H.B. No. 3526
AN ACT
relating to instructional materials and technology for public
schools.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 31.001, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 31.001. FREE INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS. Instructional
materials selected for use in the public schools shall be furnished
without cost to the students attending those schools. Except as
provided by Section 31.104(d), a school district may not charge a
student for instructional material or technological equipment
purchased by the district with the district's technology and
instructional materials allotment.
SECTION 2. Section 31.004(b), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) To determine whether each student has instructional
materials that cover all elements of the essential knowledge and
skills as required by Subsection (a), a school district or
open-enrollment charter school may consider:
(1) instructional materials adopted by the State Board
of Education;
(2) materials adopted or purchased by the commissioner
under Section 31.0231 or Subchapter B-1;
(3) open-source instructional materials submitted by
eligible institutions and adopted by the State Board of Education
under Section 31.0241;
(4) open-source instructional materials made
available by other public schools; [and]
(5) instructional materials developed or purchased by
the school district or open-enrollment charter school; and
(6) open educational resources and other electronic
instructional materials included in the repository under Section
31.083.
SECTION 3. Section 31.005, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 31.005. FUNDING FOR OPEN-ENROLLMENT CHARTER SCHOOLS.
An open-enrollment charter school is entitled to the technology and
instructional materials allotment under this chapter and is subject
to this chapter as if the school were a school district.
SECTION 4. Section 31.021, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 31.021. STATE TECHNOLOGY AND INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
FUND. (a) The state technology and instructional materials fund
consists of:
(1) an amount set aside by the State Board of Education
from the available school fund, in accordance with Section
43.001(d); and
(2) all amounts lawfully paid into the fund from any
other source.
(c) Money in the state technology and instructional
materials fund shall be used to:
(1) fund the technology and instructional materials
allotment, as provided by Section 31.0211;
(2) purchase special instructional materials for the
education of blind and visually impaired students in public
schools;
(3) pay the expenses associated with the instructional
materials adoption and review process under this chapter;
(4) pay the expenses associated with the purchase or
licensing of open-source instructional material;
(5) pay the expenses associated with the purchase of
instructional material, including intrastate freight and shipping
and the insurance expenses associated with intrastate freight and
shipping;
(6) fund the technology lending grant program
established under Section 32.301 [32.201]; [and]
(7) provide funding to the Texas School for the Blind
and Visually Impaired, the Texas School for the Deaf, and the Texas
Juvenile Justice Department; and
(8) pay the expenses associated with the instructional
materials web portal developed under Section 31.081.
(d) Money transferred to the state technology and
instructional materials fund remains in the fund until spent and
does not lapse to the state at the end of the fiscal year.
SECTION 5. The heading to Section 31.0211, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 31.0211. TECHNOLOGY AND INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
ALLOTMENT.
SECTION 6. Sections 31.0211(a) and (b), Education Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) A school district is entitled to an allotment each
biennium from the state technology and instructional materials fund
for each student enrolled in the district on a date during the last
year of the preceding biennium specified by the commissioner. The
commissioner shall determine the amount of the allotment per
student each biennium on the basis of the amount of money available
in the state technology and instructional materials fund to fund
the allotment. An allotment under this section shall be
transferred from the state technology and instructional materials
fund to the credit of the district's technology and instructional
materials account as provided by Section 31.0212.
(b) A juvenile justice alternative education program under
Section 37.011 is entitled to an allotment from the state
technology and instructional materials fund in an amount determined
by the commissioner. The program shall use the allotment to
purchase items listed in Subsection (c) for students enrolled in
the program. The commissioner's determination under this
subsection is final and may not be appealed.
SECTION 7. The heading to Section 31.0212, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 31.0212. TECHNOLOGY AND INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
ACCOUNT.
SECTION 8. Sections 31.0212(a), (b), (d), and (e),
Education Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The commissioner shall maintain a technology and [an]
instructional materials account for each school district. In the
first year of each biennium, the commissioner shall deposit in the
account for each district the amount of the district's technology
and instructional materials allotment under Section 31.0211.
(b) The commissioner shall pay the cost of instructional
materials requisitioned by a school district under Section 31.103
using funds from the district's technology and instructional
materials account.
(d) Money deposited in a school district's technology and
instructional materials account during each state fiscal biennium
remains in the account and available for use by the district for the
entire biennium. At the end of each biennium, a district with
unused money in the district's account may carry forward any
remaining balance to the next biennium.
(e) The commissioner shall adopt rules as necessary to
implement this section. The rules must include a requirement that
a school district provide the title and publication information for
any instructional materials requisitioned or purchased by the
district with the district's technology and instructional
materials allotment.
SECTION 9. Section 31.0213, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 31.0213. CERTIFICATION OF USE OF TECHNOLOGY AND
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS ALLOTMENT. Each school district shall
annually certify to the commissioner that the district's technology
and instructional materials allotment has been used only for
expenses allowed by Section 31.0211.
SECTION 10. Section 31.0214(a), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) Each year the commissioner shall adjust the technology
and instructional materials allotment of school districts
experiencing high enrollment growth. The commissioner shall
establish a procedure for determining high enrollment growth
districts eligible to receive an adjustment under this section and
the amount of the technology and instructional materials allotment
those districts will receive.
SECTION 11. The heading to Section 31.0215, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 31.0215. TECHNOLOGY AND INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
[MATERIAL] ALLOTMENT PURCHASES.
SECTION 12. Sections 31.0215(b) and (c), Education Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(b) The commissioner may allow a school district or
open-enrollment charter school to place an order for instructional
materials before the beginning of a fiscal biennium and to receive
instructional materials before payment. The commissioner shall
limit the cost of an order placed under this section to 80 percent
of the estimated amount to which a school district or
open-enrollment charter school is estimated to be entitled as
provided by Subsection (a) and shall first credit any balance in a
district or charter school technology and instructional materials
account to pay for an order placed under this section.
(c) The commissioner shall make payments for orders placed
under this section as funds become available to the technology and
instructional materials fund and shall prioritize payment of orders
placed under this section over reimbursement of purchases made
directly by a school district or open-enrollment charter school.
SECTION 13. Section 31.0231(b), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) A school district may select material on the list
adopted under Subsection (a) to be funded by the district's
technology and instructional materials allotment under Section
31.0211.
SECTION 14. Section 31.029(a), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) A school district shall purchase with the district's
technology and instructional materials allotment or otherwise
acquire instructional materials for use in bilingual education
classes.
SECTION 15. Section 31.031(a), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) A school district may purchase with the district's
technology and instructional materials allotment or otherwise
acquire instructional materials for use in college preparatory
courses under Section 28.014.
SECTION 16. Section 31.071(e), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(e) The costs of administering this subchapter and
purchasing state-developed open-source instructional materials
shall be paid from the state technology and instructional materials
fund, as determined by the commissioner.
SECTION 17. Chapter 31, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter B-2 to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER B-2. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS WEB PORTAL
Sec. 31.081. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS WEB PORTAL. (a) The
commissioner shall develop and maintain a web portal to assist
school districts and open-enrollment charter schools in selecting
instructional materials under Section 31.101.
(b) The web portal must include general information such as
price, computer system requirements, and any other relevant
specifications for each instructional material:
(1) on the instructional materials list, including the
list adopted under Section 31.0231; or
(2) submitted by a publisher for inclusion in the web
portal.
(c) The commissioner by rule shall establish the procedure
by which a publisher may submit instructional materials for
inclusion in the web portal.
(d) The commissioner shall use a competitive process to
contract for the development of the web portal.
(e) The commissioner shall use money in the state technology
and instructional materials fund to pay any expenses associated
with the web portal.
Sec. 31.082. QUALITY OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS SUBMITTED
BY PUBLISHER. (a) The commissioner shall contract with a private
entity to conduct an independent analysis of each instructional
material submitted by a publisher for inclusion in the web portal
developed under Section 31.081. The analysis must:
(1) evaluate the quality of the material; and
(2) determine the extent to which the material covers
the essential knowledge and skills identified under Section 28.002
for the subject and grade level for which the material is intended
to be used, including an identification of:
(A) each of the essential knowledge and skills
for the subject and grade level or levels covered by the material;
and
(B) the percentage of the essential knowledge and
skills for the subject and grade level or levels covered by the
material.
(b) The commissioner shall include in the web portal
developed under Section 31.081 the results of each analysis
conducted under Subsection (a).
Sec. 31.083. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS REPOSITORY. (a) In
this section, "open educational resource" means a teaching,
learning, or research resource that is in the public domain or has
been released under an intellectual property license that permits
the free use and repurposing of the resource by any person. The
term may include full course curricula, course materials, modules,
textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools,
materials, or techniques used to support access to knowledge.
(b) The commissioner shall include in the web portal
developed under Section 31.081 a repository of open educational
resources and other electronic instructional materials that school
districts and open-enrollment charter schools may access at no
cost, including state-developed open-source instructional
materials purchased under Subchapter B-1.
(c) A publisher may submit instructional materials for
inclusion in the repository.
Sec. 31.084. RULES. The commissioner may adopt rules as
necessary to implement this subchapter.
SECTION 18. Section 31.101(f), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(f) The commissioner shall maintain an online requisition
system for school districts to requisition instructional materials
to be purchased with the district's technology and instructional
materials allotment.
SECTION 19. Section 31.151(d), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(d) A penalty collected under this section shall be
deposited to the credit of the state technology and instructional
materials fund.
SECTION 20. Chapter 32, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter G to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER G. TECHNOLOGY LENDING PROGRAM GRANTS
Sec. 32.301. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM. (a) The
commissioner may establish a grant program under which grants are
awarded to school districts and open-enrollment charter schools to
implement a technology lending program to provide students access
to equipment necessary to access and use electronic instructional
materials.
(b) A school district or an open-enrollment charter school
may apply to the commissioner to participate in the grant program.
In awarding grants under this subchapter for each school year, the
commissioner shall consider:
(1) the availability of existing equipment to students
in the district or school;
(2) other funding available to the district or school;
and
(3) the district's or school's technology plan.
(c) The commissioner may determine the terms of a grant
awarded under this section, including limits on the grant amount
and approved uses of grant funds.
(d) The commissioner may recover funds not used in
accordance with the terms of a grant by withholding amounts from any
state funds otherwise due to the school district or open-enrollment
charter school.
Sec. 32.302. FUNDING. (a) The commissioner may use not
more than $25 million from the state technology and instructional
materials fund under Section 31.021 each state fiscal biennium or a
different amount determined by appropriation to administer a grant
program established under this subchapter.
(b) The cost of administering a grant program under this
subchapter must be paid from funds described by Subsection (a).
Sec. 32.303. USE OF GRANT FUNDS. (a) A school district or
open-enrollment charter school may use a grant awarded under
Section 32.301 or other local funds to purchase, maintain, and
insure equipment for a technology lending program.
(b) Equipment purchased by a school district or
open-enrollment charter school with a grant awarded under Section
32.301 is the property of the district or school.
Sec. 32.304. REVIEW OF PROGRAM. Not later than January 1,
2019, the commissioner shall review the grant program established
under this subchapter and submit a report to the governor, the
lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of representatives,
and the presiding officers of the standing committees in the senate
and house primarily responsible for public education. This section
expires September 1, 2019.
SECTION 21. Section 41.124(c), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(c) A school district that receives tuition for a student
from a school district with a wealth per student that exceeds the
equalized wealth level may not claim attendance for that student
for purposes of Chapters 42 and 46 and the technology and
instructional materials allotment under Section 31.0211.
SECTION 22. Section 43.001(d), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(d) Each biennium the State Board of Education shall set
aside an amount equal to 50 percent of the distribution for that
biennium from the permanent school fund to the available school
fund as provided by Section 5(a), Article VII, Texas Constitution,
to be placed, subject to the General Appropriations Act, in the
state technology and instructional materials fund established
under Section 31.021.
SECTION 23. Section 403.093(d), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(d) The comptroller shall transfer from the general revenue
fund to the foundation school fund an amount of money necessary to
fund the foundation school program as provided by Chapter 42,
Education Code. The comptroller shall make the transfers in
installments as necessary to comply with Section 42.259, Education
Code, and permit the Texas Education Agency, to the extent
authorized by the General Appropriations Act, to make temporary
transfers from the foundation school fund for payment of the
technology and instructional materials allotment under Section
31.0211, Education Code. Unless an earlier date is necessary for
purposes of temporary transfers for payment of the technology and
instructional materials allotment, an installment must be made not
earlier than two days before the date an installment to school
districts is required by Section 42.259, Education Code, and must
not exceed the amount necessary for that payment and any temporary
transfers for payment of the technology and instructional materials
allotment.
SECTION 24. Not later than September 1, 2018, the
commissioner of education shall develop the web portal required
under Subchapter B-2, Chapter 31, Education Code, as added by this
Act.
SECTION 25. 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, 2017.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 3526 was passed by the House on May 9,
2017, by the following vote: Yeas 145, Nays 0, 2 present, not
voting; that the House refused to concur in Senate amendments to
H.B. No. 3526 on May 26, 2017, and requested the appointment of a
conference committee to consider the differences between the two
houses; and that the House adopted the conference committee report
on H.B. No. 3526 on May 28, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 147,
Nays 0, 2 present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 3526 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 23, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
0; at the request of the House, the Senate appointed a conference
committee to consider the differences between the two houses; and
that the Senate adopted the conference committee report on H.B. No.
3526 on May 28, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor