AUSTIN – Derek Cohen, Policy Analyst with the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Center for Effective Justice, will testify before the Texas Senate Jurisprudence Committee on Tuesday, June 3 at 10:00 a.m. Central Time in Room 2E.20 of the Texas State Capitol. The hearing will review the implementation of the 83rd Legislature’s Senate Bill 393 and Senate Bill 1114 — legislation that established a tiered discipline model for schools and kept thousands of children from being processed as a criminal for minor behavioral issues, such as making too much noise — to determine if any statutory changes are necessary to clarify the intent of this legislation, and will also monitor the implementation of statewide electronic filing as mandated by the Texas Supreme Court to determine if any additional training or resources are needed by local jurisdictions.
“During the previous session, the legislature made great strides in how minor disciplinary issues in school were addressed,” said Cohen. “However, Texas is one of two states in which a truant child can wind up in the criminal justice system and possibly jail. Lawmakers should look to build on their successes – specifically Senate Bills 393 and 1114 – and extend the reforms to cover children who fail to attend school.”
More information about the hearing can be found here.
To schedule an interview with Derek, please contact Sarah Rumpf at [email protected] or 512-472-2700.
Derek Cohen is a Policy Analyst with the Center for Effective Justice at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation is a non-profit free-market research institute based in Austin.
Primary website: www.TexasPolicy.com
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