Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB294 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R2420 AAF-D
2	2	By: West S.B. No. 294
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the coordination of educational support services for
8	8	and information regarding students who are currently or were
9	9	formerly placed in foster care.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Section 25.007(b), Education Code, as amended by
12	12	Chapters 688 (H.B. 2619) and 1354 (S.B. 1404), Acts of the 83rd
13	13	Legislature, Regular Session, 2013, is reenacted and amended to
14	14	read as follows:
15	15	(b) In recognition of the challenges faced by students in
16	16	substitute care, the agency shall assist the transition of
17	17	substitute care students from one school to another by:
18	18	(1) ensuring that school records for a student in
19	19	substitute care are transferred to the student's new school not
20	20	later than the 10th working day after the date the student begins
21	21	enrollment at the school;
22	22	(2) developing systems to ease transition of a student
23	23	in substitute care during the first two weeks of enrollment at a new
24	24	school;
25	25	(3) developing procedures for awarding credit,
26	26	including partial credit if appropriate, for course work, including
27	27	electives, completed by a student in substitute care while enrolled
28	28	at another school;
29	29	(4) promoting practices that facilitate access by a
30	30	student in substitute care to extracurricular programs, summer
31	31	programs, credit transfer services, electronic courses provided
32	32	under Chapter 30A, and after-school tutoring programs at nominal or
33	33	no cost;
34	34	(5) establishing procedures to lessen the adverse
35	35	impact of the movement of a student in substitute care to a new
36	36	school;
37	37	(6) entering into a memorandum of understanding with
38	38	the Department of Family and Protective Services regarding the
39	39	exchange of information as appropriate to facilitate the transition
40	40	of students in substitute care from one school to another;
41	41	(7) encouraging school districts and open-enrollment
42	42	charter schools to provide services for a student in substitute
43	43	care in transition when applying for admission to postsecondary
44	44	study and when seeking sources of funding for postsecondary study;
45	45	(8) requiring school districts, campuses, and
46	46	open-enrollment charter schools to accept a referral for special
47	47	education services made for a student in substitute care by a school
48	48	previously attended by the student;
49	49	(9) requiring school districts to provide notice to
50	50	the child's educational decision-maker and caseworker regarding
51	51	events that may significantly impact the education of a child,
52	52	including:
53	53	(A) requests or referrals for an evaluation under
54	54	Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794), or
55	55	special education under Section 29.003;
56	56	(B) admission, review, and dismissal committee
57	57	meetings;
58	58	(C) manifestation determination reviews required
59	59	by Section 37.004(b);
60	60	(D) any disciplinary actions under Chapter 37 for
61	61	which parental notice is required;
62	62	(E) citations issued for Class C misdemeanor
63	63	offenses on school property or at school-sponsored activities;
64	64	(F) reports of restraint and seclusion required
65	65	by Section 37.0021; and
66	66	(G) use of corporal punishment as provided by
67	67	Section 37.0011; [and]
68	68	(10) developing procedures for allowing a student in
69	69	substitute care who was previously enrolled in a course required
70	70	for graduation the opportunity, to the extent practicable, to
71	71	complete the course, at no cost to the student, before the beginning
72	72	of the next school year;
73	73	(11) ensuring that a student in substitute care who is
74	74	not likely to receive a high school diploma before the fifth school
75	75	year following the student's enrollment in grade nine, as
76	76	determined by the district, has the student's course credit accrual
77	77	and personal graduation plan reviewed; [and]
78	78	(12) ensuring that a student in substitute care who is
79	79	in grade 11 or 12 be provided information regarding tuition and fee
80	80	exemptions under Section 54.366 for dual-credit or other courses
81	81	provided by a public institution of higher education for which a
82	82	high school student may earn joint high school and college credit;
83	83	(13) designating at least one agency employee to act
84	84	as a liaison officer regarding educational issues related to
85	85	students in the conservatorship of the Department of Family and
86	86	Protective Services; and
87	87	(14) [(10)] providing other assistance as identified
88	88	by the agency.
89	89	SECTION 2. Subchapter Z, Chapter 51, Education Code, is
90	90	amended by adding Section 51.9356 to read as follows:
91	91	Sec. 51.9356. DESIGNATION OF LIAISON OFFICER TO ASSIST
92	92	STUDENTS FORMERLY IN FOSTER CARE. (a) In this section,
93	93	"institution of higher education" has the meaning assigned by
94	94	Section 61.003.
95	95	(b) Each institution of higher education shall designate at
96	96	least one employee of the institution to act as a liaison officer
97	97	for current and incoming students at the institution who were
98	98	formerly in the conservatorship of the Department of Family and
99	99	Protective Services. The liaison officer shall provide to those
100	100	students information regarding support services and other
101	101	resources available to the students at the institution and any
102	102	other relevant information to assist the students.
103	103	SECTION 3. Subchapter C, Chapter 61, Education Code, is
104	104	amended by adding Sections 61.0908 and 61.0909 to read as follows:
105	105	Sec. 61.0908. DESIGNATION OF LIAISON OFFICER TO ASSIST
106	106	STUDENTS FORMERLY IN FOSTER CARE. The board shall designate at
107	107	least one employee of the board to act as a liaison officer for
108	108	current and incoming students at institutions of higher education
109	109	who were formerly in the conservatorship of the Department of
110	110	Family and Protective Services. The liaison officer shall assist
111	111	in coordinating college readiness and student success efforts
112	112	relating to those students.
113	113	Sec. 61.0909. MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING REGARDING
114	114	EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION FOR STUDENTS FORMERLY IN FOSTER CARE. (a)
115	115	In this section, "department" means the Department of Family and
116	116	Protective Services.
117	117	(b) The board and the department shall enter into a
118	118	memorandum of understanding regarding the exchange of information
119	119	as appropriate to facilitate the department's evaluation of
120	120	educational outcomes of students at institutions of higher
121	121	education who were formerly in the conservatorship of the
122	122	department. The memorandum of understanding must require:
123	123	(1) the department to provide the board each year with
124	124	demographic information regarding individual students enrolled at
125	125	institutions of higher education who were formerly in the
126	126	conservatorship of the department following an adversarial hearing
127	127	under Section 262.201, Family Code; and
128	128	(2) the board, in a manner consistent with federal
129	129	law, to provide the department with aggregate information
130	130	regarding educational outcomes of students for whom the board
131	131	received demographic information under Subdivision (1).
132	132	(c) For purposes of Subsection (b)(2), information
133	133	regarding educational outcomes includes information relating to
134	134	student academic achievement, graduation rates, attendance, and
135	135	other educational outcomes as determined by the board and the
136	136	department.
137	137	(d) The department may authorize the board to provide
138	138	education research centers established under Section 1.005 with
139	139	demographic information regarding individual students received by
140	140	the board in accordance with Subsection (b)(1), as appropriate to
141	141	allow the centers to perform additional analysis regarding
142	142	educational outcomes of students in foster care. Any use of
143	143	information regarding individual students provided to a center
144	144	under this subsection must be approved by the department.
145	145	(e) Nothing in this section may be construed to:
146	146	(1) require the board or the department to collect or
147	147	maintain additional information regarding students formerly in the
148	148	conservatorship of the department; or
149	149	(2) allow the release of information regarding an
150	150	individual student in a manner not permitted under the Family
151	151	Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section
152	152	1232g) or another state or federal law.
153	153	SECTION 4. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
154	154	and the Department of Family and Protective Services shall enter
155	155	into the memorandum of understanding required by Section 61.0909,
156	156	Education Code, as added by this Act, not later than January 1,
157	157	2016.
158	158	SECTION 5. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails
159	159	over another Act of the 84th Legislature, Regular Session, 2015,
160	160	relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
161	161	codes.
162	162	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
163	163	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
164	164	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
165	165	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
166	166	Act takes effect September 1, 2015.