82R5999 VOO-D
By: Madden H.B. No. 2843
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the provision of additional opportunities for
instruction through the state virtual school network.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 30A.103, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (a-1) and (b-1) to read as follows:
(a-1) The commissioner shall study and implement strategies
that provide quality electronic courses to students with special
needs.
(b-1) In establishing criteria under Subsection (a), the
board shall consider measurable data showing past student success
in an electronic course.
SECTION 2. Section 30A.104, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 30A.104. COURSE ELIGIBILITY IN GENERAL. A course
offered through the state virtual school network must:
(1) be in a specific subject that is part of the
required curriculum under Section 28.002(a);
(2) be aligned with the essential knowledge and skills
identified under Section 28.002(c) for a grade level at or above
grade level three; [and]
(3) be the equivalent in instructional rigor and scope
to a course that is provided in a traditional classroom setting
during:
(A) a semester of 90 instructional days; and
(B) a school day that meets the minimum length of
a school day required under Section 25.082; and
(4) be designed to permit a student to complete the
course at the student's own pace.
SECTION 3. Section 30A.107, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsection (b-1) to
read as follows:
(b) A student who is enrolled in a school district or
open-enrollment charter school in this state as a full-time student
may take one or more electronic courses through the state virtual
school network. The commissioner may not limit the number of
electronic courses a student to whom this subsection applies may
take through the state virtual school network.
(b-1) The commissioner may not limit the number of students
who may enroll in the state virtual school network.
(c) A student who resides in this state but who is not
enrolled in a school district or open-enrollment charter school in
this state as a full-time student may, subject to Section 30A.155,
enroll in electronic courses through the state virtual school
network. A student to whom this subsection applies:
(1) [may not in any semester enroll in more than two
electronic courses offered through the state virtual school
network;
[(2) is not considered to be a public school student;
[(3)] must obtain access to a course provided through
the network through the school district or open-enrollment charter
school attendance zone in which the student resides;
(2) [(4)] is not entitled to enroll in a course
offered by a school district or open-enrollment charter school
other than an electronic course provided through the network; and
(3) [(5)] is not entitled to any right, privilege,
activities, or services available to a student enrolled in a public
school, other than the right to receive the appropriate unit of
credit for completing an electronic course.
SECTION 4. Section 30A.155(c), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(c) The amount of a fee charged a student under Subsection
(a), (a-1), or (b) for each electronic course in which the student
enrolls through the state virtual school network may not exceed the
lesser of:
(1) the cost of providing the course; or
(2) $350 [$400].
SECTION 5. Section 42.151, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (e) and (h) and adding Subsection (e-1) to
read as follows:
(e) The State Board of Education by rule shall prescribe the
qualifications an instructional arrangement must meet in order to
be funded as a particular instructional arrangement under this
section. In prescribing the qualifications that a mainstream
instructional arrangement must meet, the board shall establish
requirements that students with disabilities and their teachers
receive the direct, indirect, and support services that are
necessary to enrich the regular classroom and enable student
success. In prescribing the qualifications that a homebound
instructional arrangement must meet, the board shall require that
students enroll in a number of state virtual school network courses
under Chapter 30A the board determines appropriate.
(e-1) The State Board of Education by rule shall require
students for whom a district receives an allocation for special
transportation services under Section 42.155(g) to enroll in a
number of state virtual school network courses under Chapter 30A
the board determines appropriate.
(h) Funds allocated under this section, other than an
indirect cost allotment established under State Board of Education
rule, must be used in the special education program under
Subchapter A, Chapter 29, and for funding the enrollment in state
virtual school network courses under Chapter 30A of:
(1) students in homebound instructional arrangements;
and
(2) students using special transportation services
under Section 42.155(g).
SECTION 6. Section 42.152, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (a-1) and amending Subsection (c) to read as
follows:
(a-1) The commissioner by rule shall require pregnant
students for which a school district receives an allotment under
Subsection (a) to enroll in state virtual school network courses
under Chapter 30A to satisfy a requirement for instruction under
Section 29.081.
(c) Funds allocated under this section shall be used to fund
supplemental programs and services designed to eliminate any
disparity in performance on assessment instruments administered
under Subchapter B, Chapter 39, or disparity in the rates of high
school completion between students at risk of dropping out of
school, as defined by Section 29.081, and all other students.
Specifically, the funds, other than an indirect cost allotment
established under State Board of Education rule, which may not
exceed 45 percent, may be used to meet the costs of providing a
compensatory, intensive, or accelerated instruction program under
Section 29.081 or an alternative education program established
under Section 37.008 or to support a program eligible under Title I
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as provided
by Pub. L. No. 103-382 [and its subsequent amendments], and by
federal regulations implementing that Act, at a campus at which at
least 40 percent of the students are educationally disadvantaged.
In meeting the costs of providing a compensatory, intensive, or
accelerated instruction program under Section 29.081, a district's
compensatory education allotment shall be used for costs
supplementary to the regular education program, such as costs for
program and student evaluation, instructional materials and
equipment and other supplies required for quality instruction,
supplemental staff expenses, salary for teachers of at-risk
students, smaller class size, and individualized instruction. A
home-rule school district or an open-enrollment charter school must
use funds allocated under Subsection (a) for a purpose authorized
in this subsection but is not otherwise subject to Subchapter C,
Chapter 29. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section:
(1) to ensure that a sufficient amount of the funds
allotted under this section are available to supplement
instructional programs and services, no more than 18 percent of the
funds allotted under this section may be used to fund disciplinary
alternative education programs established under Section 37.008;
(2) the commissioner may waive the limitations of
Subdivision (1) upon an annual petition, by a district's board and a
district's site-based decision making committee, presenting the
reason for the need to spend supplemental compensatory education
funds on disciplinary alternative education programs under Section
37.008, provided that:
(A) the district in its petition reports the
number of students in each grade level, by demographic subgroup,
not making satisfactory progress under the state's assessment
system; and
(B) the commissioner makes the waiver request
information available annually to the public on the agency's
website; [and]
(3) for purposes of this subsection, a program
specifically designed to serve students at risk of dropping out of
school, as defined by Section 29.081, is considered to be a program
supplemental to the regular education program, and a district may
use its compensatory education allotment for such a program; and
(4) the enrollment of pregnant students in state
virtual school network courses under Chapter 30A is considered to
be a program supplemental to the regular education program, and a
district may use its compensatory education allotment for such
courses.
SECTION 7. The commissioner of education may adopt rules
necessary to implement this Act.
SECTION 8. This Act applies beginning with the 2011-2012
school year.
SECTION 9. 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 September 1, 2011.