Outline of the state of Texas
State
Texas
Complies with GFSA

Category
Firearms or Weapons on School Campuses

Category
Firearms or Weapons on School Campuses

State law complies with minimum requirements of the federal Gun-Free Schools Act (GFSA).

Texas Statutes Education Code 37.0021 Use of Confinement, Restraint, Seclusion, and Time-Out.

(f) For purposes of this subsection, “weapon” includes any weapon described under Section 37.007(a)(1). This section does not prevent a student’s locked, unattended confinement in an emergency situation while awaiting the arrival of law enforcement personnel if: (1) the student possesses a weapon; and (2) the confinement is necessary to prevent the student from causing bodily harm to the student or another person.

Policy Type
Statute

Texas Statutes Education Code 37.005 Suspension

(c) A student who is enrolled in a grade level below grade three may not be placed in out-of-school suspension unless while on school property or while attending a school-sponsored or school-related activity on or off of school property, the student engages in: (1) conduct that contains the elements of an offense related to weapons under Section 46.02 or 46.05, Penal Code; (2) conduct that contains the elements of a violent offense under Section 22.01, 22.011, 22.02, or 22.021, Penal Code; or (3) selling, giving, or delivering to another person or possessing, using, or being under the influence of any amount of: (A) marihuana or a controlled substance, as defined by Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, or by 21 U.S.C. Section 801 et seq.; (B) a dangerous drug, as defined by Chapter 483, Health and Safety Code; or (C) an alcoholic beverage, as defined by Section 1.04, Alcoholic Beverage Code.

Policy Type
Statute

Texas Statutes Education Code 37.007 Expulsion for Serious Offenses

(a)  Except as provided by Subsection (k), a student shall be expelled from a school if the student, on school property or while attending a school-sponsored or school-related activity on or off of school property: (1)  engages in conduct that contains the elements of the offense of unlawfully carrying weapons under Section 46.02, Penal Code, or elements of an offense relating to prohibited weapons under Section 46.05, Penal Code ; (e)  In accordance with 20 U.S.C. Section 7151, a local educational agency, including a school district, home-rule school district, or open-enrollment charter school, shall expel a student who brings a firearm, as defined by 18 U.S.C. Section 921, to school. The student must be expelled from the student’s regular campus for a period of at least one year, except that: (1)  the superintendent or other chief administrative officer of the school district or of the other local educational agency, as defined by 20 U. S.C. Section 7801, may modify the length of the expulsion in the case of an individual student; (2)  the district or other local educational agency shall provide educational services to an expelled student in a disciplinary alternative education program as provided by Section 37.008 if the student is younger than 10 years of age on the date of expulsion; and (3)  the district or other local educational agency may provide educational services to an expelled student who is 10 years of age or older in a disciplinary alternative education program as provided in Section 37.008.

Policy Type
Statute

Texas Statutes Education Code 37.015 Reports to Local Law Enforcement; Liability

(a)  The principal of a public or private primary or secondary school, or a person designated by the principal under Subsection (d), shall notify any school district police department and the police department of the municipality in which the school is located or, if the school is not in a municipality, the sheriff of the county in which the school is located if the principal has reasonable grounds to believe that any of the following activities occur in school, on school property, or at a school-sponsored or school-related activity on or off school property, whether or not the activity is investigated by school security officers:

  • (1)  conduct that may constitute an offense listed under Section 508.149, Government Code;

  • (2)  deadly conduct under Section 22.05, Penal Code;

  • (3)  a terroristic threat under Section 22.07, Penal Code;

  • (4)  the use, sale, or possession of a controlled substance, drug paraphernalia, or marihuana under Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code;

  • (5)  the possession of any of the weapons or devices listed under Sections 46.01(1)—(14) or Section 46.01(16), Penal Code;

  • (6)  conduct that may constitute a criminal offense under Section 71.02, Penal Code; or

  • (7)  conduct that may constitute a criminal offense for which a student may be expelled under Section 37.007(a), (d), or (e).

(b)  A person who makes a notification under this section shall include the name and address of each student the person believes may have participated in the activity.

(c)  A notification is not required under Subsection (a) if the person reasonably believes that the activity does not constitute a criminal offense.

(d)  The principal of a public or private primary or secondary school may designate a school employee who is under the supervision of the principal to make the reports required by this section.

(e)  The person who makes the notification required under Subsection (a) shall also notify each instructional or support employee of the school who has regular contact with a student whose conduct is the subject of the notice.

(f)  A person is not liable in civil damages for reporting in good faith as required by this section.

Policy Type
Statute

Texas Statutes Education Code 37.125. Exhibition, Use, or Threat of Exhibition or Use of Firearms.

(a) A person commits an offense if, in a manner intended to cause alarm or personal injury to another person or to damage school property, the person intentionally: (1) exhibits or uses a firearm: (A) in or on any property, including a parking lot, parking garage, or other parking area, that is owned by a private or public school; or (B) on a school bus being used to transport children to or from school-sponsored activities of a private or public school; (2) threatens to exhibit or use a firearm in or on property described by Subdivision (1)(A) or on a bus described by Subdivision (1)(B) and was in possession of or had immediate access to the firearm; or (3) threatens to exhibit or use a firearm in or on property described by Subdivision (1)(A) or on a bus described by Subdivision (1)(B). (b) An offense under Subsection (a)(1) or (2) is a third degree felony. (c) An offense under Subsection (a)(3) is a Class A misdemeanor.

Policy Type
Statute