HBA-MPM, JRA H.B. 1961 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1961 By: Grusendorf Public Education 7/19/1999 Enrolled BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The Education Code directs school attendance officers to file a complaint against the parents of a child if the parents fail to require their child to attend school. A violation of the compulsory attendance law is a class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine. One-half of the fine collected is required to be deposited to the credit of the general fund of the county or municipality in which the complaint is filed, and the other half is deposited to the credit of the operating fund of the child's school district. In 1995, the 75th Texas Legislature created juvenile justice alternative education programs to educate students who are expelled from school for serious offenses. Once a juvenile is ordered to attend an alternative education program, the student no longer technically attends school in the school district. Therefore, any fines collected for a student who does not attend an alternative education program do not go to the operating fund of the institution which is responsible for that student's education. H.B. 1961 requires the truancy fines that would ordinarily be deposited with the operating fund of a child's school district to be deposited to the credit of the juvenile justice alternative education program if the child has been ordered to attend such an institution. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 25.093(f), Education Code, to require one-half of the fine collected under this section (Thwarting Compulsory Attendance Law) to be deposited to the credit of the juvenile justice alternative education program that a child has been ordered to attend, if the child has been ordered to attend such a program, rather than to the credit of the operating fund of the child's school district. SECTION 2. Makes application of this Act prospective. SECTION 3. Effective date: September 1, 1999. SECTION 4. Emergency clause.