H.B. No. 156

	AN ACT
	relating to establishing a pilot program in designated public high
	schools in certain municipalities for placement of students in
	Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps programs as an alternative
	to placement in disciplinary or juvenile justice alternative
	education programs.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Chapter 37, Education Code, is amended by adding
	Subchapter A-1 to read as follows:
	SUBCHAPTER A-1.  PILOT PROGRAM IN DESIGNATED HIGH SCHOOLS IN
	CERTAIN MUNICIPALITIES FOR ALTERNATIVE DISCIPLINARY PLACEMENT:
	JUNIOR RESERVE OFFICERS' TRAINING CORPS (JROTC)
	Sec. 37.031.  ESTABLISHMENT OF PILOT PROGRAM. (a) A pilot
	program is established under this subchapter for placement of high
	school students in Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps programs
	as an alternative, in accordance with Section 37.032, to placement
	in disciplinary alternative education programs or juvenile justice
	alternative education programs.
	(b)  The pilot program applies only to a student enrolled in
	a high school:
	(1)  located in a municipality that:
	(A)  has a population of 200,000 or more;
	(B)  is located on an international border; and
	(C)  has more than 20 percent of the population 18
	to 24 years of age who have not graduated from high school,
	according to the most recent American Community Survey five-year
	estimates compiled by the United States Census Bureau; and
	(2)  designated by the agency under Subsection (c).
	(c)  The agency shall designate not more than two high
	schools that are located in a municipality described by Subsection
	(b)(1) and that offer Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps
	programs to participate in the pilot program. The commissioner by
	rule shall adopt additional criteria that promote positive student
	educational outcomes for the agency to use in making designations
	under this subchapter.
	(d)  The application of this subchapter to a student enrolled
	in a high school located in a municipality described by Subsection
	(b)(1) is not affected if, after the high school is designated under
	Subsection (c), the high school graduation rate in the municipality
	changes and the municipality no longer meets the requirements of
	Subsection (b)(1)(C).
	Sec. 37.032.  PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS AND EXCEPTIONS.
	(a)  Notwithstanding any other provision of Subchapter A and except
	as provided by Subsection (c), a student subject to this subchapter
	who is otherwise required or permitted under Subchapter A to be
	placed in a disciplinary alternative education program or juvenile
	justice alternative education program may, instead of that
	placement, choose to participate in a Junior Reserve Officers'
	Training Corps program if the student meets the initial eligibility
	requirements for the program.
	(b)  A student who chooses to participate in a Junior Reserve
	Officers' Training Corps program as authorized under this
	subchapter shall continue to attend the student's regularly
	assigned classes, except that the student's schedule may be
	modified to the extent necessary to provide for attendance in the
	program.
	(c)  This subchapter does not apply if:
	(1)  the student is removed from class and placed into
	another appropriate classroom or into in-school suspension under
	Section 37.002 or is suspended under Section 37.005;
	(2)  the student engages in conduct described by
	Section 37.006(a)(2)(B) or Section 37.007(a)(2) or (b)(2)(C);
	(3)  the continued presence of the student in the
	regular classroom threatens the safety of other students or
	teachers; or
	(4)  the student engages in conduct for which the
	student is required to be expelled from the student's regular
	campus under federal law.
	Sec. 37.033.  STUDENT CODE OF CONDUCT. (a) In addition to
	the requirements for the student code of conduct under Section
	37.001, the student code of conduct for a school district that
	includes a school designated under Section 37.031(c) must,
	consistent with this subchapter and as applied to the designated
	school:
	(1)  specify conditions that authorize a principal or
	other appropriate administrator to permit a student to choose to
	participate in a Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps program as
	an alternative to placement in a disciplinary alternative education
	program or juvenile justice alternative education program;
	(2)  specify that consideration will be given, as a
	factor in each decision concerning alternative participation in a
	Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps program, 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;
	(3)  provide guidelines that promote positive student
	educational outcomes for students choosing to participate in a
	Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps program as an alternative
	to placement in a disciplinary alternative education program or
	juvenile justice alternative education program;
	(4)  provide guidelines for setting the length of a
	term of participation in a Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps
	program as an alternative to placement in a disciplinary
	alternative education program or juvenile justice alternative
	education program; and
	(5)  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 the student's choice to participate in a
	Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps program as an alternative
	to placement in a disciplinary alternative education program or a
	juvenile justice alternative education program.
	(b)  This section does not require the student code of
	conduct to specify a minimum term of participation in a Junior
	Reserve Officers' Training Corps program.
	Sec. 37.034.  DETERMINATION REGARDING CERTAIN CONDUCT.
	Section 37.006(e) applies to this subchapter.
	Sec. 37.035.  NOTICE TO PARENTS. (a)  Before a student may
	participate in a Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps program as
	authorized under this subchapter, the school district shall notify
	the student's parent or guardian of the student's proposed
	placement. The notice must include the reason for the proposed
	placement.
	(b)  A noncustodial parent may request in writing that a
	school district or school, for the remainder of the school year in
	which the request is received, provide that parent with a copy of
	any written notification relating to the student's placement as
	authorized under this subchapter that is generally provided by the
	district or school to a student's parent or guardian.
	Sec. 37.036.  TERM OF PLACEMENT. (a) The board of trustees
	of the school district or the board's designee shall set a term for
	a student's participation in a Junior Reserve Officers' Training
	Corps program as authorized under this subchapter. The term must be
	for a period consistent with the guidelines adopted under the
	student code of conduct in accordance with Section 37.033(a)(4).
	If the period of placement is inconsistent with the guidelines
	adopted under the student code of conduct, the notice under Section
	37.035(a) must provide an explanation of the inconsistency.
	(b)  Before a student may participate in a Junior Reserve
	Officers' Training Corps program as authorized under this
	subchapter for a period that extends beyond the end of a school
	year, the board of trustees or the board's designee must determine
	that the student has engaged in serious or persistent misbehavior
	that violates the district's student code of conduct. The period of
	participation may not exceed one year unless, after review, the
	board or the board's designee determines that extended placement is
	in the best interest of the student.
	Sec. 37.037.  NOTICE TO EDUCATORS.  (a) The board of
	trustees of the school district shall inform each educator who has
	responsibility for, or is under the direction and supervision of an
	educator who has responsibility for, the instruction of a student
	who is participating in a Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps
	program as authorized under this subchapter.
	(b)  Each educator shall keep the information received under
	this section confidential from any person not entitled to the
	information under this section, except that the educator may share
	the information with the student's parent or guardian as provided
	for by state or federal law.
	(c)  The State Board for Educator Certification may revoke or
	suspend the certification of an educator who intentionally violates
	this section or Section 37.038.
	Sec. 37.038.  TRANSFER OF STUDENT UNDER PILOT PROGRAM. (a)
	If a student participating in a Junior Reserve Officers' Training
	Corps program as authorized under this subchapter enrolls in
	another school district before the expiration of the designated
	period of participation, the board of trustees of the school
	district in which the student was participating in the program
	shall provide to the district in which the student enrolls, at the
	same time other records of the student are provided, a copy of the
	placement order. The district in which the student enrolls shall
	inform each educator who will have responsibility for, or will be
	under the direction and supervision of an educator who will have
	responsibility for, the instruction of the student of the contents
	of the placement order.
	(b)  Each educator shall keep the information received under
	this section confidential from any person not entitled to the
	information under this section, except that the educator may share
	the information with the student's parent or guardian as provided
	for by state or federal law.
	(c)  Subject to Subsection (d), the school district in which
	the student enrolls may continue the Junior Reserve Officers'
	Training Corps program placement under the terms of the order or may
	allow the student to attend regular classes without completing the
	designated period of participation.
	(d)  If the school the student attends in the school district
	in which the student enrolls does not offer a Junior Reserve
	Officers' Training Corps program, the student may be placed in a
	disciplinary alternative education program or a juvenile justice
	alternative education program under the procedures provided by this
	subchapter for the remainder of the term set under Section 37.036.
	Sec. 37.039.  PROCEDURE FOR ADDRESSING FAILURE TO COMPLETE
	DESIGNATED PERIOD OF PARTICIPATION OR SUBSEQUENT CONDUCT AFTER
	PROGRAM PARTICIPATION. A student who chooses to participate in a
	Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps program as authorized under
	this subchapter is subject to the provisions of Subchapter A
	relating to removal from class and placement in a disciplinary
	alternative education program or juvenile justice alternative
	education program if the student:
	(1)  except as provided by Section 37.038(c), fails to
	complete the designated period of participation under the terms of
	an order as authorized by this section; or
	(2)  after completion of any participation in a Junior
	Reserve Officers' Training Corps program as authorized under this
	subchapter, engages in subsequent conduct requiring or permitting
	the student to be removed from class and placed in a disciplinary
	alternative education program or juvenile justice alternative
	education program under Subchapter A.
	Sec. 37.040.  APPLICABILITY TO SUBCHAPTER A. Sections
	37.002, 37.006, and 37.007 are subject to this subchapter.
	Sec. 37.041.  REVIEW OF PROGRAM; REPORT.  Not later than
	January 1, 2019, the commissioner shall review the pilot program
	established under this subchapter and submit to the governor, the
	lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of representatives,
	and the presiding officer of each legislative standing committee
	with primary jurisdiction over primary and secondary education a
	written report regarding the progress made by the pilot program in
	improving student educational outcomes.
	Sec. 37.042.  EXPIRATION. This subchapter expires September
	1, 2019.
	SECTION 2.  Section 37.020, Education Code, is amended by
	adding Subsections (d) and (e) to read as follows:
	(d)  For each placement in a Junior Reserve Officers'
	Training Corps program under Subchapter A-1, 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 placement in a disciplinary
	alternative education program or juvenile justice alternative
	education program is otherwise required or permitted by this
	subchapter; or
	(C)  conduct occurring while a student was
	enrolled in another district and for which placement in a Junior
	Reserve Officers' Training Corps program is permitted by Section
	37.038;
	(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;
	(4)  the number of placements that were inconsistent
	with the guidelines included in the student code of conduct under
	Section 37.033(a)(4);
	(5)  information regarding the academic performance of
	the student on assessment instruments required under Section
	39.023, as applicable, during the year preceding, during the year
	of, and during the year following placement in the program, to the
	extent available; and
	(6)  information indicating whether the student
	dropped out of school, to the extent available.
	(e)  Subsection (d) and this subsection expire September 1,
	2019.
	SECTION 3.  (a) Not later than December 1, 2017, the
	commissioner of education shall adopt rules for the Texas Education
	Agency to use to designate public high schools to participate in the
	pilot program established under Subchapter A-1, Chapter 37,
	Education Code, as added by this Act.
	(b)  Not later than January 1, 2018, the Texas Education
	Agency shall designate not more than two public high schools to
	participate in the pilot program established under Subchapter A-1,
	Chapter 37, Education Code, as added by this Act.
	(c)  The pilot program established under Subchapter A-1,
	Chapter 37, Education Code, as added by this Act, shall be
	implemented in each high school designated under that subchapter
	beginning with the spring semester of the 2017-2018 school year.
	SECTION 4.  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, 2017.
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 156 was passed by the House on May 4,
	2017, by the following vote:  Yeas 143, Nays 0, 2 present, not
	voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
	No. 156 on May 26, 2017, by the following vote:  Yeas 140, Nays 5, 2
	present, not voting.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 156 was passed by the Senate, with
	amendments, on May 24, 2017, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays
	0.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	APPROVED: __________________
	Date
	__________________
	Governor