Bill Text: TX HB100 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Comm Sub

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Bill Title: Relating to public education and public school finance, including the rights, certification, and compensation of public school educators, contributions by a public school to the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, and an education savings account program for certain children.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Republican 39-4)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2023-05-26 - Senate appoints conferees-reported [HB100 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-HB100-Comm_Sub.html

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By: King of Hemphill, et al. H.B. No. 100
(Senate Sponsor - Creighton)
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 1, 2023;
May 2, 2023, read first time and referred to Committee on
Education; May 22, 2023, reported adversely, with favorable
Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 3;
May 22, 2023, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 100 By: King

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to public education and public school finance, including
the rights, certification, and compensation of public school
educators, contributions by a public school to the Teacher
Retirement System of Texas, and an education savings account
program for certain children.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
ARTICLE 1. CHANGES GENERALLY APPLICABLE TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS EFFECTIVE
FOR 2023-2024 SCHOOL YEAR
SECTION 1.01. Section 12.104(b), Education Code, as amended
by Chapters 542 (S.B. 168), 887 (S.B. 1697), 915 (H.B. 3607), 974
(S.B. 2081), and 1046 (S.B. 1365), Acts of the 87th Legislature,
Regular Session, 2021, is reenacted and amended to read as follows:
(b) An open-enrollment charter school is subject to:
(1) a provision of this title establishing a criminal
offense;
(2) the provisions in Chapter 554, Government Code;
and
(3) a prohibition, restriction, or requirement, as
applicable, imposed by this title or a rule adopted under this
title, relating to:
(A) the Public Education Information Management
System (PEIMS) to the extent necessary to monitor compliance with
this subchapter as determined by the commissioner;
(B) criminal history records under Subchapter C,
Chapter 22;
(C) reading instruments and accelerated reading
instruction programs under Section 28.006;
(D) accelerated instruction under Section
28.0211;
(E) high school graduation requirements under
Section 28.025;
(F) special education programs under Subchapter
A, Chapter 29;
(G) bilingual education under Subchapter B,
Chapter 29;
(H) prekindergarten programs under Subchapter E
or E-1, Chapter 29, except class size limits for prekindergarten
classes imposed under Section 25.112, which do not apply;
(I) extracurricular activities under Section
33.081;
(J) discipline management practices or behavior
management techniques under Section 37.0021;
(K) health and safety under Chapter 38;
(L) the provisions of Subchapter A, Chapter 39;
(M) public school accountability and special
investigations under Subchapters A, B, C, D, F, G, and J, Chapter
39, and Chapter 39A;
(N) the requirement under Section 21.006 to
report an educator's misconduct;
(O) intensive programs of instruction under
Section 28.0213;
(P) the right of a school employee to report a
crime, as provided by Section 37.148;
(Q) bullying prevention policies and procedures
under Section 37.0832;
(R) the right of a school under Section 37.0052
to place a student who has engaged in certain bullying behavior in a
disciplinary alternative education program or to expel the student;
(S) the right under Section 37.0151 to report to
local law enforcement certain conduct constituting assault or
harassment;
(T) a parent's right to information regarding the
provision of assistance for learning difficulties to the parent's
child as provided by Sections 26.004(b)(11) and 26.0081(c) and (d);
(U) establishment of residency under Section
25.001;
(V) school safety requirements under Sections
37.108, 37.1081, 37.1082, 37.109, 37.113, 37.114, 37.1141, 37.115,
37.207, and 37.2071;
(W) the early childhood literacy and mathematics
proficiency plans under Section 11.185;
(X) the college, career, and military readiness
plans under Section 11.186; [and]
(Y) [(X)] parental options to retain a student
under Section 28.02124; and
(Z) establishing a local school health advisory
council in which members are appointed by the governing body of the
school and health education instruction complies with Section
28.004.
SECTION 1.02. Sections 12.106(a-2) and (d), Education Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(a-2) In addition to the funding provided by Subsection (a),
a charter holder is entitled to receive for the open-enrollment
charter school an allotment per student in average daily attendance
in an amount equal to the difference between:
(1) the product of:
(A) the quotient of:
(i) the total amount of funding provided to
eligible school districts under Section 48.101(b) or (c); and
(ii) the total number of students in
average daily attendance in school districts that receive an
allotment under Section 48.101(b) or (c); and
(B) the sum of one and the quotient of:
(i) the total number of students in average
daily attendance in school districts that receive an allotment
under Section 48.101(b) or (c); and
(ii) the total number of students in
average daily attendance in school districts statewide; and
(2) $460 [$125].
(d) Subject to Subsection (e), in addition to other amounts
provided by this section, a charter holder is entitled to receive,
for the open-enrollment charter school, an annual allotment
[funding] per student in average daily attendance [in an amount]
equal to the basic allotment under Section 48.051 [guaranteed level
of state and local funds per student per cent of tax effort under
Section 46.032(a)] multiplied by 0.04 [the lesser of:
[(1) the state average interest and sinking fund tax
rate imposed by school districts for the current year; or
[(2) a rate that would result in a total amount to
which charter schools are entitled under this subsection for the
current year equal to $60 million].
SECTION 1.03. Section 13.054, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (f) and adding Subsections (i-1), (i-2), (i-3),
(i-4), and (i-5) to read as follows:
(f) For five years beginning with the school year in which
the annexation occurs, a school district shall receive additional
funding under this subsection or Subsection (h). The amount of
funding shall be determined by multiplying the lesser of the
enlarged district's local fund assignment computed under Section
48.256 or the enlarged district's total cost of tier one by a
fraction, the numerator of which is the number of students residing
in the territory annexed to the receiving district preceding the
date of the annexation and the denominator of which is the number of
students residing in the district as enlarged on the date of the
annexation, and multiplying the resulting product by the quotient
of the enlarged district's maximum compressed tax rate, as
determined under Section 48.2551, for the current school year
divided by the receiving district's maximum compressed tax rate, as
determined under Section 48.2551, for the year in which the
annexation occurred. The commissioner shall provide the funding
under this subsection from funds appropriated for purposes of the
Foundation School Program. A determination by the commissioner
under this subsection is final and may not be appealed.
(i-1) Notwithstanding any other law, a school district is
entitled to funding under Subsection (f) for an annexation that
occurs on or after June 1, 2013.
(i-2) For each school district entitled to funding under
Subsection (f) as provided by Subsection (i-1) that, as of
September 1, 2023, has not received the full amount of funding to
which the district would have been entitled under Subsection (f) if
Subsection (i-1) had been in effect since June 1, 2013, the
commissioner shall:
(1) determine the difference between:
(A) the amount of funding to which the district
would have been entitled under Subsection (f) if Subsection (i-1)
had been in effect since June 1, 2013; and
(B) the amount of funding the district has
received under Subsection (f); and
(2) provide the amount determined under Subdivision
(1) to the district in the form of:
(A) a lump sum; or
(B) equal annual installments over a period not
to exceed three years.
(i-3) In addition to the funding provided to a school
district under Subsection (i-2), the commissioner may allocate
money to the district from funds appropriated for purposes of the
Foundation School Program to pay for facilities improvements the
commissioner determines necessary as a result of the annexation.
(i-4) Each school district that receives funding under
Subsection (f) as provided by Subsection (i-2) or under Subsection
(i-3) for any year shall submit to the commissioner in the form and
manner provided by commissioner rule a report on the district's use
of the funding for that year.
(i-5) This subsection and Subsections (i-2), (i-3), and
(i-4) expire September 1, 2027.
SECTION 1.04. Section 19.009(d-2), Education Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(d-2) Beginning with the 2009-2010 school year, the
district shall increase the [monthly] salary of each classroom
teacher, full-time speech pathologist, full-time librarian,
full-time school counselor certified under Subchapter B, Chapter
21, and full-time school nurse employed by the district by the
greater of:
(1) $80 per month; or
(2) the maximum uniform amount per month that, when
combined with any resulting increases in the amount of
contributions made by the district for social security coverage for
the specified employees or by the district on behalf of the
specified employees under Section 825.405, Government Code, may be
provided using an amount equal to the product of $60 multiplied by
the number of students in weighted average daily attendance in the
district during the 2009-2010 school year.
SECTION 1.05. Subchapter A, Chapter 21, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 21.010 to read as follows:
Sec. 21.010. TEACHER POSITION DATA COLLECTION. The agency
shall collect data from school districts and open-enrollment
charter schools for the recruitment and retention of classroom
teachers, including the classification, grade level, subject area,
duration, and other relevant information regarding vacant teaching
positions in a district or school. The data may be collected using
the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) or
another reporting mechanism specified by the agency.
SECTION 1.06. Subchapter B, Chapter 21, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 21.0411 to read as follows:
Sec. 21.0411. WAIVER OR PAYMENT OF CERTAIN EXAMINATION AND
CERTIFICATION FEES. (a) Notwithstanding a rule adopted under
Section 21.041(c), the board shall, for a person applying for a
certification in special education, bilingual education, or
another area specified by the General Appropriations Act, waive:
(1) a certification examination fee imposed by the
board for the first administration of the examination to the
person; and
(2) a fee associated with the application for
certification by the person.
(b) The board shall pay to a vendor that administers a
certification examination described by Subsection (a) a fee
assessed by that vendor for the examination of a person applying for
a certification described by Subsection (a) for the first
administration of the examination to the person.
SECTION 1.07. Section 21.054, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (i) and adding Subsection (i-1) to
read as follows:
(a) The board shall propose rules establishing a process for
identifying continuing education courses and programs that fulfill
educators' continuing education requirements, including
opportunities for educators to receive micro-credentials, as
provided by Subsection (i), in:
(1) fields of study related to the educator's
certification class; or
(2) digital teaching [as provided by Subsection (i)].
(i) The board shall propose rules establishing a program to
issue micro-credentials in fields of study related to an educator's
certification class or in digital teaching. The agency shall
approve continuing education providers to offer micro-credential
courses. A micro-credential received by an educator shall be
recorded on the agency's Educator Certification Online System
(ECOS) and included as part of the educator's public certification
records.
(i-1) In proposing rules under Subsection (i) for
micro-credentials related to digital teaching, the board shall
engage relevant stakeholders.
SECTION 1.08. Section 21.105, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (g) to read as
follows:
(c) Subject to Subsections (e), [and] (f), and (g), on
written complaint by the employing district, the State Board for
Educator Certification may impose sanctions against a teacher
employed under a probationary contract who:
(1) resigns;
(2) fails without good cause to comply with Subsection
(a) or (b); and
(3) fails to perform the contract.
(g) The State Board for Educator Certification may not
impose a sanction under Subsection (c) against a teacher who
relinquishes a position under a probationary contract and leaves
the employment of the district after the 45th day before the first
day of instruction for the upcoming school year in violation of
Subsection (a) and without the consent of the board of trustees
under Subsection (b) if the teacher's failure to comply with
Subsection (a) was due to:
(1) a serious illness or health condition of the
teacher or a close family member of the teacher;
(2) the teacher's relocation because the teacher's
spouse or a partner who resides with the teacher changes employers;
(3) a significant change in the needs of the teacher's
family in a manner that requires the teacher to:
(A) relocate; or
(B) forgo employment during a period of required
employment under the teacher's contract; or
(4) the teacher's reasonable belief that the teacher
had written permission from the school district's administration to
resign.
SECTION 1.09. Section 21.160, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (g) to read as
follows:
(c) Subject to Subsections (e), [and] (f), and (g), on
written complaint by the employing district, the State Board for
Educator Certification may impose sanctions against a teacher who
is employed under a continuing contract that obligates the district
to employ the person for the following school year and who:
(1) resigns;
(2) fails without good cause to comply with Subsection
(a) or (b); and
(3) fails to perform the contract.
(g) The State Board for Educator Certification may not
impose a sanction under Subsection (c) against a teacher who
relinquishes a position under a continuing contract and leaves the
employment of the district after the 45th day before the first day
of instruction of the upcoming school year in violation of
Subsection (a) and without the consent of the board of trustees
under Subsection (b) if the teacher's failure to comply with
Subsection (a) was due to:
(1) a serious illness or health condition of the
teacher or a close family member of the teacher;
(2) the teacher's relocation because the teacher's
spouse or a partner who resides with the teacher changes employers;
(3) a significant change in the needs of the teacher's
family in a manner that requires the teacher to:
(A) relocate; or
(B) forgo employment during a period of required
employment under the teacher's contract; or
(4) the teacher's reasonable belief that the teacher
had written permission from the school district's administration to
resign.
SECTION 1.10. Section 21.210, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (g) to read as
follows:
(c) Subject to Subsections (e), [and] (f), and (g), on
written complaint by the employing district, the State Board for
Educator Certification may impose sanctions against a teacher who
is employed under a term contract that obligates the district to
employ the person for the following school year and who:
(1) resigns;
(2) fails without good cause to comply with Subsection
(a) or (b); and
(3) fails to perform the contract.
(g) The State Board for Educator Certification may not
impose a sanction under Subsection (c) against a teacher who
relinquishes a position under a term contract and leaves the
employment of the district after the 45th day before the first day
of instruction of the upcoming school year in violation of
Subsection (a) and without the consent of the board of trustees
under Subsection (b) if the teacher's failure to comply with
Subsection (a) was due to:
(1) a serious illness or health condition of the
teacher or a close family member of the teacher;
(2) the teacher's relocation because the teacher's
spouse or a partner who resides with the teacher changes employers;
(3) a significant change in the needs of the teacher's
family in a manner that requires the teacher to:
(A) relocate; or
(B) forgo employment during a period of required
employment under the teacher's contract; or
(4) the teacher's reasonable belief that the teacher
had written permission from the school district's administration to
resign.
SECTION 1.11. Section 21.257, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (f) to read as
follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (f), not [Not] later
than the 60th day after the date on which the commissioner receives
a teacher's written request for a hearing, the hearing examiner
shall complete the hearing and make a written recommendation that:
(1) includes proposed findings of fact and conclusions
of law; and
(2) may include a proposal for granting relief.
(f) The hearing examiner may dismiss a hearing before
completing the hearing or making a written recommendation if:
(1) the teacher requests the dismissal;
(2) the school district withdraws the proposed
decision that is the basis of the hearing; or
(3) the teacher and school district request the
dismissal after reaching a settlement regarding the proposed
decision that is the basis of the hearing.
SECTION 1.12. Sections 21.3521(a), (c), and (e), Education
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) Subject to Subsection (b), a school district or
open-enrollment charter school may designate a classroom teacher as
a master, exemplary, [or] recognized, or acknowledged teacher for a
five-year period based on the results from single year or multiyear
appraisals that comply with Section 21.351 or 21.352.
(c) Notwithstanding performance standards established
under Subsection (b), a classroom teacher that holds a National
Board Certification issued by the National Board for Professional
Teaching Standards may be designated as nationally board certified
[recognized].
(e) The agency shall develop and provide technical
assistance for school districts and open-enrollment charter
schools that request assistance in implementing a local optional
teacher designation system, including:
(1) providing assistance in prioritizing high needs
campuses;
(2) providing examples or models of local optional
teacher designation systems to reduce the time required for a
district or school to implement a teacher designation system;
(3) establishing partnerships between districts and
schools that request assistance and districts and schools that have
implemented a teacher designation system;
(4) applying the performance and validity standards
established by the commissioner under Subsection (b);
(5) providing centralized support for the analysis of
the results of assessment instruments administered to district
students; and
(6) facilitating effective communication on and
promotion of local optional teacher designation systems.
SECTION 1.13. Subchapter H, Chapter 21, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 21.3522 to read as follows:
Sec. 21.3522. LOCAL OPTIONAL TEACHER DESIGNATION SYSTEM
GRANT PROGRAM. (a) From funds appropriated or otherwise
available for the purpose, the agency shall establish and
administer a grant program to provide money and technical
assistance to:
(1) expand implementation of local optional teacher
designation systems under Section 21.3521; and
(2) increase the number of classroom teachers eligible
for a designation under that section.
(b) A grant awarded under this section must:
(1) meet the needs of individual school districts; and
(2) enable regional leadership capacity.
(c) The commissioner may adopt rules to establish and
administer the grant program under this section.
SECTION 1.14. Section 21.402, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (g) and adding Subsections (a-1),
(c-2), (i), (j), and (k) to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (c-2) [(e-1) or (f)], a
school district must pay each employee who is employed as a
classroom teacher, full-time librarian, full-time school counselor
certified under Subchapter B, or full-time school nurse not less
than the highest annual minimum [minimum monthly] salary described
by the following schedule applicable to [, based on] the employee's
certification, if any, and years [level] of experience:
(1) for an employee with less than five years of
experience who:
(A) holds no certification $35,000;
(B) holds a teacher intern, teacher trainee, or
probationary certificate issued under Subchapter B $37,000;
(C) holds the base certificate required under
Section 21.003(a) for employment in the employee's position other
than a certificate described by Paragraph (B) $40,000;
(D) holds a designation under Section 21.3521
$43,000; or
(E) holds a residency educator certificate or has
successfully completed a residency partnership program under
Subchapter R $43,000;
(2) for an employee with at least five years of
experience who holds:
(A) no certification $45,000;
(B) a teacher intern, teacher trainee, or
probationary certificate issued under Subchapter B $47,000;
(C) the base certificate required under Section
21.003(a) for employment in the employee's position other than a
certificate described by Paragraph (B) $50,000; or
(D) a designation under Section 21.3521
$53,000; or
(3) for an employee with at least 10 years of
experience who holds:
(A) no certification $55,000;
(B) a teacher intern, teacher trainee, or
probationary certificate issued under Subchapter B $57,000;
(C) the base certificate required under Section
21.003(a) for employment in the employee's
position . . .. $60,000; or
(D) a designation under Section 21.3521
$63,000 [in addition to other factors, as determined by
commissioner rule, determined by the following formula:
[MS = SF x FS
[where:
["MS" is the minimum monthly salary;
["SF" is the applicable salary factor specified by Subsection
(c); and
["FS" is the amount, as determined by the commissioner under
Subsection (b), of the basic allotment as provided by Section
48.051(a) or (b) for a school district with a maintenance and
operations tax rate at least equal to the state maximum compressed
tax rate, as defined by Section 48.051(a)].
(a-1) For purposes of Subsection (a), a full-time school
nurse is considered to hold the base certificate required under
Section 21.003(a) for employment as a school nurse, regardless of
the other certifications held by the nurse.
(c-2) A school district is not required to pay an employee
who is employed as a classroom teacher, full-time librarian,
full-time school counselor certified under Subchapter B, or
full-time school nurse the minimum salary required under Subsection
(a) for the school year following a school year during which the
district reviews the employee's performance and finds the
employee's performance unsatisfactory.
(g) The commissioner may adopt rules to govern the
application of this section, including rules that:
(1) require the payment of a minimum salary under this
section to a person employed in more than one capacity for which a
minimum salary is provided and whose combined employment in those
capacities constitutes full-time employment; and
(2) specify the credentials a person must hold to be
considered a [speech pathologist or] school nurse under this
section.
(i) A school district that increases employee compensation
in the 2023-2024 school year to comply with Subsection (a), as
amended by H.B. 100, Acts of the 88th Legislature, Regular Session,
2023, is providing compensation for services rendered
independently of an existing employment contract applicable to that
year and is not in violation of Section 53, Article III, Texas
Constitution. A school district that does not meet the
requirements of Subsection (a) in the 2023-2024 school year may
satisfy the requirements of this section by providing an employee a
one-time bonus payment during the 2024-2025 school year in an
amount equal to the difference between the compensation earned by
the employee during the 2023-2024 school year and the compensation
the employee should have received during that school year if the
district had complied with Subsection (a).
(j) Notwithstanding the minimum salary schedule under
Subsection (a), a school district that increases the amount a
classroom teacher, full-time librarian, full-time school counselor
certified under Subchapter B, or full-time school nurse is
compensated during the 2023-2024 school year by at least $8,000
more than the amount the employee was compensated during the
2022-2023 school year complies with the requirements of this
section for the 2023-2024 school year.
(k) Subsections (i) and (j) and this subsection expire
September 1, 2025.
SECTION 1.15. The heading to Section 21.403, Education
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 21.403. DETERMINATION OF YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
[PLACEMENT ON MINIMUM SALARY SCHEDULE].
SECTION 1.16. Sections 21.403(b) and (c), Education Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(b) For each year of work experience required for
certification in a career or technological field, up to a maximum of
two years, a certified career or technology education teacher is
entitled to [salary step] credit as if the work experience were
teaching experience.
(c) The commissioner shall adopt rules for determining the
experience for which a teacher, librarian, school counselor, or
nurse is to be given credit for purposes of the minimum salary
schedule under Section 21.402(a) [in placing the teacher,
librarian, school counselor, or nurse on the minimum salary
schedule]. A district shall credit the teacher, librarian, school
counselor, or nurse for each year of experience without regard to
whether the years are consecutive.
SECTION 1.17. Subchapter I, Chapter 21, Education Code, is
amended by adding Sections 21.416 and 21.417 to read as follows:
Sec. 21.416. EMPLOYED RETIREE TEACHER REIMBURSEMENT GRANT
PROGRAM. (a) From funds appropriated or otherwise available, the
commissioner shall establish and administer a grant program to
award funds to reimburse a school district, an open-enrollment
charter school, the Windham School District, the Texas School for
the Deaf, or the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
that hires a teacher, including an educator who provides services
related to special education, who retired before September 1, 2022,
for the increased contributions to the Teacher Retirement System of
Texas associated with hiring the retired teacher.
(b) In appropriating money for grants awarded under this
section, the legislature may provide for, modify, or limit amounts
appropriated for that purpose in the General Appropriations Act,
including by:
(1) providing, notwithstanding Subsection (a), a date
or date range other than September 1, 2022, before which a teacher
must have retired for a school district, an open-enrollment charter
school, the Windham School District, the Texas School for the Deaf,
or the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired that hires
the teacher to be eligible; or
(2) limiting eligibility to a school district or
open-enrollment charter school that hires a retired teacher:
(A) who holds a certain certification;
(B) to teach a certain subject or grade;
(C) in a certain geographical area; or
(D) to provide instruction to certain students,
including to students with disabilities.
(c) The commissioner shall proportionally reduce the amount
of funds awarded to school districts, open-enrollment charter
schools, the Windham School District, the Texas School for the
Deaf, and the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired under
this section if the number of grant applications by eligible
districts or schools exceeds the number of grants the commissioner
could award with the money appropriated or otherwise available for
the purpose.
(d) A school district, an open-enrollment charter school,
the Windham School District, the Texas School for the Deaf, or the
Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired may use funds
received under this section to make required payments under Section
825.4092, Government Code.
Sec. 21.417. RESOURCES, INCLUDING LIABILITY INSURANCE, FOR
CLASSROOM TEACHERS. (a) From funds appropriated or otherwise
available for the purpose, the agency shall contract with a third
party to provide the following services for a classroom teacher
employed under a probationary, continuing, or term contract:
(1) assistance in understanding the teacher's rights,
duties, and benefits; and
(2) liability insurance to protect a teacher against
liability to a third party based on conduct that the teacher
allegedly engaged in during the course of the teacher's duties.
(b) A school district may not interfere with a classroom
teacher's access to services provided under this section.
(c) A contract entered into by the agency to provide
services under Subsection (a) must prohibit the entity with which
the agency contracts from using funds received under the contract
to engage in:
(1) conduct that a state agency using appropriated
money is prohibited from engaging in under Chapter 556, Government
Code; and
(2) political activities or advocate for issues
regarding public schools, including for boards of trustees of
school districts or school districts.
(d) This section may not be interpreted to interfere with a
classroom teacher's or other school district employee's exercise of
a right protected by the First Amendment to the United States
Constitution.
SECTION 1.18. Section 21.4552(d), Education Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(d) From funds appropriated for that purpose, a teacher who
attends a literacy achievement academy is entitled to receive a
stipend in the amount determined by the commissioner. A stipend
received under this subsection is not considered in determining
whether a school district is paying the teacher the minimum
[monthly] salary under Section 21.402.
SECTION 1.19. Section 21.4553(d), Education Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(d) From funds appropriated for that purpose, a teacher who
attends a mathematics achievement academy is entitled to receive a
stipend in the amount determined by the commissioner. A stipend
received under this subsection is not considered in determining
whether a district is paying the teacher the minimum [monthly]
salary under Section 21.402.
SECTION 1.20. Section 21.4555(f), Education Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(f) From funds available for that purpose, a teacher who
attends a civics training program may receive a stipend in an amount
determined by the commissioner. A stipend received under this
section is not included in determining whether a district is paying
the teacher the minimum [monthly] salary under Section 21.402.
SECTION 1.21. Subchapter J, Chapter 21, Education Code, is
amended by adding Sections 21.466 and 21.467 to read as follows:
Sec. 21.466. TEACHER QUALITY ASSISTANCE. (a) From funds
appropriated or otherwise available for the purpose, the agency
shall develop training for and provide technical assistance to
school districts and open-enrollment charter schools regarding:
(1) strategic compensation, staffing, and scheduling
efforts that improve professional growth, teacher leadership
opportunities, and staff retention;
(2) programs that encourage high school students or
other members of the community in the area served by the district to
become teachers, including available teacher apprenticeship
programs; and
(3) programs or strategies that school leaders may use
to establish clear and attainable behavior expectations while
proactively supporting students.
(b) From funds appropriated or otherwise available, the
agency shall provide grants to school districts and open-enrollment
charter schools to implement initiatives developed under this
section.
Sec. 21.467. TEACHER TIME STUDY. (a) From funds
appropriated or otherwise available for the purpose, the agency
shall develop and maintain a technical assistance program to
support school districts and open-enrollment charter schools in:
(1) studying how the district's or school's staff and
student schedules, required noninstructional duties for classroom
teachers, and professional development requirements for educators
are affecting the amount of time classroom teachers work each week;
and
(2) refining the schedules for students or staff as
necessary to ensure teachers have sufficient time during normal
work hours to fulfill all job duties, including addressing the
needs of students.
(b) The agency shall periodically make findings and
recommendations for best practices publicly available using
information from participating school districts and
open-enrollment charter schools.
SECTION 1.22. Chapter 21, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter R to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER R. TEXAS TEACHER RESIDENCY PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM
Sec. 21.901. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Board" means the State Board for Educator
Certification.
(2) "Cooperating teacher" means a classroom teacher
who:
(A) has at least three full school years of
teaching experience with a superior record of assisting students in
achieving improvement in student performance;
(B) is employed by a school district or
open-enrollment charter school participating in a partnership
program under this subchapter and paired with a partnership
resident at the district or school; and
(C) provides coaching to a partnership resident
in the teacher's classroom.
(3) "Partnership program" means a Texas Teacher
Residency Partnership Program established at a school district or
open-enrollment charter school in accordance with this subchapter.
(4) "Partnership resident" means a person enrolled in
a qualified educator preparation program participating in a
partnership program as a candidate for educator certification.
(5) "Qualified educator preparation program" means an
educator preparation program approved in accordance with rules
proposed under Section 21.903.
Sec. 21.902. ESTABLISHMENT OF PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM. (a)
The commissioner shall establish the Texas Teacher Residency
Partnership Program to enable qualified educator preparation
programs to form partnerships with school districts or
open-enrollment charter schools to provide residency positions to
partnership residents at the district or school.
(b) The partnership program must be designed to:
(1) allow partnership residents to receive
field-based experience working with cooperating teachers in
prekindergarten through grade 12 classrooms; and
(2) gradually increase the amount of time a
partnership resident spends engaging in instructional
responsibilities, including observation, co-teaching, and
lead-teaching responsibilities.
Sec. 21.903. QUALIFIED EDUCATOR PREPARATION PROGRAMS. The
board shall propose rules specifying the requirements for board
approval of an educator preparation program as a qualified educator
preparation program for purposes of this subchapter. The rules
must require an educator preparation program to:
(1) use research-based best practices for recruiting
and admitting candidates into the educator preparation program to
participate in the partnership program;
(2) integrate curriculum, classroom practice, and
formal observation and feedback;
(3) use multiple assessments to measure a partnership
resident's progress in the partnership program; and
(4) partner with a school district or open-enrollment
charter school.
Sec. 21.904. REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATING DISTRICTS AND
SCHOOLS. (a) A school district or open-enrollment charter school
participating in the partnership program shall:
(1) enter into a written agreement with a qualified
educator preparation program to:
(A) provide a partnership resident with at least
one school year of clinical teaching in a residency position at the
district or school in the subject area and grade level for which the
resident seeks certification; and
(B) pair the partnership resident with a
cooperating teacher;
(2) specify the amount of money the district receives
under Section 48.157 that the district will provide to the program;
(3) only use money received under Section 48.157 to:
(A) implement the partnership program;
(B) provide compensation to:
(i) partnership residents in residency
positions at the district or school; and
(ii) cooperating teachers who are paired
with partnership residents at the district or school; and
(C) provide an amount equal to at least 10
percent of the funding received by the district or school to the
qualified educator preparation program with which the district or
school partners;
(4) pay at least 50 percent of the compensation paid to
partnership residents using money other than money received under
Section 48.157; and
(5) provide any information required by the agency
regarding the district's or school's implementation of the program.
(b) A school district or open-enrollment charter school may
only pair a partnership resident with a cooperating teacher who
agrees to participate in that role in a partnership program at the
district or school partnership program.
(c) A partnership resident may not serve as a teacher of
record, as that term is defined by Section 21.051.
Sec. 21.905. RESIDENCY EDUCATOR CERTIFICATE. The board
shall propose rules specifying the requirements for the issuance of
a residency educator certificate to a candidate who has
successfully completed a qualified educator preparation program
under Section 21.903. The rules may not require the resident to
pass a pedagogy examination unless the examination tests
subject-specific content appropriate for the grade and subject area
for which the candidate seeks certification.
Sec. 21.906. AGENCY SUPPORT. The agency shall provide
technical assistance, planning, and support to school districts,
open-enrollment charter schools, and qualified educator
preparation programs, which must include:
(1) providing model forms and agreements a district,
school, or educator preparation program may use to comply with the
requirements of this subchapter; and
(2) support for district and school strategic staffing
and compensation models to incentivize participation in a
partnership program.
Sec. 21.907. AUTHORITY TO ACCEPT CERTAIN FUNDS. The
commissioner may solicit and accept gifts, grants, and donations
from public and private entities to use for the purposes of this
subchapter.
Sec. 21.908. RULES. (a) The board shall propose rules
necessary to implement this subchapter, including rules under
Sections 21.903 and 21.905.
(b) The commissioner shall adopt rules as necessary to
implement this subchapter using negotiated rulemaking procedures
under Chapter 2008, Government Code.
SECTION 1.23. The heading to Section 22.001, Education
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 22.001. SALARY DEDUCTIONS FOR PROFESSIONAL OR OTHER
DUES.
SECTION 1.24. Sections 22.001(a) and (b), Education Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(a) A school district employee is entitled to have an amount
deducted from the employee's salary for membership fees or dues to a
professional organization or an entity providing services to
classroom teachers under Section 21.417. The employee must:
(1) file with the district a signed written request
identifying the organization or entity [and specifying the number
of pay periods per year the deductions are to be made]; and
(2) inform the district of the total amount of the fees
and dues for each year or have the organization or entity notify the
district of the amount.
(b) The district shall deduct the total amount of the fees
or dues for a year in equal amounts per pay period [for the number of
periods specified by the employee]. The district shall notify the
employee not later than the 45th day after the district receives a
request under Subsection (a) of the number of pay periods annually
from which the district will deduct the fees or dues. The
deductions shall be made until the employee requests in writing
that the deductions be discontinued.
SECTION 1.25. Section 25.001(h), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(h) In addition to the penalty provided by Section 37.10,
Penal Code, a person who knowingly falsifies information on a form
required for enrollment of a student in a school district is liable
to the district if the student is not eligible for enrollment in the
district but is enrolled on the basis of the false information. The
person is liable, for the period during which the ineligible
student is enrolled, for [the greater of:
[(1) the maximum tuition fee the district may charge
under Section 25.038; or
[(2)] the amount the district has budgeted for each
student as maintenance and operating expenses.
SECTION 1.26. Section 25.036, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 25.036. TRANSFER OF STUDENT. (a) Any child, other
than a high school graduate, who is younger than 21 years of age and
eligible for enrollment on September 1 of any school year may apply
to transfer for in-person instruction annually from the child's
school district of residence to another district in this state [if
both the receiving district and the applicant parent or guardian or
person having lawful control of the child jointly approve and
timely agree in writing to the transfer].
(b) A transfer application approved [agreement] under this
section shall be filed and preserved as a receiving district record
for audit purposes of the agency.
(c) A school district may deny approval of a transfer under
this section only if:
(1) the district or a school in the district to which a
student seeks to transfer is at full student capacity or has more
requests for transfers than available positions after the district
has filled available positions in accordance with Subsection (e)
and has satisfied the requirement provided under Subsection (f);
(2) before the application deadline for the applicable
school year, the district adopted a policy that provides for the
exclusion of a student who has a documented history of a criminal
offense, a juvenile court adjudication, or discipline problems
under Subchapter A, Chapter 37, and the student meets the
conditions for exclusion under the policy; or
(3) approving the transfer would supersede a
court-ordered desegregation plan.
(d) For the purpose of determining whether a school in a
school district is at full student capacity under Subsection
(c)(1), the district may not consider equity as a factor in the
district's decision-making process.
(e) A school district that has more applicants for transfer
under this section than available positions must fill the available
positions by lottery and must give priority to applicants in the
following order:
(1) students who:
(A) do not reside in the district but were
enrolled in the district in the preceding school year; or
(B) are dependents of an employee of the
receiving district; and
(2) students:
(A) receiving special education services under
Subchapter A, Chapter 29;
(B) who are dependents of military personnel;
(C) who are dependents of law enforcement
personnel;
(D) in foster care;
(E) who are the subject of court-ordered
modification of an order establishing conservatorship or
possession and access; or
(F) who are siblings of a student who is enrolled
in the receiving district at the time the student seeks to transfer.
(f) A school district may deny approval of a transfer under
Subsection (c)(1) only if the district publishes and annually
updates the district's full student capacity by campus.
(g) A receiving school district may, but is not required to,
provide transportation to a student who transfers to the receiving
district under this section.
(h) A receiving school district may revoke, at any time
during the school year, the approval of the student's transfer only
if:
(1) the student engages in conduct:
(A) for which a student is required or permitted
to be removed from class and placed in a disciplinary alternative
education program under Section 37.006; or
(B) for which a student is required or permitted
to be expelled from school under Section 37.007; and
(2) before revoking approval of the student's
transfer, the district ensures the student is afforded appropriate
due process and complies with any requirements of state law or
district policy relating to the expulsion of a student to the same
extent as if the student were being expelled under Section 37.007.
SECTION 1.27. Section 25.038, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 25.038. TUITION FEE FOR TRANSFER STUDENTS PAID BY
SCHOOL DISTRICT. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), a
[The] receiving school district may charge a tuition fee to another
school district, if the receiving district has contracted with the
other district to educate the other district's students, to the
extent that the district's actual expenditure per student in
average daily attendance, as determined by its board of trustees,
exceeds the sum the district benefits from state aid sources as
provided by Section 25.037. However, unless a tuition fee is
prescribed and set out in a transfer agreement before its execution
by the parties, an increase in tuition charge may not be made for
the year of that transfer that exceeds the tuition charge, if any,
of the preceding school year.
(b) A school district may not charge a tuition fee under
this section for a student transfer authorized under Section
25.036.
SECTION 1.28. Subchapter C, Chapter 25, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 25.0813 to read as follows:
Sec. 25.0813. FIVE-DAY SCHOOL WEEK SCHEDULE. (a) A school
district must operate a school week of not fewer than five
instructional days for at least two-thirds of the weeks the
district operates during the school year.
(b) Subsection (a) does not apply to:
(1) a school district specifically authorized by other
law to operate a school week of fewer than five instructional days;
or
(2) a school district that before May 1, 2023, adopted
for the 2023-2024 school year a four-day school week schedule.
SECTION 1.29. Section 29.153(b), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) A child is eligible for enrollment in a prekindergarten
class under this section if the child is at least three years of age
and:
(1) is unable to speak and comprehend the English
language;
(2) is educationally disadvantaged;
(3) is homeless, regardless of the residence of the
child, of either parent of the child, or of the child's guardian or
other person having lawful control of the child;
(4) is the child of an active duty member of the armed
forces of the United States, including the state military forces or
a reserve component of the armed forces, who is ordered to active
duty by proper authority;
(5) is the child of a member of the armed forces of the
United States, including the state military forces or a reserve
component of the armed forces, who was injured or killed while
serving on active duty;
(6) is or ever has been in:
(A) the conservatorship of the Department of
Family and Protective Services following an adversary hearing held
as provided by Section 262.201, Family Code; or
(B) foster care in another state or territory, if
the child resides in this state; [or]
(7) is the child of a person eligible for the Star of
Texas Award as:
(A) a peace officer under Section 3106.002,
Government Code;
(B) a firefighter under Section 3106.003,
Government Code; or
(C) an emergency medical first responder under
Section 3106.004, Government Code; or
(8) is the child of a person employed as a classroom
teacher at a public primary or secondary school in the school
district that offers a prekindergarten class under this section.
SECTION 1.30. Section 29.934(d), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(d) To be designated as a resource campus, the campus must:
(1) implement a targeted improvement plan as described
by Chapter 39A and establish a school community partnership team;
(2) adopt an accelerated campus excellence turnaround
plan as provided by Section 39A.105(b) and ensure that from the date
of the adoption of the plan, not less than 20 percent of the
classroom teachers assigned to the campus who teach subjects
included in the foundation curriculum under Section 28.002(a)(1)
hold a current designation under Section 21.3521 [except that a
classroom teacher who satisfies the requirements for demonstrated
instructional effectiveness under Section 39A.105(b)(3) must also
hold a current designation assigned under Section 21.3521];
(3) be in a school district that has adopted an
approved local optional teacher designation system under Section
21.3521;
(4) satisfy certain staff criteria by:
(A) requiring a principal or teacher employed at
the campus before the designation to apply for a position to
continue at the campus;
(B) for a subject in the foundation curriculum,
employing only teachers who have at least two [three] years of
teaching experience;
(C) employing at least one school counselor for
every 300 students; and
(D) employing at least one appropriately
licensed professional to assist with the social and emotional needs
of students and staff, who must be a:
(i) family and community liaison;
(ii) clinical social worker;
(iii) specialist in school psychology; or
(iv) professional counselor;
(5) implement a positive behavior program as provided
by Section 37.0013;
(6) implement a family engagement plan as described by
Section 29.168;
(7) develop and implement a plan to use high quality
instructional materials;
(8) if the campus is an elementary campus, operate the
campus for a school year that qualifies for funding under Section
48.0051; and
(9) annually submit to the commissioner data and
information required by the commissioner to assess fidelity of
implementation.
SECTION 1.31. Section 30.003, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (b) and (f-1) and adding Subsection (b-1) to
read as follows:
(b) If the student is admitted to the school for a full-time
program for the equivalent of two long semesters, the district's
share of the cost is an amount equal to the dollar amount of
maintenance and debt service taxes imposed by the district for that
year, subject to Subsection (b-1), divided by the district's
average daily attendance for the preceding year.
(b-1) For purposes of Subsection (b), the commissioner
shall reduce the dollar amount of maintenance and debt service
taxes imposed by the district for a year by the amount, if any, by
which the district is required to reduce the district's local
revenue level under Section 48.257 for that year.
(f-1) The commissioner shall determine the total amount
that the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired and the
Texas School for the Deaf would have received from school districts
in accordance with this section if the following provisions had not
reduced the districts' share of the cost of providing education
services:
(1) H.B. No. 1, Acts of the 79th Legislature, 3rd
Called Session, 2006;
(2) Subsection (b-1) of this section;
(3) Section 45.0032;
(4) [(3)] Section 48.255; and
(5) [(4)] Section 48.2551.
SECTION 1.32. Section 30.102(b), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) A classroom teacher, full-time librarian, full-time
school counselor certified under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, or
full-time school nurse employed by the department is entitled to
receive as a minimum salary the [monthly] salary specified by
Section 21.402. A classroom teacher, full-time librarian,
full-time school counselor, or full-time school nurse may be paid,
from funds appropriated to the department, a salary in excess of the
minimum specified by that section, but the salary may not exceed the
rate of pay for a similar position in the public schools of an
adjacent school district.
SECTION 1.33. Section 33.009(h), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(h) From funds appropriated for that purpose, a school
counselor who attends the academy under this section is entitled to
receive a stipend in the amount determined by the coordinating
board. If funds are available after all eligible school counselors
have received a stipend under this subsection, the coordinating
board shall pay a stipend in the amount determined by the
coordinating board to a teacher who attends the academy under this
section. A stipend received under this subsection is not
considered in determining whether a district is paying the school
counselor or teacher the minimum [monthly] salary under Section
21.402.
SECTION 1.34. Section 37.002, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (b), (c), and (d) and adding Subsections
(b-2), (f), and (g) to read as follows:
(b) A teacher may remove from class a student who:
(1) interferes [who has been documented by the teacher
to repeatedly interfere] with the teacher's ability to communicate
effectively with the students in the class or with the ability of
the student's classmates to learn; [or]
(2) demonstrates [whose] behavior that is unruly,
disruptive, or abusive toward the teacher or another adult or
another student; or
(3) engages in conduct that constitutes bullying, as
defined by Section 37.0832 [determines is so unruly, disruptive, or
abusive that it seriously interferes with the teacher's ability to
communicate effectively with the students in the class or with the
ability of the student's classmates to learn].
(b-2) A teacher, campus behavior coordinator, or other
appropriate administrator shall notify a parent or person standing
in parental relation to a student of the removal of a student under
this section.
(c) If a teacher removes a student from class under
Subsection (b), the principal may place the student into another
appropriate classroom, into in-school suspension, or into a
disciplinary alternative education program as provided by Section
37.008. The principal may not return the student to that teacher's
class without the teacher's written consent unless the committee
established under Section 37.003 determines that such placement is
the best or only alternative available. The principal may not
return the student to that teacher's class, regardless of the
teacher's consent, until a return to class plan has been prepared
for that student. The principal may only designate an employee of
the school whose primary duties do not include classroom
instruction to create a return to class plan. The terms of the
removal may prohibit the student from attending or participating in
school-sponsored or school-related activity.
(d) A teacher shall remove from class and send to the
principal for placement in a disciplinary alternative education
program or for expulsion, as appropriate, a student who engages in
conduct described under Section 37.006 or 37.007. The student may
not be returned to that teacher's class without the teacher's
written consent unless the committee established under Section
37.003 determines that such placement is the best or only
alternative available. If the teacher removed the student from
class because the student has engaged in the elements of any offense
listed in Section 37.006(a)(2)(B) or Section 37.007(a)(2)(A) or
(b)(2)(C) against the teacher, the student may not be returned to
the teacher's class without the teacher's consent. The teacher may
not be coerced to consent.
(f) A student may appeal the student's removal from class
under this section to:
(1) the school's placement review committee
established under Section 37.003; or
(2) the safe and supportive school team established
under Section 37.115, in accordance with a district policy
providing for such an appeal to be made to the team.
(g) Section 37.004 applies to the removal or placement under
this section of a student with a disability who receives special
education services.
SECTION 1.35. Sections 48.0051(a), (b), and (d), Education
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The [Subject to Subsection (a-1), the] commissioner
shall adjust the average daily attendance of a school district or
open-enrollment charter school under Section 48.005 in the manner
provided by Subsection (b) if the district or school:
(1) provides the minimum number of minutes of
operational and instructional time required under Section 25.081
and commissioner rules adopted under that section over at least 175
[180] days of instruction; and
(2) offers an additional 30 days of half-day
instruction for students enrolled in prekindergarten through fifth
grade.
(b) For a school district or open-enrollment charter school
described by Subsection (a), the commissioner shall increase the
average daily attendance of the district or school under Section
48.005 by the amount that results from the quotient of the sum of
attendance by students described by Subsection (a)(2) for each of
the 30 additional instructional days of half-day instruction that
are provided divided by 175 [180].
(d) This section does not prohibit a school district from
providing the minimum number of minutes of operational and
instructional time required under Section 25.081 and commissioner
rules adopted under that section over fewer than 175 [180] days of
instruction.
SECTION 1.36. Subchapter A, Chapter 48, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 48.0055 to read as follows:
Sec. 48.0055. ENROLLMENT-BASED FUNDING. The commissioner
by rule shall establish the method for determining average
enrollment for purposes of funding provided based on average
enrollment under Chapter 46 and this chapter.
SECTION 1.37. Sections 48.011(a), (a-1), (d), and (e),
Education Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) Subject to Subsections (b) and (d), the commissioner may
adjust the [a school district's] funding entitlement under this
code for a school district, an open-enrollment charter school, the
Windham School District, the Texas School for the Deaf, or the Texas
School for the Blind and Visually Impaired [chapter] if the funding
formulas used to determine the [district's] entitlement result in
an unanticipated loss or gain [for a district].
(a-1) The commissioner may modify dates relating to the
adoption of a school district's maintenance and operations tax rate
and, if applicable, an election required for the district to adopt
that rate as necessary to implement the changes to the Foundation
School Program and requirements relating to school district tax
rates made by the 88th [H.B. 3, 86th] Legislature, Regular Session,
2023 [2019].
(d) Beginning with the 2026-2027 [2021-2022] school year,
the commissioner may not make an adjustment under Subsection (a) or
(a-1).
(e) This section expires September 1, 2027 [2023].
SECTION 1.38. Section 48.051, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (c), and (d) and adding Subsections
(c-3), (c-4), (c-5), and (c-6) to read as follows:
(a) For each student in average daily attendance, not
including the time students spend each day in special education
programs in an instructional arrangement other than mainstream or
career and technology education programs, for which an additional
allotment is made under Subchapter C, a district is entitled to an
allotment equal to [the lesser of $6,160 or] the amount that results
from the following formula:
A = B [$6,160] X TR/MCR
where:
"A" is the allotment to which a district is entitled;
"B" is the base amount, which equals the greater of:
(1) $6,210;
(2) an amount equal to the district's base amount under
this section for the preceding school year; or
(3) the amount appropriated under Subsection (b);
"TR" is the district's tier one maintenance and operations
tax rate, as provided by Section 45.0032; and
"MCR" is the district's maximum compressed tax rate, as
determined under Section 48.2551.
(c) During any school year for which the value of "A"
determined [maximum amount of the basic allotment provided] under
Subsection (a) or, if applicable, the sum of the value of "A" and
the allotment under Section 48.101 to which the district is
entitled, [or (b)] is greater than the value of "A" or, if
applicable, the sum of the value of "A" and the allotment under
Section 48.101 to which the district is entitled, [maximum amount
provided] for the preceding school year, a school district must use
at least 50 [30] percent of the amount[, if the amount is greater
than zero,] that equals the product of the average daily attendance
of the district multiplied by the amount of the difference between
the district's funding under this chapter per student in average
daily attendance, excluding the amounts described by Subsection
(c-6), for the current school year and the preceding school year to
increase the average total compensation per full-time classroom
teacher [provide compensation increases to full-time district
employees other than administrators as follows:
[(1) 75 percent must be used to increase the
compensation paid to classroom teachers, full-time librarians,
full-time school counselors certified under Subchapter B, Chapter
21, and full-time school nurses, prioritizing differentiated
compensation for classroom teachers with more than five years of
experience; and
[(2) 25 percent may be used as determined by the
district to increase compensation paid to full-time district
employees].
(c-3) In calculating the average total compensation per
full-time classroom teacher under Subsection (c), a school district
may not consider compensation paid to a classroom teacher added by
the district for the current school year that increases the ratio of
classroom teachers to students enrolled in the district compared to
the preceding school year.
(c-4) If a school district increases employee compensation
in a school year to comply with Subsection (c), as amended by
H.B. 100, Acts of the 88th Legislature, Regular Session, 2023, the
district is providing compensation for services rendered
independently of an existing employment contract applicable to that
year and is not a violation of Section 53, Article III, Texas
Constitution.
(c-5) A school district that does not meet the requirements
of Subsection (c) during a school year may satisfy the requirements
of this section by providing a full-time classroom teacher a
one-time bonus payment during the following school year in an
amount equal to the difference between the compensation earned by
the teacher and the compensation the teacher should have received
during the school year if the district had complied with Subsection
(c).
(c-6) For purposes of determining the amount of a school
district's funding under this chapter under Subsection (c), the
commissioner shall exclude:
(1) funding under Section 13.054;
(2) incentive aid payments under Subchapter G, Chapter
13;
(3) money received from the state instructional
materials and technology fund under Section 31.021;
(4) the special education full individual and initial
evaluation allotment under Section 48.1022;
(5) the college, career, and military readiness
outcomes bonuses under Section 48.110;
(6) the school safety allotment under Section 48.115;
and
(7) the allotments under Subchapter D, other than the
allotments under Sections 48.153 and 48.154.
(d) In this section, "compensation" includes:
(1) benefits such as insurance premiums; and
(2) contributions to the Teacher Retirement System of
Texas under Section 825.4035, Government Code.
SECTION 1.39. Section 48.101, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 48.101. SMALL AND MID-SIZED DISTRICT ALLOTMENT. (a)
Small and mid-sized districts are entitled to an annual allotment
in accordance with this section. In this section:
(1) "AA" is the district's annual allotment per
student in average daily attendance;
(2) "ADA" is the number of students in average daily
attendance for which the district is entitled to an allotment under
Section 48.051, other than students who do not reside in the
district enrolled in a full-time virtual program; and
(3) "BA" is the basic allotment determined under
Section 48.051.
(b) A school district that has fewer than 1,600 students in
average daily attendance is entitled to an annual allotment for
each student in average daily attendance based on the following
formula:
AA = ((1,600 - ADA) X .00055 [.0004]) X BA
(c) A school district that offers a kindergarten through
grade 12 program and has less than 5,000 students in average daily
attendance is entitled to an annual allotment for each student in
average daily attendance based on the formula, of the following
formulas, that results in the greatest annual allotment:
(1) the formula in Subsection (b), if the district is
eligible for that formula; or
(2) AA = ((5,000 - ADA) X .0000345 [.000025]) X BA.
(d) Instead of the allotment under Subsection (b) or (c)(1),
a school district that has fewer than 300 students in average daily
attendance and is the only school district located in and operating
in a county is entitled to an annual allotment for each student in
average daily attendance based on the following formula:
AA = ((1,600 - ADA) X .00057 [.00047]) X BA
SECTION 1.40. Subchapter C, Chapter 48, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 48.1022 to read as follows:
Sec. 48.1022. SPECIAL EDUCATION FULL INDIVIDUAL AND INITIAL
EVALUATION. For each student for whom a school district conducts a
full individual and initial evaluation under Section 29.004 or 20
U.S.C. Section 1414(a)(1), the district is entitled to an allotment
of $500 or a greater amount provided by appropriation.
SECTION 1.41. Section 48.110(d), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(d) For each annual graduate in a cohort described by
Subsection (b) who demonstrates college, career, or military
readiness as described by Subsection (f) in excess of the minimum
number of students determined for the applicable district cohort
under Subsection (c), a school district is entitled to an annual
outcomes bonus of:
(1) if the annual graduate is educationally
disadvantaged, $5,000;
(2) if the annual graduate is not educationally
disadvantaged, $3,000; and
(3) if the annual graduate is enrolled in a special
education program under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, $4,000 [$2,000],
regardless of whether the annual graduate is educationally
disadvantaged.
SECTION 1.42. Section 48.111(a), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) A [Except as provided by Subsection (c), a] school
district is entitled to an annual allotment equal to the basic
allotment multiplied by the applicable weight under Subsection
(a-1) for each enrolled student equal to the difference, if the
difference is greater than zero, that results from subtracting 250
from the difference between the number of students enrolled in the
district during the school year immediately preceding the current
school year and the number of students enrolled in the district
during the school year six years preceding the current school year.
SECTION 1.43. Sections 48.112(c) and (d), Education Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(c) For each classroom teacher with a teacher designation
under Section 21.3521 employed by a school district, the school
district is entitled to an allotment equal to the following
applicable base amount increased by the high needs and rural factor
as determined under Subsection (d):
(1) $12,000, or an increased amount not to exceed
$36,000 [$32,000] as determined under Subsection (d), for each
master teacher;
(2) $9,000 [$6,000], or an increased amount not to
exceed $25,000 [$18,000] as determined under Subsection (d), for
each exemplary teacher; [and]
(3) $5,000 [$3,000], or an increased amount not to
exceed $15,000 [$9,000] as determined under Subsection (d), for
each recognized teacher; and
(4) $3,000, or an increased amount not to exceed
$9,000 as determined under Subsection (d), for each:
(A) acknowledged teacher; or
(B) teacher designated as nationally board
certified.
(d) The high needs and rural factor is determined by
multiplying the following applicable amounts by the average of the
point value assigned to each student at a district campus under
Subsection (e):
(1) $6,000 [$5,000] for each master teacher;
(2) $4,000 [$3,000] for each exemplary teacher; [and]
(3) $2,500 [$1,500] for each recognized teacher; and
(4) $1,500 for each:
(A) acknowledged teacher; or
(B) teacher designated as nationally board
certified.
SECTION 1.44. Section 48.114, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (d) to read as
follows:
(a) A school district [that has implemented a mentoring
program for classroom teachers who have less than two years of
teaching experience under Section 21.458] is entitled to an
allotment [as determined under Subsection (b)] to fund a [the]
mentoring program and to provide stipends for mentor teachers if:
(1) the district has implemented a mentoring program
for classroom teachers under Section 21.458; and
(2) the mentor teachers assigned under that program
complete a training program that is required or developed by the
agency for mentor teachers.
(d) A school district is entitled to an allotment of $2,000
for each classroom teacher with less than two years of experience
who participates in a mentoring program described by Subsection
(a). A district may receive an allotment under this section for no
more than 40 teachers during a school year unless an appropriation
is made for the purposes of providing a greater number of allotments
per district.
SECTION 1.45. Section 48.151(g), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(g) A school district or county that provides special
transportation services for eligible special education students is
entitled to a state allocation at a [paid on a previous year's
cost-per-mile basis. The] rate per mile equal to the sum of the
rate per mile set under Subsection (c) and $0.13, or a greater
amount provided [allowable shall be set] by appropriation [based on
data gathered from the first year of each preceding biennium].
Districts may use a portion of their support allocation to pay
transportation costs, if necessary. The commissioner may grant an
amount set by appropriation for private transportation to reimburse
parents or their agents for transporting eligible special education
students. The mileage allowed shall be computed along the shortest
public road from the student's home to school and back, morning and
afternoon. The need for this type of transportation shall be
determined on an individual basis and shall be approved only in
extreme hardship cases.
SECTION 1.46. Subchapter D, Chapter 48, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 48.157 to read as follows:
Sec. 48.157. RESIDENCY PARTNERSHIP ALLOTMENT. (a) In this
section, "partnership program" and "partnership resident" have the
meanings assigned by Section 21.901.
(b) For each partnership resident employed at a school
district in a residency position under Subchapter R, Chapter 21,
the district is entitled to an allotment equal to a base amount of
$22,000 increased by the high needs and rural factor, as determined
under Subsection (c), to an amount not to exceed $42,000.
(c) The high needs and rural factor is determined by
multiplying $5,000 by the lesser of:
(1) the average of the point value assigned to each
student at a district campus under Sections 48.112(e) and (f); or
(2) 4.0.
(d) In addition to the funding under Subsection (b), a
district that qualifies for an allotment under this section is
entitled to an additional $2,000 for each partnership resident
employed in a residency position at the district who is a candidate
for special education or bilingual education certification.
(e) The Texas School for the Deaf and the Texas School for
the Blind and Visually Impaired are entitled to an allotment under
this section. If the commissioner determines that assigning point
values under Subsection (c) to students enrolled in the Texas
School for the Deaf or the Texas School for the Blind and Visually
Impaired is impractical, the commissioner may use the average point
value assigned for those students' home districts for purposes of
calculating the high needs and rural factor.
SECTION 1.47. Subchapter D, Chapter 48, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 48.160 to read as follows:
Sec. 48.160. ALLOTMENT FOR ADVANCED MATHEMATICS PATHWAYS
AND CERTAIN PROGRAMS OF STUDY. (a) A school district is eligible
to receive an allotment under this section if the district offers
through in-person instruction, remote instruction, or a hybrid of
in-person and remote instruction:
(1) an advanced mathematics pathway that begins with
Algebra I in grade eight and continues through progressively more
advanced mathematics courses in each grade from grade 9 through 12;
(2) a program of study in:
(A) computer programming and software
development; or
(B) cybersecurity; and
(3) a program of study in a specialized skilled trade,
such as:
(A) plumbing and pipefitting;
(B) electrical;
(C) welding;
(D) diesel and heavy equipment;
(E) aviation maintenance; or
(F) applied agricultural engineering.
(b) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), a school district is
eligible for the allotment under this section for students enrolled
in a high school in the district that does not offer a program of
study described by Subsection (a)(2) or (3) if:
(1) high school students who reside in the attendance
zone of the high school may participate in the program of study by
enrolling in another high school:
(A) that:
(i) is in the same district or a neighboring
school district;
(ii) was assigned the same or a better
campus overall performance rating under Section 39.054 as the high
school in whose attendance zone the students reside; and
(iii) offers the program of study; and
(B) to and from which transportation is provided
for those students; or
(2) students enrolled in the high school:
(A) are offered instruction for the program of
study at another location, such as another high school in the same
district or a neighboring school district; and
(B) receive transportation to and from the
location described by Paragraph (A).
(c) An eligible school district is entitled to an annual
allotment of $10 for each student enrolled at a high school in the
district that offers a pathway or program of study from each
subdivision described by Subsection (a) if:
(1) each student enrolled at the high school takes a
progressively more advanced mathematics course each year of
enrollment; and
(2) for each of those pathways or programs of study, at
least one student enrolled at the high school completes a course in
the pathway or program of study.
(d) A school district that receives an allotment under
Subsection (c) and Section 48.101 is entitled to receive an
additional allotment in an amount equal to the product of 0.1 and
the allotment to which the district is entitled under Section
48.101 for each student for which the district receives an
allotment under Subsection (c). An open-enrollment charter school
is not eligible for an allotment under this subsection.
(e) The commissioner by rule may establish requirements to
ensure students enrolled in a high school to which Subsection (b)
applies have meaningful access to the programs of study described
by Subsections (a)(2) and (3).
(f) The agency may reduce the amount of a school district's
allotment under this section if the agency determines that the
district has not complied with any provision of this section.
SECTION 1.48. Section 48.202(a-1), Education Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a-1) For purposes of Subsection (a), the dollar amount
guaranteed level of state and local funds per weighted student per
cent of tax effort ("GL") for a school district is:
(1) the greater of the amount of district tax revenue
per weighted student per cent of tax effort available to a school
district at the 96th percentile of wealth per weighted student or
the amount that results from multiplying the maximum amount of the
basic allotment provided under Section 48.051 for the applicable
school year [6,160, or the greater amount provided under Section
48.051(b), if applicable,] by 0.016, for the first eight cents by
which the district's maintenance and operations tax rate exceeds
the district's tier one tax rate; and
(2) subject to Subsection (f), the amount that results
from multiplying the maximum amount of the basic allotment provided
under Section 48.051 for the applicable school year [$6,160, or the
greater amount provided under Section 48.051(b), if applicable,] by
0.008, for the district's maintenance and operations tax effort
that exceeds the amount of tax effort described by Subdivision (1).
SECTION 1.49. Section 48.257, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (b-1) and amending Subsection (c) to read as
follows:
(b-1) If for any school year a school district receives an
adjustment under Subsection (b) and, after that adjustment, is no
longer subject to Subsection (a), the district is entitled to
additional state aid for that school year in an amount equal to the
lesser of:
(1) the difference, if the difference is greater than
zero, between:
(A) the amount to which the district is entitled
under Subchapters B, C, and D less the district's distribution from
the available school fund for that school year; and
(B) the district's tier one maintenance and
operations tax collections for that school year; or
(2) the sum of the district's allotments under
Sections 48.0051 and 48.112 for that school year.
(c) For purposes of Subsection (a), state aid to which a
district is entitled under Section 13.054 or this chapter that is
not described by Section 48.266(a)(3) may offset the amount by
which a district must reduce the district's revenue level under
this section. Any amount of state aid used as an offset under this
subsection shall reduce the amount of state aid to which the
district is entitled.
SECTION 1.50. Subchapter F, Chapter 48, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 48.280 to read as follows:
Sec. 48.280. SALARY TRANSITION ALLOTMENT. (a) In the
2023-2024, 2024-2025, and 2025-2026 school years, a school district
is entitled to receive an annual salary transition allotment equal
to the difference, if that amount is greater than zero, between:
(1) the amount calculated under Subsection (b); and
(2) the amount calculated under Subsection (c).
(b) The agency shall calculate a school district's value for
Subsection (a)(1) by determining the difference between:
(1) the amount the district must pay in compensation
for the current school year for employees on the minimum salary
schedule under Section 21.402, as amended by H.B. 100, Acts of the
88th Legislature, Regular Session, 2023, divided by the total
number of employees on the minimum salary schedule under that
section for that school year; and
(2) the amount paid in compensation for the 2022-2023
school year for employees on the minimum salary schedule under
Section 21.402 divided by the total number of employees on the
minimum salary schedule under that section for that school year.
(c) The agency shall calculate a school district's value for
Subsection (a)(2) by determining the difference between:
(1) the total maintenance and operations revenue for
the current school year divided by the total number of employees on
the minimum salary schedule under Section 21.402 for that school
year; and
(2) the total maintenance and operations revenue that
would have been available to the district for the current school
year using the basic allotment formula provided by Section 48.051
and the small and mid-sized allotment formulas provided by Section
48.101 as those sections existed on January 1, 2023, divided by the
total number of employees on the minimum salary schedule under
Section 21.402 for that school year.
(d) In calculating the values under Subsections (b) and (c)
for a school district or open-enrollment charter school to which
Section 21.402 does not apply, the agency shall include as
employees on the minimum salary schedule under that section
employees of the district or school who would have been on the
minimum salary schedule under that section if the district or
school were a school district to which that section applies.
(e) Before making a final determination of the amount of an
allotment to which a school district is entitled under this
section, the agency shall ensure each school district has an
opportunity to review and submit revised information to the agency
for purposes of calculating the values under Subsection (a).
(f) A school district is entitled to an allotment in an
amount equal to:
(1) for the 2026-2027 school year, two-thirds of the
value determined under Subsection (a); and
(2) for the 2027-2028 school year, one-third of the
value determined under Subsection (a).
(g) A school district is not entitled to an allotment under
this section in the 2028-2029 school year or a later school year.
(h) For purposes of this section, "compensation" includes
contributions made to the Teacher Retirement System of Texas under
Sections 825.4035 and 825.405, Government Code.
(i) This section expires September 1, 2029.
SECTION 1.51. Subchapter G, Chapter 48, Education Code, is
amended by adding Sections 48.304 and 48.305 to read as follows:
Sec. 48.304. DAY PLACEMENT PROGRAM FUNDING. (a) For each
qualifying day placement program that a regional education service
center makes available in partnership with a school district,
open-enrollment charter school, or shared services arrangement,
the center is entitled to an allotment of:
(1) $250,000 for the first year of the program's
operation; and
(2) $150,000 for each year of the program's operation
after the first year.
(b) A day placement program qualifies for purposes of
Subsection (a) if:
(1) the program complies with commissioner rules
adopted under Section 48.102(c);
(2) the program offers services to students who are
enrolled at any school district or open-enrollment charter school
in the county in which the program is offered, unless the
commissioner by rule waives or modifies the requirement under this
subdivision for the program to serve all students in a county; and
(3) the agency has designated the program for service
in the county in which the program is offered and determined that,
at the time of designation, the program increases the availability
of day placement services in the county.
Sec. 48.305. PARENT-DIRECTED SERVICES FOR STUDENTS
RECEIVING SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES GRANT. (a) A student to whom
the agency awards a grant under Subchapter A-1, Chapter 29, is
entitled to receive an amount of $1,500 or a greater amount provided
by appropriation.
(b) The legislature shall include in the appropriations for
the Foundation School Program state aid sufficient for the agency
to award grants under Subchapter A-1, Chapter 29, in the amount
provided by this section.
(c) A student may receive one grant under Subchapter A-1,
Chapter 29, unless the legislature appropriates money for an
additional grant in the General Appropriations Act.
(d) A determination of the commissioner under this section
is final and may not be appealed.
SECTION 1.52. The following provisions are repealed:
(1) Section 21.042, Education Code;
(2) Sections 21.402(b), (c), (c-1), (f), and (h),
Education Code;
(3) Sections 21.403(a) and (d), Education Code;
(4) Subchapter Q, Chapter 21, Education Code;
(5) Section 29.002, Education Code;
(6) Sections 29.026(n) and (o), Education Code;
(7) Section 29.027(i), Education Code;
(8) Section 29.050, Education Code;
(9) Section 37.002(e), Education Code;
(10) Sections 48.111(c), (c-1), and (c-2), Education
Code;
(11) Section 48.114(b), Education Code; and
(12) Section 825.4092(f), Government Code, as added by
Chapter 546 (S.B. 202), Acts of the 87th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2021.
SECTION 1.53. (a) The legislature finds that:
(1) the Windfall Elimination Provision was enacted in
1983 to equalize the earned social security benefits of workers who
spend part of their careers in exempt public service and workers who
spend their entire careers participating in social security;
(2) the Windfall Elimination Provision reduces the
social security benefits of public servants who have received a
pension that is not subject to social security taxes, including
thousands of teachers in Texas as well as the spouses and children
of these public servants;
(3) the flawed application of the Windfall Elimination
Provision diminishes Texans' retirement security and fails to
recognize their rightfully earned social security and public
pension benefits;
(4) for years, the United States Congress has failed
to act to remove this detriment to many citizens of Texas, including
teachers; and
(5) the United States Congress should take swift
action to replace the Windfall Elimination Provision with a more
fair and just formula that accurately reflects the contributions of
all American workers to the social security system.
(b) As soon as practicable after the effective date of this
Act, the secretary of the Senate shall forward official copies of
the legislative findings under Subsection (a) of this section to
the president of the United States, to the president of the Senate
and the speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States
Congress, and to all the members of the Texas delegation to
Congress.
SECTION 1.54. Not later than September 1, 2024, the
commissioner of education, with the assistance of the executive
director of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas and the
comptroller of public accounts, shall make recommendations to the
legislature to improve and coordinate pension contribution
appropriations for public school employees.
SECTION 1.55. Section 21.257(f), Education Code, as added
by this article, applies only to a hearing before a hearing examiner
commenced on or after the effective date of this article.
SECTION 1.56. Immediately following the effective date of
this article, a school district or open-enrollment charter school
shall redesignate a teacher who holds a designation made under
Section 21.3521, Education Code, before the effective date of this
article, to reflect the teacher's designation under Section
21.3521, Education Code, as amended by this article. Funding
provided to a school district under Section 48.112, Education Code,
for a teacher who held a designation made under Section 21.3521,
Education Code, as that section existed immediately before the
effective date of this article, shall be increased to reflect the
teacher's redesignation under Section 21.3521, Education Code, as
amended by this article.
SECTION 1.57. Notwithstanding Section 21.903, Education
Code, as added by this article, until the State Board for Educator
Certification adopts rules specifying the requirements for
approval of an educator preparation program as a qualified educator
preparation program as required by that section, the commissioner
of education may approve a program as a qualified educator
preparation program for purposes of Subchapter R, Chapter 21,
Education Code, as added by this article, if the commissioner
determines that the program meets the requirements under Section
21.903, Education Code, as added by this article. An educator
preparation program's designation as a qualified educator
preparation program by the commissioner under this section remains
effective until the first anniversary of the earliest effective
date of a rule adopted by the State Board for Educator Certification
under Section 21.903, Education Code, as added by this article.
SECTION 1.58. To the extent of any conflict, this article
prevails over another Act of the 88th Legislature, Regular Session,
2023, relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in
enacted codes.
SECTION 1.59. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of
this section or as otherwise provided by this article, this article
takes effect immediately if this Act receives a vote of two-thirds
of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39,
Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the
vote necessary for immediate effect, the entirety of this article
takes effect September 1, 2023.
(b) Sections 12.106(a-2) and (d), 13.054, 30.003,
48.0051(a), (b), and (d), 48.011(a), (a-1), (d), and (e), 48.051,
48.101, 48.110(d), 48.111, 48.112(c) and (d), 48.114, 48.151(g),
48.202(a-1), and 48.257, Education Code, as amended by this
article, and Sections 48.0055, 48.1022, 48.157, 48.160, and 48.280,
Education Code, as added by this article, take effect September 1,
2023.
ARTICLE 2. CHANGES GENERALLY APPLICABLE TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS EFFECTIVE
FOR 2024-2025 SCHOOL YEAR
SECTION 2.01. Section 8.051(d), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(d) Each regional education service center shall maintain
core services for purchase by school districts and campuses. The
core services are:
(1) training and assistance in:
(A) teaching each subject area assessed under
Section 39.023; and
(B) providing instruction in personal financial
literacy as required under Section 28.0021;
(2) training and assistance in providing each program
that qualifies for a funding allotment under Section 48.102,
48.1021, 48.104, 48.105, or 48.109;
(3) assistance specifically designed for a school
district or campus assigned an unacceptable performance rating
under Section 39.054;
(4) training and assistance to teachers,
administrators, members of district boards of trustees, and members
of site-based decision-making committees;
(5) assistance specifically designed for a school
district that is considered out of compliance with state or federal
special education requirements, based on the agency's most recent
compliance review of the district's special education programs; and
(6) assistance in complying with state laws and rules.
SECTION 2.02. Section 11.1513, Education Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (l) to read as follows:
(l) The employment policy must provide that:
(1) before the beginning of each school year, the
district shall provide a duty calendar for certain professional
staff as required by Section 11.15131; and
(2) for purposes of determining the amount of a
reduction in the salary of a classroom teacher, full-time
counselor, or full-time librarian for unpaid leave, the employee's
daily rate of pay is computed by dividing the employee's annual
salary by the number of days the employee is expected to work for
that school year as provided by the district's duty calendar
adopted under Section 11.15131.
SECTION 2.03. Subchapter D, Chapter 11, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 11.15131 to read as follows:
Sec. 11.15131. DUTY CALENDAR FOR CERTAIN PROFESSIONAL
STAFF. (a) In this section, "supplemental duty" means a duty other
than a duty assigned under an employee's contract that is generally
expected to be performed during an instructional day and which may
be governed by an agreement, other than the employee's contract,
between the district and the employee.
(b) Not later than the 15th day before the first
instructional day of each school year, the board of trustees of a
school district shall adopt and provide to each classroom teacher,
full-time counselor, and full-time librarian employed by the
district a calendar that specifies the days each employee is
expected to work for that school year, including the days on which
the employee is expected to perform supplemental duties for more
than 30 minutes outside of the instructional day, and except for
days on which the employee may be required to spend time on an
unanticipated duty outside of the instructional day to comply with
a state or federal law.
SECTION 2.04. Section 29.014(d), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(d) The basic allotment for a student enrolled in a district
to which this section applies is adjusted by the tier of intensity
of service defined in accordance with [weight for a homebound
student under] Section 48.102 and designated by commissioner rule
for use under this section [48.102(a)].
SECTION 2.05. Section 29.018, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:
(g) This section expires September 1, 2026.
SECTION 2.06. Sections 29.022(a), (a-1), (b), (c), (c-1),
(d), (f), (h), (k), (l), (s), and (t), Education Code, are amended
to read as follows:
(a) In order to promote student safety, on receipt of a
written request authorized under Subsection (a-1), a school
district or open-enrollment charter school shall provide
equipment, including a video camera, to the school or schools in the
district or the charter school campus or campuses specified in the
request. A school or campus that receives equipment as provided by
this subsection shall place, operate, and maintain one or more
video cameras in special education [self-contained] classrooms and
other special education settings [in which a majority of the
students in regular attendance are provided special education and
related services and are assigned to one or more self-contained
classrooms or other special education settings for at least 50
percent of the instructional day], provided that:
(1) a school or campus that receives equipment as a
result of the request by a parent or staff member is required to
place equipment only in classrooms or settings in which the
parent's child is in regular attendance or to which the staff member
is assigned, as applicable; and
(2) a school or campus that receives equipment as a
result of the request by a board of trustees, governing body,
principal, or assistant principal is required to place equipment
only in classrooms or settings identified by the requestor, if the
requestor limits the request to specific classrooms or settings
subject to this subsection.
(a-1) For purposes of Subsection (a):
(1) a parent of a child who receives special education
services in one or more special education [self-contained]
classrooms or other special education settings may request in
writing that equipment be provided to the school or campus at which
the child receives those services;
(2) a board of trustees or governing body may request
in writing that equipment be provided to one or more specified
schools or campuses at which one or more children receive special
education services in special education [self-contained]
classrooms or other special education settings;
(3) the principal or assistant principal of a school
or campus at which one or more children receive special education
services in special education [self-contained] classrooms or other
special education settings may request in writing that equipment be
provided to the principal's or assistant principal's school or
campus; and
(4) a staff member assigned to work with one or more
children receiving special education services in special education
[self-contained] classrooms or other special education settings
may request in writing that equipment be provided to the school or
campus at which the staff member works.
(b) A school or campus that places a video camera in a
special education classroom or other special education setting in
accordance with Subsection (a) shall operate and maintain the video
camera in the classroom or setting, as long as the classroom or
setting continues to satisfy the requirements under Subsection (a),
for the remainder of the school year in which the school or campus
received the request, unless the requestor withdraws the request in
writing. If for any reason a school or campus will discontinue
operation of a video camera during a school year, not later than the
fifth school day before the date the operation of the video camera
will be discontinued, the school or campus must notify the parents
of each student in regular attendance in the classroom or setting
that operation of the video camera will not continue unless
requested by a person eligible to make a request under Subsection
(a-1). Not later than the 10th school day before the end of each
school year, the school or campus must notify the parents of each
student in regular attendance in the classroom or setting that
operation of the video camera will not continue during the
following school year unless a person eligible to make a request for
the next school year under Subsection (a-1) submits a new request.
(c) Except as provided by Subsection (c-1), video cameras
placed under this section must be capable of:
(1) covering all areas of the special education
classroom or other special education setting, including a room
attached to the classroom or setting used for time-out; and
(2) recording audio from all areas of the special
education classroom or other special education setting, including a
room attached to the classroom or setting used for time-out.
(c-1) The inside of a bathroom or any area in the special
education classroom or other special education setting in which a
student's clothes are changed may not be visually monitored, except
for incidental coverage of a minor portion of a bathroom or changing
area because of the layout of the classroom or setting.
(d) Before a school or campus activates a video camera in a
special education classroom or other special education setting
under this section, the school or campus shall provide written
notice of the placement to all school or campus staff and to the
parents of each student attending class or engaging in school
activities in the classroom or setting.
(f) A school district or open-enrollment charter school may
solicit and accept gifts, grants, and donations from any person for
use in placing video cameras in special education classrooms or
other special education settings under this section.
(h) A school district or open-enrollment charter school may
not:
(1) allow regular or continual monitoring of video
recorded under this section; or
(2) use video recorded under this section for teacher
evaluation or for any other purpose other than the promotion of
safety of students receiving special education services in a
special education [self-contained] classroom or other special
education setting.
(k) The commissioner may adopt rules to implement and
administer this section, including rules regarding the special
education classrooms and other special education settings to which
this section applies.
(l) A school district or open-enrollment charter school
policy relating to the placement, operation, or maintenance of
video cameras under this section must:
(1) include information on how a person may appeal an
action by the district or school that the person believes to be in
violation of this section or a policy adopted in accordance with
this section, including the appeals process under Section 7.057;
(2) require that the district or school provide a
response to a request made under this section not later than the
seventh school business day after receipt of the request by the
person to whom it must be submitted under Subsection (a-3) that
authorizes the request or states the reason for denying the
request;
(3) except as provided by Subdivision (5), require
that a school or a campus begin operation of a video camera in
compliance with this section not later than the 45th school
business day, or the first school day after the 45th school business
day if that day is not a school day, after the request is authorized
unless the agency grants an extension of time;
(4) permit the parent of a student whose admission,
review, and dismissal committee has determined that the student's
placement for the following school year will be in a special
education classroom or other special education setting in which a
video camera may be placed under this section to make a request for
the video camera by the later of:
(A) the date on which the current school year
ends; or
(B) the 10th school business day after the date
of the placement determination by the admission, review, and
dismissal committee; and
(5) if a request is made by a parent in compliance with
Subdivision (4), unless the agency grants an extension of time,
require that a school or campus begin operation of a video camera in
compliance with this section not later than the later of:
(A) the 10th school day of the fall semester; or
(B) the 45th school business day, or the first
school day after the 45th school business day if that day is not a
school day, after the date the request is made.
(s) This section applies to the placement, operation, and
maintenance of a video camera in a special education
[self-contained] classroom or other special education setting
during the regular school year and extended school year services.
(t) A video camera placed under this section is not required
to be in operation for the time during which students are not
present in the special education classroom or other special
education setting.
SECTION 2.07. Sections 29.022(u)(3) and (4), Education
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(3) "Special education classroom or other special
education setting" means a classroom or setting primarily used for
delivering special education services to students who spend on
average less than 50 percent of an instructional day in a general
education classroom or setting ["Self-contained classroom" does
not include a classroom that is a resource room instructional
arrangement under Section 48.102].
(4) "Staff member" means a teacher, related service
provider, paraprofessional, counselor, or educational aide
assigned to work in a special education [self-contained] classroom
or other special education setting.
SECTION 2.08. Section 29.316(c), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(c) Not later than August 31 of each year, the agency, the
division, and the center jointly shall prepare and post on the
agency's, the division's, and the center's respective Internet
websites a report on the language acquisition of children eight
years of age or younger who are deaf or hard of hearing. The report
must:
(1) include:
(A) existing data reported in compliance with
federal law regarding children with disabilities; and
(B) information relating to the language
acquisition of children who are deaf or hard of hearing and also
have other disabilities;
(2) state for each child:
(A) the percentage of the instructional day
[arrangement used with the child, as described by Section 48.102,
including the time] the child spends on average in a general
education setting [mainstream instructional arrangement];
(B) the specific language acquisition services
provided to the child, including:
(i) the time spent providing those
services; and
(ii) a description of any hearing
amplification used in the delivery of those services, including:
(a) the type of hearing amplification
used;
(b) the period of time in which the
child has had access to the hearing amplification; and
(c) the average amount of time the
child uses the hearing amplification each day;
(C) the tools or assessments used to assess the
child's language acquisition and the results obtained;
(D) the preferred unique communication mode used
by the child at home; and
(E) the child's age, race, and gender, the age at
which the child was identified as being deaf or hard of hearing, and
any other relevant demographic information the commissioner
determines to likely be correlated with or have an impact on the
child's language acquisition;
(3) compare progress in English literacy made by
children who are deaf or hard of hearing to progress in that subject
made by children of the same age who are not deaf or hard of hearing,
by appropriate age range; and
(4) be redacted as necessary to comply with state and
federal law regarding the confidentiality of student medical or
educational information.
SECTION 2.09. Section 48.051(a), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) For each student in average daily attendance, not
including the time students spend each day in special education
programs in a setting [an instructional arrangement] other than a
general education setting [mainstream] or career and technology
education programs, for which an additional allotment is made under
Subchapter C, a district is entitled to an allotment equal to [the
lesser of $6,160 or] the amount that results from the following
formula:
A = B [$6,160] X TR/MCR
where:
"A" is the allotment to which a district is entitled;
"B" is the base amount, which equals the greater of:
(1) $6,210;
(2) an amount equal to the district's base amount under
this section for the preceding school year; or
(3) the amount appropriated under Subsection (b);
"TR" is the district's tier one maintenance and operations
tax rate, as provided by Section 45.0032; and
"MCR" is the district's maximum compressed tax rate, as
determined under Section 48.2551.
SECTION 2.10. Section 48.102, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 48.102. SPECIAL EDUCATION. (a) For each student in
average daily attendance in a special education program under
Subchapter A, Chapter 29, [in a mainstream instructional
arrangement,] a school district is entitled to an annual allotment
equal to the basic allotment, or, if applicable, the sum of the
basic allotment and the allotment under Section 48.101 to which the
district is entitled, multiplied by a weight in an amount set by the
legislature in the General Appropriations Act for the highest tier
of intensity of service for which the student qualifies [1.15].
[For each full-time equivalent student in average daily attendance
in a special education program under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, in an
instructional arrangement other than a mainstream instructional
arrangement, a district is entitled to an annual allotment equal to
the basic allotment, or, if applicable, the sum of the basic
allotment and the allotment under Section 48.101 to which the
district is entitled, multiplied by a weight determined according
to instructional arrangement as follows:
[Homebound 5.0
[Hospital class 3.0
[Speech therapy 5.0
[Resource room 3.0
[Self-contained, mild and moderate,
regular campus 3.0
[Self-contained, severe, regular campus 3.0
[Off home campus 2.7
[Nonpublic day school 1.7
[Vocational adjustment class 2.3]
(a-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), for the 2024-2025 and
2025-2026 school years, the amount of an allotment under this
section shall be determined in accordance with Section 48.1023.
This subsection expires September 1, 2026.
(b) The commissioner by rule shall define seven tiers of
intensity of service for use in determining funding under this
section. The commissioner must include one tier specifically
addressing students receiving special education services in
residential placement [A special instructional arrangement for
students with disabilities residing in care and treatment
facilities, other than state schools, whose parents or guardians do
not reside in the district providing education services shall be
established by commissioner rule. The funding weight for this
arrangement shall be 4.0 for those students who receive their
education service on a local school district campus. A special
instructional arrangement for students with disabilities residing
in state schools shall be established by commissioner rule with a
funding weight of 2.8].
(c) [For funding purposes, the number of contact hours
credited per day for each student in the off home campus
instructional arrangement may not exceed the contact hours credited
per day for the multidistrict class instructional arrangement in
the 1992-1993 school year.
[(d) For funding purposes the contact hours credited per day
for each student in the resource room; self-contained, mild and
moderate; and self-contained, severe, instructional arrangements
may not exceed the average of the statewide total contact hours
credited per day for those three instructional arrangements in the
1992-1993 school year.
[(e) The commissioner by rule shall prescribe the
qualifications an instructional arrangement must meet in order to
be funded as a particular instructional arrangement under this
section. In prescribing the qualifications that a mainstream
instructional arrangement must meet, the commissioner shall
establish requirements that students with disabilities and their
teachers receive the direct, indirect, and support services that
are necessary to enrich the regular classroom and enable student
success.
[(f) In this section, "full-time equivalent student" means
30 hours of contact a week between a special education student and
special education program personnel.
[(g)] The commissioner shall adopt rules and procedures
governing contracts for residential and day program placement of
[special education] students receiving special education services.
(d) [The legislature shall provide by appropriation for the
state's share of the costs of those placements.
[(h)] At least 55 percent of the funds allocated under this
section must be used in the special education program under
Subchapter A, Chapter 29.
(e) [(i)] The agency shall ensure [encourage] the placement
of students in special education programs, including students in
residential placement [instructional arrangements], in the least
restrictive environment appropriate for their educational needs.
(f) [(j)] A school district that provides an extended year
program required by federal law for special education students who
may regress is entitled to receive funds in an amount equal to 75
percent, or a lesser percentage determined by the commissioner, of
the basic allotment, or, if applicable, the sum of the basic
allotment and the allotment under Section 48.101 to which the
district is entitled for each [full-time equivalent] student in
average daily attendance, multiplied by the amount designated for
the highest tier of intensity of service for which the student
qualifies [student's instructional arrangement] under this
section, for each day the program is provided divided by the number
of days in the minimum school year. The total amount of state
funding for extended year services under this section may not
exceed $10 million per year. A school district may use funds
received under this section only in providing an extended year
program.
(g) [(k)] From the total amount of funds appropriated for
special education under this section, the commissioner shall
withhold an amount specified in the General Appropriations Act, and
distribute that amount to school districts for programs under
Section 29.014. The program established under that section is
required only in school districts in which the program is financed
by funds distributed under this subsection and any other funds
available for the program. After deducting the amount withheld
under this subsection from the total amount appropriated for
special education, the commissioner shall reduce each district's
allotment proportionately and shall allocate funds to each district
accordingly.
(h) Not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year,
the commissioner shall submit to the Legislative Budget Board, for
purposes of the allotment under this section, proposed weights for
the tiers of intensity of service for the next state fiscal
biennium.
SECTION 2.11. Subchapter C, Chapter 48, Education Code, is
amended by adding Sections 48.1021 and 48.1023 to read as follows:
Sec. 48.1021. SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICE GROUP ALLOTMENT.
(a) For each six-week period in which a student in a special
education program under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, receives eligible
special education services, a school district is entitled to an
allotment in an amount set by the legislature in the General
Appropriations Act for the service group for which the student is
eligible.
(a-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), for the 2024-2025 and
2025-2026 school years, the amount of an allotment under this
section shall be determined in accordance with Section 48.1023.
This subsection expires September 1, 2026.
(b) The commissioner by rule shall establish four service
groups for use in determining funding under this section. In
establishing the groups, the commissioner must consider the level
of services, equipment, and technology required to meet the needs
of students receiving special education services.
(c) A school district is entitled to receive an allotment
under this section for each service group for which a student is
eligible.
(d) A school district is entitled to the full amount of an
allotment under this section for a student receiving eligible
special education services during any part of a six-week period.
(e) At least 55 percent of the funds allocated under this
section must be used for a special education program under
Subchapter A, Chapter 29.
(f) Not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year,
the commissioner shall submit to the Legislative Budget Board, for
purposes of the allotment under this section, proposed amounts of
funding for the service groups for the next state fiscal biennium.
Sec. 48.1023. SPECIAL EDUCATION TRANSITION FUNDING. (a)
For the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 school years, the commissioner may
adjust weights or amounts provided under Section 48.102 or 48.1021
as necessary to ensure compliance with requirements regarding
maintenance of state financial support under 20 U.S.C. Section
1412(a)(18) and maintenance of local financial support under
applicable federal law.
(b) For the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 school years, the
commissioner shall determine the formulas through which school
districts receive funding under Sections 48.102 and 48.1021. In
determining the formulas, the commissioner may combine the methods
of funding under those sections with the method of funding provided
by Section 48.102, as it existed on January 1, 2023.
(c) For the 2026-2027 school year, the commissioner may
adjust the weights or amounts set by the legislature in the General
Appropriations Act for purposes of Section 48.102 or 48.1021.
Before making an adjustment under this subsection, the commissioner
shall notify and must receive approval from the Legislative Budget
Board.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section,
the sum of funding provided under Sections 48.102 and 48.1021 for
the 2024-2025 or for the 2025-2026 school year as adjusted under
this section may not exceed the sum of:
(1) funding that would have been provided under
Section 48.102, as it existed on January 1, 2023; and
(2) the amount set by the legislature in the General
Appropriations Act.
(e) Each school district and open-enrollment charter school
shall report to the agency information necessary to implement this
section.
(f) The agency shall provide technical assistance to school
districts and open-enrollment charter schools to ensure a
successful transition in funding formulas for special education.
(g) This section expires September 1, 2028.
SECTION 2.12. Section 48.103(c), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(c) A school district may receive funding for a student
under each provision of this section, [and] Section 48.102, and
Section 48.1021 for which [if] the student qualifies [satisfies the
requirements of both sections].
SECTION 2.13. Sections 48.104(a), (d), and (e), Education
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) For each student who does not have a disability and
resides in a residential placement facility in a district in which
the student's parent or legal guardian does not reside, a district
is entitled to an annual allotment equal to the basic allotment
multiplied by 0.2 or, if the student is educationally
disadvantaged, 0.28 [0.275]. For each full-time equivalent student
who is in a remedial and support program under Section 29.081
because the student is pregnant, a district is entitled to an annual
allotment equal to the basic allotment multiplied by 2.41.
(d) The weights assigned to the five tiers of the index
established under Subsection (c) are, from least to most severe
economic disadvantage, 0.23 [0.225], 0.2425 [0.2375], 0.255
[0.25], 0.2675 [0.2625], and 0.28 [0.275].
(e) If insufficient data is available for any school year to
evaluate the level of economic disadvantage in a census block
group, a school district is entitled to an annual allotment equal to
the basic allotment multiplied by 0.23 [0.225] for each student who
is educationally disadvantaged and resides in that census block
group.
SECTION 2.14. Section 48.108(a), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) For each student in average daily attendance in
prekindergarten [kindergarten] through third grade, a school
district is entitled to an annual allotment equal to the basic
allotment multiplied by 0.1 if the student is:
(1) educationally disadvantaged; or
(2) an emergent bilingual student, as defined by
Section 29.052, and is in a bilingual education or special language
program under Subchapter B, Chapter 29.
SECTION 2.15. Section 48.279(e), Education Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(e) After the commissioner has replaced any withheld
federal funds as provided by Subsection (d), the commissioner shall
distribute the remaining amount, if any, of funds described by
Subsection (a) to proportionately increase funding for the special
education allotment under Section 48.102 and the special education
service group allotment under Section 48.1021.
SECTION 2.16. This article takes effect September 1, 2024.
ARTICLE 3. EDUCATION SAVINGS ACCOUNT PROGRAM
SECTION 3.01. The purpose of this article is to:
(1) provide additional educational options to assist
families in this state in exercising the right to direct the
educational needs of their children; and
(2) achieve a general diffusion of knowledge.
SECTION 3.02. Chapter 29, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter J to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER J. EDUCATION SAVINGS ACCOUNT PROGRAM
Sec. 29.351. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Account" means an education savings account
established under the program.
(2) "Certified educational assistance organization"
means an organization certified under Section 29.354 to support the
administration of the program.
(3) "Child with a disability" means a child who is
eligible to participate in a school district's special education
program under Section 29.003.
(4) "Higher education provider" means an institution
of higher education or a private or independent institution of
higher education, as those terms are defined by Section 61.003.
(5) "Parent" means a resident of this state who is a
natural or adoptive parent, managing or possessory conservator,
legal guardian, custodian, or other person with legal authority to
act on behalf of a child.
(6) "Program" means the program established under this
subchapter.
(7) "Program participant" means a child and a parent
of a child enrolled in the program.
Sec. 29.352. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM. The comptroller
shall establish a program to provide funding for approved
education-related expenses of children participating in the
program.
Sec. 29.353. PROGRAM FUND. (a) The program fund is an
account in the general revenue fund to be administered by the
comptroller.
(b) The fund is composed of:
(1) general revenue transferred to the fund;
(2) money appropriated to the fund;
(3) gifts, grants, and donations received under
Section 29.370; and
(4) any other money available for purposes of the
program.
(c) Money in the fund may be appropriated only for the uses
specified by this subchapter.
Sec. 29.354. SELECTION OF CERTIFIED EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE
ORGANIZATIONS. (a) An organization may apply to the comptroller
for certification as a certified educational assistance
organization during an application period established by the
comptroller.
(b) To be eligible for certification, an organization must:
(1) have the ability to perform the duties and
functions required of a certified educational assistance
organization under this subchapter;
(2) be in good standing with the state; and
(3) be able to assist the comptroller in administering
the program, including the ability to:
(A) accept, process, and track applications for
the program;
(B) assist prospective applicants, applicants,
and program participants with finding preapproved education
service providers and vendors of educational products;
(C) accept and process payments for approved
education-related expenses; and
(D) verify that program funding is used only for
approved education-related expenses.
(c) The comptroller may certify not more than five
educational assistance organizations to support the administration
of the program, including by:
(1) administering:
(A) the application process under Section
29.356; and
(B) the program expenditures process under
Section 29.360; and
(2) assisting prospective applicants, applicants, and
program participants with understanding approved education-related
expenses and finding preapproved education service providers and
vendors of educational products.
Sec. 29.355. ELIGIBLE CHILD. (a) A child is eligible to
participate in the program and may, subject to available funding
and the requirements of this subchapter, initially enroll in the
program for the school year following the school year in which the
child's application is submitted under Section 29.356 if the child:
(1) is eligible to:
(A) attend a public school under Section 25.001;
or
(B) enroll in a public school's prekindergarten
program under Section 29.153; and
(2) either:
(A) attended any public school in this state for
at least 90 percent of the school year preceding the school year for
which the child applies to enroll in the program; or
(B) is enrolling in prekindergarten or
kindergarten for the first time, including a child who was
homeschooled before enrollment.
(a-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (a) and subject to Section
29.356(b-1), a child is eligible to participate in the program if
the child:
(1) meets the qualifications under Subsection (a)(1);
(2) attended private school on a full-time basis for
the preceding school year; and
(3) is a member of a household with a total annual
income that is at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty
guidelines.
(b) A child who establishes eligibility under this section
may, subject to available funding and the requirements of this
subchapter, participate in the program until the earliest of the
following dates:
(1) the date on which the child graduates from high
school;
(2) the date on which the child is no longer eligible
to attend a public school under Section 25.001;
(3) the date on which the child enrolls in a public
school, including an open-enrollment charter school, in a manner in
which the child will be counted toward the school's average daily
attendance for purposes of the allocation of funding under the
foundation school program; or
(4) the date on which the child is declared ineligible
for the program by the comptroller under this subchapter.
(c) Notwithstanding Subsection (a) or (b), a child is not
eligible to participate in the program during the period in which
the child's parent or legal guardian is a state representative or
state senator.
Sec. 29.356. APPLICATION TO PROGRAM. (a) A parent of an
eligible child may apply to a certified educational assistance
organization to enroll the child in the program for the following
school year. The comptroller shall establish quarterly deadlines
by which an applicant must complete and submit an application form
to participate in the program.
(b) On receipt of more acceptable applications during an
application period for admission under this section than available
positions in the program due to insufficient funding, a certified
educational assistance organization shall, at the direction of the
comptroller:
(1) for not more than two-thirds of the available
positions, prioritize applicants who would otherwise attend a
campus with an overall performance rating under Section 39.054 of
C, D, or F;
(2) fill the remaining available positions with
applicants who would otherwise attend a campus with an overall
performance rating under Section 39.054 of A or B; and
(3) subject to Subdivisions (1) and (2), consider
applications in the order received.
(b-1) This subsection applies only to children who are
eligible to participate in the program under Section 29.355(a-1).
Not more than 10 percent of available positions in the program may
be provided to children to whom this subsection applies. Each year,
the comptroller shall notify each certified educational assistance
organization regarding the number of children to whom this
subsection applies that the organization may accept for
participation in the program for that year. In accepting children
to whom this subsection applies to participate in the program, a
certified educational assistance organization shall ensure, to the
extent feasible, that the organization accepts an equivalent number
of children from each region of this state.
(c) The comptroller shall create an application form for the
program and each certified educational assistance organization
shall make the application form readily available through various
sources, including the organization's Internet website. The
application form must state the quarterly application deadlines
established by the comptroller under Subsection (a). Each
organization shall ensure that the application form, including any
required supporting document, is capable of being submitted to the
organization electronically.
(d) A certified educational assistance organization shall
post on the organization's Internet website an applicant and
participant handbook with a description of the program, including:
(1) expenses allowed under the program under Section
29.359;
(2) a list of preapproved education service providers
and vendors of educational products under Section 29.358;
(3) a description of the application process under
this section and the program expenditures process under Section
29.360; and
(4) a description of the responsibilities of program
participants.
(e) A certified educational assistance organization shall
annually provide to the parent of each child participating in the
program the information described by Subsection (d). The
organization may provide the information electronically.
(f) A certified educational assistance organization:
(1) may require the parent of a child participating in
the program to submit annual notice regarding the parent's intent
for the child to continue participating in the program for the next
school year; and
(2) may not require a program participant in good
standing to annually resubmit an application for continued
participation in the program.
Sec. 29.357. PARTICIPATION IN PROGRAM. To receive funding
under the program, a parent of a child participating in the program
must agree to:
(1) spend money received through the program only for
expenses allowed under Section 29.359;
(2) share or authorize the administrator of an
assessment instrument to share with the program participant's
certified educational assistance organization the results of any
assessment instrument required to be administered to the child
under Section 29.358(b)(1)(B) or other law;
(3) refrain from selling an item purchased with
program money; and
(4) notify the program participant's certified
educational assistance organization not later than 30 business days
after the date on which the child:
(A) enrolls in a public school, including an
open-enrollment charter school;
(B) graduates from high school; or
(C) is no longer eligible to either:
(i) enroll in a public school under Section
25.001; or
(ii) enroll in a public school's
prekindergarten program under Section 29.153.
Sec. 29.358. PREAPPROVED PROVIDERS. (a) The comptroller
shall by rule establish a process for the preapproval of education
service providers and vendors of educational products for
participation in the program. The comptroller shall allow for the
submission of applications on a rolling basis.
(b) The comptroller shall approve an education service
provider or vendor of educational products for participation in the
program if the provider or vendor:
(1) for a private school, demonstrates:
(A) accreditation by an organization recognized
by:
(i) the Texas Private School Accreditation
Commission; or
(ii) the agency; and
(B) annual administration of a nationally
norm-referenced assessment instrument or the appropriate
assessment instrument required under Subchapter B, Chapter 39;
(2) for a public school, demonstrates:
(A) accreditation by the agency; and
(B) the ability to provide services or products
to children participating in the program in a manner in which the
children are not counted toward the school's average daily
attendance;
(3) for a private tutor, therapist, or teaching
service:
(A) demonstrates that the tutor or therapist or
each employee of the teaching service who intends to provide
educational services to a child participating in the program:
(i) is an educator employed by or a retired
educator formerly employed by a school accredited by the agency, an
organization recognized by the agency, or an organization
recognized by the Texas Private School Accreditation Commission;
(ii) holds a relevant license or
accreditation issued by a state, regional, or national
certification or accreditation organization; or
(iii) is employed in or retired from a
teaching or tutoring capacity at a higher education provider;
(B) the tutor or therapist or each employee of
the teaching service who intends to provide educational services to
a child participating in the program either:
(i) completes a national criminal history
record information review; or
(ii) provides to the comptroller
documentation indicating that the tutor, therapist, or employee, as
applicable, has completed a national criminal history record
information review within a period established by comptroller rule;
and
(C) the tutor or therapist or each employee of
the teaching service who intends to provide educational services to
a child participating in the program is not included in the registry
under Section 22.092; or
(4) for a higher education provider, demonstrates
nationally recognized postsecondary accreditation.
(c) The comptroller shall review the national criminal
history record information or documentation for each private tutor,
therapist, or teaching service employee who submits information or
documentation under this section and verify that the individual is
not included in the registry under Section 22.092. The tutor,
therapist, or service must provide the comptroller with any
information requested by the comptroller to enable the comptroller
to complete the review.
(d) An education service provider or vendor of educational
products shall provide information requested by the comptroller to
verify the provider's or vendor's eligibility for preapproval under
Subsection (b). The comptroller may not approve a provider or
vendor if the comptroller cannot verify the provider's or vendor's
eligibility for preapproval.
(e) An education service provider or vendor of educational
products that no longer satisfies the requirements of this section
must notify the comptroller not later than the 30th business day
after the date that the provider or vendor no longer meets the
requirements.
(f) This section may not be construed to allow a learning
pod, as defined by Section 27.001, or a home school to qualify as an
approved education service provider or vendor of educational
products.
Sec. 29.359. APPROVED EDUCATION-RELATED EXPENSES. (a)
Subject to Subsection (b), money received under the program may be
used only for the following education-related expenses incurred by
a child participating in the program at a preapproved education
service provider or vendor of educational products:
(1) tuition and fees for a private school;
(2) the purchase of textbooks or other instructional
materials or uniforms required by a school, higher education
provider, or course in which the child is enrolled, including
purchases made through a third-party vendor of educational
products;
(3) costs related to academic assessments;
(4) fees for services provided by a private tutor or
teaching service;
(5) fees for transportation provided by a
fee-for-service transportation provider for the child to travel to
and from a preapproved education service provider or vendor of
educational products; and
(6) fees for educational therapies or services
provided by a practitioner or provider, only for fees that are not
covered by any federal, state, or local government benefits such as
Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) or by
any private insurance that the child is enrolled in at the time of
receiving the therapies or services.
(b) Money received under the program may not be used to pay
any person who is related to the program participant within the
third degree by consanguinity or affinity, as determined under
Chapter 573, Government Code.
(c) A finding that a program participant used money
distributed under the program to pay for an expense not allowed
under Subsection (a) does not affect the validity of any payment
made by the participant for an approved education-related expense
that is allowed under that subsection.
Sec. 29.360. PROGRAM EXPENDITURES. (a) The comptroller
shall disburse from the program fund to each certified educational
assistance organization the amount specified under Section
29.361(a) for each child participating in the program served by the
organization.
(b) To initiate payment to an education service provider or
vendor of educational products for an education-related expense
approved under Section 29.359, the parent of a child participating
in the program must submit a request in a form prescribed by
comptroller rule to the certified educational assistance
organization that serves the child.
(c) Subject to Subsection (d) and Sections 29.362(h) and
29.364, on receiving a request under Subsection (b), a certified
educational assistance organization shall verify that the request
is for an expense approved under Section 29.359 and, not later than
the 15th business day after the date the organization verifies the
request, send payment to the education service provider or vendor
of educational products.
(d) A disbursement under this section may not exceed the
applicable program participant's account balance.
(e) A certified educational assistance organization shall
provide program participants with electronic access to:
(1) view the participant's current account balance;
(2) initiate the payment process under Subsection (b);
and
(3) view a summary of the participant's past account
activity, including payments from the account to education service
providers and vendors of educational products.
Sec. 29.361. AMOUNT OF PAYMENT; FINANCING. (a) Regardless
of the quarterly deadline by which the parent applies for
enrollment in the program under Section 29.356(a), a parent of a
child participating in the program shall receive each year that the
child participates in the program payments from the state from
funds available under Section 29.353 to the child's account equal
to a total amount of $8,000.
(b) This subsection applies only to a school district with a
student enrollment of less than 20,000. For the first five school
years during which a child residing in the district participates in
the program, a school district to which this subsection applies is
entitled to receive $10,000 from money appropriated for purposes of
this subchapter.
(c) Any money remaining in a child's account at the end of a
fiscal year is carried forward to the next fiscal year unless
another provision of this subchapter mandates the closure of the
account.
(d) The parent of a child participating in the program may
make payments for the expenses of educational programs, services,
and products not covered by money in the child's account.
(e) A payment under Subsection (a) may not be financed using
federal money or money from the available school fund or
instructional materials fund.
(f) Payments received under this subchapter do not
constitute taxable income to a parent of a child participating in
the program, unless otherwise provided by federal law.
(g) Not later than May 1 of each year, the agency shall
submit to the comptroller the data necessary to calculate the
amount specified under Subsection (a).
Sec. 29.362. ADMINISTRATION OF ACCOUNTS. (a) On receipt
of money distributed by the comptroller for purposes of making
payments to program participants, a certified educational
assistance organization shall make quarterly payments to the
account of each child participating in the program served by the
organization in equal amounts on or before the first day of July,
October, January, and April.
(b) Each year, the comptroller may deduct from the total
amount of money appropriated for purposes of this subchapter an
amount, not to exceed three percent of that total amount, to cover
the comptroller's cost of administering the program.
(c) Not later than the first day of the month preceding the
start of each quarter, each certified educational assistance
organization shall submit to the comptroller in the form prescribed
by comptroller rule an estimate of the organization's costs of
administering the program for that quarter.
(d) Each quarter, the comptroller shall disburse from money
appropriated for the program to each certified educational
assistance organization the amount necessary to cover the
organization's costs of administering the program for that quarter,
calculated as provided by Subsection (e). The total amount
disbursed to a certified educational assistance organization under
this subsection for a state fiscal year may not exceed five percent
of the amount distributed to the organization under the program for
that fiscal year.
(e) The amount of a certified educational assistance
organization's disbursement under Subsection (d) is the lesser of:
(1) the amount of the organization's estimate
submitted under Subsection (c);
(2) the product of the total amount to be disbursed and
the average percentage of program participants served by the
organization during the preceding quarter; or
(3) five percent of the amount distributed to the
organization for purposes of making payments to program
participants for that quarter.
(f) On or before the first day of October and February, a
certified educational assistance organization shall:
(1) verify with the agency that each child
participating in the program is not enrolled in a public school,
including an open-enrollment charter school, in a manner in which
the child is counted toward the school's average daily attendance
for purposes of the allocation of state funding under the
foundation school program; and
(2) notify the comptroller if the organization
determines that a child participating in the program is enrolled in
a public school, including an open-enrollment charter school, in a
manner in which the child is counted toward the school's average
daily attendance for purposes of the allocation of state funding
under the foundation school program.
(g) The comptroller by rule shall establish a process by
which a program participant may authorize the comptroller or a
certified education assistance organization to make a payment
directly from the participant's account to a preapproved education
service provider or vendor of educational products for an expense
allowed under Section 29.359.
(h) On the date on which a child who participated in the
program is no longer eligible to participate in the program under
Section 29.355 and payments for any education-related expenses
allowed under Section 29.359 from the child's account have been
completed, the child's account shall be closed and any remaining
money returned to the comptroller for deposit in the program fund.
(i) Each quarter, any interest or other earnings
attributable to money held by a certified education assistance
organization for purposes of the program shall be remitted to the
comptroller for deposit in the program fund.
Sec. 29.363. AUDITING. (a) The comptroller shall contract
with a private entity to audit accounts and student eligibility
data not less than once per year to ensure compliance with
applicable law and program requirements. The audit must include a
review of:
(1) a certified educational assistance organization's
internal controls over program transactions; and
(2) compliance by:
(A) program participants with the requirements
of Section 29.357; and
(B) certified educational assistance
organizations with the requirements of Section 29.354.
(b) In conducting an audit, the private entity may require a
program participant or a certified educational assistance
organization to provide information and documentation regarding
any transaction occurring under the program.
(c) The private entity shall report to the comptroller any
violation of this subchapter or other relevant law, including any
transactions the entity determines to be unusual or suspicious,
found by the entity during an audit conducted under this section.
The comptroller shall report the violation or transaction to:
(1) the applicable certified educational assistance
organization;
(2) the education service provider or vendor of
educational products, as applicable; and
(3) the parent of each child participating in the
program who is affected by the violation or transaction.
Sec. 29.364. SUSPENSION OF ACCOUNT. (a) The comptroller
shall suspend the account of a program participant who fails to
remain in good standing by complying with applicable law or a
requirement of the program.
(b) On suspension of an account under Subsection (a), the
comptroller shall notify the program participant in writing that
the account has been suspended and that no additional payments may
be made from the account. The notification must specify the grounds
for the suspension and state that the participant has 30 business
days to respond and take any corrective action required by the
comptroller.
(c) On the expiration of the 30-day period under Subsection
(b), the comptroller shall:
(1) order closure of the suspended account;
(2) order temporary reinstatement of the account,
conditioned on the performance of a specified action by the program
participant; or
(3) order full reinstatement of the account.
(d) The comptroller may recover money distributed under the
program that was used for expenses not allowed under Section 29.359
or for a child who was not eligible to participate in the program at
the time of the expenditure. The money may be recovered from the
program participant or the entity that received the money in
accordance with Subtitles A and B, Title 2, Tax Code, or as provided
by other law if the program participant's account is suspended or
closed under this section. The comptroller shall deposit money
recovered under this subsection to the credit of the program fund.
Sec. 29.365. TUITION AND FEES; REFUND PROHIBITED. (a) An
education service provider or vendor of educational products may
not charge a child participating in the program an amount greater
than the standard amount charged for that service or product by the
provider or vendor.
(b) An education service provider or vendor of educational
products receiving money distributed under the program may not in
any manner rebate, refund, or credit to or share with a program
participant, or any person on behalf of a participant, any program
money paid or owed by the participant to the provider or vendor.
Sec. 29.366. REFERRAL TO DISTRICT ATTORNEY. If the
comptroller obtains evidence of fraudulent use of an account or
money distributed under the program by a certified educational
assistance organization or program participant, the comptroller
shall notify the appropriate local county or district attorney with
jurisdiction over the principal place of business of the certified
educational assistance organization or the residence of the program
participant, as applicable.
Sec. 29.367. SPECIAL EDUCATION NOTICE. (a) A certified
educational assistance organization shall post on the
organization's Internet website and provide to each parent who
submits an application for the program a notice that:
(1) states that a private school is not subject to
federal and state laws regarding the provision of educational
services to a child with a disability in the same manner as a public
school; and
(2) provides information regarding rights to which a
child with a disability is entitled under federal and state law if
the child attends a public school, including:
(A) rights provided under the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Section 1400 et seq.); and
(B) rights provided under Subchapter A.
(b) A private school in which a child with a disability who
is a program participant enrolls shall provide to the child's
parent a copy of the notice required under Subsection (a).
Sec. 29.368. PROGRAM PARTICIPANT, PROVIDER, AND VENDOR
AUTONOMY. (a) An education service provider or vendor of
educational products that receives money distributed under the
program is not a recipient of federal financial assistance and may
not be considered to be an agent of state government on the basis of
receiving that money.
(b) A rule adopted or other governmental action taken
related to the program may not impose requirements that are
contrary to or limit the religious or institutional values or
practices of an education service provider, vendor of educational
products, or program participant, including by limiting the ability
of the provider, vendor, or participant, as applicable, to:
(1) determine the methods of instruction or curriculum
used to educate students;
(2) determine admissions and enrollment practices,
policies, and standards;
(3) modify or refuse to modify the provider's,
vendor's, or participant's religious or institutional values or
practices, including operations, conduct, policies, standards,
assessments, or employment practices that are based on the
provider's, vendor's, or participant's religious or institutional
values or practices; or
(4) exercise the provider's, vendor's, or
participant's religious or institutional practices as determined
by the provider, vendor, or participant.
Sec. 29.369. STUDENT RECORDS AND INFORMATION. (a) On
request by the parent of a child participating or seeking to
participate in the program, the school district or open-enrollment
charter school that the child would otherwise attend shall provide
a copy of the child's school records possessed by the district or
school, if any, to the child's parent or, if applicable, the private
school the child attends.
(b) As necessary to verify a child's eligibility for the
program, the agency, a school district, or an open-enrollment
charter school shall provide to a certified educational assistance
organization any information available to the agency, district, or
school requested by the organization regarding a child who
participates or seeks to participate in the program, including
information regarding the child's public school enrollment status
and whether the child can be counted toward a public school's
average daily attendance for purposes of the allocation of funding
under the foundation school program. The organization may not
retain information provided under this subsection beyond the period
necessary to determine a child's eligibility to participate in the
program.
(c) The certified educational assistance organization or an
education service provider or vendor of educational products that
obtains information regarding a child participating in the program:
(1) shall comply with state and federal law regarding
the confidentiality of student educational information; and
(2) may not sell or otherwise distribute information
regarding a child participating in the program.
Sec. 29.370. GIFTS, GRANTS, AND DONATIONS. The comptroller
and a certified educational assistance organization may solicit and
accept gifts, grants, and donations from any public or private
source for any expenses related to the administration of the
program, including establishing the program and contracting for the
report required under Section 29.371.
Sec. 29.371. ANNUAL REPORT. (a) The comptroller shall
require that each certified educational assistance organization
compile program data and produce an annual longitudinal report
regarding:
(1) the number of program applications received,
accepted, and waitlisted, disaggregated by age;
(2) program participant satisfaction;
(3) the results of assessment instruments shared in
accordance with Section 29.357(2);
(4) the effect of the program on public and private
school capacity, availability, and quality;
(5) the amount of cost savings accruing to the state as
a result of the program;
(6) in a report submitted in an even-numbered year
only, an estimate of the total amount of funding required for the
program for the next state fiscal biennium;
(7) the amount of gifts, grants, and donations
received under Section 29.370; and
(8) based on surveys of former program participants or
other sources available to an organization, the number and
percentage of children participating in the program who, within one
year after graduating from high school, are:
(A) college ready, as indicated by earning a
minimum of 12 non-remedial semester credit hours or the equivalent
or an associate degree from a postsecondary educational
institution;
(B) career ready, as indicated by:
(i) earning a credential of value included
in the library of credentials established under Section 2308A.007,
Government Code; or
(ii) employment at or above the median wage
in the child's region; or
(C) military ready, as indicated by achieving a
passing score set by the applicable military branch on the Armed
Services Vocational Aptitude Battery and enlisting in the armed
forces of the United States or the Texas National Guard.
(b) In producing the report, each certified educational
assistance organization shall:
(1) use appropriate analytical and behavioral science
methodologies to ensure public confidence in the report; and
(2) comply with the requirements regarding the
confidentiality of student educational information under the
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C.
Section 1232g).
(c) The report must cover a period of not less than five
years and include, subject to Subsection (b)(2), the data analyzed
and methodology used.
(d) The comptroller and each certified educational
assistance organization shall post the report on the comptroller's
and organization's respective Internet websites.
Sec. 29.372. RULES; PROCEDURES. The comptroller shall
adopt rules and procedures as necessary to implement, administer,
and enforce this subchapter.
Sec. 29.373. APPEAL; JUDICIAL REVIEW. (a) A program
participant may appeal to the comptroller an administrative
decision made by the comptroller or a certified educational
assistance organization under this subchapter, including a
decision regarding eligibility, allowable expenses, or the
participant's removal from the program.
(b) A program participant, education service provider, or
vendor of educational products who is adversely affected or
aggrieved by a decision made by the comptroller or a certified
educational assistance organization under this subchapter may file
a suit challenging the decision in a district court in the county in
which the program participant resides or the provider or vendor has
its principal place of business, as applicable.
Sec. 29.374. RIGHT TO INTERVENE IN CIVIL ACTION. (a) A
program participant, education service provider, or vendor of
educational products may intervene in any civil action challenging
the constitutionality of the program.
(b) A court in which a civil action described by Subsection
(a) is filed may require that all program participants, education
service providers, and vendors of educational products wishing to
intervene in the action file a joint brief. A program participant,
education service provider, or vendor of educational products may
not be required to join a brief filed on behalf of the state or a
state agency.
SECTION 3.03. Section 22.092(d), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(d) The agency shall provide equivalent access to the
registry maintained under this section to:
(1) private schools;
(2) public schools; [and]
(3) nonprofit teacher organizations approved by the
commissioner for the purpose of participating in the tutoring
program established under Section 33.913; and
(4) the comptroller for the purpose of preapproving
education service providers and vendors of educational products
under Section 29.358 for participation in the program established
under Subchapter J, Chapter 29.
SECTION 3.04. Section 411.109, Government Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) The comptroller is entitled to obtain criminal history
record information maintained by the department about a person who
is a private tutor, a therapist, or an employee of a teaching
service or school who intends to provide educational services to a
child participating in the program established under Subchapter J,
Chapter 29, Education Code, and is seeking approval to receive
money distributed under that program.
SECTION 3.05. Subchapter J, Chapter 29, Education Code, as
added by this article, applies beginning with the 2024-2025 school
year.
SECTION 3.06. (a) Not later than February 15, 2024, the
comptroller of public accounts shall adopt rules as provided by
Section 29.372, Education Code, as added by this article.
(b) The comptroller of public accounts may identify rules
required by the passage of Subchapter J, Chapter 29, Education
Code, as added by this article, that must be adopted on an emergency
basis for purposes of the 2024-2025 school year and may use the
procedures established under Section 2001.034, Government Code,
for adopting those rules. The comptroller of public accounts is not
required to make the finding described by Section 2001.034(a),
Government Code, to adopt emergency rules under this subsection.
SECTION 3.07. (a) The constitutionality and other validity
under the state or federal constitution of all or any part of
Subchapter J, Chapter 29, Education Code, as added by this article,
may be determined in an action for declaratory judgment under
Chapter 37, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, in a district court in
the county in which the violation is alleged to have occurred or
where the plaintiff resides or has its principal place of business.
(b) An order, however characterized, of a trial court
granting or denying a temporary or otherwise interlocutory
injunction or a permanent injunction on the grounds of the
constitutionality or unconstitutionality, or other validity or
invalidity, under the state or federal constitution of all or any
part of Subchapter J, Chapter 29, Education Code, as added by this
article, may be reviewed only by direct appeal to the Texas Supreme
Court filed not later than the 15th business day after the date on
which the order was entered. The Texas Supreme Court shall give
precedence to appeals under this section over other matters.
(c) The direct appeal is an accelerated appeal.
(d) This section exercises the authority granted by Section
3-b, Article V, Texas Constitution.
(e) The filing of a direct appeal under this section will
automatically stay any temporary or otherwise interlocutory
injunction or permanent injunction granted in accordance with this
section pending final determination by the Texas Supreme Court,
unless the supreme court makes specific findings that the applicant
seeking such injunctive relief has pleaded and proved that:
(1) the applicant has a probable right to the relief it
seeks on final hearing;
(2) the applicant will suffer a probable injury that
is imminent and irreparable, and that the applicant has no other
adequate legal remedy; and
(3) maintaining the injunction is in the public
interest.
(f) An appeal under this section, including an
interlocutory, accelerated, or direct appeal, is governed, as
applicable, by the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, including
Rules 25.1(d)(6), 28.1, 32.1(g), 37.3(a)(1), 38.6(a) and (b),
40.1(b), and 49.4.
(g) This section does not authorize an award of attorney's
fees against this state, and Section 37.009, Civil Practice and
Remedies Code, does not apply to an action filed under this section.
(h) This section does not authorize a taxpayer suit to
contest the denial of a tax credit by the comptroller of public
accounts.
SECTION 3.08. It is the intent of the legislature that every
provision, section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word
in this article, and every application of the provisions in this
article to each person or entity, is severable from each other. If
any application of any provision in this article to any person,
group of persons, or circumstances is found by a court to be invalid
for any reason, the remaining applications of that provision to all
other persons and circumstances shall be severed and may not be
affected.
SECTION 3.09. This article takes effect September 1, 2023.
ARTICLE 4. SPECIAL EDUCATION
SECTION 4.01. Section 29.001, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 29.001. IMPLEMENTATION OF SPECIAL EDUCATION
LAW [STATEWIDE PLAN]. (a) As the state education agency
responsible for carrying out the purposes of Part B, Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (20 U.S.C. Section 1411 et
seq.), the [The] agency shall develop, and revise [modify] as
necessary, a comprehensive system to ensure statewide and local
compliance [design, consistent] with federal and state law related
to special education[, for the delivery of services to children
with disabilities in this state that includes rules for the
administration and funding of the special education program so that
a free appropriate public education is available to all of those
children between the ages of three and 21].
(b) The comprehensive system [statewide design] shall
include the provision of services primarily through school
districts and shared services arrangements, supplemented by
regional education service centers.
(c) The comprehensive system [agency] shall focus on
maximizing student outcomes and include [also develop and implement
a statewide plan with programmatic content that includes procedures
designed to]:
(1) rulemaking, technical assistance, guidance
documents, monitoring protocols, and other resources as necessary
to implement and ensure compliance with federal and state law
related to special education [ensure state compliance with
requirements for supplemental federal funding for all
state-administered programs involving the delivery of
instructional or related services to students with disabilities];
(2) the facilitation of [facilitate] interagency
coordination when other state agencies are involved in the delivery
of instructional or related services to students with disabilities;
(3) the pursuit of [periodically assess statewide
personnel needs in all areas of specialization related to special
education and pursue] strategies to meet statewide special
education and related services personnel [those] needs [through a
consortium of representatives from regional education service
centers, local education agencies, and institutions of higher
education and through other available alternatives];
(4) ensuring [ensure] that regional education service
centers throughout the state maintain a regional support function,
which may include direct service delivery and a component designed
to facilitate the placement of students with disabilities who
cannot be appropriately served in their resident districts;
(5) [allow the agency to] effectively monitoring
[monitor] and periodically conducting [conduct] site visits of all
school districts to ensure that rules adopted under this subchapter
[section] are applied in a consistent and uniform manner, to ensure
that districts are complying with those rules, and to ensure that
annual statistical reports filed by the districts and not otherwise
available through the Public Education Information Management
System under Sections 48.008 and 48.009 are accurate and complete;
and
(6) the provision of training and technical assistance
to ensure that:
(A) appropriately trained personnel are involved
in the diagnostic and evaluative procedures operating in all
districts and that those personnel routinely serve on district
admissions, review, and dismissal committees;
(B) [(7) ensure that] an individualized
education program for each student with a disability is properly
developed, implemented, and maintained in the least restrictive
environment that is appropriate to meet the student's educational
needs;
(C) [(8) ensure that,] when appropriate, each
student with a disability is provided an opportunity to participate
in career and technology and physical education classes[, in
addition to participating in regular or special classes];
(D) [(9) ensure that] each student with a
disability is provided necessary related services;
(E) [(10) ensure that] an individual assigned
to act as a surrogate parent for a child with a disability, as
provided by 20 U.S.C. Section 1415(b), is required to:
(i) [(A)] complete a training program that
complies with minimum standards established by agency rule;
(ii) [(B)] visit the child and the child's
school;
(iii) [(C)] consult with persons involved
in the child's education, including teachers, caseworkers,
court-appointed volunteers, guardians ad litem, attorneys ad
litem, foster parents, and caretakers;
(iv) [(D)] review the child's educational
records;
(v) [(E)] attend meetings of the child's
admission, review, and dismissal committee;
(vi) [(F)] exercise independent judgment
in pursuing the child's interests; and
(vii) [(G)] exercise the child's due
process rights under applicable state and federal law; and
(F) [(11) ensure that] each district develops a
process to be used by a teacher who instructs a student with a
disability in a regular classroom setting:
(i) [(A)] to request a review of the
student's individualized education program;
(ii) [(B)] to provide input in the
development of the student's individualized education program;
(iii) [(C)] that provides for a timely
district response to the teacher's request; and
(iv) [(D)] that provides for notification
to the student's parent or legal guardian of that response.
SECTION 4.02. Subchapter A, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 29.0012 to read as follows:
Sec. 29.0012. ANNUAL MEETING ON SPECIAL EDUCATION. (a) At
least once each year, the board of trustees of a school district or
the governing body of an open-enrollment charter school shall
include during a public meeting a discussion of the performance of
students receiving special education services at the district or
school.
(b) The agency by rule shall adopt a set of performance
indicators for measuring and evaluating the quality of learning and
achievement for students receiving special education services at
the school district or open-enrollment charter school to be
considered at a meeting held under this section. The indicators
must include performance on the college, career, or military
readiness outcomes described by Section 48.110.
SECTION 4.03. Section 29.003, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 29.003. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA. (a) The agency shall
develop specific eligibility criteria based on the general
classifications established by this section and in accordance with
federal law [with reference to contemporary diagnostic or
evaluative terminologies and techniques]. Eligible students with
disabilities shall enjoy the right to a free appropriate public
education, which may include instruction in the regular classroom,
instruction through special teaching, or instruction through
contracts approved under this subchapter. Instruction shall be
supplemented by the provision of related services when appropriate.
(b) A student is eligible to participate in a school
district's special education program [if the student]:
(1) from birth through [is not more than] 21 years of
age if the student [and] has a visual [or auditory] impairment or is
deaf or hard of hearing and that disability prevents the student
from being adequately or safely educated in public school without
the provision of special education services; [or]
(2) from three years of age through five years of age
if the student is experiencing developmental delays as described by
20 U.S.C. Section 1401(3)(B) and defined by commissioner rule; or
(3) from 3 years of age through [is at least three but
not more than] 21 years of age if the student [and] has one or more
of the [following] disabilities described by 20 U.S.C. Section
1401(3)(A) and that disability prevents the student from being
adequately or safely educated in public school without the
provision of special education services[:
[(A) physical disability;
[(B) intellectual or developmental disability;
[(C) emotional disturbance;
[(D) learning disability;
[(E) autism;
[(F) speech disability; or
[(G) traumatic brain injury].
SECTION 4.04. Subchapter A, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 29.0056 to read as follows:
Sec. 29.0056. INFORMATION REGARDING STATE SUPPORTED LIVING
CENTERS. (a) In this section, "state supported living center" has
the meaning assigned by Section 531.002, Health and Safety Code.
(b) The Health and Human Services Commission, in
collaboration with the agency and stakeholders who represent the
full continuum of educational residential placement options, shall
develop and provide to the agency materials regarding educational
residential placement options for children who may qualify for
placement in a state supported living center. The agency shall make
the materials developed under this subsection available to school
districts.
(c) At a meeting of a child's admission, review, and
dismissal committee at which residential placement is discussed,
the school district shall provide to the child's parent the
materials developed under Subsection (b).
SECTION 4.05. Section 29.008, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (a-1) to
read as follows:
(a) The commissioner shall establish a list of approved
public or private facilities, institutions, or agencies inside or
outside of this state that a [A] school district, shared services
arrangement unit, or regional education service center may contract
with [a public or private facility, institution, or agency inside
or outside of this state] for the provision of services to students
with disabilities in a residential placement. The commissioner may
approve either the whole or a part of a facility or program.
(a-1) Each contract described by this section [for
residential placement] must be approved by the commissioner. The
commissioner may approve a [residential placement] contract under
this section only after at least a programmatic evaluation of
personnel qualifications, costs, adequacy of physical plant and
equipment, and curriculum content. [The commissioner may approve
either the whole or a part of a facility or program.]
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), costs of an
approved contract for residential placement may be paid from a
combination of federal, state, and local funds. The local share of
the total contract cost for each student is that portion of the
local tax effort that exceeds the district's local fund assignment
under Section 48.256, divided by the average daily attendance in
the district. If the contract involves a private facility, the
state share of the total contract cost is that amount remaining
after subtracting the local share. If the contract involves a
public facility, the state share is that amount remaining after
subtracting the local share from the portion of the contract that
involves the costs of instructional and related services. For
purposes of this subsection, "local tax effort" means the total
amount of money generated by taxes imposed for debt service and
maintenance and operation less any amounts paid into a tax
increment fund under Chapter 311, Tax Code. This subsection
expires September 1, 2027.
SECTION 4.06. The heading to Section 29.009, Education
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 29.009. PUBLIC NOTICE CONCERNING EARLY CHILDHOOD
SPECIAL EDUCATION [PRESCHOOL] PROGRAMS [FOR STUDENTS WITH
DISABILITIES].
SECTION 4.07. Section 29.010, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 29.010. GENERAL SUPERVISION AND COMPLIANCE. (a) The
agency shall develop [adopt] and implement a comprehensive system
for monitoring school district compliance with federal and state
laws relating to special education. The monitoring system must
include a comprehensive cyclical process and a targeted risk-based
process [provide for ongoing analysis of district special education
data and of complaints filed with the agency concerning special
education services and for inspections of school districts at
district facilities]. The agency shall establish criteria and
instruments for use in determining district compliance under this
section [use the information obtained through analysis of district
data and from the complaints management system to determine the
appropriate schedule for and extent of the inspection].
(b) As part of the monitoring process [To complete the
inspection], the agency must obtain information from parents and
teachers of students in special education programs in the district.
(c) The agency shall develop and implement a system of
interventions and sanctions for school districts the agency
identifies as being in noncompliance with [whose most recent
monitoring visit shows a failure to comply with major requirements
of] the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C.
Section 1400 et seq.), federal regulations, state statutes, or
agency requirements necessary to carry out federal law or
regulations or state law relating to special education.
(d) The agency shall establish a graduated process of
sanctions to apply to [For] districts that remain in noncompliance
for more than one year[, the first stage of sanctions shall begin
with annual or more frequent monitoring visits]. The [Subsequent]
sanctions shall [may] range in severity and may include [up to] the
withholding of funds. If funds are withheld, the agency may use the
funds to provide, through alternative arrangements, services to
students and staff members in the district from which the funds are
withheld.
(e) The agency's complaint management division shall
develop a system for expedited investigation and resolution of
complaints concerning a district's failure to provide special
education or related services to a student eligible to participate
in the district's special education program.
[(f) This section does not create an obligation for or
impose a requirement on a school district or open-enrollment
charter school that is not also created or imposed under another
state law or a federal law.]
SECTION 4.08. Section 29.018, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:
(g) This section expires September 1, 2026.
SECTION 4.09. Section 29.026(i), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(i) A program selected to receive a grant under this section
is [The commissioner shall select programs and award grant funds to
those programs beginning in the 2018-2019 school year. The
selected programs are] to be funded for two years.
SECTION 4.10. Section 29.027(d), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(d) A grant under this section is [The commissioner shall
select grant recipients and award grant funds beginning in the
2021-2022 school year. The grants are] to be awarded for two years.
SECTION 4.11. Subchapter A, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 29.029 to read as follows:
Sec. 29.029. SUPPORTS FOR RECRUITING SPECIAL EDUCATION
STAFF. (a) From funds appropriated or otherwise available for the
purpose, the agency shall provide grants to school districts and
open-enrollment charter schools to increase the number of qualified
and appropriately credentialed special education staff, including
special education teachers, special education paraprofessionals,
evaluation personnel, ancillary instruction personnel, and related
service personnel.
(b) A school district or open-enrollment charter school
that receives a grant under this section shall require each person
the district or school uses the grant money to assist in becoming
licensed, certified, or otherwise credentialed as described by
Subsection (a) to work at the district or school for a period
established by commissioner rule.
(c) The commissioner shall adopt rules establishing the
period of required employment described by Subsection (b) and any
other rules necessary to implement this section.
SECTION 4.12. The heading to Subchapter A-1, Chapter 29,
Education Code, is amended to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER A-1. PARENT-DIRECTED [SUPPLEMENTAL SPECIAL EDUCATION]
SERVICES FOR STUDENTS RECEIVING SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES
[PROGRAM]
SECTION 4.13. Sections 29.041(2) and (3), Education Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(2) "Supplemental [special education] instructional
materials" includes textbooks, computer hardware or software,
other technological devices, and other materials suitable for
addressing an educational need of a student receiving special
education services under Subchapter A.
(3) "Supplemental [special education] services" means
an additive service that provides an educational benefit to a
student receiving special education services under Subchapter A,
including:
(A) occupational therapy, physical therapy, and
speech therapy; and
(B) private tutoring and other supplemental
private instruction or programs.
SECTION 4.14. Sections 29.042(a) and (c), Education Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(a) The agency by rule shall establish and administer a
parent-directed [supplemental special education services and
instructional materials] program for students receiving special
education services, through which a parent may direct supplemental
services and supplemental instructional materials for the parent's
student [students] who meets [meet] the eligibility requirements
for participation in the program. Subject to Subsection (c), the
agency shall provide each student approved as provided by this
subchapter a grant in the amount provided under Section 48.305 [of
not more than $1,500] to purchase supplemental [special education]
services and supplemental [special education] instructional
materials.
(c) A student may receive one grant under this subchapter
unless the legislature appropriates money for an additional grant
in the General Appropriations Act [The commissioner shall set aside
an amount not to exceed $30 million from the total amount of funds
appropriated for each state fiscal year to fund the program under
this section. For each state fiscal year, the total amount provided
for student grants under Subsection (a) may not exceed the amount
set aside by the commissioner under this subsection].
SECTION 4.15. Section 29.045, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 29.045. APPROVAL OF APPLICATION; ASSIGNMENT OF
ACCOUNT. The [Subject to available funding the] agency shall
approve each student who meets the program eligibility criteria
established under Section 29.044 and assign to the student an
account maintained under Section 29.042(b). The account may only
be used by the student's parent to purchase supplemental [special
education] services or supplemental [special education]
instructional materials for the student, subject to Sections 29.046
and 29.047.
SECTION 4.16. Sections 29.046(a) and (b), Education Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(a) Money in an account assigned to a student under Section
29.045 may be used only for supplemental [special education]
services and supplemental [special education] instructional
materials.
(b) Supplemental [special education] services must be
provided by an agency-approved provider.
SECTION 4.17. Sections 29.047(a), (c), (d), and (e),
Education Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The agency shall establish criteria necessary for
agency approval for each category of provider of a professional
service that is a supplemental [special education] service, as
identified by the agency.
(c) The agency shall provide a procedure for providers of
supplemental [special education] services to apply to the agency to
become an agency-approved provider.
(d) The agency may establish criteria for agency approval of
vendors for each category of supplemental [special education]
instructional materials identified by the agency.
(e) If the agency establishes criteria for agency approval
for a vendor of a category of supplemental [special education]
instructional materials, the agency shall provide a procedure for
vendors of that category to apply to the agency to become an
agency-approved vendor.
SECTION 4.18. Subchapter A-1, Chapter 29, Education Code,
is amended by adding Section 29.0475 to read as follows:
Sec. 29.0475. PROGRAM PARTICIPANT, PROVIDER, AND VENDOR
AUTONOMY. (a) A provider of supplemental services or vendor of
supplemental instructional materials that receives money
distributed under the program is not a recipient of federal
financial assistance on the basis of receiving that money.
(b) A rule adopted or action taken related to the program by
an individual, governmental entity, court of law, or program
administrator may not:
(1) consider the actions of a provider of supplemental
services, vendor of supplemental instructional materials, or
program participant to be the actions of an agent of state
government;
(2) limit:
(A) a provider of supplemental services' ability
to determine the methods used to educate the provider's students or
to exercise the provider's religious or institutional values; or
(B) a program participant's ability to determine
the participant's educational content or to exercise the
participant's religious values;
(3) obligate a provider of supplemental services or
program participant to act contrary to the provider's or
participant's religious or institutional values, as applicable;
(4) impose any regulation on a provider of
supplemental services, vendor of supplemental instructional
materials, or program participant beyond those regulations
necessary to enforce the requirements of the program; or
(5) require as a condition of receiving money
distributed under the program:
(A) a provider of supplemental services to modify
the provider's creed, practices, admissions policies, curriculum,
performance standards, employment policies, or assessments; or
(B) a program participant to modify the
participant's creed, practices, curriculum, performance standards,
or assessments.
(c) In a proceeding challenging a rule adopted by a state
agency or officer under this subchapter, the agency or officer has
the burden of proof to establish by clear and convincing evidence
that the rule:
(1) is necessary to implement or enforce the program
as provided by this subchapter;
(2) does not violate this section;
(3) does not impose an undue burden on a program
participant or a provider of supplemental services or vendor of
supplemental instructional materials that participates or applies
to participate in the program; and
(4) is the least restrictive means of accomplishing
the purpose of the program while recognizing the independence of a
provider of supplemental services to meet the educational needs of
students in accordance with the provider's religious or
institutional values.
SECTION 4.19. Section 29.048, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 29.048. ADMISSION, REVIEW, AND DISMISSAL COMMITTEE
DUTIES. (a) A student's admission, review, and dismissal
committee shall develop a student's individualized education
program under Section 29.005, in compliance with the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Section 1400 et seq.),
without consideration of any supplemental [special education]
services or supplemental instructional materials that may be
provided under the program under this subchapter.
(b) Unless the district first verifies that an account has
been assigned to the student under Section 29.045, the [The]
admission, review, and dismissal committee of a student approved
for participation in the program shall provide to the student's
parent at an admission, review, and dismissal committee meeting for
the student:
(1) information regarding the types of supplemental
[special education] services or supplemental instructional
materials available under the program and provided by
agency-approved providers for which an account maintained under
Section 29.042(b) for the student may be used; and
(2) instructions regarding accessing an account
described by Subdivision (1).
SECTION 4.20. Subchapter A-1, Chapter 29, Education Code,
is amended by adding Section 29.0485 to read as follows:
Sec. 29.0485. DETERMINATION OF COMMISSIONER FINAL.
Notwithstanding Section 7.057, a determination of the commissioner
under this subchapter is final and may not be appealed.
SECTION 4.21. Section 29.049, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 29.049. RULES. The commissioner shall adopt rules as
necessary to administer the supplemental [special education]
services and supplemental instructional materials program under
this subchapter.
SECTION 4.22. Section 29.315, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 29.315. TEXAS SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF MEMORANDUM OF
UNDERSTANDING. The Texas Education Agency and the Texas School for
the Deaf shall develop[, agree to, and by commissioner rule adopt no
later than September 1, 1998,] a memorandum of understanding to
establish:
(1) the method for developing and reevaluating a set
of indicators of the quality of learning at the Texas School for the
Deaf;
(2) the process for the agency to conduct and report on
an annual evaluation of the school's performance on the indicators;
(3) the requirements for the school's board to
publish, discuss, and disseminate an annual report describing the
educational performance of the school;
(4) the process for the agency to assign an
accreditation status to the school, to reevaluate the status on an
annual basis, and, if necessary, to conduct monitoring reviews; and
(5) the type of information the school shall be
required to provide through the Public Education Information
Management System (PEIMS).
SECTION 4.23. Section 30.001(b), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) The commissioner, with the approval of the State Board
of Education, shall develop and implement a plan for the
coordination of services to children with disabilities in each
region served by a regional education service center. The plan
must include procedures for:
(1) identifying existing public or private
educational and related services for children with disabilities in
each region;
(2) identifying and referring children with
disabilities who cannot be appropriately served by the school
district in which they reside to other appropriate programs;
(3) assisting school districts to individually or
cooperatively develop programs to identify and provide appropriate
services for children with disabilities;
(4) expanding and coordinating services provided by
regional education service centers for children with disabilities;
and
(5) providing for special education supports
[services], including special seats, books, instructional media,
and other supplemental supplies and services required for proper
instruction.
SECTION 4.24. Section 30.002(g), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(g) To facilitate implementation of this section, the
commissioner shall develop a system to distribute from the
foundation school fund to school districts or regional education
service centers a special supplemental allowance for each student
with a visual impairment and for each student with a serious visual
disability and another medically diagnosed disability of a
significantly limiting nature who is receiving special education
services through any approved program. The supplemental allowance
may be spent only for special education services uniquely required
by the nature of the student's disabilities and may not be used in
lieu of educational funds otherwise available under this code or
through state or local appropriations.
SECTION 4.25. Section 30.005, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 30.005. TEXAS SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY
IMPAIRED MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING. The Texas Education Agency
and the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired shall
develop[, agree to, and by commissioner rule adopt] a memorandum of
understanding to establish:
(1) the method for developing and reevaluating a set
of indicators of the quality of learning at the Texas School for the
Blind and Visually Impaired;
(2) the process for the agency to conduct and report on
an annual evaluation of the school's performance on the indicators;
(3) the requirements for the school's board to
publish, discuss, and disseminate an annual report describing the
educational performance of the school;
(4) the process for the agency to:
(A) assign an accreditation status to the school;
(B) reevaluate the status on an annual basis; and
(C) if necessary, conduct monitoring reviews;
and
(5) the type of information the school shall be
required to provide through the Public Education Information
Management System (PEIMS).
SECTION 4.26. Section 37.146(a), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) A complaint alleging the commission of a school offense
must, in addition to the requirements imposed by Article 45.019,
Code of Criminal Procedure:
(1) be sworn to by a person who has personal knowledge
of the underlying facts giving rise to probable cause to believe
that an offense has been committed; and
(2) be accompanied by a statement from a school
employee stating:
(A) whether the child is eligible for or receives
special education services under Subchapter A, Chapter 29; and
(B) the graduated sanctions, if required under
Section 37.144, that were imposed on the child before the complaint
was filed.
SECTION 4.27. Section 48.265(a), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) If [Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if] the
commissioner determines that the amount appropriated for the
purposes of the Foundation School Program exceeds the amount to
which school districts are entitled under this chapter, the
commissioner may provide [by rule shall establish a grant program
through which excess funds are awarded as] grants using the excess
money for the purchase of video equipment, or for the reimbursement
of costs for previously purchased video equipment, used for
monitoring special education classrooms or other special education
settings required under Section 29.022.
SECTION 4.28. This article takes effect immediately if it
receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
If this article does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
effect, this article takes effect September 1, 2023.
ARTICLE 5. FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY
SECTION 5.01. (a) Notwithstanding any other section of
this Act, in a state fiscal year, the Texas Education Agency or
comptroller of public accounts is not required to implement a
provision found in another section of this Act that is drafted as a
mandatory provision imposing a duty on the agency to take an action
unless money is specifically appropriated to the agency for that
fiscal year to carry out that duty. The Texas Education Agency or
comptroller of public accounts may implement the provision in that
fiscal year to the extent other funding is available to the agency
to do so.
(b) If, as authorized by Subsection (a) of this section, the
Texas Education Agency or comptroller of public accounts does not
implement the mandatory provision in a state fiscal year, the
agency or comptroller of public accounts, as applicable, in its
legislative budget request for the next state fiscal biennium,
shall certify that fact to the Legislative Budget Board and include
a written estimate of the costs of implementing the provision in
each year of that next state fiscal biennium.
(c) This section and the suspension of the Texas Education
Agency's or comptroller of public accounts' duty to implement a
mandatory provision of this Act, as provided by Subsection (a) of
this section, expires and the duty to implement the mandatory
provision resumes on September 1, 2027.
* * * * *