By: Duncan, et al. S.B. No. 1142
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to an adult high school diploma and industry certification
charter school pilot program for adults 19 to 50 years of age.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subdivision (1), Section 29.251, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(1) "Adult education" means services and instruction
provided below the college level for adults by public local
education agencies, public nonprofit agencies, nonprofit entities
providing services and instruction as described by Section 29.259,
or community-based organizations.
SECTION 2. Section 29.252, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 29.252. STATE ROLE IN ADULT AND COMMUNITY EDUCATION.
(a) The agency shall:
(1) provide adequate staffing to develop, administer,
and support a comprehensive statewide adult education program and
coordinate related federal and state programs for education and
training of adults;
(2) develop, implement, and regulate a comprehensive
statewide program for community level education services to meet
the special needs of adults;
(3) develop the mechanism and guidelines for
coordination of comprehensive adult education and related skill
training services for adults with other agencies, both public and
private, in planning, developing, and implementing related
programs, including community education programs;
(4) administer all state and federal funds for adult
education and related skill training in this state, except in
programs for which another entity is specifically authorized to do
so under other law;
(5) prescribe and administer standards and
accrediting policies for adult education;
(6) prescribe and administer rules for teacher
certification for adult education;
(7) accept and administer grants, gifts, services, and
funds from available sources for use in adult education;
(8) adopt or develop and administer:
(A) a standardized assessment mechanism for
assessing all adult education program participants who need
literacy instruction, adult basic education, or secondary
education leading to an adult high school diploma or the
equivalent; and
(B) a standardized secondary exit-level
assessment instrument appropriate for assessing adult education
program participants who successfully complete high school
curriculum requirements under a program provided under Section
29.259;
(9) collaborate with the Texas Workforce Commission to
improve the coordination and implementation of adult education and
literacy services in this state; and
(10) monitor and evaluate educational and employment
outcomes of students who participate in the agency's adult
education and literacy programs.
(b) The assessment mechanism prescribed under Subsection
(a)(8)(A) [(a)(8)] must include an initial basic skills screening
instrument and must provide comprehensive information concerning
baseline student skills before and student progress after
participation in an adult education program.
SECTION 3. Section 29.253, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 29.253. PROVISION OF ADULT EDUCATION PROGRAMS. Adult
education programs shall be provided by public school districts,
public junior colleges, public universities, public nonprofit
agencies, and community-based organizations approved in accordance
with state statutes and rules adopted by the State Board of
Education. A nonprofit entity described by Section 29.259 may also
provide an adult education program as provided by that section. The
programs must be designed to meet the education and training needs
of adults to the extent possible within available public and
private resources. Bilingual education may be the method of
instruction for students who do not function satisfactorily in
English whenever it is appropriate for their optimum development.
SECTION 4. Section 29.2531, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 29.2531. ADULT EDUCATION ASSESSMENT. (a) The agency
[Texas Education Agency] shall, in consultation with the Texas
Higher Education Coordinating Board, review the standardized
assessment mechanism required under Section 29.252(a)(8)(A)
[29.252(a)(8)] and recommend any changes necessary to align the
assessment with the assessments designated under Section 51.3062 to
allow for the proper placement of a student in an adult basic
education course or to provide the student with the proper
developmental or English as a second language coursework, as
appropriate.
(b) The commissioner shall determine the level of
performance considered to be satisfactory on a secondary exit-level
assessment instrument described by Section 29.252(a)(8)(B) for
receipt of a high school diploma by an adult education program
participant in a program provided under Section 29.259.
SECTION 5. Subchapter H, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 29.259 to read as follows:
Sec. 29.259. ADULT HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA AND INDUSTRY
CERTIFICATION CHARTER SCHOOL PILOT PROGRAM. (a) The commissioner
shall establish an adult high school diploma and industry
certification charter school pilot program as provided by this
section as a strategy for meeting industry needs for a sufficiently
trained workforce within the state.
(b) Notwithstanding any other law and in addition to the
number of charters allowed under Subchapter D, Chapter 12, the
State Board of Education may grant, on the basis of an application
submitted to the board, a charter under the pilot program to a
single nonprofit entity described by Subsection (c) to provide an
adult education program for not more than 150 individuals described
by Subsection (e) to successfully complete:
(1) a high school program that can lead to a diploma;
and
(2) career and technology education courses that can
lead to industry certification.
(c) A nonprofit entity may be granted a charter under this
section only if the entity:
(1) has a successful history of providing education
services, including industry certifications and job placement
services, to adults 18 years of age and older whose educational and
training opportunities have been limited by educational
disadvantages, disabilities, homelessness, criminal history, or
similar circumstances; and
(2) agrees to commit at least $1 million to the adult
education program offered.
(d) A nonprofit entity granted a charter under this section
may partner with a public junior college to provide career and
technology courses that lead to industry certification.
(e) A person who is at least 19 years of age and not more
than 50 years of age is eligible to enroll in the adult education
program under this section if the person has not earned a high
school equivalency certificate and:
(1) has failed to complete the curriculum requirements
for high school graduation; or
(2) has failed to perform satisfactorily on an
assessment instrument required for high school graduation.
(f) The nonprofit entity must include in its charter
application the information required by Subsection (g).
(g) A charter granted under this section must:
(1) include a description of the adult education
program to be offered under this section; and
(2) establish specific, objective standards for
receiving a high school diploma, including satisfactory
performance on the standardized secondary exit-level assessment
instrument described by Section 29.252(a)(8)(B) as provided under
Section 29.2531.
(h) Funding for an adult education program under this
section is provided based on the following:
(1) for participants who are 26 years of age and older,
an amount per participant from available general revenue funds
appropriated for the pilot program equal to the statewide average
amount of state funding per student in weighted average daily
attendance that would be allocated under the Foundation School
Program to an open-enrollment charter school under Section 12.106
were the student under 26 years of age; and
(2) for participants who are at least 19 years of age
and under 26 years of age, an amount per participant through the
Foundation School Program equal to the amount of state funding per
student in weighted average daily attendance that would be
allocated under the Foundation School Program for the student's
attendance at an open-enrollment charter school in accordance with
Section 12.106.
(i) Sections 12.107 and 12.128 apply as though funds under
this section were funds under Subchapter D, Chapter 12.
(j) Not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year,
beginning December 1, 2016, the agency shall prepare and deliver to
the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the house of
representatives, and presiding officer of each standing
legislative committee with primary jurisdiction over public
education or economic development a report that:
(1) evaluates any adult education program operated
under a charter granted under this section; and
(2) makes recommendations regarding the abolition,
continuation, or expansion of the pilot program.
(k) The commissioner shall adopt rules necessary to
administer the pilot program under this section. In adopting
rules, the commissioner may modify charter school requirements only
to the extent necessary for the administration of a charter school
under this section that provides for adult education.
SECTION 6. Subsection (a), Section 42.003, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(a) A student is entitled to the benefits of the Foundation
School Program if, on September 1 of the school year, the student:
(1) is 5 years of age or older and under 21 years of age
and has not graduated from high school, or is at least 21 years of
age and under 26 years of age and has been admitted by a school
district to complete the requirements for a high school diploma; or
(2) is at least 19 years of age and under 26 years of
age and is enrolled in an adult high school diploma and industry
certification charter school pilot program under Section 29.259.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.