85R12545 KJE-F
By: Huberty H.B. No. 3599
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to parental rights and information regarding certain
intervention strategies used with public school students.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 12.104(b), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) An open-enrollment charter school is subject to:
(1) a provision of this title establishing a criminal
offense; and
(2) a prohibition, restriction, or requirement, as
applicable, imposed by this title or a rule adopted under this
title, relating to:
(A) the Public Education Information Management
System (PEIMS) to the extent necessary to monitor compliance with
this subchapter as determined by the commissioner;
(B) criminal history records under Subchapter C,
Chapter 22;
(C) reading instruments and accelerated reading
instruction programs under Section 28.006;
(D) accelerated instruction under Section
28.0211;
(E) high school graduation requirements under
Section 28.025;
(F) special education programs under Subchapter
A, Chapter 29;
(G) bilingual education under Subchapter B,
Chapter 29;
(H) prekindergarten programs under Subchapter E
or E-1, Chapter 29;
(I) extracurricular activities under Section
33.081;
(J) discipline management practices or behavior
management techniques under Section 37.0021;
(K) health and safety under Chapter 38;
(L) public school accountability under
Subchapters B, C, D, E, F, G, and J, Chapter 39;
(M) the requirement under Section 21.006 to
report an educator's misconduct;
(N) intensive programs of instruction under
Section 28.0213; [and]
(O) the right of a school employee to report a
crime, as provided by Section 37.148; and
(P) a parent's right to information regarding the
provision of assistance for learning difficulties to the parent's
child as provided by Sections 26.004(b)(11) and 26.0081(c) and (d).
SECTION 2. Section 26.004, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 26.004. ACCESS TO STUDENT RECORDS. (a) In this
section, "intervention strategy" means a strategy in a multi-tiered
system of supports that is above the level of intervention
generally used in that system with all children. The term includes
response to intervention and other early intervening strategies.
(b) A parent is entitled to access to all written records of
a school district concerning the parent's child, including:
(1) attendance records;
(2) test scores;
(3) grades;
(4) disciplinary records;
(5) counseling records;
(6) psychological records;
(7) applications for admission;
(8) health and immunization information;
(9) teacher and school counselor evaluations; [and]
(10) reports of behavioral patterns; and
(11) records relating to assistance provided for
learning difficulties, including information collected regarding
any intervention strategies used with the child.
SECTION 3. Section 26.0081, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsections (d) and (e) to read
as follows:
(c) The agency shall produce and provide to school districts
a written explanation of the options and requirements for providing
assistance to students who have learning difficulties or who need
or may need special education. The explanation must state that a
parent is entitled at any time to request an evaluation of the
parent's child for special education services under Section 29.004
or for aids, accommodations, or services under Section 504,
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794). Each school
year, each district shall provide the written explanation to a
parent of each district student by including the explanation in the
student handbook or by another means.
(d) Each school year, each school district shall notify a
parent of each child receiving assistance from the district for
learning difficulties, including through the use of intervention
strategies, as that term is defined by Section 26.004, that the
district provides that assistance to the child. The notice must:
(1) be written in English or, to the extent
practicable, the parent's native language; and
(2) include:
(A) a reasonable description of the assistance,
including any instructional strategies used;
(B) information collected regarding any
intervention strategies that have been used with the child;
(C) an estimate of the duration for which the
assistance will be provided;
(D) the dates on which a report on the child's
progress will be provided to the parent; and
(E) a copy of the explanation provided under
Subsection (c).
(e) The notice required under Subsection (d) may be provided
to a child's parent at a meeting of the child's admission, review,
and dismissal committee or of the team established for the child
under Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section
794), if applicable.
SECTION 4. Section 42.006, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (a-3) to read as follows:
(a-3) The commissioner by rule shall require each school
district and open-enrollment charter school to report through the
Public Education Information Management System information
regarding the number of students enrolled in the district or school
with whom the district or school, as applicable, uses intervention
strategies, as that term is defined by Section 26.004. The agency
shall maintain the information provided in accordance with this
subsection.
SECTION 5. This Act applies beginning with the 2017-2018
school year.
SECTION 6. 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.