HBA-LJP C.S.H.B. 2108 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 2108 By: Turner, Sylvester Juvenile Justice & Family Issues 4/22/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Many special education students have serious disabilities ranging from emotional disturbances to traumatic brain injuries. When these students commit serious offenses and are expelled from school they are placed in a juvenile justice alternative education program, some of which are structured similar to boot camps. These types of programs may not be a suitable environment for students with special needs. C.S.H.B. 2108 regulates the placement of a special education student into a juvenile justice alternative education program after expulsion from a school district for certain serious offenses. 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. ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 2108 amends the Education and Family codes to prohibit the placement of a student with a disability who receives special education services and is expelled from a school district for certain serious offenses into a juvenile justice alternative education program, unless the juvenile board of the county in which the program is located or the designee of the juvenile board provides the school district from which the student was expelled written authorization for the placement. The bill provides that the school district from which the student was expelled must provide the student with an educational program in accordance with the individualized education program of the student. The bill sets forth provisions regarding the determination of the educational or behavioral needs of the student that cannot be met in a juvenile justice alternative education program in which a student is placed, the notification of the school district from which the student was expelled by the juvenile board of the determination, and the placement of that student by the school district in an appropriate educational program. The bill prohibits the placement of a student with a disability who receives special education services and is expelled for certain serious offenses into a juvenile justice alternative education program as a condition of release from detention prior to judicial proceedings pending a deferred prosecution or formal court disposition of the child's case, unless the juvenile board of the county in which a program is located or the designee of the juvenile board provides to the school from which the student was expelled written authorization for the placement of the student in the program. The bill prohibits the placement of a student with a disability who receives special education services and is expelled for certain serious offenses into a juvenile justice alternative education program as a condition of deferred prosecution or a release pending a deferred prosecution or formal court disposition, unless the juvenile board of the county in which a program is located or the designee of the juvenile board provides to the school from which the student was expelled written authorization for the placement of the student in the program. The bill also prohibits the placement of a student with a disability who receives special education services and is expelled for certain serious offenses into a juvenile justice alternative education program as a condition of probation under a disposition of a hearing, unless the juvenile board of the county in which a program is located or the designee of the juvenile board provides to the school from which the student was expelled written authorization for the placement of the student in the program. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001. The Act applies to expulsions beginning with the 2001-2002 school year. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 2108 amends the original to provide the exception that the juvenile board of the county in which a juvenile justice alternative education program is located or the designee of the juvenile board provides the school district from which the student was expelled written authorization for the placement to the prohibition of the placement of certain students with disabilities who are expelled from a school district for certain serious offenses into a program. The substitute changes the offenses for which students are expelled from a school district from serious offenses resulting in expulsion to certain serious offenses committed while on school property or while attending a school-sponsored or school-related activity on or off of school property, a violation of the school district's student code of conduct while a student is in an alternative education program for disciplinary reasons, certain criminal mischief that is punishable as a felony, or conduct that contains elements of the intentional, knowledgeable, or reckless cause of bodily injury to a person for that person's association with the school district. C.S.H.B. 2108 sets forth provisions regarding the determination of the educational or behavioral needs of the student that cannot be meet in a juvenile justice alternative education program in which a student is placed, the notification of the school district from which the student was expelled by the juvenile board of the determination, and the placement of that student by the school district in an appropriate educational program. The substitute removes the authorization to expel a student with a disability who receives special education services in any county where a juvenile justice alternative education program is operated without written notification by the board of the school district or its designated agent to the juvenile board's designated representative.