Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3331 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	2015S0407-1 03/05/15
2	2	By: Guillen H.B. No. 3331
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the state virtual school network, including student
8	8	eligibility, course provider eligibility, and funding for certain
9	9	providers.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Section 26.0031(c), Education Code, is amended
12	12	to read as follows:
13	13	(c) A school district or open-enrollment charter school may
14	14	deny a request to enroll a student in an electronic course if:
15	15	(1) a student attempts to enroll in a course load that
16	16	is inconsistent with the student's high school graduation plan or
17	17	requirements for college admission or earning an industry
18	18	certification; or
19	19	(2) the student requests permission to enroll in an
20	20	electronic course at a time that is not consistent with the
21	21	enrollment period established by the school district or
22	22	open-enrollment charter school providing the course[; or
23	23	[(3) the district or school offers a substantially
24	24	similar course].
25	25	SECTION 2. Sections 30A.002(a) and (c), Education Code, are
26	26	amended to read as follows:
27	27	(a) A student is eligible to enroll in one or more courses [a
28	28	course] provided through the state virtual school network [only if
29	29	the student:
30	30	[(1) on September 1 of the school year:
31	31	[(A) is younger than 21 years of age; or
32	32	[(B) is younger than 26 years of age and entitled
33	33	to the benefits of the Foundation School Program under Section
34	34	42.003;
35	35	[(2) has not graduated from high school; and
36	36	[(3) is otherwise eligible to enroll in a public
37	37	school in this state].
38	38	(c) Notwithstanding Subsection [(a)(3) or] (b), a student
39	39	is eligible to enroll in one or more courses provided through the
40	40	state virtual school network or enroll full-time in courses
41	41	provided through the network if the student:
42	42	(1) is a dependent of a member of the United States
43	43	military;
44	44	(2) was previously enrolled in public [high] school in
45	45	this state; and
46	46	(3) does not reside in this state due to a military
47	47	deployment or transfer.
48	48	SECTION 3. Section 30A.101, Education Code, is amended by
49	49	amending Subsections (a) and (c) and adding Subsection (e) to read
50	50	as follows:
51	51	(a) A school district or open-enrollment charter school is
52	52	eligible to act as a course provider under this chapter only if the
53	53	district or school is not rated unacceptable [acceptable] under
54	54	Section 39.054. [An open-enrollment charter school may serve as a
55	55	course provider only:
56	56	[(1) to a student within its service area; or
57	57	[(2) to another student in the state:
58	58	[(A) through an agreement with the school
59	59	district in which the student resides; or
60	60	[(B) if the student receives educational
61	61	services under the supervision of a juvenile probation department,
62	62	the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, or the Texas Department of
63	63	Criminal Justice, through an agreement with the applicable agency.]
64	64	(c) A nonprofit entity, private entity, or corporation is
65	65	eligible to act as a course provider under this chapter only if the
66	66	nonprofit entity, private entity, or corporation:
67	67	(1) complies with all applicable federal and state
68	68	laws prohibiting discrimination;
69	69	(2) demonstrates financial solvency; and
70	70	(3) either:
71	71	(A) provides evidence of prior successful
72	72	experience offering online courses to middle or high school
73	73	students, with demonstrated student success in course completion
74	74	and performance, as determined by the commissioner; or
75	75	(B) provides evidence that it is capable of
76	76	carrying out the responsibilities of a course provider and is
77	77	likely to provide high quality courses, as determined by the
78	78	commissioner.
79	79	(e) The commissioner shall ensure that a course provider
80	80	does not continue to offer electronic courses through the state
81	81	virtual school network if:
82	82	(1) the course provider no longer satisfies
83	83	eligibility requirements under Subsection (a) or (c); or
84	84	(2) the course provider consistently produces poor
85	85	student performance outcomes, as determined by the commissioner.
86	86	SECTION 4. Section 30A.105(b), Education Code, is amended
87	87	to read as follows:
88	88	(b) The administering authority shall establish the cost of
89	89	providing each [an] electronic course approved under Subsection
90	90	(a)[, which may not exceed $400 per student per course or $4,800 per
91	91	full-time student].
92	92	SECTION 5. Sections 30A.153(a) and (b), Education Code, are
93	93	amended to read as follows:
94	94	(a) A [Subject to the limitation imposed under Subsection
95	95	(a-1), a] school district or open-enrollment charter school in
96	96	which a student is enrolled is entitled to funding under Chapter 42
97	97	or in accordance with the terms of a charter granted under Section
98	98	12.101 for the student's enrollment in an electronic course offered
99	99	through the state virtual school network in the same manner that the
100	100	district or school is entitled to funding for the student's
101	101	enrollment in courses provided in a traditional classroom setting,
102	102	provided that the student successfully completes the electronic
103	103	course.
104	104	(b) The commissioner, after considering comments from
105	105	school district and open-enrollment charter school
106	106	representatives, shall adopt a standard agreement that governs the
107	107	costs, payment of funds, and other matters relating to a student's
108	108	enrollment in an electronic course offered through the state
109	109	virtual school network. The agreement may not require a school
110	110	district or open-enrollment charter school to pay the provider the
111	111	full amount until the student has successfully completed the
112	112	electronic course[, and the full amount may not exceed the limits
113	113	specified by Section 30A.105(b)].
114	114	SECTION 6. Sections 30A.155(a) and (c), Education Code, are
115	115	amended to read as follows:
116	116	(a) A school district or open-enrollment charter school may
117	117	charge a fee for enrollment in an electronic course provided
118	118	through the state virtual school network to a student who resides in
119	119	this state and[:
120	120	[(1)] is enrolled in a school district or
121	121	open-enrollment charter school as a full-time student with a course
122	122	load greater than that normally taken by students in the equivalent
123	123	grade level in other school districts or open-enrollment charter
124	124	schools[; or
125	125	[(2) elects to enroll in an electronic course provided
126	126	through the network for which the school district or
127	127	open-enrollment charter school in which the student is enrolled as
128	128	a full-time student declines to pay the cost, as authorized by
129	129	Section 26.0031(c-1)].
130	130	(c) The amount of a fee charged a student under Subsection
131	131	(a), (a-1), or (b) for each electronic course in which the student
132	132	enrolls through the state virtual school network may not exceed
133	133	[the lesser of:
134	134	[(1)] the cost of providing the course as established
135	135	by the administering authority under Section 30A.105[; or
136	136	[(2) $400].
137	137	SECTION 7. The following sections of the Education Code are
138	138	repealed:
139	139	(1) Section 26.0031(c-1); and
140	140	(2) Section 30A.153(a-1).
141	141	SECTION 8. This Act applies beginning with the 2015-2016
142	142	school year.
143	143	SECTION 9. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
144	144	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
145	145	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
146	146	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
147	147	Act takes effect September 1, 2015.