Tex.
Educ. Code Section 25.0951
School District Complaint or Referral for Failure to Attend School
(a)
If a student fails to attend school without excuse on 10 or more days or parts of days within a six-month period in the same school year, a school district shall within 10 school days of the student’s 10th absence refer the student to a truancy court for truant conduct under Section 65.003 (Truant Conduct)(a), Family Code.(b)
If a student fails to attend school without excuse as specified by Subsection (a), a school district may file a complaint against the student’s parent in a county, justice, or municipal court for an offense under Section 25.093 (Parent Contributing to Nonattendance) if the school district provides evidence of the parent’s criminal negligence. In this subsection, “parent” includes a person standing in parental relation.(c)
A court shall dismiss a complaint made by a school district under Subsection (b) that:(1)
does not comply with this section;(2)
does not allege the elements required for the offense;(3)
is not timely filed, unless the school district delayed the referral under Subsection (d); or(4)
is otherwise substantively defective.(d)
Notwithstanding Subsection (a), a school district may delay a referral of a student for truant conduct, or may choose to not refer a student for truant conduct, if the school district:(1)
is applying truancy prevention measures to the student under Section 25.0915 (Truancy Prevention Measures); and(2)
determines that the truancy prevention measures are succeeding and it is in the best interest of the student that a referral be delayed or not be made.
Source:
Section 25.0951 — School District Complaint or Referral for Failure to Attend School, https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ED/htm/ED.25.htm#25.0951 (accessed Jun. 5, 2024).
