83R11839 EAH-D
By: Patrick S.B. No. 1740
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the public education grant program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 29.201, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 29.201. PARENTAL CHOICE. Notwithstanding any other
provision of this code, as provided by this subchapter a [an
eligible] student may attend a public school in the district in
which the student resides or may use a public education grant to
attend a public school in any other district chosen by the student's
parent.
SECTION 2. Section 29.203(d), Education Code, is
redesignated as Section 29.2011, Education Code, and amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 29.2011. ACCEPTANCE BY CHOSEN CAMPUS. (a) [(d)] A
school district may not [chosen by a student's parent under Section
29.201 is entitled to accept or] reject an [the] application under
Section 29.201 for a [the] student to attend school at a campus
chosen by the student's parent unless positions at the campus are
unavailable because the campus is at full capacity [in that
district but may not use criteria that discriminate on the basis of
a student's race, ethnicity, academic achievement, athletic
abilities, language proficiency, sex, or socioeconomic status].
(b) A school district that has more [acceptable] applicants
for attendance at a campus under this subchapter than available
positions [must give priority to students at risk of dropping out of
school as defined by Section 29.081 and] must fill the available
positions at the campus as follows:
(1) students residing in the assigned attendance zone
of the campus must be accepted first;
(2) students residing in the school district in which
the campus is located must be accepted next; and
(3) students residing in a school district other than
the district in which the campus is located must be accepted if
positions remain after accepting students under Subdivisions (1)
and (2).
(c) If a school district has more applicants from students
in a category under Subsection (b) than available positions, the
district shall fill the available positions by lottery.
(d) Notwithstanding Subsections (b) and (c) [However], to
achieve continuity in education, a school district may give
preference [over at-risk students] to enrolled students and to the
siblings of enrolled students residing in the same household or
other children residing in the same household as enrolled students
for the convenience of parents, guardians, or custodians of those
children.
SECTION 3. Section 29.203(f), Education Code, is
redesignated as Section 29.2012, Education Code, and amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 29.2012. TRANSPORTATION. If the school a student
would otherwise attend is a campus assigned an unacceptable
performance rating under Section 39.054, the [(f) The] school
district in which the [a] student resides shall provide
transportation free of charge to and from the school the student
attends [each student attending a school in another district] under
this subchapter [transportation free of charge to and from the
school the student would otherwise attend].
SECTION 4. Section 29.204(b), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) Not later than February 1 of each year, a school
district shall notify the parent of each student in the district
[assigned to attend a campus described by Section 29.202] that the
student is eligible for a public education grant. The notice must
contain a clear, concise explanation of the public education grant
program and of the manner in which the parent may obtain further
information about the program.
SECTION 5. Section 29.205, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 29.205. CONTRACT AUTHORITY. The board of trustees of a
school district may contract under Section 11.157 for the provision
of educational services to a district student eligible to receive a
public education grant [under Section 29.202].
SECTION 6. Sections 29.202, 29.203(b), (c), and (g),
29.204(a), 42.157, and 42.4101, Education Code, are repealed.
SECTION 7. This Act applies beginning with the 2013-2014
school year.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect immediately if it 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 for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2013.