HBA-CCH H.B. 1188 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1188
By: Telford
Public Education
3/12/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Current law provides assault leave for school district employees to recover
from injuries resulting from an assault during the performance of their
regular duties.  In 1998 the commissioner of education ruled that a student
with a mental disability could not knowingly or intentionally commit
assault under the statutory standard for assault.  The effect of this
ruling is that a teacher attacked by a student with a mental disability is
not entitled to assault leave.  House Bill 1188 provides that a person may
not be denied assault leave solely because of the age or disability of the
perpetrator. 

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

House Bill 1188 amends the Education Code to provide, for the purposes of
the personal leave program, that an employee of a school district is
physically assaulted if the person engaging in the conduct causing injury
to the employee could be prosecuted for assault, or could not be prosecuted
for assault only because the person's age or mental capacity makes the
person nonresponsible for the purposes of criminal liability. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act
takes effect September 1, 2001. This Act applies beginning with the
2001-2002 school year.