Bill Text: TX SB1871 | 2011-2012 | 82nd Legislature | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Relating to a contracted services program for certain students with a severe pervasive developmental disorder or a severe intellectual disability.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-05-13 - Co-author authorized [SB1871 Detail]
Download: Texas-2011-SB1871-Comm_Sub.html
By: Davis | S.B. No. 1871 | |
(In the Senate - Filed March 11, 2011; March 24, 2011, read | ||
first time and referred to Committee on Education; May 12, 2011, | ||
reported adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the | ||
following vote: Yeas 5, Nays 3; May 12, 2011, sent to printer.) | ||
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1871 | By: Davis |
|
||
|
||
relating to a contracted services program for certain students with | ||
a severe pervasive developmental disorder or a severe intellectual | ||
disability. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Chapter 29, Education Code, is amended by adding | ||
Subchapter M to read as follows: | ||
SUBCHAPTER M. CONTRACTED SERVICES PROGRAM | ||
Sec. 29.501. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter: | ||
(1) "Parent" includes a guardian, custodian, or other | ||
person with authority to act on behalf of a student. | ||
(2) "Pervasive developmental disorder" includes, as | ||
defined by the most recent edition of the Diagnostic and | ||
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: | ||
(A) autism; | ||
(B) Asperger's syndrome; | ||
(C) Rett's syndrome; | ||
(D) childhood disintegrative disorder; and | ||
(E) a pervasive developmental disorder, not | ||
otherwise specified. | ||
(3) "Program" means the contracted services program | ||
for eligible students created by this subchapter. | ||
(4) "Qualifying institution": | ||
(A) means a nongovernmental community-based | ||
educational and therapeutic establishment that: | ||
(i) provides for the educational and | ||
therapeutic needs of students with a severe pervasive developmental | ||
disorder or severe intellectual disability; | ||
(ii) qualifies for participation in the | ||
program, as provided by Section 29.507; and | ||
(iii) is eligible to receive insurance | ||
payments or Medicaid payments made on behalf of an eligible | ||
student; and | ||
(B) does not include a school that solely | ||
provides education in a home setting or that limits enrollment to | ||
relatives of the school's staff. | ||
Sec. 29.502. CONTRACTED SERVICES PROGRAM. (a) An eligible | ||
student under Section 29.503 may: | ||
(1) attend any public school in the district in which | ||
the student resides; | ||
(2) attend a public school in a district other than the | ||
district in which the student resides; or | ||
(3) receive contracted services through a qualifying | ||
institution. | ||
(b) Each school year, a school district or open-enrollment | ||
charter school shall provide written notice of the program to the | ||
parent of a student who is eligible to participate in the program | ||
under Section 29.503. Notice under this subsection must: | ||
(1) include information explaining that the | ||
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Section 1400 | ||
et seq.) does not apply to a qualifying institution participating | ||
in the program and that a student attending a qualifying | ||
institution under this subchapter waives any rights under the Act; | ||
and | ||
(2) require that the student's parent sign a | ||
confirmation of receipt of the notice and return the confirmation | ||
to the district. | ||
Sec. 29.503. ELIGIBLE STUDENT. (a) A student is eligible | ||
to participate in the program if the student: | ||
(1) has sought public school services under an | ||
individualized education plan at the time the parent applies for | ||
the program; | ||
(2) is eligible to participate in a school district's | ||
special education program under Section 29.003; | ||
(3) has been diagnosed by a medical doctor with: | ||
(A) a severe pervasive developmental disorder; | ||
or | ||
(B) a severe intellectual disability; and | ||
(4) requires a limited duration of intense services | ||
for the purpose of attaining school readiness skills to participate | ||
in a classroom. School readiness skills shall include the | ||
following skills: | ||
(A) spontaneous imitation of their peers basic | ||
functions; | ||
(B) the ability to sit and attend quietly for at | ||
least five minutes in a group setting; | ||
(C) basic communication skills; | ||
(D) basic social skills such as: | ||
(i) sharing; and | ||
(ii) responding to peers; | ||
(E) compliance skills; and | ||
(F) maladaptive behaviors at a rate, frequency, | ||
and intensity that does not disrupt the class. | ||
(b) For a student who attends a qualifying institution under | ||
this subchapter, the school district in which the student resides, | ||
the qualifying institution, and the student's parent shall annually | ||
review: | ||
(1) the continued applicability of the student's | ||
original diagnosis; | ||
(2) the student's continued eligibility for | ||
participation in the program; | ||
(3) the plan for transition of the student to a public | ||
school; and | ||
(4) the goals established and assessments | ||
administered under Section 29.510. | ||
(c) If the parent and the school district disagree as to | ||
whether a student continues to meet the qualifications for an | ||
eligible student under Subsection (a), the parent may seek a second | ||
diagnosis as established under Subsection (d). | ||
(d) If the parent and the school district disagree as to | ||
whether a student meets the requirements for eligibility under | ||
Subsection (a)(4), the parent may seek a second diagnosis by a | ||
second medical doctor to determine whether the student requires a | ||
limited duration of intense services for the purpose of attaining | ||
school readiness skills. Not later than the 30th day following the | ||
second diagnosis as provided by this subsection, the school | ||
district and the parent shall meet to discuss the results of the | ||
second diagnosis. The second diagnosis determines whether the | ||
student meets the eligibility requirements under Subsection | ||
(a)(4). The parent shall be responsible for the costs and effort in | ||
obtaining a second diagnosis. | ||
Sec. 29.504. TRANSFER OF STATE AID BETWEEN SCHOOL | ||
DISTRICTS. Except as provided by Section 29.505, an eligible | ||
student who, as provided by Section 29.502(a)(2), attends a public | ||
school in a school district other than the district in which the | ||
student resides is included in the average daily attendance of the | ||
district in which the student resides for purposes of Chapters 41 | ||
and 42. | ||
Sec. 29.505. STATE AID IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES. An | ||
eligible student who, as provided by Section 29.502(a)(2), attends | ||
a public school in a school district other than the district in | ||
which the student resides is counted in the average daily | ||
attendance of the school district in which the student attends | ||
school if the total amount of state aid that the enrolling district | ||
would receive by counting the student in the district's average | ||
daily attendance is greater than the amount of state aid the | ||
district would receive as a result of receiving a transfer of funds | ||
from the district in which the student resides under Section | ||
29.504. | ||
Sec. 29.506. FINANCING OF SERVICES PROVIDED BY QUALIFYING | ||
INSTITUTION. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), for a | ||
student who attends a qualifying institution under this subchapter, | ||
the qualifying institution is entitled to an annual amount of | ||
funding that is equal to the amount the institution would receive | ||
for a student if the institution were an open-enrollment charter | ||
school, as calculated under Sections 12.106(a)(2) and (a-1), | ||
multiplied by 1.1. | ||
(b) The commissioner may withhold a portion of the funding | ||
to which a qualifying institution is entitled under Subsection (a) | ||
to pay the costs of administering the program. | ||
(c) A student's program funding under this section may not | ||
be financed by: | ||
(1) money appropriated from the available school fund; | ||
or | ||
(2) federal funds. | ||
(d) The agency shall directly distribute funding to the | ||
qualifying institution on a monthly basis. The agency may not | ||
distribute funding to the qualifying institution the student | ||
attends until after services have been provided. | ||
(e) The agency shall require that the qualifying | ||
institution submit documentation of the student's attendance | ||
before the agency distributes funding to the qualifying | ||
institution. The qualifying institution shall submit the | ||
documentation to the agency on a monthly basis, and the agency shall | ||
distribute funding to the qualifying institution not later than the | ||
30th day after the date of receiving the documentation. | ||
(f) A qualifying institution may not share a student's | ||
program funding with or refund or rebate a student's program | ||
funding to the parent, the student, or a nonqualifying institution | ||
in any manner. | ||
Sec. 29.507. PARTICIPATION BY QUALIFYING INSTITUTIONS. | ||
(a) To participate in the program, a qualifying institution: | ||
(1) must: | ||
(A) comply with all health and safety laws | ||
applicable to nongovernmental schools; | ||
(B) hold a valid occupancy permit if required by | ||
the municipality in which the institution is located; | ||
(C) employ a health care practitioner described | ||
by Section 1355.015(b), Insurance Code; and | ||
(D) comply with all state laws regarding criminal | ||
background checks for employees and may not employ a person who is | ||
not authorized under state law to work in a public school district | ||
or open-enrollment charter school; qualifying institutions shall | ||
follow and have access to the same procedures and information as | ||
established by Section 22.083; and | ||
(2) may not advocate or foster unlawful behavior or | ||
teach hatred of any person or group on the basis of race, ethnicity, | ||
national origin, or religion. | ||
(b) Qualifying institutions shall be determined through a | ||
request for qualification process established by the agency, in | ||
collaboration with the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative | ||
Services, and subject to public comment as to the criteria and | ||
standards to be used to establish qualification. The agency and the | ||
Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services shall have | ||
equal input in the request for qualification process and selection | ||
of qualifying institutions. | ||
(c) The request for qualification process established under | ||
Subsection (b) may include provisions considering whether an | ||
institution: | ||
(1) is accredited by an accrediting association | ||
recognized by the commissioner to accredit nongovernmental schools | ||
in this state; | ||
(2) has filed an application for accreditation by an | ||
accrediting association described by Subdivision (1) that has not | ||
been withdrawn, denied, or left pending for more than 18 months; or | ||
(3) has previously provided contracted services for | ||
individuals with pervasive developmental disorders or intellectual | ||
disabilities for the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative | ||
Services. | ||
(d) A nongovernmental community-based educational | ||
establishment that provides for the educational needs of students | ||
with severe pervasive developmental disorders or severe | ||
intellectual disabilities may apply to the agency to participate in | ||
the program as a qualifying institution. The agency, in | ||
consultation with the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative | ||
Services, shall create and maintain a list of participating | ||
qualifying institutions and ensure that the list is available to | ||
the public. | ||
(e) A sectarian institution may not be a qualifying | ||
institution under this subchapter. | ||
Sec. 29.508. APPLICATION FOR CONTRACTED SERVICES THROUGH | ||
PROGRAM. (a) For an eligible student to participate in the | ||
program and receive contracted services through a qualifying | ||
institution, the parent of the student must apply to the agency on | ||
behalf of the student. The application must specify the qualifying | ||
institution the student plans to attend and demonstrate that the | ||
student has been accepted for admission by that institution. | ||
(b) On receiving the application from the parent of an | ||
eligible student, the agency shall verify a student's eligibility. | ||
If the agency verifies that the student is eligible for | ||
participation in the program, the agency shall notify the student's | ||
parent of the student's eligibility. | ||
(c) A verification of student eligibility by the agency | ||
under Subsection (b) is for review purposes only and does not | ||
preempt the decision made at the local level on whether a student | ||
qualifies for contracted services under the program. | ||
(d) A parent may apply on behalf of the student to | ||
participate in the program at any time. | ||
Sec. 29.509. ADMISSIONS. (a) In order to receive funding | ||
under Section 29.506, a qualifying institution may not deny | ||
admission by discriminating on the basis of the student's race, | ||
ethnicity, religion, creed, or national origin and must comply with | ||
the requirements of: | ||
(1) Title VI, Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. | ||
Section 2000d et seq.) with respect to discrimination on the basis | ||
of race, color, or national origin; and | ||
(2) Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. | ||
Section 794), with respect to nondiscrimination on the basis of | ||
disability. | ||
(b) A qualifying institution or a school district or campus | ||
that has more qualified program applicants for attendance under | ||
this subchapter than available positions must fill the available | ||
program positions in the order the institution, district, or campus | ||
receives the applications. In considering whether the school | ||
district, public school, or qualifying institution has more | ||
qualified applicants than availability for qualified applicants, | ||
the entity may consider staff needs, financial resources, and | ||
facility space. | ||
(c) A qualifying institution or public school in another | ||
district may refuse an eligible student if it determines that | ||
admittance would require additional staff, financial resources, or | ||
facility space. | ||
(d) A qualifying institution may submit a written request | ||
for student records from the school district or open-enrollment | ||
charter school previously attended by an eligible student, if | ||
applicable. Not later than the 10th working day after the date the | ||
district or school receives the request, the district or school | ||
shall deliver to the qualifying institution a copy of the school's | ||
complete student records for that student, including attendance | ||
records, disciplinary records, results of any assessment | ||
instruments administered to the student, the student's | ||
individualized educational program, and any other comprehensive | ||
assessments from each school the student previously attended. A | ||
district or school that is required to release student records | ||
under this subsection shall comply with any applicable provision of | ||
the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. | ||
Section 1232g). | ||
Sec. 29.510. ACADEMIC ACCOUNTABILITY. (a) A qualifying | ||
institution, in collaboration with the school district in which the | ||
student resides, shall establish academic and functional goals for | ||
each eligible student receiving contracted services from the | ||
institution. The goals must be developed in a manner similar to an | ||
individualized educational program developed under Section 29.005. | ||
Each school year, a qualifying institution shall review and revise | ||
the goals developed for the student under this subsection. At | ||
regular intervals not less than three times each academic year, the | ||
qualifying institution shall provide a report to the student's | ||
parent describing the student's progress toward achieving the goals | ||
developed for the student under this subsection. | ||
(b) Each spring semester, a qualifying institution that | ||
provides contracted services to a student under this subchapter | ||
shall assess the student's progress. Under an agreement with the | ||
agency, the qualifying institution shall administer the | ||
appropriate assessment instrument adopted under Subchapter B, | ||
Chapter 39. | ||
(c) The qualifying institution shall provide: | ||
(1) the student's results on assessment instruments | ||
administered under Subsection (b) to the student's parent; and | ||
(2) the aggregated results of assessment instruments | ||
administered under Subsection (b) to the public, subject to the | ||
applicable provisions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy | ||
Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g). | ||
Sec. 29.511. FINANCIAL SOLVENCY. The commissioner may | ||
adopt rules requiring a qualifying institution that accepts funding | ||
under this subchapter to demonstrate financial solvency. | ||
Sec. 29.512. QUALIFYING INSTITUTION AUTONOMY. (a) A | ||
qualifying institution that accepts funding under this subchapter | ||
is not an agent or arm of the state or federal government. | ||
(b) Except as provided by this subchapter, the | ||
commissioner, the agency, the State Board of Education, or any | ||
other state agency may not regulate the educational program of a | ||
qualifying institution that accepts funding under this subchapter. | ||
(c) A qualifying institution that accepts funding under | ||
this subchapter is not required to implement an individualized | ||
educational program developed for the student under Section 29.005. | ||
The eligible student's parent and the qualifying institution shall | ||
determine the services and educational program to be provided to | ||
the eligible student. | ||
Sec. 29.513. RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF PARENTS AND | ||
STUDENTS. (a) It is the responsibility of the parent of an | ||
eligible student to: | ||
(1) locate and select a qualifying institution; | ||
(2) apply for admission to the qualifying institution; | ||
and | ||
(3) apply in the manner provided under Section 29.508 | ||
for participation in the program. | ||
(b) A student participating in the program must attend the | ||
qualifying institution each school day unless the student is | ||
excused by the school for illness or other good cause, as determined | ||
by the institution. | ||
(c) Participation in the program does not create a property | ||
right for either the parents or the participating qualifying | ||
institution. | ||
Sec. 29.514. TRANSFER. (a) An eligible student | ||
participating in the program may transfer to a public school or | ||
another qualifying institution in the manner authorized by | ||
commissioner rule. If a student transfers to another school or | ||
qualifying institution under this section after the beginning of | ||
the school year, the commissioner shall prorate the amount of the | ||
student's program funding between the qualifying institutions or | ||
the qualifying institution and the school district, as applicable, | ||
according to the length of the student's attendance at each entity. | ||
(b) The commissioner may adopt rules regarding the | ||
frequency with which a parent may transfer an eligible student from | ||
a qualifying institution to another qualifying institution. | ||
(c) The commissioner may not adopt rules restricting the | ||
frequency with which a parent may transfer an eligible student from | ||
a qualifying institution to a public school. | ||
Sec. 29.515. RULES. The commissioner shall adopt rules as | ||
necessary to implement, administer, and enforce the program, | ||
including rules regarding: | ||
(1) the calculation and distribution of payments for | ||
qualifying institutions; | ||
(2) application and approval procedures for | ||
qualifying institutions and student participation in the program, | ||
including timelines for the application and approval procedures; | ||
and | ||
(3) student transfers under Section 29.514. | ||
Sec. 29.516. PROGRAM COMPLIANCE. (a) The agency may | ||
withhold funding from any district or qualifying institution that | ||
violates this subchapter or a rule adopted under this subchapter. | ||
Agency decisions are final and may not be appealed. | ||
(b) The commissioner may revoke a qualifying institution's | ||
permission to participate in the program if the commissioner | ||
determines that the institution: | ||
(1) has not met the requirements provided by this | ||
subchapter; | ||
(2) has wilfully misrepresented information required | ||
by this subchapter; or | ||
(3) has failed to refund to the state in a timely | ||
manner any overpayment of program funding made to the institution. | ||
(c) If the commissioner revokes a qualifying institution's | ||
permission to participate in the program under Subsection (b), the | ||
agency shall immediately notify the public through the agency's | ||
Internet website of the revocation. | ||
Sec. 29.517. LIABILITY. The agency is not civilly liable | ||
for any action arising as the result of a student's participation in | ||
the program. | ||
Sec. 29.518. EVALUATION OF PROGRAM. (a) The commissioner | ||
shall designate, subject to available financial resources, an | ||
impartial organization with experience in evaluating programs | ||
similar to the program established under this subchapter to conduct | ||
an annual evaluation of the program. | ||
(b) An evaluation under this section must compare | ||
differences between qualifying institutions and public schools and | ||
may include consideration of: | ||
(1) student satisfaction; | ||
(2) parent satisfaction; | ||
(3) behavioral problems of program students attending | ||
qualifying institutions as compared with students attending public | ||
schools; | ||
(4) class size; | ||
(5) the fiscal impact to the state and school | ||
districts; | ||
(6) academic performance by comparable students as | ||
measured by an assessment under Section 29.510(b); | ||
(7) factors resulting in more than 25 percent of | ||
eligible students in a school district attending a qualifying | ||
institution or public school in another district under this | ||
subchapter; and | ||
(8) the practices of a qualifying institution that | ||
contribute to a change in student behavior or academic performance. | ||
(c) The evaluation must apply appropriate analytical and | ||
behavioral science methodologies to ensure public confidence in the | ||
evaluation. | ||
(d) Not later than December 1, 2014, the commissioner shall | ||
submit to each member of the legislature a copy of an evaluation | ||
conducted under this section. | ||
(e) Subject to any other federal or state law, including an | ||
applicable provision of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy | ||
Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g), school districts, | ||
open-enrollment charter schools, and qualifying institutions shall | ||
provide to the organization conducting an evaluation student | ||
assessment instrument results and any other information necessary | ||
to complete the evaluation. | ||
(f) The agency may accept grants to assist in funding the | ||
evaluation. | ||
Sec. 29.519. APPLICATION OF SUNSET ACT. (a) The | ||
contracted services program is subject to Chapter 325, Government | ||
Code (Texas Sunset Act), as if the program were a state agency. | ||
Unless continued in existence as provided by that chapter, the | ||
program is abolished and this subchapter expires September 1, 2017. | ||
(b) To the extent Chapter 325, Government Code (Texas Sunset | ||
Act), imposes a duty on a state agency under review, the agency | ||
shall perform that duty as it relates to the program, subject to | ||
available financial resources. | ||
SECTION 2. (a) The Texas Education Agency shall make the | ||
contracted services program under Subchapter M, Chapter 29, | ||
Education Code, as added by this Act, available for participation | ||
beginning with the 2012-2013 academic school year. | ||
(b) As soon as practicable, the commissioner of education | ||
shall adopt and implement rules necessary for the administration of | ||
the contracted services program. | ||
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011. | ||
* * * * * |