By: Shapiro S.B. No. 30
(In the Senate - Filed June 2, 2011; June 3, 2011, read
first time and referred to Committee on Education; June 6, 2011,
reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0;
June 6, 2011, sent to printer.)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the state virtual school network.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 30A, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 30A.007 to read as follows:
Sec. 30A.007. LOCAL POLICY ON ELECTRONIC COURSES. (a) A
school district or open-enrollment charter school shall adopt a
policy that provides district or school students with the
opportunity to enroll in electronic courses provided through the
state virtual school network. The policy must be consistent with
the requirements imposed by Section 26.0031.
(b) For purposes of a policy adopted under Subsection (a),
the determination of whether or not an electronic course will meet
the needs of a student with a disability shall be made by the
student's admission, review, and dismissal committee in a manner
consistent with state and federal law, including the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Section 1400 et seq.)
and Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section
794).
SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 30A, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 30A.1021 to read as follows:
Sec. 30A.1021. PUBLIC ACCESS TO USER COMMENTS REGARDING
ELECTRONIC COURSES. (a) The administering authority shall
provide students who have completed or withdrawn from electronic
courses offered through the virtual school network and their
parents with a mechanism for providing comments regarding the
courses.
(b) The mechanism required by Subsection (a) must include a
quantitative rating system and a list of verbal descriptors that a
student or parent may select as appropriate.
(c) The administering authority shall provide public access
to the comments submitted by students and parents under this
section. The comments must be in a format that permits a person to
sort the comments by teacher, electronic course, and provider
school district or school.
SECTION 3. Section 30A.104, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 30A.104. COURSE ELIGIBILITY IN GENERAL. (a) 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.
(b) For purposes of Subsection (a)(2), a course is
considered in compliance with the requirement imposed under that
subdivision if:
(1) the course contains at least 80 percent of the
applicable essential knowledge and skills; and
(2) the provider school district or school provides
written documentation that the remaining 20 percent of the
applicable essential knowledge and skills will be provided by the
teacher of the course.
(c) If the essential knowledge and skills with which an
approved course is aligned in accordance with Subsection (a)(2) are
modified, the provider school district or school must be provided
the same time period to revise the course to achieve alignment with
the modified essential knowledge and skills as is provided for the
modification of a course provided in a traditional classroom
setting.
SECTION 4. Section 30A.105, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (a-1) and (a-2) and amending Subsection (d) to
read as follows:
(a-1) The administering authority shall publish the
schedule established under Subsection (a)(1), including any
deadlines specified in that schedule, and any guidelines applicable
to the submission and approval process for electronic courses.
(a-2) The evaluation required by Subsection (a)(2) must
include review of each electronic course component, including
off-line material proposed to be used in the course.
(d) If the agency determines that the costs of evaluating
and approving a submitted electronic course will not be paid by the
agency due to a shortage of funds available for that purpose, the
school district, open-enrollment charter school, or public or
private institution of higher education that submitted the course
for evaluation and approval may pay a fee equal to the amount of the
costs in order to ensure that evaluation of the course occurs. The
agency shall establish and publish a fee schedule for purposes of
this subsection.
SECTION 5. Subchapter D, Chapter 30A, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 30A.153 to read as follows:
Sec. 30A.153. FOUNDATION SCHOOL PROGRAM FUNDING. (a) A
school district or open-enrollment charter school in which a
student is enrolled is entitled to funding under Chapter 42 for the
student's enrollment in an electronic course offered through the
state virtual school network in the same manner that the district or
school is entitled to funding for the student's enrollment in
courses provided in a traditional classroom setting, provided that
the student successfully completes the electronic course.
(b) The commissioner, after considering comments from
school district and open-enrollment charter school
representatives, shall adopt a standard agreement that governs
payment of funds and other matters relating to a student's
enrollment in an electronic course offered through the state
virtual school network. The agreement may not require a school
district or open-enrollment charter school to pay the provider the
full amount until the student has successfully completed the
electronic course.
(c) A school district or open-enrollment charter school
shall use the standard agreement adopted under Subsection (b)
unless:
(1) the district or school requests from the
commissioner permission to modify the standard agreement; and
(2) the commissioner authorizes the modification.
(d) The commissioner shall adopt rules necessary to
implement this section, including rules regarding attendance
accounting.
SECTION 6. Subsection (a), Section 42.302, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(a) Each school district is guaranteed a specified amount
per weighted student in state and local funds for each cent of tax
effort over that required for the district's local fund assignment
up to the maximum level specified in this subchapter. The amount
of state support, subject only to the maximum amount under Section
42.303, is determined by the formula:
GYA = (GL X WADA X DTR X 100) - LR
where:
"GYA" is the guaranteed yield amount of state funds to be
allocated to the district;
"GL" is the dollar amount guaranteed level of state and local
funds per weighted student per cent of tax effort, which is an
amount described by Subsection (a-1) or a greater amount for any
year provided by appropriation;
"WADA" is the number of students in weighted average daily
attendance, which is calculated by dividing the sum of the school
district's allotments under Subchapters B and C, less any allotment
to the district for transportation, any allotment under Section
42.158[, 42.159,] or 42.160, and 50 percent of the adjustment under
Section 42.102, by the basic allotment for the applicable year;
"DTR" is the district enrichment tax rate of the school
district, which is determined by subtracting the amounts specified
by Subsection (b) from the total amount of maintenance and
operations taxes collected by the school district for the
applicable school year and dividing the difference by the quotient
of the district's taxable value of property as determined under
Subchapter M, Chapter 403, Government Code, or, if applicable,
under Section 42.2521, divided by 100; and
"LR" is the local revenue, which is determined by multiplying
"DTR" by the quotient of the district's taxable value of property as
determined under Subchapter M, Chapter 403, Government Code, or, if
applicable, under Section 42.2521, divided by 100.
SECTION 7. Section 42.159, Education Code, is repealed.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011, if this
Act 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 to take effect on
that date, this Act takes effect on the 91st day after the last day
of the legislative session.
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