84R3405 GCB-D
 
  By: Villalba H.B. No. 985
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to mental health screening for public school students who
  may be a danger to self or others and to suspension or educational
  placement of those students; creating an offense.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  This Act shall be known as Alanna's Law.
         SECTION 2.  Section 12.131(a), Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (a)  The governing body of an open-enrollment charter school
  shall adopt a code of conduct for its district or for each campus.
  In addition to establishing standards for behavior, the code of
  conduct must [shall] outline generally the types of prohibited
  behaviors and their possible consequences and must provide notice
  that certain conduct or statements may, in accordance with Section
  37.0052, subject a student to suspension, placement in an
  alternative program, if available, or expulsion. The code of
  conduct must [shall] also outline the school's due process
  procedures with respect to expulsion. Notwithstanding any other
  provision of law, a final decision of the governing body of an
  open-enrollment charter school with respect to actions taken under
  the code of conduct may not be appealed.
         SECTION 3.  Section 37.001(a), Education Code, as amended by
  Chapters 487 (S.B. 1541) and 1409 (S.B. 1114), Acts of the 83rd
  Legislature, Regular Session, 2013, is reenacted and 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 school
  bus[,] or other 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; or
                     (D)  a disability that substantially impairs the
  student's capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of the student's
  conduct;
               (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, harassment, and making hit
  lists and ensure that district employees enforce those
  prohibitions; [and]
               (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, harassment, and making
  hit lists; and
               (9)  provide notice that certain conduct or statements
  may subject a student to suspension or placement in a disciplinary
  alternative education program under Section 37.0052.
         SECTION 4.  Subchapter A, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Section 37.0052 to read as follows:
         Sec. 37.0052.  SUSPENSION OR PLACEMENT IN DISCIPLINARY
  ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION PROGRAM BASED ON NEED FOR MENTAL HEALTH
  SCREENING. (a) In this section:
               (1)  "Local mental health authority" has the meaning
  assigned by Section 531.002, Health and Safety Code.
               (2)  "Serious bodily injury" has the meaning assigned
  by Section 1.07, Penal Code.
               (3)  "Sexual violence" means conduct that constitutes
  an offense under Section 22.011, Penal Code, other than conduct to
  which the affirmative defense provided by Section 22.011(e), Penal
  Code, would apply.
         (b)  Subject to Subsection (c), if an educator employed by a
  school district or open-enrollment charter school observes or is
  informed about conduct of a student or a statement made by the
  student that would cause a reasonable person to believe the student
  intends or is likely to commit sexual violence against another or
  intends or is likely to cause serious bodily injury to self or
  others, the educator shall provide notice to the school counselor.
  The notice must be a signed writing, must be delivered in person or
  through electronic mail, and must describe the conduct or statement
  of the student. If a school counselor is not employed at the school,
  the educator shall provide notice to the principal in the same
  manner. For purposes of this section, a statement may be oral or
  written and includes statements made through electronic mail or
  social media.
         (c)  Subsection (b) applies only to an educator who observes
  or is informed about conduct or a statement of a student who attends
  school at the campus where the educator is employed.
         (d)  Subsection (b) applies regardless of whether the
  student's conduct or statement occurs:
               (1)  on or off school property; or
               (2)  during or outside regular school hours.
         (e)  A school counselor or a principal who receives notice
  under Subsection (b) shall consider the information provided in the
  notice and may:
               (1)  investigate the conduct or statement;
               (2)  consult with administrators at the campus and the
  educator who provided the notice; or
               (3)  interview the student or any other person with
  knowledge about the conduct or statement.
         (f)  A school counselor who concludes that a reasonable
  person would believe the student intends or is likely to commit
  sexual violence against another or intends or is likely to cause
  serious bodily injury to self or others shall inform the principal
  about the school counselor's conclusion.
         (g)  Except as provided by Subsection (h), a principal shall
  provide a student with a 30-day notice of intent to suspend the
  student if the principal:
               (1)  receives notice about a student under Subsection
  (b) and concludes that a reasonable person would believe the
  student intends or is likely to commit sexual violence against
  another or intends or is likely to cause serious bodily injury to
  self or others; or
               (2)  is informed about a school counselor's conclusion
  concerning a student under Subsection (f).
         (h)  If a student's conduct requires expulsion under Section
  37.007, the principal shall expel the student in accordance with
  that section and this section does not apply. If a student's
  conduct requires placement in a disciplinary alternative education
  program under Section 37.006, this section applies and any
  provision of Section 37.006 does not apply to the extent the
  provision is inconsistent with this section.
         (i)  A school counselor or a principal who receives notice
  under Subsection (b) about a student who subsequently is subject to
  a notice of intent to suspend under Subsection (g) shall:
               (1)  provide the student's name and address and
  information concerning the conduct or statement that led to the
  notice of intent to suspend to:
                     (A)  the school district police department, if the
  school counselor or principal is employed by a school district and
  the district has a police department;
                     (B)  the police department of the municipality in
  which the school is located or, if the school is not in a
  municipality, the sheriff of the county in which the school is
  located; and
                     (C)  the local mental health authority nearest the
  school; and
               (2)  inform the student's parent or guardian about:
                     (A)  the notice of intent to suspend;
                     (B)  the conduct or statement that led to the
  notice of intent to suspend; and
                     (C)  the requirement that the parent or guardian,
  before the expiration of the 30-day period, to avoid suspension of
  the student under this section, take the student to the nearest
  local mental health authority or a physician specializing in
  psychiatry to receive a mental health screening and a certificate
  of medical examination for mental illness, as described by Section
  533.03522(c), Health and Safety Code, that contains the examining
  physician's opinion that the student is not a danger to self or
  others.
         (j)  A parent or guardian of a student subject to a notice of
  intent to suspend under Subsection (g) shall take the student to the
  nearest local mental health authority or a physician specializing
  in psychiatry to receive a mental health screening and a
  certificate of medical examination for mental illness, as described
  by Section 533.03522(c), Health and Safety Code.
         (k)  If, before the expiration of the 30-day period of the
  notice of intent to suspend under Subsection (g), the school
  receives for the student a certificate of medical examination for
  mental illness, as described by Section 533.03522(c), Health and
  Safety Code, that contains the examining physician's opinion that
  the student is not a danger to self or others, the student is no
  longer subject to suspension under this section with respect to the
  conduct or statement that was the basis of the notice of intent to
  suspend, and the school shall destroy any record of that conduct or
  statement and any record involving an action of the school taken
  under this section. The school shall also notify each law
  enforcement agency that received notification of the intent to
  suspend the student under Subsection (i).
         (l)  If the school does not receive for the student the
  certificate of medical examination described by Subsection (k)
  before the expiration of the 30-day period of the notice of intent
  to suspend, the principal shall immediately suspend the student.
         (m)  A suspension under this section ends:
               (1)  when the parent or guardian of the student
  provides the school with a certificate of medical examination for
  mental illness, as described by Section 533.03522(c), Health and
  Safety Code, that contains the examining physician's opinion that
  the student is not a danger to self or others; or
               (2)  on the 15th calendar day after the date the student
  is suspended under this section.
         (n)  A student whose suspension by a school district ends
  under Subsection (m)(2) shall be placed in the district's
  disciplinary alternative education program until the student
  provides a certificate of medical examination for mental illness,
  as described by Section 533.03522(c), Health and Safety Code, that
  contains the examining physician's opinion that the student is not
  a danger to self or others.  A student whose suspension by an
  open-enrollment charter school ends under Subsection (m)(2) shall
  be placed in the school's alternative program, if an alternative
  program exists, until the student provides the necessary
  certificate of medical examination, or shall be expelled, if an
  alternative program does not exist.
         (o)  A person commits an offense if the person knowingly
  makes or causes to be made a false statement to an educator
  concerning the conduct of a student or a statement made by a student
  with intent that the student be subject to the provisions of this
  section. An offense under this subsection is a Class A misdemeanor.
         SECTION 5.  Section 37.008(h), Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (h)  A school district may not place a student, other than a
  student suspended as provided under Section 37.005, a student
  suspended as provided under Section 37.0052, or a student expelled
  as provided under Section 37.007, in an unsupervised setting as a
  result of conduct for which a student may be placed in a
  disciplinary alternative education program.
         SECTION 6.  Section 37.020(b), Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (b)  For each placement in a disciplinary alternative
  education program established under Section 37.008, the district
  shall report:
               (1)  information identifying the student, including
  the student's race, sex, and date of birth, that will enable the
  agency to compare placement data with information collected through
  other reports;
               (2)  information indicating whether the placement was
  based on:
                     (A)  conduct violating the student code of conduct
  adopted under Section 37.001;
                     (B)  conduct for which a student may be removed
  from class under Section 37.002(b);
                     (C)  conduct for which placement in a disciplinary
  alternative education program is required by Section 37.006; [or]
                     (D)  conduct occurring while a student was
  enrolled in another district and for which placement in a
  disciplinary alternative education program is permitted by Section
  37.008(j); or
                     (E)  failure to provide the certificate of medical
  examination for mental illness required by Section 37.0052;
               (3)  the number of full or partial days the student was
  assigned to the program and the number of full or partial days the
  student attended the program; and
               (4)  the number of placements that were inconsistent
  with the guidelines included in the student code of conduct under
  Section 37.001(a)(5).
         SECTION 7.  Subchapter B, Chapter 533, Health and Safety
  Code, is amended by adding Section 533.03522 to read as follows:
         Sec. 533.03522.  MENTAL HEALTH SCREENINGS FOR CERTAIN
  STUDENTS. (a) A local mental health authority shall ensure that a
  mental health screening is provided to a student identified to the
  authority under the notice requirements of Section 37.0052(i),
  Education Code, if the student's parent or guardian requests the
  screening.
         (b)  A mental health screening provided to a student for
  purposes of Section 37.0052, Education Code, must be conducted by a
  physician specializing in psychiatry and must be sufficient to
  allow the examining physician to provide the student's parent or
  guardian with a certificate of medical examination for mental
  illness for the student that conforms with the requirements of
  Subsection (c).
         (c)  A certificate of medical examination for mental illness
  under this section must be sworn to, dated, and signed by the
  examining physician. The certificate must include:
               (1)  the name and address of the examining physician;
               (2)  the name and address of the student examined;
               (3)  the date and place of the examination;
               (4)  a brief diagnosis of the examined student's
  physical and mental condition;
               (5)  the period, if any, during which the examined
  student has been under the care of the examining physician;
               (6)  an accurate description of the mental health
  treatment, if any, given by or administered under the direction of
  the examining physician; and
               (7)  the examining physician's opinion as to whether:
                     (A)  the examined student is mentally ill; and
                     (B)  as a result of that illness the examined
  student is likely a danger to self or others.
         (d)  A student's parent or guardian is responsible for the
  cost of a mental health screening, except that for a student who is
  a Medicaid recipient or enrollee in the state child health plan
  under Chapter 62, the local mental health authority shall seek
  reimbursement for the cost of the mental health screening, if
  available.
         SECTION 8.  This Act applies beginning with the 2015-2016
  school year.
         SECTION 9.  (a)  Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this
  section:
               (1)  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; and
               (2)  if this Act does not receive the vote necessary for
  immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
         (b)  Section 37.0052(o), Education Code, as added by this
  Act, takes effect September 1, 2015.