By: Raymond H.B. No. 5075 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT relating to the authority of school districts in certain counties to establish alternative programs in lieu of sending students to a juvenile justice alternative education program. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Section 37.011, Education Code, is amended by amending subsection (a) and adding subsection (a-6) to read as follows: (a) Except as provided by subsection (a-6), the [The] juvenile board of a county with a population greater than 125,000 shall develop a juvenile justice alternative education program, subject to the approval of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department. The juvenile board of a county with a population of 125,000 or less may develop a juvenile justice alternative education program. For the purposes of this subchapter, and except as provided by subsection (a-6), only a disciplinary alternative education program operated under the authority of a juvenile board of a county is considered a juvenile justice alternative education program. A juvenile justice alternative education program in a county with a population of 125,000 or less: (1) is not required to be approved by the department; and (2) is not subject to Subsection (c), (d), (f), or (g). (a-6) Notwithstanding subsection (a), a school district located in a county with a population greater than 125,000 is authorized to create an alternative program to retain students who would otherwise to be referred to a juvenile justice alternative education program. SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.