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Texas Education Code - Section 25.091. Powers And Duties Of Peace Officers And Other Attendance Officers

Legal Research Home > Texas Lawyer > Education Code > Texas Education Code - Section 25.091. Powers And Duties Of Peace Officers And Other Attendance Officers

§ 25.091. POWERS AND DUTIES OF PEACE OFFICERS AND OTHER 
ATTENDANCE OFFICERS.  (a) A peace officer serving as an attendance 
officer has the following powers and duties concerning enforcement 
of compulsory school attendance requirements:
		(1)  to investigate each case of a violation of 
compulsory school attendance requirements referred to the peace 
officer;
		(2)  to enforce compulsory school attendance 
requirements by:               
			(A)  referring a student to a juvenile court or 
filing a complaint against a student in a county, justice, or 
municipal court if the student has unexcused absences for the 
amount of time specified under Section 25.094 or under Section 
51.03(b)(2), Family Code;  and
			(B)  filing a complaint in a county, justice, or 
municipal court against a parent who violates Section 25.093;
		(3)  to serve court-ordered legal process;                                    
		(4)  to review school attendance records for compliance 
by each student investigated by the officer;
		(5)  to maintain an investigative record on each 
compulsory school attendance requirement violation and related 
court action and, at the request of a court, the board of trustees 
of a school district, or the commissioner, to provide a record to 
the individual or entity requesting the record;
		(6)  to make a home visit or otherwise contact the 
parent of a student who is in violation of compulsory school 
attendance requirements, except that a peace officer may not enter 
a residence without the permission of the parent of a student 
required under this subchapter to attend school or of the tenant or 
owner of the residence except to lawfully serve court-ordered legal 
process on the parent;  and
		(7)  to take a student into custody with the permission 
of the student's parent or in obedience to a court-ordered legal 
process.
	(b)  An attendance officer employed by a school district who 
is not commissioned as a peace officer has the following powers and 
duties with respect to enforcement of compulsory school attendance 
requirements:
		(1)  to investigate each case of a violation of the 
compulsory school attendance requirements referred to the 
attendance officer;
		(2)  to enforce compulsory school attendance 
requirements by:               
			(A)  referring a student to a juvenile court or 
filing a complaint against a student in a county, justice, or 
municipal court if the student has unexcused absences for the 
amount of time specified under Section 25.094 or under Section 
51.03(b)(2), Family Code;  and
			(B)  filing a complaint in a county, justice, or 
municipal court against a parent who violates Section 25.093;
		(3)  to monitor school attendance compliance by each 
student investigated by the officer;
		(4)  to maintain an investigative record on each 
compulsory school attendance requirement violation and related 
court action and, at the request of a court, the board of trustees 
of a school district, or the commissioner, to provide a record to 
the individual or entity requesting the record;
		(5)  to make a home visit or otherwise contact the 
parent of a student who is in violation of compulsory school 
attendance requirements, except that the attendance officer may not 
enter a residence without permission of the parent or of the owner 
or tenant of the residence;
		(6)  at the request of a parent, to escort a student 
from any location to a school campus to ensure the student's 
compliance with compulsory school attendance requirements;  and
		(7)  if the attendance officer has or is informed of a 
court-ordered legal process directing that a student be taken into 
custody and the school district employing the officer does not 
employ its own police department, to contact the sheriff, 
constable, or any peace officer to request that the student be taken 
into custody and processed according to the legal process.
	(c)  In this section:                                                          
		(1)  "Parent" includes a person standing in parental 
relation.              
		(2)  "Peace officer" has the meaning assigned by 
Article 2.12, Code of Criminal Procedure.

Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 260, § 1, eff. May 30, 1995.  
Amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1514, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 
2001;  Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 137, § 3, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.

Last modified: August 10, 2007