85R11408 JXC-D
By: Dutton H.B. No. 3140
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the accommodation of a deaf or hard of hearing student
in driver education; authorizing a fee.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 1001, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 1001.059 to read as follows:
Sec. 1001.059. DEPARTMENT DRIVER EDUCATION COURSE FOR DEAF
OR HARD OF HEARING STUDENTS. (a) The department shall:
(1) create, in cooperation with another state agency
if necessary, a driver education course for minors and adults that
presents the course curriculum in American Sign Language; and
(2) make the course described by Subdivision (1)
available on the department's Internet website.
(b) The commission by rule shall establish a fee for the
course. The fee established under this section:
(1) is in addition to a fee charged for a certificate
for the course; and
(2) must be in an amount that is:
(A) sufficient to cover the cost of creating and
administering the course; and
(B) not more than the average cost of an online
driver education course provided in this state, as determined by
the commission.
SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 1001, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 1001.1016 to read as follows:
Sec. 1001.1016. ACCOMMODATION FOR DEAF OR HARD OF HEARING
STUDENTS. (a) In this section:
(1) "Deaf" means a hearing loss of such severity that
an individual must depend on visual methods to communicate.
(2) "Hard of hearing" means a loss of hearing function
to an individual such that the individual:
(A) relies on residual hearing; and
(B) may depend on visual methods to communicate.
(b) The commission by rule shall require a driver education
school providing a driver education course to:
(1) in the manner described by the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. Section 12101 et seq.), make
reasonable modifications and provide aids and services that are
necessary to ensure that a student who is deaf or hard of hearing
may fully participate in the course; and
(2) provide to the department the school's plan for
complying with the rules adopted under this section as a condition
of obtaining a license under Section 1001.211 or renewing a license
under Section 1001.303.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.