84R1914 ADM-F
 
  By: West S.B. No. 741
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to criminal procedures related to certain offenses
  committed by a student on property under control of a school
  district.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 37.141(2), Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
               (2)  "School offense" means an offense committed by a
  child enrolled in a public school that is a Class C misdemeanor
  other than a traffic offense and that is committed on property under
  the control and jurisdiction of a school district, including a
  public school campus and the school grounds on which a public school
  is located, regardless of whether the offense is committed during
  the school year or during the summer session.
         SECTION 2.  Section 37.144(a), Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (a)  A school district [that commissions peace officers
  under Section 37.081] may develop a system of graduated sanctions
  that the school district may require to be imposed on a child before
  a complaint is filed under Section 37.145 against the child for a
  school offense that is an offense [under Section 37.124 or 37.126
  or] under Section 42.01(a)(1), (2), (3), (4), or (5), Penal
  Code.  A system adopted under this section must include multiple
  graduated sanctions.  The system may require:
               (1)  a warning letter to be issued to the child and the
  child's parent or guardian that specifically states the child's
  alleged school offense and explains the consequences if the child
  engages in additional misconduct;
               (2)  a behavior contract with the child that must be
  signed by the child, the child's parent or guardian, and an employee
  of the school and that includes a specific description of the
  behavior that is required or prohibited for the child and the
  penalties for additional alleged school offenses, including
  additional disciplinary action or the filing of a complaint in a
  criminal court;
               (3)  the performance of school-based community service
  by the child; and
               (4)  the referral of the child to counseling,
  community-based services, or other in-school or out-of-school
  services aimed at addressing the child's behavioral problems.
         SECTION 3.  Section 37.146, Education Code, is amended by
  amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c) to read as
  follows:
         (a)  A complaint alleging the commission of a school offense
  must, in addition to the requirements imposed by Article 45.019,
  Code of Criminal Procedure:
               (1)  be sworn to by a person who has personal knowledge
  of the underlying facts giving rise to probable cause to believe
  that an offense has been committed; [and]
               (2)  be accompanied by a statement from a school
  employee stating:
                     (A)  whether the child is eligible for or receives
  special services under Subchapter A, Chapter 29; and
                     (B)  the graduated sanctions, if required under
  Section 37.144, that were imposed on the child before the complaint
  was filed; and
               (3)  be accompanied by a statement by a victim of the
  alleged conduct, if any.
         (c)  A court shall dismiss a complaint made by a school
  district that is not made in compliance with Subsection (a).
         SECTION 4.  Section 8.07(e), Penal Code, is amended to read
  as follows:
         (e)  It is an affirmative defense to prosecution of [A person
  who is at least 10 years of age but younger than 15 years of age is
  presumed incapable of committing] an offense described by
  Subsection (a)(4) or (5), other than an offense under a juvenile
  curfew ordinance or order, that the actor was at least 10 years of
  age but younger than 15 years of age at the time of the alleged
  offense and did not have sufficient capacity to understand that the
  conduct engaged in was wrong at the time the conduct was engaged
  in. [This presumption may be refuted if the prosecution proves to
  the court by a preponderance of the evidence that the actor had
  sufficient capacity to understand that the conduct engaged in was
  wrong at the time the conduct was engaged in.] The prosecution is
  not required to prove that the actor at the time of engaging in the
  conduct knew that the act was a criminal offense or knew the legal
  consequences of the offense.
         SECTION 5.  Articles 45.058(i) and (j), Code of Criminal
  Procedure, are repealed.
         SECTION 6.  The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
  an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.  An
  offense committed before the effective date of this Act is covered
  by the law in effect at the time the offense was committed, and the
  former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For the
  purposes of this section, an offense is committed before the
  effective date of this Act if any element of the offense was
  committed before that date.
         SECTION 7.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.