Bill Text: TX HB1468 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Relating to a local remote learning program operated by a public school.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 13-6)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2021-05-30 - Senate adopts conf. comm. report-reported [HB1468 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-HB1468-Comm_Sub.html
| By: Bell of Kaufman, et al. | H.B. No. 1468 | |
| (Senate Sponsor - Taylor, West) | ||
| (In the Senate - Received from the House April 28, 2021; | ||
| May 10, 2021, read first time and referred to Committee on | ||
| Education; May 24, 2021, reported adversely, with favorable | ||
| Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 0; | ||
| May 24, 2021, sent to printer.) | ||
| COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 1468 | By: Taylor | |
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| relating to a local remote learning program operated by a public | ||
| school. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Section 21.051, Education Code, is amended by | ||
| adding Subsection (g) to read as follows: | ||
| (g) Rules proposed by the board under Section 21.044(a) or | ||
| this section may not prohibit a candidate from satisfying | ||
| certification requirements through an internship that provides the | ||
| candidate employment as a teacher for courses offered through a | ||
| local remote learning program under Section 29.9091 or the state | ||
| virtual school network under Chapter 30A. This subsection expires | ||
| September 1, 2023. | ||
| SECTION 2. Section 25.092, Education Code, is amended by | ||
| adding Subsection (a-3) to read as follows: | ||
| (a-3) A school district or open-enrollment charter school | ||
| may adopt a policy to exempt students from the requirements of this | ||
| section for one or more courses identified in the policy that are | ||
| offered under a local remote learning program under Section | ||
| 29.9091. This subsection expires September 1, 2023. | ||
| SECTION 3. Subchapter Z, Chapter 29, Education Code, is | ||
| amended by adding Section 29.9091 to read as follows: | ||
| Sec. 29.9091. LOCAL REMOTE LEARNING PROGRAM. (a) A school | ||
| district or open-enrollment charter school assigned an overall | ||
| performance rating of C or higher under Section 39.054 for the | ||
| preceding school year may operate a local remote learning program | ||
| to offer virtual courses outside the state virtual school network | ||
| under Chapter 30A to eligible students. | ||
| (b) A school district or open-enrollment charter school | ||
| that operates a full-time local remote learning program must | ||
| include in the program: | ||
| (1) at least one grade level in which an assessment | ||
| instrument is required to be administered under Section 39.023(a), | ||
| including each subject for which an assessment instrument is | ||
| required; or | ||
| (2) a complete high school program, including each | ||
| course for which an end-of-course assessment instrument is required | ||
| to be administered under Section 39.023(c). | ||
| (c) A virtual course offered under a local remote learning | ||
| program: | ||
| (1) may be provided through synchronous instruction, | ||
| asynchronous instruction, or a combination of synchronous and | ||
| asynchronous instruction; and | ||
| (2) may be provided in combination with in-person | ||
| instruction as appropriate to meet the needs of individual | ||
| students. | ||
| (d) A student is eligible to enroll in a virtual course | ||
| offered under a local remote learning program if the student: | ||
| (1) is enrolled in a school district or | ||
| open-enrollment charter school; | ||
| (2) has reasonable access to in-person services for | ||
| the course at a district or school facility; and | ||
| (3) meets any additional criteria, including minimum | ||
| academic standards, established by the school district or | ||
| open-enrollment charter school in which the student is enrolled. | ||
| (e) A school district or open-enrollment charter school | ||
| that operates a local remote learning program: | ||
| (1) shall periodically assess the performance of | ||
| students enrolled in virtual courses under the program; and | ||
| (2) subject to Subsection (f), may remove a student | ||
| from virtual courses under the program and return the student to | ||
| in-person instruction if the district or school determines that the | ||
| student does not meet the criteria described by Subsection (d). | ||
| (f) A school district or open-enrollment charter school may | ||
| remove a student from virtual courses under Subsection (e)(2) only | ||
| if the district or school establishes a process to ensure that each | ||
| student and the student's parents have sufficient notice and | ||
| opportunity to provide input before the student is removed from | ||
| those courses. | ||
| (g) A school district or open-enrollment charter school may | ||
| contract with another school district or open-enrollment charter | ||
| school to allow a student enrolled in the sending district or school | ||
| to enroll in virtual courses offered under the local remote | ||
| learning program of the receiving district or school. A student | ||
| enrolled in virtual courses under an agreement described by this | ||
| subsection is considered enrolled in the sending district or school | ||
| for purposes of average daily attendance and accountability under | ||
| Chapters 39 and 39A. | ||
| (h) An assessment instrument administered under Section | ||
| 39.023 or 39.025 to a student enrolled in a virtual course offered | ||
| under a local remote learning program shall be administered to the | ||
| student in the same manner in which the assessment instrument is | ||
| administered to other school district or open-enrollment charter | ||
| school students. | ||
| (i) If a school district or open-enrollment charter school | ||
| offers virtual courses under a local remote learning program for | ||
| students receiving special education services, the courses must | ||
| meet the needs of a participating student in a manner consistent | ||
| with Subchapter A of this chapter and with federal law, including | ||
| the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Section | ||
| 1400 et seq.) and Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. | ||
| Section 794). | ||
| (j) A teacher may not provide instruction for a virtual | ||
| course offered under a full-time local remote learning program | ||
| unless the teacher has completed a professional development course | ||
| on virtual instruction. | ||
| (k) A school district or open-enrollment charter school may | ||
| not require a teacher to provide both virtual instruction and | ||
| in-person instruction for a course during the same class period. | ||
| (l) A student enrolled in a virtual course offered under a | ||
| local remote learning program may participate in an extracurricular | ||
| activity sponsored or sanctioned by the school district or | ||
| open-enrollment charter school in which the student is enrolled or | ||
| by the University Interscholastic League in the same manner as | ||
| other district or school students. | ||
| (m) A student enrolled in a virtual course offered under a | ||
| local remote learning program shall be counted toward the school | ||
| district's or open-enrollment charter school's average daily | ||
| attendance in the same manner as other district or school students. | ||
| The commissioner shall adopt rules providing for a method of taking | ||
| attendance, once each school day, for students enrolled in a | ||
| virtual course offered under a local remote learning program. | ||
| (n) Chapter 30A does not apply to a virtual course offered | ||
| under a local remote learning program. | ||
| (o) This section does not prohibit a student enrolled in a | ||
| school district or open-enrollment charter school that operates a | ||
| local remote learning program from enrolling in courses offered | ||
| through the state virtual school network under Chapter 30A. | ||
| (p) In determining the performance ratings under Section | ||
| 39.054 of a school district or open-enrollment charter school that | ||
| operates a full-time local remote learning program, the | ||
| commissioner shall evaluate the performance of students enrolled in | ||
| the program separately from the performance of other district or | ||
| school students and assign separate campus overall and domain | ||
| performance ratings for the program. | ||
| (q) A school district or open-enrollment charter school | ||
| that operates a local remote learning program may not enroll in the | ||
| program more than 10 percent of the district's or school's enrolled | ||
| students. | ||
| (r) This section expires September 1, 2023. | ||
| SECTION 4. Section 39.301, Education Code, is amended by | ||
| adding Subsection (c-1) to read as follows: | ||
| (c-1) In addition to the indicators described by Subsection | ||
| (c), the indicators for reporting purposes must include, for each | ||
| school district and campus, the performance of students who spend | ||
| at least half of the students' instructional time in virtual | ||
| courses offered under a local remote learning program under Section | ||
| 29.9091. This subsection expires September 1, 2023. | ||
| SECTION 5. Section 48.005, Education Code, is amended by | ||
| adding Subsections (m-1) and (m-2) to read as follows: | ||
| (m-1) This subsection applies only to a dropout recovery | ||
| school or program operating under Section 12.1141(c) or 39.0548 | ||
| that is provided as a local remote learning program under Section | ||
| 29.9091. For a dropout recovery school or program to which this | ||
| subsection applies, the commissioner shall establish an | ||
| asynchronous progression funding method for determining average | ||
| daily attendance based on full and partial semester course | ||
| completion. | ||
| (m-2) Subsection (m-1) and this subsection expire September | ||
| 1, 2023. | ||
| SECTION 6. Section 48.053, Education Code, is amended by | ||
| adding Subsections (b-1) and (b-2) to read as follows: | ||
| (b-1) This subsection applies only to a special-purpose | ||
| district described by Subsection (a) that existed before September | ||
| 1, 2019, and that operates a local remote learning program under | ||
| Section 29.9091. For a local remote learning program of a district | ||
| to which this subsection applies, the commissioner shall establish | ||
| an asynchronous progression funding method that may be used to | ||
| determine the amount of the district's entitlement under Subsection | ||
| (b) based on full and partial semester course completion. | ||
| (b-2) Subsection (b-1) and this subsection expire September | ||
| 1, 2023. | ||
| SECTION 7. This Act applies beginning with the 2021-2022 | ||
| school year. | ||
| SECTION 8. This Act 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 | ||
| Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this | ||
| Act takes effect September 1, 2021. | ||
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