25.094 Texas Education Code part II

By Wentworth                                           S.B. No. 263
      74R1402 ESH-F
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
   1-1                                AN ACT
   1-2  relating to truancy.
   1-3        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
   1-4        SECTION 1.  Section 4.25(a), Education Code, as amended by
   1-5  Chapters 347, 358, and 930, Acts of the 73rd Legislature, Regular
   1-6  Session, 1993, is amended to read as follows:
   1-7        (a)  If any parent or person standing in parental relation to
   1-8  a child, within the compulsory school attendance ages and not
   1-9  lawfully exempt or properly excused from school attendance, fails
  1-10  to require such child to attend school for such periods as required
  1-11  by law, it shall be the duty of the proper attendance officer to
  1-12  warn, in writing, the parent or person standing in parental
  1-13  relation that attendance must be immediately required.  If after
  1-14  this warning the parent or person standing in parental relation
  1-15  intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or with criminal negligence
  1-16  fails to require the child to attend school as required by law and
  1-17  the child has unexcused voluntary absences for the amount of time
  1-18  specified under Section 51.03(b)(2), Family Code, the parent or
  1-19  person standing in parental relation commits an offense.  The
  1-20  attendance officer shall file a complaint against the parent or
  1-21  person standing in parental relation <him> in the county court, in
  1-22  the justice court of the <his resident> precinct in which the
  1-23  parent or person standing in parental relation resides, or in the
  1-24  municipal court of the municipality in which the parent or person
   2-1  standing in parental relation <he> resides or in any municipality
   2-2  or justice of the peace precinct in which the school district is
   2-3  located.  The attendance officer shall file a complaint under this
   2-4  section in the court to which the <parent's> child has been
   2-5  referred for engaging in conduct described in Section 51.03(b)(2),
   2-6  Family Code, if a referral has been made for the child.  In
   2-7  addition, if the child has unexcused voluntary absences for the
   2-8  amount of time specified under Section 51.03(b)(2), Family Code,
   2-9  the attendance officer shall refer the child to the county juvenile
  2-10  probation department for action as conduct indicating a need for
  2-11  supervision under that section.  A court in which a complaint is
  2-12  filed under this subsection shall give preference to a hearing on
  2-13  the complaint over other cases before the court.  An offense under
  2-14  this section is a Class C misdemeanor <punishable by a fine of not
  2-15  less than $10 nor more than $50 for the first offense, not less
  2-16  than $20 nor more than $100 for the second offense, and not less
  2-17  than $50 nor more than $200 for a subsequent offense>.  Each day
  2-18  the child remains out of school after the warning has been given or
  2-19  the child ordered to school by the juvenile court may constitute a
  2-20  separate offense.  Two or more offenses under this section may be
  2-21  consolidated and prosecuted in a single action.  If the court
  2-22  probates the sentence, the court may require the defendant to
  2-23  render personal services to a charitable or educational institution
  2-24  as a condition of probation.
  2-25        SECTION 2.  Section 4.251, Education Code, is amended to read
  2-26  as follows:
  2-27        Sec. 4.251.  Failure to Attend School.  (a)  A child commits
   3-1  an offense if the child:
   3-2              (1)  is required to attend school under Section 21.032
   3-3  of this code; and
   3-4              (2)  fails to attend school for 10 or more days or
   3-5  parts of days in a six-month period or three or more days or parts
   3-6  of days in a four-week period without an excuse as provided by
   3-7  Section 21.035 of this code.
   3-8        (b)  An offense under this section may be prosecuted in the
   3-9  justice court for the precinct in which the child resides or in
  3-10  which the school is located.
  3-11        (c)  On a finding by the justice court that the child has
  3-12  committed an offense under Subsection (a), the court may enter an
  3-13  order that includes one or more of the requirements listed in
  3-14  Section 54.021(d), Family Code.
  3-15        (d)  If the justice court finds that a child has violated an
  3-16  order issued under Subsection (c), the court shall transfer the
  3-17  complaint against the child, together with all pleadings and
  3-18  orders, to a juvenile court for the county in which the child
  3-19  resides.  The juvenile court shall conduct an adjudication hearing
  3-20  as provided by Section 54.03, Family Code.  The adjudication
  3-21  hearing shall be de novo.
  3-22        (e)  Pursuant to an order of the justice court, a peace
  3-23  officer may take a child into custody if there are reasonable
  3-24  grounds to believe that the child has committed an offense under
  3-25  this section.  A peace officer taking a child into custody under
  3-26  this subsection shall:
  3-27              (1)  promptly notify the child's parent, guardian, or
   4-1  custodian of the officer's action and the reason for that action;
   4-2  and
   4-3              (2)  without unnecessary delay:
   4-4                    (A)  release the child to the child's parent,
   4-5  guardian, or custodian or to another responsible adult, if the
   4-6  person promises to bring the child to the justice court as
   4-7  requested by the court; or
   4-8                    (B)  bring the child to the justice of the peace
   4-9  of the court having jurisdiction over the child.
  4-10        (f)  An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
  4-11        (g) <(d)>  Any person convicted of not more than one
  4-12  violation under this section while a minor, on attaining the age of
  4-13  18 years, may apply to the court in which he was convicted to have
  4-14  the conviction expunged.
  4-15        (h) <(e)>  The application shall contain the applicant's
  4-16  sworn statement that he was not convicted of any violation of this
  4-17  section while a minor other than the one he seeks to have expunged.
  4-18        (i) <(f)>  If the court finds that the applicant was not
  4-19  convicted of any other violation of this section while he was a
  4-20  minor, the court shall order the conviction, together with all
  4-21  complaints, verdicts, sentences, and other documents relating to
  4-22  the offense, to be expunged from the applicant's record.  After
  4-23  entry of the order, the applicant shall be released from all
  4-24  disabilities resulting from the conviction, and the conviction may
  4-25  not be shown or made known for any purpose.
  4-26        SECTION 3.  (a)  The change in law made by Section 1 of this
  4-27  Act applies only to an offense under Section 4.25, Education Code,
   5-1  committed on or after the effective date of this Act.  For the
   5-2  purposes of this section, an offense is committed before the
   5-3  effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs
   5-4  before the effective date.
   5-5        (b)  An offense under Section 4.25, Education Code, committed
   5-6  before the effective date of this Act is covered by the law in
   5-7  effect when the offense was committed, and the former law is
   5-8  continued in effect for that purpose.
   5-9        SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
  5-10        SECTION 5.  The importance of this legislation and the
  5-11  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
  5-12  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
  5-13  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
  5-14  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.