| 1 | 1 | | By: Williams S.B. No. 2044 |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | AN ACT |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | relating to the inclusion of professional staff who educate |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | students with disabilities on district-level and campus-level |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | planning and decision-making committees. |
|---|
| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Subsections (b) and (e), Section 11.251, |
|---|
| 11 | 11 | | Education Code, are amended to read as follows: |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | (b) The board shall adopt a policy to establish a district- |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | and campus-level planning and decision-making process that will |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | involve the professional staff of the district, parents, and |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | community members in establishing and reviewing the district's and |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | campuses' educational plans, goals, performance objectives, and |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | major classroom instructional programs. The board shall establish |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | a procedure under which meetings are held regularly by district- |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | and campus-level planning and decision-making committees that |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | include representative professional staff, including, if |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | practicable, at least one representative with the primary |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | responsibility for educating students with disabilities, parents |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | of students enrolled in the district, business representatives, and |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | community members. The committees shall include a business |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | representative without regard to whether the representative |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | resides in the district or whether the business the person |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | represents is located in the district. The board, or the board's |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | designee, shall periodically meet with the district-level |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | committee to review the district-level committee's deliberations. |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | (e) The board shall adopt a procedure, consistent with |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | Section 21.407(a), for the professional staff in the district to |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | nominate and elect the professional staff representatives who shall |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | meet with the board or the board designee as required under this |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | section. At least two-thirds of the elected professional staff |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | representatives must be classroom teachers. The remaining staff |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | representatives shall include both campus- and district-level |
|---|
| 37 | 37 | | professional staff members. If practicable, the committee |
|---|
| 38 | 38 | | membership shall include at least one professional staff |
|---|
| 39 | 39 | | representative with the primary responsibility for educating |
|---|
| 40 | 40 | | students with disabilities. Board policy must provide procedures |
|---|
| 41 | 41 | | for: |
|---|
| 42 | 42 | | (1) the selection of parents to the district-level and |
|---|
| 43 | 43 | | campus-level committees; and |
|---|
| 44 | 44 | | (2) the selection of community members and business |
|---|
| 45 | 45 | | representatives to serve on the district-level committee in a |
|---|
| 46 | 46 | | manner that provides for appropriate representation of the |
|---|
| 47 | 47 | | community's diversity. |
|---|
| 48 | 48 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |
|---|