HBA-MSH S.B. 1525 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 1525 By: Van de Putte Public Education 5/15/2001 Engrossed BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, a person commits an offense by intentionally disrupting the conduct of classes or other school activities. Because the law is phrased in the plural, a person must be found to have disrupted more than one class or school activity to be convicted. Many incidents occur that disrupt only one class or activity, especially in the case of activities that take place before or after school when few others are in the school. It is also an offense to prevent a student from attending a class or a school activity, but it is not an offense to prevent or hinder a student from entering or exiting the school before or after school hours. Senate Bill 1525 makes it an offense to disrupt a class or a school activity and to prevent or hinder a student from entering or exiting a school and increases the penalty for repeat offenders. 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 Senate Bill 1525 amends the Education Code to provide that a person commits an offense if the person intentionally disrupts the conduct of a single class or a school activity rather than multiple classes or activities. The bill provides that "school activity" includes an activity held on school property before or after the school day. The bill also provides that it is an offense to prevent or hinder entrance to or departure from school property during the period beginning two hours before the beginning of classes for the school day and ending two hours after the conclusion of classes for the school day, but does not prevent the legitimate exercise of the rights of free speech and assembly. The bill provides that a person commits a Class B misdemeanor if the person has previously been convicted of a violation under these provisions. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.