| 1 | 1 | | 84R13890 MEW-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Lucio S.B. No. 1578 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to the first and last days of instruction and the number of |
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| 8 | 8 | | hours in a school day at a public school. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Section 25.0811(a), Education Code, is amended |
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| 11 | 11 | | to read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | (a) Except as provided by this section, a school district |
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| 13 | 13 | | may not begin instruction for students for a school year before the |
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| 14 | 14 | | Tuesday after Labor Day [the fourth Monday in August]. A school |
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| 15 | 15 | | district may: |
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| 16 | 16 | | (1) begin instruction for students for a school year |
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| 17 | 17 | | before the Tuesday after Labor Day [the fourth Monday in August] if |
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| 18 | 18 | | the district operates a year-round system under Section 25.084; or |
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| 19 | 19 | | (2) begin instruction for students for a school year |
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| 20 | 20 | | on or after the first Monday in August at a campus or at not more |
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| 21 | 21 | | than 20 percent of the campuses in the district if: |
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| 22 | 22 | | (A) the district has a student enrollment of |
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| 23 | 23 | | 190,000 or more; |
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| 24 | 24 | | (B) the district at the beginning of the school |
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| 25 | 25 | | year provides, financed with local funds, days of instruction for |
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| 26 | 26 | | students at the campus or at each of the multiple campuses, in |
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| 27 | 27 | | addition to the minimum number of days of instruction required |
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| 28 | 28 | | under Section 25.081; |
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| 29 | 29 | | (C) the campus or each of the multiple campuses |
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| 30 | 30 | | is [are] undergoing comprehensive reform, as determined by the |
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| 31 | 31 | | board of trustees of the district; and |
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| 32 | 32 | | (D) a majority of the students at the campus or at |
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| 33 | 33 | | each of the multiple campuses are educationally disadvantaged. |
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| 34 | 34 | | SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 25, Education Code, is |
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| 35 | 35 | | amended by adding Section 25.0812 to read as follows: |
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| 36 | 36 | | Sec. 25.0812. LAST DAY OF SCHOOL. (a) Except as provided |
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| 37 | 37 | | by Subsection (b), a school district may not schedule the last day |
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| 38 | 38 | | of school for students for a school year after the Friday preceding |
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| 39 | 39 | | Memorial Day. |
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| 40 | 40 | | (b) A school district may schedule the last day of school |
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| 41 | 41 | | for students for a school year after the Friday preceding Memorial |
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| 42 | 42 | | Day if the district operates a year-round system under Section |
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| 43 | 43 | | 25.084. |
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| 44 | 44 | | (c) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), a school district that |
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| 45 | 45 | | does not offer each grade level from kindergarten through grade 12 |
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| 46 | 46 | | and whose prospective or former students generally attend school in |
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| 47 | 47 | | another state for the grade levels the district does not offer may |
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| 48 | 48 | | schedule the last day of school on any date permitted under |
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| 49 | 49 | | Subsection (a) or the law of the other state. |
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| 50 | 50 | | SECTION 3. Section 25.082(a), Education Code, is amended to |
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| 51 | 51 | | read as follows: |
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| 52 | 52 | | (a) A school day shall be at least 7.5 [seven] hours each |
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| 53 | 53 | | day, including intermissions and recesses. |
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| 54 | 54 | | SECTION 4. Section 25.084(a), Education Code, is amended to |
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| 55 | 55 | | read as follows: |
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| 56 | 56 | | (a) A school district may operate its schools year-round on |
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| 57 | 57 | | either a single-track or a multitrack calendar. If a school |
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| 58 | 58 | | district adopts a year-round system, the district may modify: |
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| 59 | 59 | | (1) the number of contract days of employees and the |
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| 60 | 60 | | number of days of operation, including any time required for staff |
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| 61 | 61 | | development, planning and preparation, and continuing education, |
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| 62 | 62 | | otherwise required by law; |
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| 63 | 63 | | (2) testing dates, data reporting, and related |
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| 64 | 64 | | matters; |
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| 65 | 65 | | (3) the date of the first day of instruction of the |
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| 66 | 66 | | school year under Section 25.0811 and the date of the last day of |
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| 67 | 67 | | school for a school year under Section 25.0812 for a school that was |
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| 68 | 68 | | operating year-round for the 2014-2015 [2000-2001] school year; and |
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| 69 | 69 | | (4) a student's eligibility to participate in |
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| 70 | 70 | | extracurricular activities when the student's calendar track is not |
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| 71 | 71 | | in session. |
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| 72 | 72 | | SECTION 5. This Act applies beginning with the 2015-2016 |
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| 73 | 73 | | school year. |
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| 74 | 74 | | SECTION 6. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 75 | 75 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 76 | 76 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 77 | 77 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 78 | 78 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |
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