Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1259 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	By: Rodríguez S.B. No. 1259
2		-	(Allen)
	1	+	S.B. No. 1259
3	2
4	3
5		-	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	4		AN ACT
7	5		relating to the development of an individualized education program
8	6		for a child in public school.
9	7		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	8		SECTION 1. Section 29.001, Education Code, is amended to
11	9		read as follows:
12	10		Sec. 29.001. STATEWIDE PLAN. The agency shall develop, and
13	11		modify as necessary, a statewide design, consistent with federal
14	12		law, for the delivery of services to children with disabilities in
15	13		this state that includes rules for the administration and funding
16	14		of the special education program so that a free appropriate public
17	15		education is available to all of those children between the ages of
18	16		three and 21. The statewide design shall include the provision of
19	17		services primarily through school districts and shared services
20	18		arrangements, supplemented by regional education service centers.
21	19		The agency shall also develop and implement a statewide plan with
22	20		programmatic content that includes procedures designed to:
23	21		(1) ensure state compliance with requirements for
24	22		supplemental federal funding for all state-administered programs
25	23		involving the delivery of instructional or related services to
26	24		students with disabilities;
27	25		(2) facilitate interagency coordination when other
28	26		state agencies are involved in the delivery of instructional or
29	27		related services to students with disabilities;
30	28		(3) periodically assess statewide personnel needs in
31	29		all areas of specialization related to special education and pursue
32	30		strategies to meet those needs through a consortium of
33	31		representatives from regional education service centers, local
34	32		education agencies, and institutions of higher education and
35	33		through other available alternatives;
36	34		(4) ensure that regional education service centers
37	35		throughout the state maintain a regional support function, which
38	36		may include direct service delivery and a component designed to
39	37		facilitate the placement of students with disabilities who cannot
40	38		be appropriately served in their resident districts;
41	39		(5) allow the agency to effectively monitor and
42	40		periodically conduct site visits of all school districts to ensure
43	41		that rules adopted under this section are applied in a consistent
44	42		and uniform manner, to ensure that districts are complying with
45	43		those rules, and to ensure that annual statistical reports filed by
46	44		the districts and not otherwise available through the Public
47	45		Education Information Management System under Section 42.006[,]
48	46		are accurate and complete;
49	47		(6) ensure that appropriately trained personnel are
50	48		involved in the diagnostic and evaluative procedures operating in
51	49		all districts and that those personnel routinely serve on district
52	50		admissions, review, and dismissal committees;
53	51		(7) ensure that an individualized education program
54	52		for each student with a disability is properly developed,
55	53		implemented, and maintained in the least restrictive environment
56	54		that is appropriate to meet the student's educational needs;
57	55		(8) ensure that, when appropriate, each student with a
58	56		disability is provided an opportunity to participate in career and
59	57		technology and physical education classes, in addition to
60	58		participating in regular or special classes;
61	59		(9) ensure that each student with a disability is
62	60		provided necessary related services;
63	61		(10) ensure that an individual assigned to act as a
64	62		surrogate parent for a child with a disability, as provided by 20
65	63		U.S.C. Section 1415(b), is required to:
66	64		(A) complete a training program that complies
67	65		with minimum standards established by agency rule;
68	66		(B) visit the child and the child's school;
69	67		(C) consult with persons involved in the child's
70	68		education, including teachers, caseworkers, court-appointed
71	69		volunteers, guardians ad litem, attorneys ad litem, foster parents,
72	70		and caretakers;
73	71		(D) review the child's educational records;
74	72		(E) attend meetings of the child's admission,
75	73		review, and dismissal committee;
76	74		(F) exercise independent judgment in pursuing
77	75		the child's interests; and
78	76		(G) exercise the child's due process rights under
79	77		applicable state and federal law; and
80	78		(11) ensure that each district develops a process to
81	79		be used by a teacher who instructs a student with a disability in a
82	80		regular classroom setting:
83	81		(A) to request a review of the student's
84	82		individualized education program;
85	83		(B) to provide input in the development of the
86	84		student's individualized education program;
87	85		(C) that provides for a timely district response
88	86		to the teacher's request; and
89	87		(D) [(C)] that provides for notification to the
90	88		student's parent or legal guardian of that response.
91	89		SECTION 2. Section 29.005, Education Code, is amended by
92	90		amending Subsections (a) and (c) and adding Subsection (b-1) to
93	91		read as follows:
94	92		(a) Before a child is enrolled in a special education
95	93		program of a school district, the district shall establish a
96	94		committee composed of the persons required under 20 U.S.C. Section
97	95		1414(d) [1401(11)] to develop the child's individualized education
98	96		program. If a committee is required to include a regular education
99	97		teacher, the regular education teacher included must, to the extent
100	98		practicable, be a teacher who is responsible for implementing a
101	99		portion of the child's individualized education program.
102	100		(b-1) The written statement of the individualized education
103	101		program must document the decisions of the committee with respect
104	102		to issues discussed at each committee meeting. The written
105	103		statement must include:
106	104		(1) the date of the meeting;
107	105		(2) the name, position, and signature of each member
108	106		participating in the meeting; and
109	107		(3) an indication of whether the child's parents, the
110	108		adult student, if applicable, and the administrator agreed or
111	109		disagreed with the decisions of the committee.
112	110		(c) If the individualized education program is not
113	111		developed by agreement, the written statement of the program
114	112		required under 20 U.S.C. Section 1414(d) [1401(11)] must include
115	113		the basis of the disagreement. Each member of the committee who
116	114		disagrees with the individualized education program developed by
117	115		the committee is entitled to include a statement of disagreement in
118	116		the written statement of the program.
119	117		SECTION 3. This Act applies beginning with the 2015-2016
120	118		school year.
121	119		SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
122	120		a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
123	121		provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
124	122		Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
125	123		Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
	124	+	______________________________ ______________________________
	125	+	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
	126	+	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1259 passed the Senate on
	127	+	May 12, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 0.
	128	+	______________________________
	129	+	Secretary of the Senate
	130	+	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1259 passed the House on
	131	+	May 27, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 139, Nays 5, two
	132	+	present not voting.
	133	+	______________________________
	134	+	Chief Clerk of the House
	135	+	Approved:
	136	+	______________________________
	137	+	Date
	138	+	______________________________
	139	+	Governor