dating violence goes into school codes of conduct

The text as introduced · 1,212 words

89R5971 AMF-D

By: West
S.B. No. 2241

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to policies and procedures for addressing dating violence

in public schools.

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 or dating

violence 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.

SECTION 2. Section 37.001(a), Education Code, is amended to

read as follows:

(a) The board of trustees of an independent school district

shall, with the advice of its district-level committee established

under Subchapter F, Chapter 11, adopt a student code of conduct for

the district. The student code of conduct must be posted and

prominently displayed at each school campus or made available for

review at the office of the campus principal. In addition to

establishing standards for student conduct, the student code of

conduct must:

(1) specify the circumstances, in accordance with this

subchapter, under which a student may be removed from a classroom,

campus, disciplinary alternative education program, or vehicle

owned or operated by the district;

(2) specify conditions that authorize or require a

principal or other appropriate administrator to transfer a student

to a disciplinary alternative education program;

(3) outline conditions under which a student may be

suspended as provided by Section 37.005 or expelled as provided by

Section 37.007;

(4) specify that consideration will be given, as a

factor in each decision concerning suspension, removal to a

disciplinary alternative education program, expulsion, or

placement in a juvenile justice alternative education program,

regardless of whether the decision concerns a mandatory or

discretionary action, to:

(A) self-defense;

(B) intent or lack of intent at the time the

student engaged in the conduct;

(C) a student's disciplinary history;

(D) a disability that substantially impairs the

student's capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of the student's

conduct;

(E) a student's status in the conservatorship of

the Department of Family and Protective Services; or

(F) a student's status as a student who is

homeless;

(5) provide guidelines for setting the length of a

term of:

(A) a removal under Section 37.006; and

(B) an expulsion under Section 37.007;

(6) address the notification of a student's parent or

guardian of a violation of the student code of conduct committed by

the student that results in suspension, removal to a disciplinary

alternative education program, or expulsion;

(7) prohibit bullying, dating violence, harassment,

and making hit lists and ensure that district employees enforce

those prohibitions;

(8) provide, as appropriate for students at each grade

level, methods, including options, for:

(A) managing students in the classroom, on school

grounds, and on a vehicle owned or operated by the district;

(B) disciplining students; and

(C) preventing and intervening in student

discipline problems, including bullying, dating violence,

harassment, and making hit lists; and

(9) include an explanation of the provisions regarding

refusal of entry to or ejection from district property under

Section 37.105, including the appeal process established under

Section 37.105(h).

SECTION 3. Section 37.001(b), Education Code, is amended by

adding Subdivision (1-a) to read as follows:

(1-a) "Dating violence" has the meaning assigned by

Section 37.0052(a).

SECTION 4. The heading to Section 37.0052, Education Code,

is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 37.0052. PLACEMENT OR EXPULSION OF STUDENTS WHO HAVE

ENGAGED IN CERTAIN BULLYING OR DATING VIOLENCE BEHAVIOR.

SECTION 5. Section 37.0052(a), Education Code, is amended

by adding Subdivision (1-a) to read as follows:

(1-a) "Dating violence" means the intentional use of

physical, sexual, verbal, or emotional abuse by a person to harm,

threaten, intimidate, or control another person in a dating

relationship, as defined by Section 71.0021, Family Code.

SECTION 6. Section 37.0052(b), Education Code, is amended

to read as follows:

(b) A student may be removed from class and placed in a

disciplinary alternative education program as provided by Section

37.008 or expelled if the student:

(1) engages in bullying that encourages a student to

commit or attempt to commit suicide;

(2) incites violence against a student through group

bullying; [ or ]

(3) engages in dating violence; or

(4) releases or threatens to release intimate visual

material of a minor or a student who is 18 years of age or older

without the student's consent.

SECTION 7. Section 37.008, Education Code, is amended by

adding Subsection (k-1) to read as follows:

(k-1) A program of educational and support services may be

provided to a student and the student's parents when the offense

involves dating violence as specified under Section 37.0052.

Educational materials, resources, and instruction regarding dating

violence and establishing healthy relationships must be provided in

accordance with Sections 28.002 and 37.0831, as applicable.

SECTION 8. This Act applies beginning with the 2025-2026

school year.

SECTION 9. 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.