85R6259 GCB-D
 
  By: Taylor of Collin S.B. No. 444
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to school marshals for private schools.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Article 2.127, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
  amended by amending Subsections (a) and (d) and adding Subsection
  (a-1) to read as follows:
         (a)  Except as provided by Subsection (b), a school marshal
  may:
               (1)  make arrests and exercise all authority given
  peace officers under this code, subject to written regulations
  adopted by:
                     (A)  the board of trustees of a school district or
  the governing body of an open-enrollment charter school under
  Section 37.0811, Education Code;
                     (B)  the governing body of a private school under
  Section 37.0813, Education Code; [,] or
                     (C)  the governing board of a public junior
  college under Section 51.220, Education Code; [,] and
               (2)  only act as necessary to prevent or abate the
  commission of an offense that threatens serious bodily injury or
  death of students, faculty, or visitors on school premises.
         (a-1)  In this section, "private school" means a school that:
               (1)  offers a course of instruction for students in one
  or more grades from prekindergarten through grade 12;
               (2)  is not operated by a governmental entity; and
               (3)  is not a school whose students meet the definition
  provided by Section 29.916(a)(1), Education Code.
         (d)  A person may not serve as a school marshal unless the
  person is:
               (1)  licensed under Section 1701.260, Occupations
  Code; and
               (2)  appointed by:
                     (A)  the board of trustees of a school district or
  the governing body of an open-enrollment charter school under
  Section 37.0811, Education Code;
                     (B)  the governing body of a private school under
  Section 37.0813, Education Code; [,] or
                     (C)  the governing board of a public junior
  college under Section 51.220, Education Code.
         SECTION 2.  The heading to Section 37.0811, Education Code,
  is amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 37.0811.  SCHOOL MARSHALS:  PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
         SECTION 3.  Subchapter C, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Section 37.0813 to read as follows:
         Sec. 37.0813.  SCHOOL MARSHALS:  PRIVATE SCHOOLS. (a)  The
  governing body of a private school may appoint not more than the
  greater of:
               (1)  one school marshal per 200 students enrolled in
  the school; or
               (2)  one school marshal per building of the school at
  which students regularly receive classroom instruction.
         (b)  The governing body of a private school may select for
  appointment as a school marshal under this section an applicant who
  is an employee of the school and certified as eligible for
  appointment under Section 1701.260, Occupations Code.
         (c)  A school marshal appointed by the governing body of a
  private school may carry or possess a handgun on the physical
  premises of a school, but only in the manner provided by written
  regulations adopted by the governing body.
         (d)  Any written regulations adopted for purposes of
  Subsection (c) must provide that a school marshal may carry a
  concealed handgun as described by Subsection (c), except that if
  the primary duty of the school marshal involves regular, direct
  contact with students in a classroom setting, the marshal may not
  carry a concealed handgun but may possess a handgun on the physical
  premises of a school in a locked and secured safe within the
  marshal's immediate reach when conducting the marshal's primary
  duty.  The written regulations must also require that a handgun
  carried by or within access of a school marshal may be loaded only
  with frangible duty ammunition approved for that purpose by the
  Texas Commission on Law Enforcement.
         (e)  A school marshal may access a handgun under this section
  only under circumstances that would justify the use of deadly force
  under Section 9.32 or 9.33, Penal Code.
         (f)  A private school employee's status as a school marshal
  becomes inactive on:
               (1)  expiration of the employee's school marshal
  license under Section 1701.260, Occupations Code;
               (2)  suspension or revocation of the employee's license
  to carry a handgun issued under Subchapter H, Chapter 411,
  Government Code;
               (3)  termination of the employee's employment with the
  private school; or
               (4)  notice from the governing body that the employee's
  services as school marshal are no longer required.
         (g)  The identity of a school marshal appointed under this
  section is confidential, except as provided by Section 1701.260(j),
  Occupations Code, and is not subject to a request under Chapter 552,
  Government Code.
         (h)  If a parent or guardian of a student enrolled at a
  private school inquires in writing, the school shall provide the
  parent or guardian written notice indicating whether any employee
  of the school is currently appointed a school marshal.  The notice
  may not disclose information that is confidential under Subsection
  (g).
         (i)  This section does not apply to a school whose students
  meet the definition provided by Section 29.916(a)(1).
         SECTION 4.  Section 1701.001(8), Occupations Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
               (8)  "School marshal" means a person who:
                     (A)  is [employed and] appointed to serve as a
  school marshal by:
                           (i)  the board of trustees of a school
  district or[,] the governing body of an open-enrollment charter
  school under Section 37.0811, Education Code;
                           (ii)  the governing body of a private school
  under Section 37.0813, Education Code; [,] or
                           (iii)  the governing board of a public
  junior college under [Article 2.127, Code of Criminal Procedure,
  and in accordance with and having the rights provided by] Section
  [37.0811 or] 51.220, Education Code;
                     (B)  is licensed under Section 1701.260; and
                     (C)  has powers and duties described by Article
  2.127, Code of Criminal Procedure.
         SECTION 5.  Section 1701.260, Occupations Code, is amended
  by amending Subsections (a) and (j) and adding Subsection (a-1) to
  read as follows:
         (a)  The commission shall establish and maintain a training
  program open to any employee of a school district, open-enrollment
  charter school, private school, or public junior college who holds
  a license to carry a handgun issued under Subchapter H, Chapter 411,
  Government Code.  The training may be conducted only by the
  commission staff or a provider approved by the commission.
         (a-1)  In this section, "private school" has the meaning
  assigned by Article 2.127, Code of Criminal Procedure.
         (j)  The commission shall submit the identifying information
  collected under Subsection (b) for each person licensed by the
  commission under this section to:
               (1)  the director of the Department of Public Safety;
               (2)  the person's employer, if the person is employed by
  a school district, open-enrollment charter school, private school,
  or public junior college;
               (3)  the chief law enforcement officer of the local
  municipal law enforcement agency if the person is employed at a
  campus of a school district, open-enrollment charter school,
  private school, or public junior college located within a
  municipality;
               (4)  the sheriff of the county if the person is employed
  at a campus of a school district, open-enrollment charter school,
  private school, or public junior college that is not located within
  a municipality; and
               (5)  the chief administrator of any peace officer
  commissioned under Section 37.081 or 51.203, Education Code, if the
  person is employed at a school district or public junior college
  that has commissioned a peace officer under either section.
         SECTION 6.  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.