Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3369 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1		85R8042 CAE-F
2		-	By: Huberty~~, Guillen~~ H.B. No. 3369
	2	+	By: Huberty H.B. No. 3369
3	3
4	4
5	5		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6		AN ACT
7	7		relating to the statewide plan for special education and assistance
8	8		to public school districts in providing special education programs.
9	9		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10		SECTION 1. Section 8.051(d), Education Code, is amended to
11	11		read as follows:
12	12		(d) Each regional education service center shall maintain
13	13		core services for purchase by school districts and campuses. The
14	14		core services are:
15	15		(1) training and assistance in:
16	16		(A) teaching each subject area assessed under
17	17		Section 39.023; and
18	18		(B) providing instruction in personal financial
19	19		literacy as required under Section 28.0021;
20	20		(2) training and assistance in providing each program
21	21		that qualifies for a funding allotment under Section 42.151,
22	22		42.152, 42.153, or 42.156;
23	23		(3) assistance specifically designed for a school
24	24		district or campus assigned an unacceptable performance rating
25	25		under Section 39.054;
26	26		(4) training and assistance to teachers,
27	27		administrators, members of district boards of trustees, and members
28	28		of site-based decision-making committees;
29	29		(5) assistance specifically designed for a school
30	30		district that is considered:
31	31		(A) out of compliance with state or federal
32	32		special education requirements, based on the agency's most recent
33	33		compliance review of the district's special education programs; or
34	34		(B) in need of intervention or substantial
35	35		intervention based on the agency's most recent determination
36	36		regarding the district's special education programs under 34 C.F.R.
37	37		Section 300.600(a)(2); and
38	38		(6) assistance in complying with state laws and rules.
39	39		SECTION 2. Section 29.001, Education Code, is amended to
40	40		read as follows:
41	41		Sec. 29.001. STATEWIDE PLAN. The agency shall develop, and
42	42		modify as necessary, a statewide design, consistent with federal
43	43		law, for the delivery of services to children with disabilities in
44	44		this state that includes rules for the administration and funding
45	45		of the special education program so that a free appropriate public
46	46		education is available to all of those children between the ages of
47	47		three and 21. The statewide design shall include the provision of
48	48		services primarily through school districts and shared services
49	49		arrangements, supplemented by regional education service centers.
50	50		The agency shall also develop and implement a statewide plan with
51	51		programmatic content that includes procedures designed to:
52	52		(1) ensure state compliance with requirements for
53	53		supplemental federal funding for all state-administered programs
54	54		involving the delivery of instructional or related services to
55	55		students with disabilities;
56	56		(2) facilitate interagency coordination when other
57	57		state agencies are involved in the delivery of instructional or
58	58		related services to students with disabilities;
59	59		(3) periodically assess statewide personnel needs in
60	60		all areas of specialization related to special education and pursue
61	61		strategies to meet those needs through a consortium of
62	62		representatives from regional education service centers, local
63	63		education agencies, [and] institutions of higher education, the
64	64		Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and the State Board for
65	65		Educator Certification and through other available alternatives;
66	66		(4) ensure that regional education service centers
67	67		throughout the state maintain a regional support function, which
68	68		may include direct service delivery and a component designed to
69	69		facilitate the placement of students with disabilities who cannot
70	70		be appropriately served in their resident districts;
71	71		(5) allow the agency to effectively monitor and
72	72		periodically conduct site visits of all school districts to ensure
73	73		that rules adopted under this section are applied in a consistent
74	74		and uniform manner, to ensure that districts are complying with
75	75		those rules, and to ensure that annual statistical reports filed by
76	76		the districts and not otherwise available through the Public
77	77		Education Information Management System under Section 42.006 are
78	78		accurate and complete;
79	79		(6) ensure that [appropriately trained] personnel
80	80		[are] involved in the diagnostic and evaluative procedures
81	81		operating in all districts:
82	82		(A) are appropriately trained, including
83	83		training in linguistic and culturally appropriate evaluations;
84	84		(B) have appropriate assessment instruments
85	85		available, including assessment instruments in languages other
86	86		than English to the extent possible; and
87	87		(C) [that those personnel] routinely serve on
88	88		district admissions, review, and dismissal committees;
89	89		(7) ensure that an individualized education program
90	90		for each student with a disability is properly developed,
91	91		implemented, and maintained in the least restrictive environment
92	92		that is appropriate to meet the student's educational needs;
93	93		(8) ensure that, when appropriate, each student with a
94	94		disability is provided an opportunity to participate in career and
95	95		technology and physical education classes, in addition to
96	96		participating in regular or special classes;
97	97		(9) ensure that each student with a disability is
98	98		provided necessary related services;
99	99		(10) ensure that an individual assigned to act as a
100	100		surrogate parent for a child with a disability, as provided by 20
101	101		U.S.C. Section 1415(b), is required to:
102	102		(A) complete a training program that complies
103	103		with minimum standards established by agency rule;
104	104		(B) visit the child and the child's school;
105	105		(C) consult with persons involved in the child's
106	106		education, including teachers, caseworkers, court-appointed
107	107		volunteers, guardians ad litem, attorneys ad litem, foster parents,
108	108		and caretakers;
109	109		(D) review the child's educational records;
110	110		(E) attend meetings of the child's admission,
111	111		review, and dismissal committee;
112	112		(F) exercise independent judgment in pursuing
113	113		the child's interests; and
114	114		(G) exercise the child's due process rights under
115	115		applicable state and federal law; and
116	116		(11) ensure that each district develops a process to
117	117		be used by a teacher who instructs a student with a disability in a
118	118		regular classroom setting:
119	119		(A) to request a review of the student's
120	120		individualized education program;
121	121		(B) to provide input in the development of the
122	122		student's individualized education program;
123	123		(C) that provides for a timely district response
124	124		to the teacher's request; and
125	125		(D) that provides for notification to the
126	126		student's parent or legal guardian of that response.
127	127		SECTION 3. This Act applies beginning with the 2017-2018
128	128		school year.
129	129		SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
130	130		a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
131	131		provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
132	132		Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
133	133		Act takes effect September 1, 2017.