AUSTIN (KXAN) — While school choice takes center stage in the Texas legislature, a series of bills that would expand how a school district can discipline students is also moving forward. One proposed bill would allow school districts to file a civil suit to remove students from a campus and place them in an alternative education setting, including students receiving special education services. House Bill 6, authored by Rep. Jeff Leach, R-McKinney, Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Salado, and other lawmakers, allows districts to file civil action to immediately remove students from their current education setting if a threat assessment determines the student’s continued placement is “substantially likely to result in physical harm to the student or another person.” On Tuesday, the House Committee on Public Education reported HB 6 favorably to the full House. Rep. Alma Allen, D-Houston, was the only committee member to vote against the measure. The bill would also require districts to demonstrate they have made “reasonable” efforts to maintain the student’s current education setting and minimize physical harm. The district court would have five days to determine whether the district provided sufficient evidence that the child is a danger to themself or others. The student could be removed and placed in an “alternative educational setting” for up to 60 days, but under the bill, districts can also file back-to-back civil suits to keep a student out of their normal education setting. Students assaulting educators on the rise across Texas  School districts would also not be required to hold a hearing between the family and the district after the student is removed through a court order. "The schools are going to have attorneys, who are representing them, supporting them, guiding them, and students and families do not and will not," Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA) Chief Legal Analyst Paige-Duggins Clay previously told lawmakers in a March 18 hearing. "They already don't get advocates or counsel in already overly complicated Chapter 37 and school discipline proceedings, and now we are pushing them into court and really exacerbating that imbalance of power." The bill would require the court to consider the history or any existing plans for students receiving special education services, specifically recommendations from the Admission, Recommendations, and Dismissal (ARD) Committees that help determine individual education plans (IEPs) and other behavioral intervention plans for students receiving special education services. A new version of the bill, which was adopted Thursday, stipulates that any team conducting a threat assessment on a student with special needs must include either the student's special education teacher, a licensed social worker, a licensed behavior analyst, or a licensed specialist in psychology. The newer version also prohibits charter schools from barring a student's enrollment based on the student's history, caps in-school suspension to 10 days at a time, and requires that the teacher and administrator agree on conduct that results in repeated or significant disruption to the classroom. HB 6 is not the only bill that would significantly change how Texas students can be disciplined. Lawmakers are also considering a series of discipline-focused bills sparked by school districts statewide increasing reports of assaults on school staff. Texas school districts collectively reported 2,654 district employees being assaulted by a student in the 2023-2024 school year, an 18% increase from the year before, according to data from the Texas Education Agency. The other bills would eliminate caps on in-school suspension, allow mechanisms for districts to remove students who are accused of crimes on and off-campus, and bring back a law allowing school police officers to charge students with a Class C misdemeanor for school-related offenses. Texas senators look into allowing ‘abusive’ students to face criminal charges “Teachers are there to teach; they should not have to parent, but they do. Administration needs options and support to discipline quickly and effectively with various options for consequences,” a Conroe woman submitted in written in public testimony on HB 6. Several Texas constituents, and education advocates, told lawmakers the bill is too punitive and expressed concerns over potential unequal application of the disciplinary practices allowed under HB 6. “It is no secret that all children have not been raised in similar nurturing environments, and due to inequities in our social structure, many kids come to school with negative influences over which they have no control. Such children should be helped through restorative justice practices, rather than focusing time and efforts on removing them from classrooms,” an Austin woman wrote in public testimony on the HB 6. ...read more read less