Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4193 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Simmons H.B. No. 4193
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to the establishment of a credit account program for
7	7	students with disabilities.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Chapter 29, Education Code, is amended by adding
10	10	Subchapter J to read as follows:
11	11	SUBCHAPTER J. CREDIT ACCOUNT PROGRAM FOR STUDENTS WITH
12	12	DISABILITIES
13	13	Sec. 29.351. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
14	14	(1) "Account" means a credit account established under
15	15	the program.
16	16	(2) "Financial institution" means a bank, credit
17	17	union, savings bank, or savings and loan association organized
18	18	under the laws of this state, the laws of another state, or federal
19	19	law that has its main office or a branch office in this state. The
20	20	term does not include any institution the deposits of which are not
21	21	insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or the
22	22	National Credit Union Administration.
23	23	(3) "Parent" means a resident of this state who is a
24	24	natural or adoptive parent, managing or possessory conservator,
25	25	legal guardian, custodian, or other person with legal authority to
26	26	act on behalf of a child.
27	27	(4) "Program" means the credit account program
28	28	established under this subchapter.
29	29	(5) "Program participant" means a student and a parent
30	30	of a student who has been accepted into the program.
31	31	Sec. 29.352. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM. (a) The
32	32	commissioner shall establish and administer a credit account
33	33	program to provide funding for eligible students to obtain
34	34	educational support services and other resources that:
35	35	(1) supplement the student's public education; and
36	36	(2) exceed the level of services that the student's
37	37	admission, review, and dismissal committee or the student's team
38	38	established under Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29
39	39	U.S.C. Section 794), as applicable, has determined to be necessary
40	40	for the student to receive a free appropriate public education.
41	41	(b) The agency shall make information about the program
42	42	readily available to the public through various sources, including
43	43	the agency's Internet website.
44	44	Sec. 29.353. ELIGIBLE STUDENT. A student is eligible to
45	45	participate in the program if the student is enrolled in a school
46	46	district and:
47	47	(1) an individualized education program has been
48	48	developed for the student under Section 29.005; or
49	49	(2) the student is covered by Section 504,
50	50	Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794).
51	51	Sec. 29.354. APPLICATION PROCESS. (a) On or before the
52	52	date established by commissioner rule, each school district or
53	53	open-enrollment charter school annually shall submit to the
54	54	commissioner a list of each student enrolled in the district or
55	55	school who may be eligible to participate in the program and any
56	56	information necessary to determine the student's eligibility.
57	57	(b) As soon as practicable after receipt of the information
58	58	submitted under Subsection (a), the agency shall provide to the
59	59	parent of each student who is eligible to participate in the
60	60	program, or the student if parental rights have transferred to the
61	61	student under Section 29.017:
62	62	(1) notice of the student's eligibility; and
63	63	(2) a publication that describes the operation of the
64	64	program, including:
65	65	(A) expenses allowed under the program under
66	66	Section 29.356;
67	67	(B) expense reporting requirements under Section
68	68	29.359; and
69	69	(C) a description of the responsibilities of
70	70	program participants and the duties of the agency under this
71	71	subchapter.
72	72	(c) On or before the date established by commissioner rule,
73	73	a parent of an eligible student may apply on behalf of the student,
74	74	or the eligible student may apply if parental rights have
75	75	transferred to the student under Section 29.017, for participation
76	76	in the program for the school year in which the application is made.
77	77	Sec. 29.355. AGREEMENT REQUIRED. To receive funding under
78	78	the program, a parent of an eligible student, or the eligible
79	79	student if parental rights have transferred to the student under
80	80	Section 29.017, must agree in writing to spend funds received
81	81	through the program only for expenses allowed under Section 29.356.
82	82	Sec. 29.356. QUALIFIED EXPENSES. (a) Funds received under
83	83	the program may be used only for the following expenses incurred by
84	84	a program participant:
85	85	(1) tuition and fees for an educational course,
86	86	including a service, course, or educational program offered by an
87	87	institution defined by Education Code Sec. 2000.001(2), or an
88	88	online course;
89	89	(2) the purchase of instructional materials, as
90	90	defined by Section 31.002;
91	91	(3) costs of transportation for the student to receive
92	92	educational support services;
93	93	(4) fees for services provided by a private tutor or
94	94	teaching service;
95	95	(5) fees for educational therapies or support services
96	96	provided by a practitioner or provider;
97	97	(6) costs of computer hardware and software and other
98	98	assistive technological devices intended to facilitate the
99	99	student's learning;
100	100	(7) fees for a nationally norm-referenced achievement
101	101	test or examination, an advanced placement test or similar
102	102	examination, or any examination related to college or university
103	103	admission; and
104	104	(8) any other expenses not described by Subsection (b)
105	105	that are approved by the commissioner.
106	106	(b) Expenses allowed under Subsection (a) do not include
107	107	expenses for:
108	108	(1) consumable supplies, including paper, pens,
109	109	pencils, folders, and notebooks;
110	110	(2) food; or
111	111	(3) before-school or after-school child care and child
112	112	care during school holidays and vacations.
113	113	(c) An education service provider or vendor of educational
114	114	products must provide a program participant with a receipt for each
115	115	expense allowed under Subsection (a) charged by the provider or
116	116	vendor to the participant.
117	117	Sec. 29.357. AMOUNT OF PAYMENT. (a) A parent of an
118	118	eligible student, or the eligible student if parental rights have
119	119	transferred to the student under Section 29.017, is entitled to
120	120	receive each year that the student participates in the program a
121	121	payment from the state to the student's account in an amount equal
122	122	to the quotient of the total amount of funds available to the
123	123	program for that year divided by the total number of students
124	124	participating in the program that year.
125	125	(a-1) In making expenditures for this purpose, the
126	126	Commissioner may also draw from the funding available for special
127	127	education grants as provided at Education Code Section 29.018.
128	128	(a-2) Should a new funding source or sources be made
129	129	available for this purpose by the Legislature, the agency, the
130	130	federal government, or any other public or private source, then the
131	131	Commissioner may also make use of such funding to fund the payments
132	132	under subsection (a).
133	133	(b) Any funds remaining in a student's account at the end of
134	134	a fiscal year are carried forward to the next fiscal year unless
135	135	another provision of this subchapter mandates the closure of the
136	136	account.
137	137	(c) A program participant may make payments with personal
138	138	money for the expenses of educational programs, services, and
139	139	products not covered by funds in the student's account or allowed
140	140	under Section 29.356.
141	141	Sec. 29.358. ADMINISTRATION OF ACCOUNTS. (a) The agency
142	142	shall contract with a financial institution to establish and manage
143	143	an account for each student participating in the program. A program
144	144	participant must be able to access the participant's account by
145	145	using a debit card or online payment service.
146	146	(b) Not later than September 1 of each year, the
147	147	commissioner shall make a payment to each program participant's
148	148	account in the amount provided under Section 29.357.
149	149	(c) The commissioner may deduct an amount from each payment
150	150	to a program participant's account to cover the agency's cost of
151	151	administering the program and any fees for the management of the
152	152	account charged by a financial institution. The amount deducted
153	153	may not exceed five percent of the payment.
154	154	(d) On the first anniversary of the date on which a student
155	155	who participated in the program is no longer eligible to
156	156	participate in the program under Section 29.353, the student's
157	157	account is closed and any remaining funds are returned to the state
158	158	to be used only for purposes of the program.
159	159	Sec. 29.359. EXPENSE REPORTING; APPROVAL BY AGENCY. (a) On
160	160	or before deadlines established by commissioner rule, a program
161	161	participant shall submit to the agency an expense report detailing
162	162	all payments made from the participant's account during the
163	163	reporting period.
164	164	(b) An expense report must include:
165	165	(1) receipts and invoices documenting all payments
166	166	made from the account;
167	167	(2) a statement of the account provided to the
168	168	participant by the financial institution that manages the account;
169	169	and
170	170	(3) any other information required by the
171	171	commissioner.
172	172	(c) The agency shall approve each expense made by a program
173	173	participant that is allowed under Section 29.356 and reject any
174	174	expense that is not allowed under that section or for which
175	175	documentation is incomplete.
176	176	(d) For each rejected expense, the program participant
177	177	shall repay the agency for the cost of the expense. Additional funds
178	178	may not be transferred to the participant's account until the
179	179	participant repays all rejected expenses. If repayment is not made
180	180	on or before the date established by commissioner rule, the
181	181	commissioner shall close the account.
182	182	Sec. 29.360. AUDITING OF ACCOUNT. (a) The agency shall
183	183	audit accounts as necessary to ensure compliance with applicable
184	184	law and the requirements of the program.
185	185	(b) In auditing an account, the agency may require that a
186	186	program participant provide further information and documentation
187	187	regarding any payment from the participant's account.
188	188	Sec. 29.361. SUSPENSION OF ACCOUNT. (a) The commissioner
189	189	may suspend the account of a program participant who fails to comply
190	190	with applicable law or a requirement of the program or who misuses
191	191	funds received under the program.
192	192	(b) On suspension of an account under Subsection (a), the
193	193	commissioner shall notify the program participant in writing that
194	194	the account has been suspended and that no further payments may be
195	195	made from the account. The notification must specify the grounds
196	196	for the suspension and state the date by which the participant must
197	197	respond and take any corrective action required by the
198	198	commissioner.
199	199	(c) On the expiration of the period specified under
200	200	Subsection (b), the commissioner shall:
201	201	(1) order permanent closure of the suspended account
202	202	and declare the program participant ineligible for the program;
203	203	(2) order temporary reinstatement of the account,
204	204	conditioned on the performance of a specified action by the
205	205	participant; or
206	206	(3) order full reinstatement of the account.
207	207	(d) The commissioner may reinstate a program participant's
208	208	account if the participant provides adequate assurances of future
209	209	compliance with applicable law and all requirements of the program.
210	210	In reinstating the account, the commissioner may impose additional
211	211	safeguards, including revoking the participant's debit card for the
212	212	account and requiring the participant to submit expenses for
213	213	reimbursement only.
214	214	Sec. 29.362. APPEAL. A determination by the agency to
215	215	reject an expense under Section 29.359 or by the commissioner to
216	216	close or reinstate an account under Section 29.361 is final and not
217	217	subject to appeal except as otherwise provided by commissioner
218	218	rule.
219	219	Sec. 29.363. REFUND PROHIBITED. An education service
220	220	provider or a vendor of educational products receiving funds
221	221	distributed under the program may not in any manner rebate, refund,
222	222	or credit to or share with a program participant, or any person on
223	223	behalf of a participant, any program funds paid or owed by the
224	224	participant to the provider or vendor.
225	225	Sec. 29.364. REFERRAL TO ATTORNEY GENERAL. (a) If the
226	226	agency obtains evidence of fraudulent use of an account, the
227	227	commissioner may refer the case to the attorney general for
228	228	investigation.
229	229	(b) With the consent of the appropriate local county or
230	230	district attorney, the attorney general has concurrent
231	231	jurisdiction with the consenting local prosecutor to prosecute an
232	232	offense referred to the attorney general under Subsection (a).
233	233	Sec. 29.365. EDUCATION SERVICE PROVIDER ACCOUNTABILITY. A
234	234	private tutor or teaching service and a practitioner or provider
235	235	who provides educational therapies or support services must be
236	236	licensed or accredited by a regional or national accrediting
237	237	organization recognized by the commissioner to receive funds
238	238	distributed under the program.
239	239	Sec. 29.366. ANNUAL SURVEY. The agency shall conduct an
240	240	annual parental satisfaction survey that asks each parent of a
241	241	student participating in the program, or the student if parental
242	242	rights have transferred to the student under Section 29.017, to
243	243	express, as applicable:
244	244	(1) the parent's or student's overall level of
245	245	satisfaction with the program; and
246	246	(2) the parent's or student's opinion on specified
247	247	topics and issues relevant to the effectiveness of the program.
248	248	Sec. 29.367. RULES. The commissioner may adopt rules as
249	249	necessary to implement this subchapter, including rules for
250	250	implementing this subchapter in a manner that ensures compliance
251	251	with federal law regarding confidentiality of student educational
252	252	information, including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy
253	253	Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g).
254	254	SECTION 2. Amend Education Code Section 29.018 by amending
255	255	subsection (a) to read as follows:
256	256	Sec. 29.018. SPECIAL EDUCATION GRANT. (a-1) From funds
257	257	appropriated for the purposes of this section, federal funds, or
258	258	any other funds available, the commissioner shall make grants
259	259	available to school districts to assist districts in covering the
260	260	cost of educating students with disabilities and for students
261	261	described as eligible to participate in the credit account program
262	262	by Education Code Sec. 29.353.
263	263	SECTION 3. This Act applies beginning with the 2017-2018
264	264	school year.
265	265	SECTION 4. As soon as practicable after the effective date
266	266	of this Act, the commissioner of education shall adopt rules
267	267	necessary to implement the credit account program under Subchapter
268	268	J, Chapter 29, Education Code, as added by this Act.
269	269	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
270	270	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
271	271	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
272	272	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
273	273	Act takes effect September 1, 2017.