Bill Text: TX HB23 | 2017 | 85th Legislature 1st Special Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Relating to a grant program to fund innovative programs for public school students with autism.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 12-2)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2017-08-08 - Received from the House [HB23 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-HB23-Comm_Sub.html
| 85S10578 MK-F | ||
| By: Huberty, et al. | H.B. No. 23 | |
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| relating to a grant program to fund innovative programs for public | ||
| school students with autism. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 29, Education Code, is | ||
| amended by adding Section 29.026 to read as follows: | ||
| Sec. 29.026. GRANT PROGRAM PROVIDING SERVICES TO STUDENTS | ||
| WITH AUTISM. (a) The commissioner shall establish a program to | ||
| award grants to school districts and open-enrollment charter | ||
| schools that provide innovative services to students with autism. | ||
| (b) A school district, including a school district acting | ||
| through a district charter issued under Subchapter C, Chapter 12, | ||
| and an open-enrollment charter school, including a charter school | ||
| that primarily serves students with disabilities, as provided under | ||
| Section 12.1014, may apply for a grant under this section. | ||
| (c) A program is eligible for a grant under this section if: | ||
| (1) the program operates as an independent campus or a | ||
| separate program from the campus in which the program is located, | ||
| with a separate budget; | ||
| (2) the program incorporates: | ||
| (A) evidence-based and research-based design; | ||
| (B) the use of empirical data on student | ||
| achievement and improvement; | ||
| (C) parental support and collaboration; | ||
| (D) the use of technology; | ||
| (E) meaningful inclusion; and | ||
| (F) the ability to replicate the program for | ||
| students statewide; | ||
| (3) the program gives priority for enrollment to | ||
| students with autism; | ||
| (4) the program limits enrollment and services to | ||
| students who are: | ||
| (A) at least three years of age; and | ||
| (B) younger than nine years of age or are | ||
| enrolled in the third grade or a lower grade level; and | ||
| (5) the program allows a student who turns nine years | ||
| of age or older during a school year to remain in the program until | ||
| the end of that school year. | ||
| (d) A school district or open-enrollment charter school may | ||
| not: | ||
| (1) charge a fee for the program, other than those | ||
| authorized by law for students in public schools; | ||
| (2) require a parent to enroll a child in the program; | ||
| (3) allow an admission, review, and dismissal | ||
| committee to place a student in the program without the written | ||
| consent of the student's parent or guardian; or | ||
| (4) continue the placement of a student in the program | ||
| after the student's parent or guardian revokes consent, in writing, | ||
| to the student's placement in the program. | ||
| (e) A program under this section may: | ||
| (1) alter the length of the school day or school year | ||
| or the number of minutes of instruction received by students; | ||
| (2) coordinate services with private or | ||
| community-based providers; | ||
| (3) allow the enrollment of students without | ||
| disabilities or with other disabilities, if approved by the | ||
| commissioner; and | ||
| (4) adopt staff qualifications and staff to student | ||
| ratios that differ from the applicable requirements of this title. | ||
| (f) The commissioner shall adopt rules creating an | ||
| application and selection process for grants awarded under this | ||
| section. | ||
| (g) The commissioner shall create an external panel of | ||
| stakeholders, including parents of students with disabilities, to | ||
| provide assistance in the selection of applications for the award | ||
| of grants under this section. | ||
| (h) The commissioner shall award grants to fund not more | ||
| than 10 programs that meet the eligibility criteria under | ||
| Subsection (c). In selecting programs, the commissioner shall | ||
| prioritize programs that are collaborations between multiple | ||
| school districts, multiple charter schools, or school districts and | ||
| charter schools. The selected programs must reflect the diversity | ||
| of this state. | ||
| (i) 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 five years. | ||
| (j) A grant awarded to a school district or open-enrollment | ||
| charter school under this section is in addition to the Foundation | ||
| School Program funds that the district or charter school is | ||
| otherwise entitled to receive. | ||
| (k) The commissioner shall set aside an amount not to exceed | ||
| $20 million from the total amount of funds appropriated to the | ||
| Foundation School Program for the 2018-2019 fiscal biennium to fund | ||
| grants under this section. The commissioner shall use $10 million | ||
| for the purposes of this section for each school year in the state | ||
| fiscal biennium. A grant recipient may not receive more than $1 | ||
| million for the 2018-2019 fiscal biennium. The commissioner shall | ||
| reduce each district's and charter school's allotment | ||
| proportionally to account for funds allocated under this section. | ||
| (l) The commissioner and any program selected under this | ||
| section may accept gifts, grants, and donations from any public or | ||
| private source, person, or group to implement and administer the | ||
| program. The commissioner and any program selected under this | ||
| section may not require any financial contribution from parents to | ||
| implement and administer the program. | ||
| (m) The commissioner may consider a student with autism who | ||
| is enrolled in a program funded under this section as funded in a | ||
| mainstream placement, regardless of the amount of time the student | ||
| receives services in a regular classroom setting. | ||
| (n) Not later than December 31, 2021, the commissioner shall | ||
| publish a report on the grant program established under this | ||
| section. The report must include: | ||
| (1) recommendations for statutory or funding changes | ||
| necessary to implement successful innovations in the education of | ||
| students with autism; and | ||
| (2) data on the academic and functional achievements | ||
| of students enrolled in a program that received a grant under this | ||
| section. | ||
| (o) This section expires September 1, 2024. | ||
| SECTION 2. 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 December 1, 2017. | ||
