HB
1190 Education; Amend Provisions
HB 1190
addresses several areas of education reform and provides greater flexibility
to school systems to improve student performance. HB 1190 imposes
fines or imprisonment for parents who fail to comply with the compulsory
attendance law. It provides that high-school students with 10 or more
unexcused absences may not have a driver's license until they resume
school attendance. In addition, students under the age of 18 who withdraw
from school, with or without parental consent, will be prohibited
from getting a driver's license. Youth who have been suspended for
more than ten cumulative days will have their driver's licenses suspended
for six months. The bill also expands the offenses to be addressed
in the student code of conduct and includes new offenses such as:
use of vulgar or profane language; inciting, advising or counseling
others to engage in prohibited acts.
HB 1190
also allows expulsion of a student for off campus conduct that could
result in a felony charge and makes his/her presence at the school
a potential danger. Students in grades K-5 are no longer exempt from
the disciplinary provisions of state law.
HB
1179 Crimes against public school employees; school property; redefine
HB 1179
expands the definition of simple assault to include a simple assault
against an employee of a public school system while he/she is engaged
in official duties or on school property and/or school bus and/or
school bus stops.
HB
1299, Juvenile justice reform; training programs; pretrial proceedings;
indictment
HB 1299
provided District Attorneys with training in the specialized issues
in juvenile court. It also would have imposed time limitations as
to how long the grand jury has to indict before a SB440 case was automatically
transferred down to juvenile court.
HB
1418, Juvenile Proceedings; juvenile court jurisdiction; change
age
HB 1418
would have given the juvenile court exclusive jurisdiction over juveniles
charged with delinquent or unruly offenses until age 18 and raised
the age of majority for purposes of SB 440 offenses to 18.
HB
1487, Criminal Procedure; certain serious violent offenses; mandatory
punishments
HB 1487
would have provided that, persons under 18 who were convicted of aggravated
child molestation, aggravated sexual battery, or aggravated sodomy
were not subject to mandatory minimum sentences. It further would
have provided that, persons under 18 convicted of armed robbery were
not subject to mandatory minimum sentences if a firearm was not used
and no bodily injury occurred.
HB
1490, Juvenile Proceedings jurisdiction; minors under age 17
HB 1490
would have provided that, the juvenile court has original concurrent
jurisdiction over juveniles alleged to have committed an SB 440 offense
which previously would have been under the exclusive jurisdiction
of the superior court. This means that instead of a case automatically
going to superior court, the case will originate in juvenile court
and can only be transferred to superior court after a transfer hearing
has been held. At the transfer hearing the juvenile court judge will
hear evidence and determine whether transfer to superior court is
appropriate.
More
information about SB 440
SB
428, School attendance requirements; driver's license; change penalties
HB
1193, Education; student attendance requirements; amend provisions
SB 428
and HB 1193 were additional Senate and House versions of the Governor's
education bills and substantially the same as HB 1190. HB 1190 was
signed into law by the Governor after the 2004 session.
HB
395, School attendance officers; authority; certain peace officers;
duties
HB 395
was somewhat similar to HB 1190, HB 1193 and SB 428 in the truancy
related provisions. HB 395 did not contain any sections related to
school discipline.
HB
1116, HOPE scholarship; felony or misdemeanor conviction; ineligibility
HB 1116
provided that, any person who was convicted of a felony or misdemeanor
was forever ineligible for the HOPE scholarship. Under the current
law 15-11-72 it appeared that this bill would not have affected juveniles
who were adjudicated delinquent. Under 15-11-72 orders of disposition
or adjudication are not considered "convictions" for the purposes
of HB 1116 It is worth noting that under the current law, juveniles
in Department of Juvenile Justice custody are not eligible for the
HOPE scholarship.
HB
1125, Education; bullying by students; amend provisions
HB 1125
would have redefined "bullying behavior" as any pattern of written
or verbal expression or any physical act or gesture that was intended
to ridicule, humiliate, intimidate, or cause measurable physical or
emotional distress to other students. This definition would have been
broader than the existing statutory language. HB 1125 would have also
expanded anti-bullying laws and regulations to apply to all children
in grades K-12. Current bullying statutes begin in grade six.
HB
1331 Mandatory; sealing of records; certain instances
HB 1331
would have removed the requirement that juvenile courts seal files
and records when a petition or complaint alleging delinquent or unruly
offenses was dismissed. The bill would provide juvenile courts discretion
to seal records in these instances.
HB
1388, Weapons; school discipline policies; petition juvenile courts
HB 1388
would have eliminated the discretion of local school boards to modify
mandatory one-year expulsions of students who bring weapons to school.
It would have required local school boards to file a petition in
juvenile court alleging that such student is delinquent. Local school
boards are not currently required to file petitions. This bill would
have applied to students in grades K-12.
