| 1 | 1 | | 81R3088 CAS-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Seliger S.B. No. 400 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to an electronic course pilot program in the Amarillo |
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| 8 | 8 | | Independent School District. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Subchapter Z, Chapter 29, Education Code, is |
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| 11 | 11 | | amended by adding Section 29.9091 to read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | Sec. 29.9091. AMARILLO INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT |
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| 13 | 13 | | ELECTRONIC COURSE PILOT PROGRAM. (a) In this section: |
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| 14 | 14 | | (1) "Electronic course" has the meaning assigned by |
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| 15 | 15 | | Section 29.909(a). |
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| 16 | 16 | | (2) "District" or "school district" means the Amarillo |
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| 17 | 17 | | Independent School District. |
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| 18 | 18 | | (3) "Program" means the pilot program offered by the |
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| 19 | 19 | | Amarillo Independent School District in which district students |
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| 20 | 20 | | participating in the program take only or primarily electronic |
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| 21 | 21 | | courses. |
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| 22 | 22 | | (b) The board of trustees of the Amarillo Independent School |
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| 23 | 23 | | District shall develop and implement a pilot program under which |
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| 24 | 24 | | district students participating in the program enroll in electronic |
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| 25 | 25 | | courses for the students' full academic course load. A student |
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| 26 | 26 | | participating in the program is not required to take an electronic |
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| 27 | 27 | | course in the case of a course that requires a student's physical |
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| 28 | 28 | | presence, such as band, choir, or a physical education course. |
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| 29 | 29 | | (c) The school district may offer the program's electronic |
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| 30 | 30 | | courses through one or more designated campuses or by serving |
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| 31 | 31 | | students throughout the district. |
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| 32 | 32 | | (d) The board of trustees of the school district shall |
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| 33 | 33 | | select students to participate in the program based on criteria the |
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| 34 | 34 | | board adopts and applications submitted by the students. The board |
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| 35 | 35 | | shall establish the form of the application and the procedure and |
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| 36 | 36 | | any deadline for submitting an application to the board. |
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| 37 | 37 | | (e) The school district may not: |
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| 38 | 38 | | (1) require a student to participate in the program; |
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| 39 | 39 | | or |
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| 40 | 40 | | (2) permit more than 20 district students to |
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| 41 | 41 | | participate in the program each school year. |
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| 42 | 42 | | (f) The board of trustees of the school district shall: |
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| 43 | 43 | | (1) establish a method to verify completion of course |
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| 44 | 44 | | work and attendance in a course by students participating in the |
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| 45 | 45 | | program; |
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| 46 | 46 | | (2) ensure that a student participating in the program |
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| 47 | 47 | | is: |
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| 48 | 48 | | (A) placed in the appropriate academic level; and |
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| 49 | 49 | | (B) enrolled in courses that the student is |
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| 50 | 50 | | required or permitted to take under Subchapter A, Chapter 28; and |
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| 51 | 51 | | (3) ensure that each course in which a student |
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| 52 | 52 | | participating in the program is enrolled meets the essential |
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| 53 | 53 | | knowledge and skills requirement under Subchapter A, Chapter 28. |
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| 54 | 54 | | (g) The school district may not impose a charge on a student |
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| 55 | 55 | | participating in the program that is not authorized by this code to |
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| 56 | 56 | | be imposed on a district student who is not participating in the |
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| 57 | 57 | | program. |
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| 58 | 58 | | (h) The school district's average daily attendance includes |
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| 59 | 59 | | a student participating in the program to the same extent as if the |
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| 60 | 60 | | student were participating in regular district courses. The |
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| 61 | 61 | | district is entitled to receive state funding for a student |
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| 62 | 62 | | participating in the program in an amount equal to the funding the |
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| 63 | 63 | | district would be entitled to receive if the student were |
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| 64 | 64 | | participating in regular courses in the district. |
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| 65 | 65 | | (i) The board of trustees of the school district shall |
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| 66 | 66 | | cooperate with the commissioner, the comptroller, the Department of |
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| 67 | 67 | | Information Resources, or any other state agency or commission in |
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| 68 | 68 | | adopting technical standards for auditing or verifying student |
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| 69 | 69 | | attendance in an electronic course in the program. |
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| 70 | 70 | | (j) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, on |
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| 71 | 71 | | application of the board of trustees of the school district, the |
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| 72 | 72 | | commissioner may waive a requirement, restriction, or prohibition |
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| 73 | 73 | | imposed by this code or by a rule adopted under this code to the |
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| 74 | 74 | | extent necessary to implement or administer the program. |
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| 75 | 75 | | (k) This section expires September 1, 2011. |
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| 76 | 76 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 77 | 77 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 78 | 78 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 79 | 79 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 80 | 80 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |
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