Texas 2011 - 82nd 1st C.S.

Texas Senate Bill SB30 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Shapiro S.B. No. 30
2	2	(In the Senate - Filed June 2, 2011; June 3, 2011, read
3	3	first time and referred to Committee on Education; June 6, 2011,
4	4	reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0;
5	5	June 6, 2011, sent to printer.)
6	6
7	7
8	8	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
9	9	AN ACT
10	10	relating to the state virtual school network.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 30A, Education Code, is
13	13	amended by adding Section 30A.007 to read as follows:
14	14	Sec. 30A.007. LOCAL POLICY ON ELECTRONIC COURSES. (a) A
15	15	school district or open-enrollment charter school shall adopt a
16	16	policy that provides district or school students with the
17	17	opportunity to enroll in electronic courses provided through the
18	18	state virtual school network. The policy must be consistent with
19	19	the requirements imposed by Section 26.0031.
20	20	(b) For purposes of a policy adopted under Subsection (a),
21	21	the determination of whether or not an electronic course will meet
22	22	the needs of a student with a disability shall be made by the
23	23	student's admission, review, and dismissal committee in a manner
24	24	consistent with state and federal law, including the Individuals
25	25	with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Section 1400 et seq.)
26	26	and Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section
27	27	794).
28	28	SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 30A, Education Code, is
29	29	amended by adding Section 30A.1021 to read as follows:
30	30	Sec. 30A.1021. PUBLIC ACCESS TO USER COMMENTS REGARDING
31	31	ELECTRONIC COURSES. (a) The administering authority shall
32	32	provide students who have completed or withdrawn from electronic
33	33	courses offered through the virtual school network and their
34	34	parents with a mechanism for providing comments regarding the
35	35	courses.
36	36	(b) The mechanism required by Subsection (a) must include a
37	37	quantitative rating system and a list of verbal descriptors that a
38	38	student or parent may select as appropriate.
39	39	(c) The administering authority shall provide public access
40	40	to the comments submitted by students and parents under this
41	41	section. The comments must be in a format that permits a person to
42	42	sort the comments by teacher, electronic course, and provider
43	43	school district or school.
44	44	SECTION 3. Section 30A.104, Education Code, is amended to
45	45	read as follows:
46	46	Sec. 30A.104. COURSE ELIGIBILITY IN GENERAL. (a) A course
47	47	offered through the state virtual school network must:
48	48	(1) be in a specific subject that is part of the
49	49	required curriculum under Section 28.002(a);
50	50	(2) be aligned with the essential knowledge and skills
51	51	identified under Section 28.002(c) for a grade level at or above
52	52	grade level three; and
53	53	(3) be the equivalent in instructional rigor and scope
54	54	to a course that is provided in a traditional classroom setting
55	55	during:
56	56	(A) a semester of 90 instructional days; and
57	57	(B) a school day that meets the minimum length of
58	58	a school day required under Section 25.082.
59	59	(b) For purposes of Subsection (a)(2), a course is
60	60	considered in compliance with the requirement imposed under that
61	61	subdivision if:
62	62	(1) the course contains at least 80 percent of the
63	63	applicable essential knowledge and skills; and
64	64	(2) the provider school district or school provides
65	65	written documentation that the remaining 20 percent of the
66	66	applicable essential knowledge and skills will be provided by the
67	67	teacher of the course.
68	68	(c) If the essential knowledge and skills with which an
69	69	approved course is aligned in accordance with Subsection (a)(2) are
70	70	modified, the provider school district or school must be provided
71	71	the same time period to revise the course to achieve alignment with
72	72	the modified essential knowledge and skills as is provided for the
73	73	modification of a course provided in a traditional classroom
74	74	setting.
75	75	SECTION 4. Section 30A.105, Education Code, is amended by
76	76	adding Subsections (a-1) and (a-2) and amending Subsection (d) to
77	77	read as follows:
78	78	(a-1) The administering authority shall publish the
79	79	schedule established under Subsection (a)(1), including any
80	80	deadlines specified in that schedule, and any guidelines applicable
81	81	to the submission and approval process for electronic courses.
82	82	(a-2) The evaluation required by Subsection (a)(2) must
83	83	include review of each electronic course component, including
84	84	off-line material proposed to be used in the course.
85	85	(d) If the agency determines that the costs of evaluating
86	86	and approving a submitted electronic course will not be paid by the
87	87	agency due to a shortage of funds available for that purpose, the
88	88	school district, open-enrollment charter school, or public or
89	89	private institution of higher education that submitted the course
90	90	for evaluation and approval may pay a fee equal to the amount of the
91	91	costs in order to ensure that evaluation of the course occurs. The
92	92	agency shall establish and publish a fee schedule for purposes of
93	93	this subsection.
94	94	SECTION 5. Subchapter D, Chapter 30A, Education Code, is
95	95	amended by adding Section 30A.153 to read as follows:
96	96	Sec. 30A.153. FOUNDATION SCHOOL PROGRAM FUNDING. (a) A
97	97	school district or open-enrollment charter school in which a
98	98	student is enrolled is entitled to funding under Chapter 42 for the
99	99	student's enrollment in an electronic course offered through the
100	100	state virtual school network in the same manner that the district or
101	101	school is entitled to funding for the student's enrollment in
102	102	courses provided in a traditional classroom setting, provided that
103	103	the student successfully completes the electronic course.
104	104	(b) The commissioner, after considering comments from
105	105	school district and open-enrollment charter school
106	106	representatives, shall adopt a standard agreement that governs
107	107	payment of funds and other matters relating to a student's
108	108	enrollment in an electronic course offered through the state
109	109	virtual school network. The agreement may not require a school
110	110	district or open-enrollment charter school to pay the provider the
111	111	full amount until the student has successfully completed the
112	112	electronic course.
113	113	(c) A school district or open-enrollment charter school
114	114	shall use the standard agreement adopted under Subsection (b)
115	115	unless:
116	116	(1) the district or school requests from the
117	117	commissioner permission to modify the standard agreement; and
118	118	(2) the commissioner authorizes the modification.
119	119	(d) The commissioner shall adopt rules necessary to
120	120	implement this section, including rules regarding attendance
121	121	accounting.
122	122	SECTION 6. Subsection (a), Section 42.302, Education Code,
123	123	is amended to read as follows:
124	124	(a) Each school district is guaranteed a specified amount
125	125	per weighted student in state and local funds for each cent of tax
126	126	effort over that required for the district's local fund assignment
127	127	up to the maximum level specified in this subchapter. The amount
128	128	of state support, subject only to the maximum amount under Section
129	129	42.303, is determined by the formula:
130	130	GYA = (GL X WADA X DTR X 100) - LR
131	131	where:
132	132	"GYA" is the guaranteed yield amount of state funds to be
133	133	allocated to the district;
134	134	"GL" is the dollar amount guaranteed level of state and local
135	135	funds per weighted student per cent of tax effort, which is an
136	136	amount described by Subsection (a-1) or a greater amount for any
137	137	year provided by appropriation;
138	138	"WADA" is the number of students in weighted average daily
139	139	attendance, which is calculated by dividing the sum of the school
140	140	district's allotments under Subchapters B and C, less any allotment
141	141	to the district for transportation, any allotment under Section
142	142	42.158[, 42.159,] or 42.160, and 50 percent of the adjustment under
143	143	Section 42.102, by the basic allotment for the applicable year;
144	144	"DTR" is the district enrichment tax rate of the school
145	145	district, which is determined by subtracting the amounts specified
146	146	by Subsection (b) from the total amount of maintenance and
147	147	operations taxes collected by the school district for the
148	148	applicable school year and dividing the difference by the quotient
149	149	of the district's taxable value of property as determined under
150	150	Subchapter M, Chapter 403, Government Code, or, if applicable,
151	151	under Section 42.2521, divided by 100; and
152	152	"LR" is the local revenue, which is determined by multiplying
153	153	"DTR" by the quotient of the district's taxable value of property as
154	154	determined under Subchapter M, Chapter 403, Government Code, or, if
155	155	applicable, under Section 42.2521, divided by 100.
156	156	SECTION 7. Section 42.159, Education Code, is repealed.
157	157	SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011, if this
158	158	Act receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
159	159	house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
160	160	If this Act does not receive the vote necessary to take effect on
161	161	that date, this Act takes effect on the 91st day after the last day
162	162	of the legislative session.
163	163	* * * * *