Texas 2013 - 83rd Regular

Texas House Bill HB1831 Compare Versions

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1	1	83R21081 PAM-D
2	2	By: J. Davis of Harris, Deshotel, Huberty, H.B. No. 1831
3	3	Farney, Murphy
4	4	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1831:
5	5	By: Villarreal C.S.H.B. No. 1831
6	6
7	7
8	8	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
9	9	AN ACT
10	10	relating to an adult high school diploma and industry certification
11	11	charter school pilot program for adults 19 to 50 years of age.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Section 29.251(1), Education Code, is amended to
14	14	read as follows:
15	15	(1) "Adult education" means services and instruction
16	16	provided below the college level for adults by public local
17	17	education agencies, public nonprofit agencies, nonprofit entities
18	18	providing services and instruction as described by Section 29.259,
19	19	or community-based organizations.
20	20	SECTION 2. Section 29.252(a), Education Code, is amended to
21	21	read as follows:
22	22	(a) The agency shall:
23	23	(1) provide adequate staffing to develop, administer,
24	24	and support a comprehensive statewide adult education program and
25	25	coordinate related federal and state programs for education and
26	26	training of adults;
27	27	(2) develop, implement, and regulate a comprehensive
28	28	statewide program for community level education services to meet
29	29	the special needs of adults;
30	30	(3) develop the mechanism and guidelines for
31	31	coordination of comprehensive adult education and related skill
32	32	training services for adults with other agencies, both public and
33	33	private, in planning, developing, and implementing related
34	34	programs, including community education programs;
35	35	(4) administer all state and federal funds for adult
36	36	education and related skill training in this state, except in
37	37	programs for which another entity is specifically authorized to do
38	38	so under other law;
39	39	(5) prescribe and administer standards and
40	40	accrediting policies for adult education;
41	41	(6) prescribe and administer rules for teacher
42	42	certification for adult education;
43	43	(7) accept and administer grants, gifts, services, and
44	44	funds from available sources for use in adult education;
45	45	(8) adopt or develop and administer a standardized
46	46	assessment mechanism for assessing all adult education program
47	47	participants who need literacy instruction, adult basic education,
48	48	or secondary education leading to an adult high school diploma or
49	49	the equivalent;
50	50	(9) adopt and administer a standardized secondary
51	51	exit-level assessment instrument appropriate for assessing adult
52	52	education program participants who successfully complete high
53	53	school curriculum requirements under a program provided under
54	54	Section 29.259;
55	55	(10) collaborate with the Texas Workforce Commission
56	56	to improve the coordination and implementation of adult education
57	57	and literacy services in this state; and
58	58	(11) [(10)] monitor and evaluate educational and
59	59	employment outcomes of students who participate in the agency's
60	60	adult education and literacy programs.
61	61	SECTION 3. Section 29.253, Education Code, is amended to
62	62	read as follows:
63	63	Sec. 29.253. PROVISION OF ADULT EDUCATION PROGRAMS. Adult
64	64	education programs shall be provided by public school districts,
65	65	public junior colleges, public universities, public nonprofit
66	66	agencies, and community-based organizations approved in accordance
67	67	with state statutes and rules adopted by the State Board of
68	68	Education. A nonprofit entity described by Section 29.259 may also
69	69	provide an adult education program as provided by that section. The
70	70	programs must be designed to meet the education and training needs
71	71	of adults to the extent possible within available public and
72	72	private resources. Bilingual education may be the method of
73	73	instruction for students who do not function satisfactorily in
74	74	English whenever it is appropriate for their optimum development.
75	75	SECTION 4. Section 29.2531, Education Code, is amended to
76	76	read as follows:
77	77	Sec. 29.2531. ADULT EDUCATION ASSESSMENT. (a) The agency
78	78	[Texas Education Agency] shall, in consultation with the Texas
79	79	Higher Education Coordinating Board, review the standardized
80	80	assessment mechanism required under Section 29.252(a)(8) and
81	81	recommend any changes necessary to align the assessment with the
82	82	assessments designated under Section 51.3062 to allow for the
83	83	proper placement of a student in an adult basic education course or
84	84	to provide the student with the proper developmental or English as a
85	85	second language coursework, as appropriate.
86	86	(b) The commissioner shall determine the level of
87	87	performance considered to be satisfactory on a secondary exit-level
88	88	assessment instrument described by Section 29.252(a)(9) for
89	89	receipt of a high school diploma by an adult education program
90	90	participant in a program provided under Section 29.259.
91	91	SECTION 5. Section 29.255, Education Code, is amended to
92	92	read as follows:
93	93	Sec. 29.255. FUNDING. (a) Funds shall be appropriated to
94	94	implement statewide adult basic education, adult bilingual
95	95	education, high school equivalency, and high school credit programs
96	96	to eliminate illiteracy in this state and to implement and support a
97	97	statewide program to meet the total range of adult needs for adult
98	98	education, related skill training, and pilot programs to
99	99	demonstrate the effectiveness of the community education concept.
100	100	The agency shall ensure that public local education agencies,
101	101	public nonprofit agencies, nonprofit entities providing programs
102	102	under Section 29.259, and community-based organizations have
103	103	direct and equitable access to those funds. An additional sum of
104	104	money may be appropriated to the Texas Economic Development and
105	105	Tourism Office [Department of Commerce] for the purpose of skill
106	106	training in direct support of industrial expansion and start-up,
107	107	and those locations, industries, and occupations designated by the
108	108	Texas Economic Development and Tourism Office [Department of
109	109	Commerce], when such training is also in support of the basic
110	110	purposes of this subchapter. To fulfill the basic purposes of this
111	111	subchapter, an additional sum of money may be appropriated for
112	112	skill training that is conducted to support the expansion of
113	113	civilian employment opportunities on United States military
114	114	reservations.
115	115	(b) The agency, in conjunction with the Texas Economic
116	116	Development and Tourism Office [Department of Commerce], may adopt
117	117	rules to administer skill training programs for which the agency is
118	118	responsible, and the Texas Economic Development and Tourism Office
119	119	[Department of Commerce] may adopt rules to administer skill
120	120	training programs for which it is responsible.
121	121	SECTION 6. Subchapter H, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
122	122	amended by adding Section 29.259 to read as follows:
123	123	Sec. 29.259. ADULT HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA AND INDUSTRY
124	124	CERTIFICATION CHARTER SCHOOL PILOT PROGRAM. (a) The commissioner
125	125	shall establish an adult high school diploma and industry
126	126	certification charter school pilot program as provided by this
127	127	section as a strategy for meeting industry needs for a sufficiently
128	128	trained workforce within the state.
129	129	(b) Notwithstanding any other law and in addition to the
130	130	number of charters allowed under Subchapter D, Chapter 12, the
131	131	State Board of Education may grant, on the basis of an application
132	132	submitted to the board, a charter under the pilot program to a
133	133	single nonprofit entity described by Subsection (c) to provide an
134	134	adult education program for not more than 150 individuals described
135	135	by Subsection (e) to successfully complete:
136	136	(1) a high school program that can lead to a diploma;
137	137	and
138	138	(2) career and technology education courses that can
139	139	lead to industry certification.
140	140	(c) A nonprofit entity may be granted a charter under this
141	141	section only if the entity:
142	142	(1) has a successful history of providing education
143	143	services, including industry certifications and job placement
144	144	services, to adults 18 years of age and older whose educational and
145	145	training opportunities have been limited by educational
146	146	disadvantages, disabilities, homelessness, criminal history, or
147	147	similar circumstances; and
148	148	(2) agrees to commit at least $1 million to the adult
149	149	education program offered.
150	150	(d) A nonprofit entity granted a charter under this section
151	151	may partner with a public junior college to provide career and
152	152	technology courses that lead to industry certification.
153	153	(e) A person who is at least 19 years of age and not more
154	154	than 50 years of age is eligible to enroll in the adult education
155	155	program under this section if the person has not earned a high
156	156	school equivalency certificate and:
157	157	(1) has failed to complete the curriculum requirements
158	158	for high school graduation; or
159	159	(2) has failed to perform satisfactorily on an
160	160	assessment instrument required for high school graduation.
161	161	(f) The nonprofit entity must include in its charter
162	162	application the information required by Subsection (g).
163	163	(g) A charter granted under this section must:
164	164	(1) include a description of the adult education
165	165	program to be offered under this section; and
166	166	(2) establish specific, objective standards for
167	167	receiving a high school diploma, including satisfactory
168	168	performance on the standardized secondary exit-level assessment
169	169	instrument described by Section 29.252(a)(9) as provided under
170	170	Section 29.2531.
171	171	(h) Funding for an adult education program under this
172	172	section is provided based on the following:
173	173	(1) for participants who are 26 years of age and older,
174	174	from funds appropriated for that purpose; and
175	175	(2) for participants who are at least 19 years of age
176	176	and under 26 years of age, an amount per participant through the
177	177	Foundation School Program equal to the amount of state funding per
178	178	student in weighted average daily attendance that would be
179	179	allocated under the Foundation School Program for the student's
180	180	attendance at an open-enrollment charter school in accordance with
181	181	Section 12.106.
182	182	(i) Sections 12.107 and 12.128 apply as though funds under
183	183	this section were funds under Subchapter D, Chapter 12.
184	184	(j) Not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year,
185	185	beginning December 1, 2016, the agency shall prepare and deliver to
186	186	the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the house of
187	187	representatives, and presiding officer of each standing
188	188	legislative committee with primary jurisdiction over public
189	189	education or economic development a report that:
190	190	(1) evaluates any adult education program operated
191	191	under a charter granted under this section; and
192	192	(2) makes recommendations regarding the abolition,
193	193	continuation, or expansion of the pilot program.
194	194	(k) The commissioner shall adopt rules necessary to
195	195	administer the pilot program under this section. In adopting
196	196	rules, the commissioner may modify charter school requirements only
197	197	to the extent necessary for the administration of a charter school
198	198	under this section that provides for adult education.
199	199	SECTION 7. Section 42.003(a), Education Code, is amended to
200	200	read as follows:
201	201	(a) A student is entitled to the benefits of the Foundation
202	202	School Program if, on September 1 of the school year, the student:
203	203	(1) is 5 years of age or older and under 21 years of age
204	204	and has not graduated from high school, or is at least 21 years of
205	205	age and under 26 years of age and has been admitted by a school
206	206	district to complete the requirements for a high school diploma; or
207	207	(2) is at least 19 years of age and under 26 years of
208	208	age and is enrolled in an adult high school diploma and industry
209	209	certification charter school pilot program under Section 29.259.
210	210	SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.