84R9085 KJE-F
By: Garcia S.B. No. 1484
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the establishment of a community school grant program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 29, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter M to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER M. COMMUNITY SCHOOL GRANT PROGRAM
Sec. 29.501. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Community-based organization" means a nonprofit
corporation or association located in close proximity to the
population the organization serves.
(2) "Community school" means a public elementary,
middle, junior high, or high school that partners with one or more
community-based organizations to coordinate academic, social, and
health services to reduce barriers to learning and improve the
quality of education for students in the community.
Sec. 29.502. COMMUNITY SCHOOL GRANT PROGRAM. (a) The
agency shall establish a competitive grant program to assist public
elementary, middle, junior high, and high schools in developing
community school plans and transitioning into community schools.
(b) From funds appropriated for the purpose, the agency
shall award two-year grants to eligible schools. Each grant may not
exceed:
(1) $60,000 each academic year to pay a stipend to a
community school coordinator; and
(2) $25,000 each academic year to develop and
implement a community school plan.
(c) On application from a school, a grant awarded under this
section may be extended by the agency for an additional year.
Sec. 29.503. ELIGIBILITY. A public elementary, middle,
junior high, or high school is eligible to apply for a grant under
this subchapter if the school demonstrates a commitment to
transitioning into a community school by establishing:
(1) a school community partnership team to function as
the campus-level planning and decision-making committee required
under Section 11.251, composed of the members required under
Section 11.251 and additional community representatives; and
(2) a partnership with a lead community-based
organization that has experience in developing and implementing a
community school plan.
Sec. 29.504. USE OF FUNDS. (a) Funds granted under this
subchapter may not be used for direct programs for students or
families or for other activities not related to developing or
implementing a community school plan.
(b) A community school coordinator employed using grant
funds must have relevant experience as a school district employee
or an employee of a community-based organization with experience in
developing and implementing a community school plan. The
coordinator's duties include:
(1) recruiting community partners and building
community support for the school;
(2) coordinating:
(A) the school community partnership team's
planning and training activities;
(B) planning and evaluation efforts between the
school and community partners;
(C) academic and student and family support
programs; and
(D) after-school, summer, and enrichment
programs for students;
(3) encouraging community and parent engagement in the
school;
(4) seeking available resources for implementing
community school programs and services;
(5) conducting an annual needs assessment of the
school in coordination with the school community partnership team;
and
(6) acting as a liaison between the school, other
community schools, the school district, and community partners.
(c) Before a community school plan may be implemented, the
plan must:
(1) satisfy the requirements for a campus improvement
plan under Section 11.253; and
(2) be approved by:
(A) at least 75 percent of campus faculty and
staff and 75 percent of parents of students enrolled at the school;
and
(B) the board of trustees of the school district
in which the school is located.
Sec. 29.505. LOW-PERFORMING SCHOOLS. If a school with
performance below any standard under Section 39.054(e) receives a
grant under this subchapter, the school's school community
partnership team functions as the campus intervention team for
purposes of Section 39.106.
Sec. 29.506. PROGRAM OVERSIGHT. (a) At least once each
year, the agency shall:
(1) monitor the transition into a community school of
each school awarded a grant under this subchapter; and
(2) evaluate whether the school has made satisfactory
progress toward carrying out the school's objectives as set out in
the community school plan.
(b) A school that the agency determines has not made
satisfactory progress under Subsection (a) may continue to receive
grant funds under this subchapter only if the school:
(1) amends the school's community school plan to
address any deficiencies the agency identified during the
evaluation; and
(2) demonstrates strong community support for the
school's transition to a community school.
Sec. 29.507. RULES. The commissioner shall adopt rules as
necessary to implement this subchapter.
SECTION 2. Section 29.259, Education Code, is transferred
to Subchapter Z, Chapter 29, Education Code, and redesignated as
Section 29.923, Education Code, to read as follows:
Sec. 29.923 [29.259]. ADULT HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA AND
INDUSTRY CERTIFICATION CHARTER SCHOOL PILOT PROGRAM. (a) In this
section, "adult education" means services and instruction provided
below the college level for adults by a nonprofit entity described
by Subsection (e).
(b) The commissioner shall establish an adult high school
diploma and industry certification charter school pilot program as
provided by this section as a strategy for meeting industry needs
for a sufficiently trained workforce within the state.
(c) The agency shall adopt and administer a standardized
secondary exit-level assessment instrument appropriate for
assessing adult education program participants who successfully
complete high school curriculum requirements under a program
provided under this section. The commissioner shall determine the
level of performance considered to be satisfactory on the secondary
exit-level assessment instrument for receipt of a high school
diploma by an adult education program participant in a program
provided under this section.
(d) Notwithstanding any other law and in addition to the
number of charters allowed under Subchapter D, Chapter 12, a
charter under the pilot program may, on the basis of an application
submitted, be granted to a single nonprofit entity described by
Subsection (e) to provide an adult education program for not more
than 150 individuals described by Subsection (g) to successfully
complete:
(1) a high school program that can lead to a diploma;
and
(2) career and technology education courses that can
lead to industry certification.
(e) A nonprofit entity may be granted a charter under this
section only if the entity:
(1) has a successful history of providing education
services, including industry certifications and job placement
services, to adults 18 years of age and older whose educational and
training opportunities have been limited by educational
disadvantages, disabilities, homelessness, criminal history, or
similar circumstances; and
(2) agrees to commit at least $1 million to the adult
education program offered.
(f) A nonprofit entity granted a charter under this section
may partner with a public junior college to provide career and
technology courses that lead to industry certification.
(g) A person who is at least 19 years of age and not more
than 50 years of age is eligible to enroll in the adult education
program under this section if the person has not earned a high
school equivalency certificate and:
(1) has failed to complete the curriculum requirements
for high school graduation; or
(2) has failed to perform satisfactorily on an
assessment instrument required for high school graduation.
(h) The nonprofit entity must include in its charter
application the information required by Subsection (i).
(i) A charter granted under this section must:
(1) include a description of the adult education
program to be offered under this section; and
(2) establish specific, objective standards for
receiving a high school diploma, including satisfactory
performance on the standardized secondary exit-level assessment
instrument described by Subsection (c).
(j) Funding for an adult education program under this
section is provided based on the following:
(1) for participants who are 26 years of age and older,
an amount per participant from available general revenue funds
appropriated for the pilot program equal to the statewide average
amount of state funding per student in weighted average daily
attendance that would be allocated under the Foundation School
Program to an open-enrollment charter school under Section 12.106
were the student under 26 years of age; and
(2) for participants who are at least 19 years of age
and under 26 years of age, an amount per participant through the
Foundation School Program equal to the amount of state funding per
student in weighted average daily attendance that would be
allocated under the Foundation School Program for the student's
attendance at an open-enrollment charter school in accordance with
Section 12.106.
(k) Sections 12.107 and 12.128 apply as though funds under
this section were funds under Subchapter D, Chapter 12.
(l) Not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year,
beginning December 1, 2016, the agency shall prepare and deliver to
the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the house of
representatives, and presiding officer of each standing
legislative committee with primary jurisdiction over public
education or economic development a report that:
(1) evaluates any adult education program operated
under a charter granted under this section; and
(2) makes recommendations regarding the abolition,
continuation, or expansion of the pilot program.
(m) The commissioner shall adopt rules necessary to
administer the pilot program under this section. In adopting
rules, the commissioner may modify charter school requirements only
to the extent necessary for the administration of a charter school
under this section that provides for adult education.
SECTION 3. Section 42.003(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A student is entitled to the benefits of the Foundation
School Program if, on September 1 of the school year, the student:
(1) is 5 years of age or older and under 21 years of age
and has not graduated from high school, or is at least 21 years of
age and under 26 years of age and has been admitted by a school
district to complete the requirements for a high school diploma; or
(2) is at least 19 years of age and under 26 years of
age and is enrolled in an adult high school diploma and industry
certification charter school pilot program under Section 29.923
[29.259].
SECTION 4. (a) The heading to Subchapter H, Chapter 29,
Education Code, is repealed.
(b) Sections 7.021(b)(8), 7.102(c)(17), 29.251, 29.252,
29.255, 29.256, and 29.257, Education Code, are repealed.
SECTION 5. The Texas Education Agency shall establish the
grant program under Subchapter M, Chapter 29, Education Code, as
added by this Act, not later than November 1, 2015.
SECTION 6. 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, 2015.