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CHAPTER 32. FRAUD
§ 32.50. DECEPTIVE PREPARATION AND MARKETING OF ACADEMIC PRODUCT.
(a) For purposes of this section:
(1) "Academic product" means a term paper, thesis,
dissertation, essay, report, recording, work of art, or other
written, recorded, pictorial, or artistic product or material
submitted or intended to be submitted by a person to satisfy an
academic requirement of the person.
(2) "Academic requirement" means a requirement or
prerequisite to receive course credit or to complete a course of
study or degree, diploma, or certificate program at an institution
of higher education.
(3) "Institution of higher education" means an
institution of higher education or private or independent
institution of higher education as those terms are defined by
Section 61.003, Education Code, or a private postsecondary
educational institution as that term is defined by Section 61.302,
Education Code.
(b) A person commits an offense if, with intent to make a
profit, the person prepares, sells, offers or advertises for sale,
or delivers to another person an academic product when the person
knows, or should reasonably have known, that a person intends to
submit or use the academic product to satisfy an academic
requirement of a person other than the person who prepared the
product.
(c) A person commits an offense if, with intent to induce
another person to enter into an agreement or obligation to obtain or
have prepared an academic product, the person knowingly makes or
disseminates a written or oral statement that the person will
prepare or cause to be prepared an academic product to be sold for
use in satisfying an academic requirement of a person other than the
person who prepared the product.
(d) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that
the actor's conduct consisted solely of action taken as an employee
of an institution of higher education in providing instruction,
counseling, or tutoring in research or writing to students of the
institution.
(e) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that
the actor's conduct consisted solely of offering or providing
tutorial or editing assistance to another person in connection with
the other person's preparation of an academic product to satisfy
the other person's academic requirement, and the actor does not
offer or provide substantial preparation, writing, or research in
the production of the academic product.
(f) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that
the actor's conduct consisted solely of typing, transcribing, or
reproducing a manuscript for a fee, or of offering to do so.
(g) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor. |
