| 1 | 1 | | By: Dale, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Paxton) H.B. No. 628 |
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| 2 | 2 | | (In the Senate - Received from the House May 10, 2013; |
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| 3 | 3 | | May 10, 2013, read first time and referred to Committee on Open |
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| 4 | 4 | | Government; May 17, 2013, reported favorably by the following |
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| 5 | 5 | | vote: Yeas 4, Nays 0; May 17, 2013, sent to printer.) |
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| 6 | 6 | | |
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| 7 | 7 | | |
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| 8 | 8 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 9 | 9 | | AN ACT |
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| 10 | 10 | | relating to the right of a member of the board of trustees of a |
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| 11 | 11 | | school district to obtain information, documents, and records. |
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| 12 | 12 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 13 | 13 | | SECTION 1. Section 11.1512, Education Code, is amended by |
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| 14 | 14 | | adding Subsections (c), (d), (e), and (f) to read as follows: |
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| 15 | 15 | | (c) A member of the board of trustees of the district, when |
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| 16 | 16 | | acting in the member's official capacity, has an inherent right of |
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| 17 | 17 | | access to information, documents, and records maintained by the |
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| 18 | 18 | | district, and the district shall provide the information, |
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| 19 | 19 | | documents, and records to the member without requiring the member |
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| 20 | 20 | | to submit a public information request under Chapter 552, |
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| 21 | 21 | | Government Code. The district shall provide the information, |
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| 22 | 22 | | documents, and records to the member without regard to whether the |
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| 23 | 23 | | requested items are the subject of or relate to an item listed on an |
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| 24 | 24 | | agenda for an upcoming meeting. The district may withhold or redact |
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| 25 | 25 | | information, a document, or a record requested by a member of the |
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| 26 | 26 | | board to the extent that the item is excepted from disclosure or is |
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| 27 | 27 | | confidential under Chapter 552, Government Code, or other law. |
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| 28 | 28 | | This subsection does not require the district to provide |
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| 29 | 29 | | information, documents, and records that are not subject to |
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| 30 | 30 | | disclosure under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of |
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| 31 | 31 | | 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g). |
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| 32 | 32 | | (d) A school district shall post, in a place convenient to |
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| 33 | 33 | | the public, the cost of responding to one or more requests submitted |
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| 34 | 34 | | by a member of the board of trustees of the district under |
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| 35 | 35 | | Subsection (c) if the requests are for 200 or more pages of material |
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| 36 | 36 | | in a 90-day period. |
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| 37 | 37 | | (e) The district shall report annually to the Texas |
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| 38 | 38 | | Education Agency not later than September 1 of each year: |
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| 39 | 39 | | (1) the number of requests submitted by a member of the |
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| 40 | 40 | | board of trustees of the district under Subsection (c) during the |
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| 41 | 41 | | preceding school year; and |
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| 42 | 42 | | (2) the total cost to the district for that school year |
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| 43 | 43 | | of responding to requests under Subsection (c). |
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| 44 | 44 | | (f) In this section, "official capacity" means all duties of |
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| 45 | 45 | | office and includes administrative decisions or actions. |
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| 46 | 46 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013. |
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| 47 | 47 | | * * * * * |
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