Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB3173 Compare Versions

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1	1	81R25594 CAE-D
2	2	By: Allen H.B. No. 3173
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the statewide plan for delivery of services to public
8	8	school students with disabilities and resources for teachers of
9	9	public school students with special health needs.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Section 29.001, Education Code, is amended to
12	12	read as follows:
13	13	Sec. 29.001. STATEWIDE PLAN. (a) The agency shall
14	14	develop, and modify as necessary, a statewide design, consistent
15	15	with federal law, for the delivery of services to children with
16	16	disabilities in this state that includes rules for the
17	17	administration and funding of the special education program so that
18	18	a free appropriate public education is available to all of those
19	19	children between the ages of three and 21. The statewide design
20	20	shall include the provision of services primarily through school
21	21	districts and shared services arrangements, supplemented by
22	22	regional education service centers. The agency shall also develop
23	23	and implement a statewide plan with programmatic content that
24	24	includes procedures designed to:
25	25	(1) ensure state compliance with requirements for
26	26	supplemental federal funding for all state-administered programs
27	27	involving the delivery of instructional or related services to
28	28	students with disabilities;
29	29	(2) facilitate interagency coordination when other
30	30	state agencies are involved in the delivery of instructional or
31	31	related services to students with disabilities;
32	32	(3) periodically assess statewide personnel needs in
33	33	all areas of specialization related to special education and pursue
34	34	strategies to meet those needs through a consortium of
35	35	representatives from regional education service centers, local
36	36	education agencies, and institutions of higher education and
37	37	through other available alternatives;
38	38	(4) ensure that regional education service centers
39	39	throughout the state maintain a regional support function, which
40	40	may include direct service delivery and a component designed to
41	41	facilitate the placement of students with disabilities who cannot
42	42	be appropriately served in their resident districts;
43	43	(5) allow the agency to effectively monitor and
44	44	periodically conduct site visits of all school districts to ensure
45	45	that rules adopted under this section are applied in a consistent
46	46	and uniform manner, to ensure that districts are complying with
47	47	those rules, and to ensure that annual statistical reports filed by
48	48	the districts and not otherwise available through the Public
49	49	Education Information Management System under Section 42.006, are
50	50	accurate and complete;
51	51	(6) ensure that appropriately trained personnel are
52	52	involved in the diagnostic and evaluative procedures operating in
53	53	all districts and that those personnel routinely serve on district
54	54	admissions, review, and dismissal committees;
55	55	(7) ensure that an individualized education program
56	56	for each student with a disability is properly developed,
57	57	implemented, and maintained in the least restrictive environment
58	58	that is appropriate to meet the student's educational needs;
59	59	(8) ensure that, when appropriate, each student with a
60	60	disability is provided an opportunity to participate in career and
61	61	technology and physical education classes, in addition to
62	62	participating in regular or special classes;
63	63	(9) ensure that each student with a disability is
64	64	provided necessary related services; [and]
65	65	(10) ensure that an individual assigned to act as a
66	66	surrogate parent for a child with a disability, as provided by 20
67	67	U.S.C. Section 1415(b) [and its subsequent amendments], is required
68	68	to:
69	69	(A) complete a training program that complies
70	70	with minimum standards established by agency rule;
71	71	(B) visit the child and the child's school;
72	72	(C) consult with persons involved in the child's
73	73	education, including teachers, caseworkers, court-appointed
74	74	volunteers, guardians ad litem, attorneys ad litem, foster parents,
75	75	and caretakers;
76	76	(D) review the child's educational records;
77	77	(E) attend meetings of the child's admission,
78	78	review, and dismissal committee;
79	79	(F) exercise independent judgment in pursuing
80	80	the child's interests; and
81	81	(G) exercise the child's due process rights under
82	82	applicable state and federal law;
83	83	(11) ensure that a school district provides to a
84	84	teacher who instructs a student with a disability in a regular
85	85	classroom setting:
86	86	(A) on the request of the teacher or the
87	87	student's admission, review, and dismissal committee and as soon as
88	88	practicable, training in providing appropriate educational
89	89	services to a student with a disability, including training in
90	90	scientifically based research, as defined by Section 7801, No Child
91	91	Left Behind Act of 2001 (20 U.S.C. Section 6301 et seq.), for best
92	92	practices for meeting the academic and behavioral needs of a
93	93	student with a disability assigned to the teacher's classroom;
94	94	(B) on the request of the teacher or the
95	95	student's admission, review, and dismissal committee and as soon as
96	96	practicable, assistance from appropriately trained personnel, as
97	97	determined by the district, in meeting the academic and behavioral
98	98	needs of a student with a disability assigned to the teacher's
99	99	classroom;
100	100	(C) before the placement of a student with a
101	101	disability in the teacher's classroom, relevant information in the
102	102	student's individualized education program;
103	103	(D) the opportunity to request staffing and
104	104	intervention team meetings and meetings of the student's admission,
105	105	review, and dismissal committee regarding a student with a
106	106	disability assigned to the teacher's classroom; and
107	107	(E) the opportunity to participate in staffing
108	108	and intervention team meetings and, as determined by the district,
109	109	the relevant portion of meetings of the student's admission,
110	110	review, and dismissal committee regarding a student with a
111	111	disability assigned to the teacher's classroom, including meetings
112	112	of the student's admission, review, and dismissal committee
113	113	requested by the teacher as provided by Paragraph (D);
114	114	(12) ensure that a school district develops:
115	115	(A) a process for responding to concerns by a
116	116	teacher who instructs a student with a disability in a regular
117	117	classroom setting regarding implementation of the student's
118	118	individualized education program; and
119	119	(B) a procedure to notify the student's parent of
120	120	the response provided under Paragraph (A);
121	121	(13) ensure that school health services for a student
122	122	with a disability are performed by:
123	123	(A) a qualified school nurse; or
124	124	(B) if a qualified school nurse is not available,
125	125	other qualified and trained personnel as determined by the school
126	126	district; and
127	127	(14) ensure that, on the request of the teacher or the
128	128	student's admission, review, and dismissal committee, the teacher
129	129	receives training or assistance from appropriately trained
130	130	personnel, as determined by the school district, to perform
131	131	necessary tasks that the teacher is required to perform related to
132	132	the student's hygiene and care, including diapering needs.
133	133	(b) Subsection (a)(13) or (14) may not result in a change of
134	134	classroom placement for a student with a disability unless the
135	135	change in classroom placement is made in accordance with applicable
136	136	federal and state laws.
137	137	SECTION 2. Subchapter J, Chapter 21, Education Code, is
138	138	amended by adding Section 21.463 to read as follows:
139	139	Sec. 21.463. RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS OF STUDENTS WITH
140	140	SPECIAL HEALTH NEEDS. The agency, in coordination with the Health
141	141	and Human Services Commission, shall establish and maintain an
142	142	Internet website to provide resources for teachers who teach
143	143	students with special health needs. The agency shall include on the
144	144	website information about the treatment and management of chronic
145	145	illnesses and how such illnesses impact a student's well-being or
146	146	ability to succeed in school.
147	147	SECTION 3. This Act applies beginning with the 2009-2010
148	148	school year.
149	149	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
150	150	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
151	151	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
152	152	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
153	153	Act takes effect September 1, 2009.