Senate Committee: End ticket writing for education code violations, relax 'zero tolerance' in school discipline

The Senate Criminal Justice Committee released its interim report (pdf) to the 83rd Texas Legislature earlier this month, and Grits was interested to see the following recommendations related to school discipline and ticketing practices by school district police:

1. The legislature should require training for teachers and campus law enforcement in behavior management techniques.
2. The legislature should allow for an age to identify what students may be issue citations, not a grade level.
3. The legislature should remove the option of issuing citations for education code violations. These disciplinary [cases] should be addressed through a graduated sanctions model.
4. The legislature should include more discretion in zero tolerance policy.
5. The legislature should amend current statutes to create a consequence for districts that have not complied with implementing truancy prevention programs.
6. The legislature should require complainants to use sworn statement procedures rather than relying on law enforcement officers to issue citations.
7. The legislature should require [campus] law enforcement to report to a superintendent rather than a designee.

More soon on some of the other recommendations from the report.