Bill Text: TX HB2074 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Comm Sub

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Bill Title: Relating to the duties of a public school counselor regarding student discipline.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-04-02 - Considered in Calendars [HB2074 Detail]

Download: Texas-2019-HB2074-Comm_Sub.html

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86R19465 SOS-D
By: Wu, Talarico H.B. No. 2074
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2074:
By: Allen C.S.H.B. No. 2074

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the duties of a public school counselor regarding
student discipline.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 33.006, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (d) to read as
follows:
(b) In addition to a school counselor's responsibility
under Subsection (a), the school counselor shall:
(1) participate in planning, implementing, and
evaluating a comprehensive developmental guidance program to serve
all students and to address the special needs of students:
(A) who are at risk of dropping out of school,
becoming substance abusers, participating in gang activity, or
committing suicide;
(B) who are in need of modified instructional
strategies; or
(C) who are gifted and talented, with emphasis on
identifying and serving gifted and talented students who are
educationally disadvantaged;
(2) consult with a student's parent or guardian and
make referrals as appropriate in consultation with the student's
parent or guardian;
(3) consult with school staff, parents, and other
community members to help them increase the effectiveness of
student education and promote student success;
(4) coordinate people and resources in the school,
home, and community;
(5) with the assistance of school staff, interpret
standardized test results and other assessment data that help a
student make educational and career plans;
(6) deliver classroom guidance activities or serve as
a consultant to teachers conducting lessons based on the school's
guidance curriculum; [and]
(7) serve as an impartial, nonreporting resource for
interpersonal conflicts and discord involving two or more students,
including accusations of bullying under Section 37.0832;
(8) serve on a placement review committee under
Section 37.003;
(9) assist with a student placed into a disciplinary
alternative education program as provided by Section 37.008; and
(10) serve on a committee to review a student's
placement in an alternative education program under Section 37.306.
(d) A school counselor may not be required to assume a
disciplinary role at a school, or to otherwise be assigned a duty
involving student discipline that is inconsistent with the
counselor's primary responsibility under Subsection (a) and
additional responsibilities under this section. This subsection
does not prohibit a school counselor from serving on:
(1) a placement review committee under Section 37.003;
or
(2) a committee to review a student's placement in an
alternative education program under Section 37.306.
SECTION 2. Section 37.008, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-2) to read as
follows:
(a) Each school district shall provide a disciplinary
alternative education program that:
(1) is provided in a setting other than a student's
regular classroom;
(2) is located on or off of a regular school campus;
(3) provides for the students who are assigned to the
disciplinary alternative education program to be separated from
students who are not assigned to the program;
(4) focuses on English language arts, mathematics,
science, history, and self-discipline;
(5) provides for students' educational and behavioral
needs;
(6) provides supervision and counseling from a school
counselor employed by the district; and
(7) employs only teachers who meet all certification
requirements established under Subchapter B, Chapter 21.
(a-2) The minimum standards adopted by the agency under
Subsection (a-1) must require a school district to consult with the
district's school counselor in developing a plan for a student's
transition from a disciplinary alternative education program to a
regular campus.
SECTION 3. This Act applies beginning with the 2019-2020
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, 2019.