Texas 2013 - 83rd Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB39 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 39
2	2	(Naishtat)
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the evaluation and instruction of public school
8	8	students with visual impairments.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Subsections (b), (c), and (e), Section 30.002,
11	11	Education Code, are amended to read as follows:
12	12	(b) The agency shall:
13	13	(1) develop standards and guidelines for all special
14	14	education services for children with visual impairments that it is
15	15	authorized to provide or support under this code;
16	16	(2) supervise regional education service centers and
17	17	other entities in assisting school districts in serving children
18	18	with visual impairments more effectively;
19	19	(3) develop and administer special education services
20	20	for students with both serious visual and auditory impairments;
21	21	(4) evaluate special education services provided for
22	22	children with visual impairments by school districts and approve or
23	23	disapprove state funding of those services; and
24	24	(5) maintain an effective liaison between special
25	25	education programs provided for children with visual impairments by
26	26	school districts and related initiatives of the Department of
27	27	Assistive and Rehabilitative Services Division [Texas Commission]
28	28	for [the] Blind Services, the [Texas] Department of State [Mental]
29	29	Health Services Mental Health and Substance Abuse Division [and
30	30	Mental Retardation], the Texas School for the Blind and Visually
31	31	Impaired, and other related programs, agencies, or facilities as
32	32	appropriate.
33	33	(c) The comprehensive statewide plan for the education of
34	34	children with visual impairments must:
35	35	(1) adequately provide for comprehensive diagnosis
36	36	and evaluation of each school-age child with a serious visual
37	37	impairment;
38	38	(2) include the procedures, format, and content of the
39	39	individualized education program for each child with a visual
40	40	impairment;
41	41	(3) emphasize providing educational services to
42	42	children with visual impairments in their home communities whenever
43	43	possible;
44	44	(4) include methods to ensure that children with
45	45	visual impairments receiving special education services in school
46	46	districts receive, before being placed in a classroom setting or
47	47	within a reasonable time after placement:
48	48	(A) evaluation of the impairment; and
49	49	(B) instruction in an expanded core curriculum,
50	50	which is required for students with visual impairments to succeed
51	51	in classroom settings and to derive lasting, practical benefits
52	52	from the education provided by school districts, including
53	53	instruction in:
54	54	(i) [, the training in] compensatory
55	55	skills, such as braille and concept development, and other skills
56	56	needed to access the rest of the curriculum;
57	57	(ii) [communicative skills,] orientation
58	58	and mobility;
59	59	(iii) [, and] social interaction
60	60	[adjustment] skills;
61	61	(iv) [, and the vocational or] career
62	62	planning;
63	63	(v) assistive technology, including
64	64	optical devices;
65	65	(vi) independent living skills;
66	66	(vii) recreation and leisure enjoyment;
67	67	(viii) self-determination; and
68	68	(ix) sensory efficiency [counseling,
69	69	required for those students to succeed in classroom settings and to
70	70	derive lasting, practical benefits from the education in the school
71	71	district];
72	72	(5) provide for flexibility on the part of school
73	73	districts to meet the special needs of children with visual
74	74	impairments through:
75	75	(A) specialty staff and resources provided by the
76	76	district;
77	77	(B) contractual arrangements with other
78	78	qualified public or private agencies;
79	79	(C) supportive assistance from regional
80	80	education service centers or adjacent school districts;
81	81	(D) short-term or long-term services through the
82	82	Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired or related
83	83	facilities or programs; or
84	84	(E) other instructional and service arrangements
85	85	approved by the agency;
86	86	(6) include a statewide admission, review, and
87	87	dismissal process;
88	88	(7) provide for effective interaction between the
89	89	visually impaired child's classroom setting and the child's home
90	90	environment, including providing for parental training and
91	91	counseling either by school district staff or by representatives of
92	92	other organizations directly involved in the development and
93	93	implementation of the individualized education program for the
94	94	child;
95	95	(8) require the continuing education and professional
96	96	development of school district staff providing special education
97	97	services to children with visual impairments;
98	98	(9) provide for adequate monitoring and precise
99	99	evaluation of special education services provided to children with
100	100	visual impairments through school districts; and
101	101	(10) require that school districts providing special
102	102	education services to children with visual impairments develop
103	103	procedures for assuring that staff assigned to work with the
104	104	children have prompt and effective access directly to resources
105	105	available through:
106	106	(A) cooperating agencies in the area;
107	107	(B) the Texas School for the Blind and Visually
108	108	Impaired;
109	109	(C) the Central Media Depository for specialized
110	110	instructional materials and aids made specifically for use by
111	111	students with visual impairments;
112	112	(D) sheltered workshops participating in the
113	113	state program of purchases of blind-made goods and services; and
114	114	(E) related sources.
115	115	(e) Each eligible blind or visually impaired student is
116	116	entitled to receive educational programs according to an
117	117	individualized education program that:
118	118	(1) is developed in accordance with federal and state
119	119	requirements for providing special education services;
120	120	(2) is developed by a committee composed as required
121	121	by federal law;
122	122	(3) reflects that the student has been provided a
123	123	detailed explanation of the various service resources available to
124	124	the student in the community and throughout the state;
125	125	(4) provides a detailed description of the
126	126	arrangements made to provide the student with the evaluation and
127	127	instruction required under Subsection (c)(4) [orientation and
128	128	mobility training, instruction in braille or use of large print,
129	129	other training to compensate for serious visual loss, access to
130	130	special media and special tools, appliances, aids, or devices
131	131	commonly used by individuals with serious visual impairments]; and
132	132	(5) sets forth the plans and arrangements made for
133	133	contacts with and continuing services to the student beyond regular
134	134	school hours to ensure the student learns the skills and receives
135	135	the instruction [training] required under Subsection (c)(4)(B)
136	136	[(c)(4)].
137	137	SECTION 2. Subsection (e), Section 30.002, Education Code,
138	138	as amended by this Act, applies beginning with the 2013-2014 school
139	139	year.
140	140	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
141	141	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
142	142	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
143	143	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
144	144	Act takes effect September 1, 2013.