88S30118 BDP-F
 
  By: Gervin-Hawkins H.B. No. 38
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to hearings held by or involving the University
Interscholastic League.
       BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
       SECTION 1.  Chapter 33, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter D-1 to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER D-1.  UNIVERSITY INTERSCHOLASTIC LEAGUE HEARINGS
       Sec. 33.121.  DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
             (1)  "League" means the University Interscholastic
League.
             (2)  "Legislative council" means the governing body of
the league that proposes, implements, and administers rules and
procedures for the league as provided by this chapter.
       Sec. 33.122.  CONSTITUTION AND CONTEST RULES. (a)  The
legislative council shall amend the league's constitution and
contest rules as necessary to comply with this subchapter and
submit the proposed amended constitution and rules to the
commissioner for approval.  The commissioner may not approve a
provision of the proposed constitution or a rule submitted by the
league that conflicts with the requirements of this subchapter.
       (b)  The league's constitution and contest rules must:
             (1)  clearly describe the procedure, process, and
timing for a hearing held by, the reconsideration of a decision made
by, or an appeal taken from a decision made by the league's district
executive committee and state executive committee; and 
             (2)  provide a person or school district guidance for
actions available following the exhaustion of administrative
remedies.
       Sec. 33.123.  DISTRICT EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE DUTIES. (a) A
district executive committee shall, when holding a hearing or
meeting relating to a violation of a league contest rule by a person
or school district campus:
             (1)  hold the hearing or meeting in a school district in
which the person or campus does not compete;
             (2)  permit the person or campus to object to a member
of the committee's participation in the hearing or meeting due to
the member's conflict of interest and resolve the objection before
holding the hearing or meeting; and
             (3)  allow a person or campus to appeal the decision of
the committee before an administrative law judge in accordance with
Section 33.127.
       (b)  In a hearing by the district executive committee to
determine whether a student changed schools for an athletic
purpose, the committee:
             (1)  must give the greatest weight in the determination
of the purpose of the student's change in schools given by the
student's parent or person standing in parental relation;
             (2)  may only consider the student's unhappiness with a
coach at the student's previous school as a minor indicator of the
purpose of the student's change in schools;
             (3)  may consider the student's removal from
participation in Amateur Athletic Union athletics or other club
athletics as an indicator of the purpose of the student's change in
schools; and
             (4)  may impose as a penalty for a student determined to
have changed schools for an athletic purpose a prohibition from
varsity league athletics of not more than one year.
       Sec. 33.124.  STATE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE DUTIES.  The state
executive committee:
             (1)  must accept any appeal taken from a decision of the
district executive committee; and
             (2)  may not impose a penalty until the penalty is
reviewed and approved by the commissioner.
       Sec. 33.125.  LEAGUE CONTEST RULES. The rules of the league
shall, for any hearing or meeting by the district executive
committee or state executive committee regarding a violation of
league contest rules by a person or school district campus:
             (1)  require the burden of proof to be borne by the
person alleging a violation or the district executive committee or
state executive committee if the committee alleges the violation;

Statutes affected:
Introduced: ()