Bill Text: TX HB4606 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Engrossed
Bill Title: Relating to the operation of a juvenile justice alternative education program by a county department of education.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2023-05-15 - Referred to Education [HB4606 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-HB4606-Engrossed.html
By: Allen, Garcia, Wu | H.B. No. 4606 |
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relating to the operation of a juvenile justice alternative | ||
education program by a county department of education. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Section 37.0081(a-1), Education Code, is amended | ||
to read as follows: | ||
(a-1) The student must be placed in: | ||
(1) a juvenile justice alternative education program, | ||
if the school district is located in a county that operates a | ||
juvenile justice alternative education program or the school | ||
district contracts with the juvenile board or county department of | ||
education of another county for the provision of a juvenile justice | ||
alternative education program; or | ||
(2) a disciplinary alternative education program. | ||
SECTION 2. Sections 37.010(c) and (d), Education Code, are | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
(c) Unless the juvenile board or the county department of | ||
education for the county in which the district's central | ||
administrative office is located has entered into a memorandum of | ||
understanding with the district's board of trustees concerning the | ||
juvenile probation department's or the county department of | ||
education's role in supervising and providing other support | ||
services for students in disciplinary alternative education | ||
programs, a court may not order a student expelled under Section | ||
37.007 to attend a regular classroom, a regular campus, or a school | ||
district disciplinary alternative education program as a condition | ||
of probation. | ||
(d) Unless the juvenile board or county department of | ||
education for the county in which the district's central | ||
administrative office is located has entered into a memorandum of | ||
understanding as described by Subsection (c), if a court orders a | ||
student to attend a disciplinary alternative education program as a | ||
condition of probation once during a school year and the student is | ||
referred to juvenile court again during that school year, the | ||
juvenile court may not order the student to attend a disciplinary | ||
alternative education program in a district without the district's | ||
consent until the student has successfully completed any sentencing | ||
requirements the court imposes. | ||
SECTION 3. Section 37.011, Education Code, is amended by | ||
amending Subsections (a), (d), (e), (h), (j), (k), (l), (m), (n), | ||
(p), and (q) and adding Subsections (a-6) and (a-7) to read as | ||
follows: | ||
(a) Subject to Subsection (a-6), the [ |
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the county department of education of a county with a population | ||
greater than 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 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 or the county | ||
department of education of a county is considered a juvenile | ||
justice alternative education program. A juvenile justice | ||
alternative education program in a county with a population of | ||
125,000 or less: | ||
(1) is not required to be approved by the Texas | ||
Juvenile Justice Department [ |
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(2) is not subject to Subsection (c), (d), (f), or (g). | ||
(a-6) Beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, if a county | ||
with a population greater than three million has a county | ||
department of education under Subsection (a-7), the department | ||
shall develop the juvenile justice alternative education program | ||
under Subsection (a) in lieu of the juvenile board. | ||
(a-7) For the purposes of this section, a county has a | ||
county department of education if a school district or a county | ||
system within the county is operating under former law, in | ||
accordance with Section 11.301(a). | ||
(d) A juvenile justice alternative education program must | ||
focus on English language arts, mathematics, science, social | ||
studies, and self-discipline. Each school district shall consider | ||
course credit earned by a student while in a juvenile justice | ||
alternative education program as credit earned in a district | ||
school. Each program shall administer assessment instruments under | ||
Subchapter B, Chapter 39, and shall offer a high school equivalency | ||
program. The juvenile board, the county department of education, | ||
or the [ |
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applicable, with the parent or guardian of each student, shall | ||
regularly review the student's academic progress. In the case of a | ||
high school student, the board, the department, or the [ |
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designee of the board or department, as applicable, with the | ||
student's parent or guardian, shall review the student's progress | ||
towards meeting high school graduation requirements and shall | ||
establish a specific graduation plan for the student. The program | ||
is not required to provide a course necessary to fulfill a student's | ||
high school graduation requirements other than a course specified | ||
by this subsection. | ||
(e) A juvenile justice alternative education program may be | ||
provided in a facility owned by a school district. A school | ||
district may provide personnel and services for a juvenile justice | ||
alternative education program under a contract with the juvenile | ||
board or the county department of education, as applicable. | ||
(h) Academically, the mission of juvenile justice | ||
alternative education programs shall be to enable students to | ||
perform at grade level. For purposes of accountability under | ||
Chapters 39 and 39A, a student enrolled in a juvenile justice | ||
alternative education program is reported as if the student were | ||
enrolled at the student's assigned campus in the student's | ||
regularly assigned education program, including a special | ||
education program. Annually the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, | ||
with the agreement of the commissioner, shall develop and implement | ||
a system of accountability consistent with Chapters 39 and 39A, | ||
where appropriate, to assure that students make progress toward | ||
grade level while attending a juvenile justice alternative | ||
education program. The department shall adopt rules for the | ||
distribution of funds appropriated under this section to the | ||
entities responsible for operating juvenile justice alternative | ||
education programs [ |
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establish those [ |
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programs. Except as determined by the commissioner, a student | ||
served by a juvenile justice alternative education program on the | ||
basis of an expulsion required under Section 37.007(a), (d), or (e) | ||
is not eligible for Foundation School Program funding under Chapter | ||
31 or 48 if the juvenile justice alternative education program | ||
receives funding from the department under this subchapter. | ||
(j) In relation to the development and operation of a | ||
juvenile justice alternative education program, a juvenile board, a | ||
county department of education, [ |
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court of a county are immune from liability to the same extent as a | ||
school district, and the juvenile board's, department's, or | ||
county's [ |
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liability to the same extent as a school district's [ |
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employees and volunteers. | ||
(k) Each school district in a county with a population | ||
greater than 125,000 and the county juvenile board or the county | ||
department of education, as applicable, shall annually enter into a | ||
joint memorandum of understanding that: | ||
(1) outlines the responsibilities of the juvenile | ||
board or county department of education 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 or county department of | ||
education 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. | ||
(l) The school district shall be responsible for providing | ||
an immediate educational program to students who engage in behavior | ||
resulting in expulsion under Section 37.007(b) and (f) but who are | ||
not eligible for admission into the juvenile justice alternative | ||
education program in accordance with the memorandum of | ||
understanding required under this section. The school district may | ||
provide the program or the school district may contract with a | ||
county juvenile board, a county department of education, a private | ||
provider, or one or more other school districts to provide the | ||
program. The memorandum of understanding shall address the | ||
circumstances under which such students who continue to engage in | ||
serious misbehavior, as defined by Section 37.007(c), shall be | ||
admitted into the juvenile justice alternative education program. | ||
(m) Each school district in a county with a population | ||
greater than 125,000 and the county juvenile board or the county | ||
department of education, as applicable, shall adopt a joint | ||
memorandum of understanding as required by this section not later | ||
than September 1 of each school year. | ||
(n) If a student who is ordered to attend a juvenile justice | ||
alternative education program moves from one county to another, the | ||
juvenile court may request the juvenile justice alternative | ||
education program in the county to which the student moves to | ||
provide educational services to the student in accordance with the | ||
local memorandum of understanding between the school district and | ||
the juvenile board or county department of education in the | ||
receiving county. | ||
(p) If a district elects to contract with the juvenile board | ||
or county department of education for placement in the juvenile | ||
justice alternative education program of students expelled under | ||
Section 37.007(b), (c), and (f) and the juvenile board or county | ||
department of education and the district are unable to reach an | ||
agreement in the memorandum of understanding, either party may | ||
request that the issues of dispute be referred to a binding | ||
arbitration process that uses a qualified alternative dispute | ||
resolution arbitrator in which each party will pay its pro rata | ||
share of the arbitration costs. Each party must submit its final | ||
proposal to the arbitrator. If the parties cannot agree on an | ||
arbitrator, the juvenile board or county department of education | ||
shall select an arbitrator, the school districts shall select an | ||
arbitrator, and those two arbitrators shall select an arbitrator | ||
who will decide the issues in dispute. An arbitration decision | ||
issued under this subsection is enforceable in a court in the county | ||
in which the juvenile justice alternative education program is | ||
located. Any decision by an arbitrator concerning the amount of the | ||
funding for a student who is expelled and attending a juvenile | ||
justice alternative education program must provide an amount | ||
sufficient based on operation of the juvenile justice alternative | ||
education program in accordance with this chapter. In determining | ||
the amount to be paid by a school district for an expelled student | ||
enrolled in a juvenile justice alternative education program, the | ||
arbitrator shall consider the relevant factors, including evidence | ||
of: | ||
(1) the actual average total per student expenditure | ||
in the district's alternative education setting; | ||
(2) the expected per student cost in the juvenile | ||
justice alternative education program as described and agreed on in | ||
the memorandum of understanding and in compliance with this | ||
chapter; and | ||
(3) the costs necessary to achieve the accountability | ||
goals under this chapter. | ||
(q) In accordance with rules adopted by the board of | ||
trustees for the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, a certified | ||
educator employed by a juvenile board or the county department of | ||
education in a juvenile justice alternative education program shall | ||
be eligible for membership and participation in the system to the | ||
same extent that an employee of a public school district is | ||
eligible. The juvenile board or county department of education, as | ||
applicable, shall make any contribution that otherwise would be the | ||
responsibility of the school district if the person were employed | ||
by the school district, and the state shall make any contribution to | ||
the same extent as if the person were employed by a school district. | ||
SECTION 4. Sections 37.012(a) and (d), Education Code, are | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
(a) Subject to Section 37.011(n), the school district in | ||
which a student is enrolled on the date the student is expelled for | ||
conduct for which expulsion is permitted but not required under | ||
Section 37.007 shall, if the student is served by the juvenile | ||
justice alternative education program, provide funding to the | ||
juvenile board or county department of education, as applicable, | ||
for the portion of the school year for which the juvenile justice | ||
alternative education program provides educational services in an | ||
amount determined by the memorandum of understanding under Section | ||
37.011(k)(2). | ||
(d) A school district is not required to provide funding to | ||
a juvenile board or a county department of education for a student | ||
who is assigned by a court to a juvenile justice alternative | ||
education program but who has not been expelled. | ||
SECTION 5. Section 37.309(b), Education Code, is amended to | ||
read as follows: | ||
(b) A school district shall place a student who is required | ||
by the board of trustees to attend an alternative education program | ||
under this subchapter in a juvenile justice alternative education | ||
program if: | ||
(1) the memorandum of understanding entered into | ||
between the school district and the juvenile board or county | ||
department of education under Section 37.011(k) provides for the | ||
placement of students to whom this subchapter applies in the | ||
juvenile justice alternative education program; or | ||
(2) a court orders the placement of the student in a | ||
juvenile justice alternative education program. | ||
SECTION 6. Section 37.011(o), Education Code, is repealed. | ||
SECTION 7. This Act applies beginning with the 2024-2025 | ||
school year. | ||
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |