| 1 | 1 | | By: Williams, Seliger S.B. No. 778 |
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| 2 | 2 | | (Huberty) |
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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 the inclusion of professional staff who educate |
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| 8 | 8 | | students with disabilities on district-level and campus-level |
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| 9 | 9 | | planning and decision-making committees. |
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| 10 | 10 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 11 | 11 | | SECTION 1. Subsections (b) and (e), Section 11.251, |
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| 12 | 12 | | Education Code, are amended to read as follows: |
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| 13 | 13 | | (b) The board shall adopt a policy to establish a district- |
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| 14 | 14 | | and campus-level planning and decision-making process that will |
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| 15 | 15 | | involve the professional staff of the district, parents, and |
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| 16 | 16 | | community members in establishing and reviewing the district's and |
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| 17 | 17 | | campuses' educational plans, goals, performance objectives, and |
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| 18 | 18 | | major classroom instructional programs. The board shall establish |
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| 19 | 19 | | a procedure under which meetings are held regularly by district- |
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| 20 | 20 | | and campus-level planning and decision-making committees that |
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| 21 | 21 | | include representative professional staff, including, if |
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| 22 | 22 | | practicable, at least one representative with the primary |
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| 23 | 23 | | responsibility for educating students with disabilities, parents |
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| 24 | 24 | | of students enrolled in the district, business representatives, and |
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| 25 | 25 | | community members. The committees shall include a business |
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| 26 | 26 | | representative without regard to whether the representative |
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| 27 | 27 | | resides in the district or whether the business the person |
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| 28 | 28 | | represents is located in the district. The board, or the board's |
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| 29 | 29 | | designee, shall periodically meet with the district-level |
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| 30 | 30 | | committee to review the district-level committee's deliberations. |
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| 31 | 31 | | (e) The board shall adopt a procedure, consistent with |
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| 32 | 32 | | Section 21.407(a), for the professional staff in the district to |
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| 33 | 33 | | nominate and elect the professional staff representatives who shall |
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| 34 | 34 | | meet with the board or the board designee as required under this |
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| 35 | 35 | | section. At least two-thirds of the elected professional staff |
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| 36 | 36 | | representatives must be classroom teachers. The remaining staff |
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| 37 | 37 | | representatives shall include both campus- and district-level |
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| 38 | 38 | | professional staff members. If practicable, the committee |
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| 39 | 39 | | membership shall include at least one professional staff |
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| 40 | 40 | | representative with the primary responsibility for educating |
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| 41 | 41 | | students with disabilities. Board policy must provide procedures |
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| 42 | 42 | | for: |
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| 43 | 43 | | (1) the selection of parents to the district-level and |
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| 44 | 44 | | campus-level committees; and |
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| 45 | 45 | | (2) the selection of community members and business |
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| 46 | 46 | | representatives to serve on the district-level committee in a |
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| 47 | 47 | | manner that provides for appropriate representation of the |
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| 48 | 48 | | community's diversity. |
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| 49 | 49 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011. |
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