to report a

crime, as provided by Section 37.148;

(Q) bullying prevention policies and procedures

under Section 37.0832;

(R) the right of a school under Section 37.0052

to place a student who has engaged in certain bullying behavior in a

disciplinary alternative education program or to expel the student;

(S) the right under Section 37.0151 to report to

local law enforcement certain conduct constituting assault or

harassment;

(T) a parent's right to information regarding the

provision of assistance for learning difficulties to the parent's

child as provided by Sections 26.004(b)(11) and 26.0081(c) and (d);

(U) establishment of residency under Section

25.001;

(V) school safety requirements under Sections

37.0814, 37.108, 37.1081, 37.1082, 37.1083, 37.1084, 37.1085,

37.1086, 37.109, 37.113, 37.114, 37.1141, 37.115, 37.207, and

37.2071 and Subchapter J, Chapter 37;

(W) the early childhood literacy and mathematics

proficiency plans under Section 11.185;

(X) the college, career, and military readiness

plans under Section 11.186; [ and ]

(Y) parental options to retain a student under

Section 28.02124 ; and

(Z) the requirements for a student's transition

from an alternative education program under Section 37.023 .

SECTION 2. Section 25.001, Education Code, is amended by

adding Subsections (b-3) and (b-4) to read as follows:

(b-3) Except as provided by Subsection (b-4) and

notwithstanding any provision of Chapter 37, the board of trustees

of a school district or the board's designee may not refuse to

enroll a student based on the student's criminal, juvenile, or

disciplinary history or standing. A district shall promptly enroll

a student released from an alternative education program, as

defined by Section 37.023, who is otherwise eligible for enrollment

under Subsection (b). This subsection may not be construed to

prohibit the board or the board's designee from:

(1) revoking admission of a student under Subsection

(b-1);

(2) refusing to admit a person under 18 years of age

whom the board is not required to admit under Subsection (d);

(3) transferring a student in accordance with Section

25.0341 or 25.0342; or

(4) expelling a student or placing a student in a

disciplinary alternative education program under Section 37.008 or

a juvenile justice alternative education program under Section

37.011 in accordance with Section 37.0051, 37.0052, 37.006, 37.007,

37.0081, or 37.011, as applicable.

(b-4) Subsection (b-3) does not apply to the interdistrict

transfer of a student under Subchapter B.

SECTION 3. The heading to Section 37.023, Education Code,

is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 37.023. TRANSITION FROM ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION PROGRAM

TO REGULAR EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT [ CLASSROOM ].

SECTION 4. Section 37.023, Education Code, is amended by

amending Subsections (c), (d), and (e) and adding Subsections

(c-1), (d-1), (g), and (h) to read as follows:

(c) Not later than five instructional days after the date of

a student's release from an alternative education program, the

campus administrator shall hold a meeting to coordinate the

student's enrollment and transition to a regular educational

environment [ classroom ]. The coordination must include assistance

and recommendations from the student's parent or a person standing

in parental relation to the student and, as applicable :

(1) school counselors;

(2) school district peace officers;

(3) school resource officers;

(4) licensed clinical social workers;

(5) campus behavior coordinators;

(6) classroom teachers who are or may be responsible

for implementing the student's personalized transition plan

developed under Subsection (d);

(7) for a student who is a student with a disability as

defined by Section 21.001, the campus special education

administrator or other campus administrator responsible for

overseeing the student's educational program, as applicable;

(8) for a student who is a court-related child, the

liaison officer appointed under Section 37.014; and

(9) [ (7) ] any other appropriate school district

personnel.

(c-1) The campus administrator shall, before finalizing a

personalized transition plan for a student under Subsection (d),

provide to the student's parent or a person standing in parental

relation to the student:

(1) a list of the people who will be assisting in the

student's enrollment and transition to a regular educational

environment under Subsection (c); and

(2) an opportunity to meet, either in person or

remotely, with the people included on the list described by

Subdivision (1) to:

(A) discuss any proposed assistance or

recommendations for the student's transition; and

(B) provide information regarding the student

that may be useful in developing the plan.

(d) The enrollment and transition assistance required by

Subsection (c) must include a personalized transition plan for the

student developed by the campus administrator. A personalized

transition plan:

(1) must include:

(A) recommendations for the best educational

placement of the student based on a review of the student's previous

coursework, course credit earned, performance on any assessment

instrument administered under Section 37.0082, and educational

record, including:

(i) a calculation of the number of course

credits the student has earned toward graduation requirements, as

determined under Subsection (g); and

(ii) a description of appropriate courses

in which the student should be placed ; and

(B) the provision of information to the student's

parent or a person standing in parental relation to the student

regarding the process to request a full individual and initial

evaluation of the student for purposes of special education

services under Section 29.004; and

(2) may include:

(A) recommendations for counseling, behavioral

management, or academic assistance for the student with a

concentration on the student's academic or career goals; and

(B) recommendations for assistance for obtaining

access to mental health services provided by the district or

school, a local mental health authority, or another private or

public entity[ ; and

[ (C) a regular review of the student's progress

toward the student's academic or career goals ].

(d-1) After a student has transitioned to a regular

educational environment under this section, the campus

administrator or the administrator's designee shall conduct

reviews at the beginning of each semester and the end of each school

year of the student's progress toward the student's academic or

career goals.

(e) As soon as practicable after completing a student's

personalized transition plan under Subsection (d) [ If

practicable ], the campus administrator shall provide an electronic

or written copy of the personalized transition plan to [ , or the

administrator's designee, shall meet with ] the student's parent or

a person standing in parental relation to the student [ to

coordinate plans for the student's transition ].

(g) A school district shall adopt a policy that, to the

greatest extent possible, allows for credits that were successfully

completed while the student was enrolled in an alternative

education program or at a previous school, including a school in the

Windham School District, to fulfill credits required for high

school graduation, provided that the completed courses meet the

standards adopted under Section 28.002(c). The policy adopted

under this subsection may provide for partial credit, if determined

appropriate by the district.

(h) The commissioner may adopt rules as necessary to

implement this section.

SECTION 5. This Act applies beginning with the 2025-2026

school year.

SECTION 6. 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.