HBA-GUM, LCA H.B. 1749 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1749
By: Van de Putte
Juvenile Justice & Family Issues
6/21/1999
Enrolled



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Public elementary and secondary schools are subject to the federal Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C., Section 1232g),
which governs disclosure of information in educational records.  A 1994
amendment to the Act authorizes educators to share with juvenile justice
officials information on children who are at risk of involvement, or have
become involved, in the juvenile justice system.   

H.B. 1749 amends state law to authorize the disclosure of information
contained in the educational system by establishing the terms under which
an interagency agreement must be written before an exchange of certain
information between the educational and juvenile justice information
systems may take place. 

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 Subchapter A, Chapter 58, Family Code, by adding Section
58.0051, as follows: 

Sec. 58.0051.  INTERAGENCY SHARING OF RECORDS. (a)  Provides that within
each county, a district school superintendent (superintendent) and the
juvenile probation department (department) may enter into a written
interagency agreement (agreement) to share information about juvenile
offenders.  Requires the agreement to specify the conditions under which a
student's summary criminal history will be made available to appropriate
school personnel.  Requires the agreement to specify the conditions under
which a student's school records will be made available to appropriate
juvenile justice agencies.  

(b)  Requires information disclosed under this section (information) to
relate to the juvenile justice system's ability to serve, before
adjudication, the student whose records are being released (student). 

(c)  Requires the juvenile justice agency official who receives information
under this section to certify, in writing, that the institution or
individual receiving the information has agreed not to disclose it to a
third party other than another juvenile justice agency.   

(d)  Requires a juvenile justice agency that receives information under
this section to destroy it when the child is no longer under the
jurisdiction of a juvenile court. 

SECTION 2.  Amends Subchapter C, Chapter 37, Education Code, by adding
Section 37.084, as follows: 

Sec. 37.084.  INTERAGENCY SHARING OF RECORDS.  (a)  Authorizes a school
district superintendent, or the superintendent's designee, to disclose
information contained in a student's educational records to a juvenile
justice agency as defined by Section 58.101  (Definitions), Family Code.
Requires the disclosure to be under the agreement (agreement) authorized by
Section 58.0051, Family Code. 

(b)  Sets forth the agencies with which the commissioner of education may
enter into an agreement. 


(c)  Provides that this section does not require or authorize release of
student-level information except in conformity with the Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C., Section 1232g), as amended. 

SECTION 3.  Emergency clause.
  Effective date: upon passage.