83S20063 PAM-F
By: Williams S.B. No. 12
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a school choice program for certain students with
disabilities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 29, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter J to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER J. SCHOOL CHOICE PROGRAM FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
Sec. 29.351. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Parent" includes a guardian, custodian, or other
person with authority to act on behalf of a student.
(2) "Program" means the school choice program
described by this subchapter.
(3) "Qualifying school" means a nongovernmental
community-based educational establishment that exists for the
public good and provides for the education needs of elementary and
secondary students with disabilities. The term does not include a
school that provides education in a home setting or that limits
enrollment to relatives of the school's staff.
Sec. 29.352. PROGRAM. An eligible student under Section
29.353 may, at the option of the student's parent:
(1) attend any public school in the school district in
which the student resides as provided by Subchapter G;
(2) subject to the limitations of Section 29.203,
attend a public school in a district other than the district in
which the student resides as provided by Subchapter G; or
(3) receive a scholarship as provided by Section
29.354 to pay the costs of attending a qualifying school.
Sec. 29.353. ELIGIBLE STUDENT. (a) A student is eligible
to participate in the program if:
(1) the student is in kindergarten through grade 12
and eligible under Section 29.003 to participate in a school
district's special education program; and
(2) an individualized education program has been
developed for the student under Section 29.005.
(b) A school district shall provide written notice of the
program to the parent of a student who is eligible to participate in
the program under Subsection (a). The notice under this subsection
must inform the parent that a qualifying school is not subject to
laws regarding the provision of education services in the same
manner as a public school, and a student with disabilities
attending a qualifying school may not receive the services a
student with disabilities attending a public school is entitled to
receive under federal and state law. The notice must provide
information regarding rights a student with disabilities is
entitled to under federal and state law if the student attends a
public school, including:
(1) rights provided under the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Section 1400 et seq.),
including:
(A) an individualized education program;
(B) education services provided in the least
restrictive environment;
(C) instruction from certified teachers;
(D) due process hearings to ensure proper and
full implementation of an individualized education program;
(E) transition and planning services; and
(F) supplementary aids and services;
(2) rights provided under Subchapter A; and
(3) other rights provided under federal or state law.
(c) A student who establishes eligibility under this
section may continue participating in the program until the earlier
of the date the student graduates from high school or the student's
22nd birthday.
Sec. 29.354. FINANCING; SCHOLARSHIP. (a) A student who
attends a qualifying school under this subchapter is entitled to
receive an annual scholarship in an amount equal to the amount of
funding to which the school district in which the student resides
would be entitled under Chapter 42 for the student. If the cost of
attending the qualifying school is less than the amount the student
would be entitled to under this subsection, the amount of the
scholarship shall be reduced to the amount necessary to pay the
costs of attending the qualifying school.
(b) On application by the parent of an eligible student, the
agency shall determine a student's eligibility in accordance with
rules adopted under Section 29.359. If the agency determines that
the student is eligible for participation in the program, the
agency shall issue a scholarship certificate to the parent. The
parent shall endorse and present the certificate to the qualifying
school chosen by the parent.
(c) The qualifying school the student attends must endorse
and present the student's scholarship certificate with
documentation relating to the costs for the student to attend the
qualifying school to the agency to receive payment. The agency
shall distribute to the qualifying school the amount of the
student's scholarship under Subsection (a).
(d) The agency shall direct the distribution of funds to the
qualifying school the student attends on a monthly pro rata basis
after educational services have been provided. The agency shall
require that the qualifying school submit documentation of the
student's attendance before the agency directs funds to the
qualifying school. The payment shall be made not later than the 30th
day after the date on which the agency receives from the qualifying
school a request for payment.
(e) The student's scholarship is the entitlement of the
student, under the supervision of the student's parent, and not
that of any school.
(f) A qualifying school may not share a student's
scholarship with or refund or rebate a student's scholarship to the
parent or the student in any manner.
(g) A student's scholarship may not be financed by money
appropriated from the available school fund.
Sec. 29.355. PARTICIPATION BY QUALIFYING SCHOOLS. To
participate in the program, a qualifying school must:
(1) be accredited by or have filed an application for
accreditation by an accrediting association recognized by the
commissioner to accredit nongovernmental schools in this state;
(2) not advocate or foster unlawful behavior or teach
hatred of any person or group on the basis of race, ethnicity,
national origin, or religion; and
(3) agree to fully comply with the individualized
education program developed for a student under Section 29.005.
Sec. 29.356. ADMISSIONS. (a) A qualifying school chosen by
an eligible student's parent under this subchapter:
(1) may not deny admission by discriminating on the
basis of the student's:
(A) race, ethnicity, or national origin;
(B) income status; or
(C) status as a student who qualifies for
instruction in English as a second language; and
(2) must comply with the requirements of:
(A) 42 U.S.C. Section 2000d et seq., with
respect to nondiscrimination on the basis of race, color, or
national origin; and
(B) Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29
U.S.C. Section 794), with respect to nondiscrimination on the basis
of disability.
(b) Except as provided by this subsection, a qualifying
school that has more qualified scholarship applicants for
attendance under this subchapter than available positions must fill
the available scholarship positions by a random selection process.
To achieve continuity in education, a school may give preference
among scholarship applicants to a previously enrolled student and
to other students residing in the same household as a previously
enrolled student.
(c) A qualifying school may submit a written request for
student records from the public school previously attended by an
eligible student. On receipt of a request submitted under this
subsection, the public school shall in a timely manner deliver to
the qualifying school a copy of the public school's complete
student records for that student, including attendance records,
disciplinary records, past results of any assessment instruments
administered to the student, the student's individualized
education program, and any other comprehensive assessments from
each school the student previously attended. A public school that
is required to release student records under this subsection shall
comply with any applicable provision of the Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g).
Sec. 29.357. ACCOUNTABILITY. (a) Each qualifying school
that enrolls a student under this subchapter shall annually
administer in the spring:
(1) the appropriate assessment instrument required
under Section 39.023; or
(2) a nationally norm-referenced assessment
instrument approved by the agency.
(b) The school shall provide:
(1) the student's results to the student's parent; and
(2) the aggregated results of the assessment
instruments to the public.
Sec. 29.358. QUALIFYING SCHOOL AUTONOMY. (a) A qualifying
school that accepts a scholarship under this subchapter is not an
agent or arm of the state or federal government.
(b) Except as provided by this subchapter, the
commissioner, the agency, the State Board of Education, or any
other state agency may not regulate the educational program of a
qualifying school that accepts a scholarship under this subchapter.
Sec. 29.359. RULES. (a) The commissioner shall adopt rules
as necessary to implement, administer, and enforce the program,
including rules regarding:
(1) the calculation and distribution of payments for
qualifying schools; and
(2) application and approval procedures for
qualifying school and student participation in the program.
(b) A rule adopted under this section is binding on any
other state or local governmental entity, including a political
subdivision, as necessary to implement, administer, and enforce the
program.
Sec. 29.360. PROGRAM COMPLIANCE. (a) The agency shall
respond to and investigate any complaint or dispute arising under
this subchapter.
(b) The agency shall enforce this subchapter and any rule
adopted under this subchapter and may withhold funds from any
school district or qualifying school that violates this subchapter
or a rule adopted under this subchapter.
SECTION 2. Section 29.202(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A student is eligible to receive a public education
grant or to attend another public school in the district in which
the student resides under this subchapter if:
(1) the student is assigned to attend a public school
campus:
(A) [(1)] at which 50 percent or more of the
students did not perform satisfactorily on an assessment instrument
administered under Section 39.023(a) or (c) in any two of the
preceding three years; or
(B) [(2)] that, at any time in the preceding
three years, failed to satisfy any standard under Section
39.054(e); or
(2) the student is eligible to participate in the
school choice program under Subchapter J.
SECTION 3. (a) The Texas Education Agency shall make the
school choice program as provided by Subchapter J, Chapter 29,
Education Code, as added by this Act, available for participation
beginning with the 2013-2014 academic school year.
(b) As soon as practicable, the commissioner of education
shall adopt and implement rules necessary for the administration of
the program.
SECTION 4. (a) The constitutionality and other validity
under the state or federal constitution of all or any part of
Subchapter J, Chapter 29, Education Code, as added by this Act, may
be determined in an action for declaratory judgment in a district
court in Travis County under Chapter 37, Civil Practice and
Remedies Code.
(b) An appeal of a declaratory judgment or order, however
characterized, of a district court, including an appeal of the
judgment of an appellate court, holding or otherwise determining
that all or any part of Subchapter J, Chapter 29, Education Code, as
added by this Act, is constitutional or unconstitutional, or
otherwise valid or invalid, under the state or federal constitution
is an accelerated appeal.
(c) If the judgment or order is interlocutory, an
interlocutory appeal may be taken from the judgment or order and is
an accelerated appeal.
(d) A district court in Travis County may grant or deny a
temporary or otherwise interlocutory injunction or a permanent
injunction on the grounds of the constitutionality or
unconstitutionality, or other validity or invalidity, under the
state or federal constitution of all or any part of Subchapter J,
Chapter 29, Education Code, as added by this Act.
(e) There is a direct appeal to the supreme court from an
order, however characterized, of a trial court granting or denying
a temporary or otherwise interlocutory injunction or a permanent
injunction on the grounds of the constitutionality or
unconstitutionality, or other validity or invalidity, under the
state or federal constitution of all or any part of Subchapter J,
Chapter 29, Education Code, as added by this Act.
(f) The direct appeal is an accelerated appeal.
(g) This section exercises the authority granted by Section
3-b, Article V, Texas Constitution.
(h) The filing of a direct appeal under this section will
automatically stay any temporary or otherwise interlocutory
injunction or permanent injunction granted in accordance with this
section pending final determination by the supreme court, unless
the supreme court makes specific findings that the applicant
seeking such injunctive relief has pleaded and proved that:
(1) the applicant has a probable right to the relief it
seeks on final hearing; and
(2) the applicant will suffer a probable injury that
is imminent and irreparable, and that the applicant has no other
adequate legal remedy.
(i) An appeal under this section, including an
interlocutory, accelerated, or direct appeal, is governed, as
applicable, by the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, including
Rules 25.1(d)(6), 26.1(b), 28.1, 32.1(g), 35.3(c), 37.3(a)(1),
38.6(a) and (b), 40.1(b), and 49.4.
SECTION 5. 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 on the 91st day after the last day of the
legislative session.