By: Simmons H.B. No. 4193
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the establishment of a credit account program for
students with disabilities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 29, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter J to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER J. CREDIT ACCOUNT PROGRAM FOR STUDENTS WITH
DISABILITIES
Sec. 29.351. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Account" means a credit account established under
the program.
(2) "Financial institution" means a bank, credit
union, savings bank, or savings and loan association organized
under the laws of this state, the laws of another state, or federal
law that has its main office or a branch office in this state. The
term does not include any institution the deposits of which are not
insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or the
National Credit Union Administration.
(3) "Parent" means a resident of this state who is a
natural or adoptive parent, managing or possessory conservator,
legal guardian, custodian, or other person with legal authority to
act on behalf of a child.
(4) "Program" means the credit account program
established under this subchapter.
(5) "Program participant" means a student and a parent
of a student who has been accepted into the program.
Sec. 29.352. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM. (a) The
commissioner shall establish and administer a credit account
program to provide funding for eligible students to obtain
educational support services and other resources that:
(1) supplement the student's public education; and
(2) exceed the level of services that the student's
admission, review, and dismissal committee or the student's team
established under Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29
U.S.C. Section 794), as applicable, has determined to be necessary
for the student to receive a free appropriate public education.
(b) The agency shall make information about the program
readily available to the public through various sources, including
the agency's Internet website.
Sec. 29.353. ELIGIBLE STUDENT. A student is eligible to
participate in the program if the student is enrolled in a school
district and:
(1) an individualized education program has been
developed for the student under Section 29.005; or
(2) the student is covered by Section 504,
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794).
Sec. 29.354. APPLICATION PROCESS. (a) On or before the
date established by commissioner rule, each school district or
open-enrollment charter school annually shall submit to the
commissioner a list of each student enrolled in the district or
school who may be eligible to participate in the program and any
information necessary to determine the student's eligibility.
(b) As soon as practicable after receipt of the information
submitted under Subsection (a), the agency shall provide to the
parent of each student who is eligible to participate in the
program, or the student if parental rights have transferred to the
student under Section 29.017:
(1) notice of the student's eligibility; and
(2) a publication that describes the operation of the
program, including:
(A) expenses allowed under the program under
Section 29.356;
(B) expense reporting requirements under Section
29.359; and
(C) a description of the responsibilities of
program participants and the duties of the agency under this
subchapter.
(c) On or before the date established by commissioner rule,
a parent of an eligible student may apply on behalf of the student,
or the eligible student may apply if parental rights have
transferred to the student under Section 29.017, for participation
in the program for the school year in which the application is made.
Sec. 29.355. AGREEMENT REQUIRED. To receive funding under
the program, a parent of an eligible student, or the eligible
student if parental rights have transferred to the student under
Section 29.017, must agree in writing to spend funds received
through the program only for expenses allowed under Section 29.356.
Sec. 29.356. QUALIFIED EXPENSES. (a) Funds received under
the program may be used only for the following expenses incurred by
a program participant:
(1) tuition and fees for an educational course,
including a service, course, or educational program offered by an
institution defined by Education Code Sec. 2000.001(2), or an
online course;
(2) the purchase of instructional materials, as
defined by Section 31.002;
(3) costs of transportation for the student to receive
educational support services;
(4) fees for services provided by a private tutor or
teaching service;
(5) fees for educational therapies or support services
provided by a practitioner or provider;
(6) costs of computer hardware and software and other
assistive technological devices intended to facilitate the
student's learning;
(7) fees for a nationally norm-referenced achievement
test or examination, an advanced placement test or similar
examination, or any examination related to college or university
admission; and
(8) any other expenses not described by Subsection (b)
that are approved by the commissioner.
(b) Expenses allowed under Subsection (a) do not include
expenses for:
(1) consumable supplies, including paper, pens,
pencils, folders, and notebooks;
(2) food; or
(3) before-school or after-school child care and child
care during school holidays and vacations.
(c) An education service provider or vendor of educational
products must provide a program participant with a receipt for each
expense allowed under Subsection (a) charged by the provider or
vendor to the participant.
Sec. 29.357. AMOUNT OF PAYMENT. (a) A parent of an
eligible student, or the eligible student if parental rights have
transferred to the student under Section 29.017, is entitled to
receive each year that the student participates in the program a
payment from the state to the student's account in an amount equal
to the quotient of the total amount of funds available to the
program for that year divided by the total number of students
participating in the program that year.
(a-1) In making expenditures for this purpose, the
Commissioner may also draw from the funding available for special
education grants as provided at Education Code Section 29.018.
(a-2) Should a new funding source or sources be made
available for this purpose by the Legislature, the agency, the
federal government, or any other public or private source, then the
Commissioner may also make use of such funding to fund the payments
under subsection (a).
(b) Any funds remaining in a student's account at the end of
a fiscal year are carried forward to the next fiscal year unless
another provision of this subchapter mandates the closure of the
account.
(c) A program participant may make payments with personal
money for the expenses of educational programs, services, and
products not covered by funds in the student's account or allowed
under Section 29.356.
Sec. 29.358. ADMINISTRATION OF ACCOUNTS. (a) The agency
shall contract with a financial institution to establish and manage
an account for each student participating in the program. A program
participant must be able to access the participant's account by
using a debit card or online payment service.
(b) Not later than September 1 of each year, the
commissioner shall make a payment to each program participant's
account in the amount provided under Section 29.357.
(c) The commissioner may deduct an amount from each payment
to a program participant's account to cover the agency's cost of
administering the program and any fees for the management of the
account charged by a financial institution. The amount deducted
may not exceed five percent of the payment.
(d) On the first anniversary of the date on which a student
who participated in the program is no longer eligible to
participate in the program under Section 29.353, the student's
account is closed and any remaining funds are returned to the state
to be used only for purposes of the program.
Sec. 29.359. EXPENSE REPORTING; APPROVAL BY AGENCY. (a) On
or before deadlines established by commissioner rule, a program
participant shall submit to the agency an expense report detailing
all payments made from the participant's account during the
reporting period.
(b) An expense report must include:
(1) receipts and invoices documenting all payments
made from the account;
(2) a statement of the account provided to the
participant by the financial institution that manages the account;
and
(3) any other information required by the
commissioner.
(c) The agency shall approve each expense made by a program
participant that is allowed under Section 29.356 and reject any
expense that is not allowed under that section or for which
documentation is incomplete.
(d) For each rejected expense, the program participant
shall repay the agency for the cost of the expense. Additional funds
may not be transferred to the participant's account until the
participant repays all rejected expenses. If repayment is not made
on or before the date established by commissioner rule, the
commissioner shall close the account.
Sec. 29.360. AUDITING OF ACCOUNT. (a) The agency shall
audit accounts as necessary to ensure compliance with applicable
law and the requirements of the program.
(b) In auditing an account, the agency may require that a
program participant provide further information and documentation
regarding any payment from the participant's account.
Sec. 29.361. SUSPENSION OF ACCOUNT. (a) The commissioner
may suspend the account of a program participant who fails to comply
with applicable law or a requirement of the program or who misuses
funds received under the program.
(b) On suspension of an account under Subsection (a), the
commissioner shall notify the program participant in writing that
the account has been suspended and that no further payments may be
made from the account. The notification must specify the grounds
for the suspension and state the date by which the participant must
respond and take any corrective action required by the
commissioner.
(c) On the expiration of the period specified under
Subsection (b), the commissioner shall:
(1) order permanent closure of the suspended account
and declare the program participant ineligible for the program;
(2) order temporary reinstatement of the account,
conditioned on the performance of a specified action by the
participant; or
(3) order full reinstatement of the account.
(d) The commissioner may reinstate a program participant's
account if the participant provides adequate assurances of future
compliance with applicable law and all requirements of the program.
In reinstating the account, the commissioner may impose additional
safeguards, including revoking the participant's debit card for the
account and requiring the participant to submit expenses for
reimbursement only.
Sec. 29.362. APPEAL. A determination by the agency to
reject an expense under Section 29.359 or by the commissioner to
close or reinstate an account under Section 29.361 is final and not
subject to appeal except as otherwise provided by commissioner
rule.
Sec. 29.363. REFUND PROHIBITED. An education service
provider or a vendor of educational products receiving funds
distributed under the program may not in any manner rebate, refund,
or credit to or share with a program participant, or any person on
behalf of a participant, any program funds paid or owed by the
participant to the provider or vendor.
Sec. 29.364. REFERRAL TO ATTORNEY GENERAL. (a) If the
agency obtains evidence of fraudulent use of an account, the
commissioner may refer the case to the attorney general for
investigation.
(b) With the consent of the appropriate local county or
district attorney, the attorney general has concurrent
jurisdiction with the consenting local prosecutor to prosecute an
offense referred to the attorney general under Subsection (a).
Sec. 29.365. EDUCATION SERVICE PROVIDER ACCOUNTABILITY. A
private tutor or teaching service and a practitioner or provider
who provides educational therapies or support services must be
licensed or accredited by a regional or national accrediting
organization recognized by the commissioner to receive funds
distributed under the program.
Sec. 29.366. ANNUAL SURVEY. The agency shall conduct an
annual parental satisfaction survey that asks each parent of a
student participating in the program, or the student if parental
rights have transferred to the student under Section 29.017, to
express, as applicable:
(1) the parent's or student's overall level of
satisfaction with the program; and
(2) the parent's or student's opinion on specified
topics and issues relevant to the effectiveness of the program.
Sec. 29.367. RULES. The commissioner may adopt rules as
necessary to implement this subchapter, including rules for
implementing this subchapter in a manner that ensures compliance
with federal law regarding confidentiality of student educational
information, including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy
Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g).
SECTION 2. Amend Education Code Section 29.018 by amending
subsection (a) to read as follows:
Sec. 29.018. SPECIAL EDUCATION GRANT. (a-1) From funds
appropriated for the purposes of this section, federal funds, or
any other funds available, the commissioner shall make grants
available to school districts to assist districts in covering the
cost of educating students with disabilities and for students
described as eligible to participate in the credit account program
by Education Code Sec. 29.353.
SECTION 3. This Act applies beginning with the 2017-2018
school year.
SECTION 4. As soon as practicable after the effective date
of this Act, the commissioner of education shall adopt rules
necessary to implement the credit account program under Subchapter
J, Chapter 29, Education Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 5. 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.