By: VanDeaver H.B. No. 320
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the establishment and funding of an education
enhancement program for certain 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. ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
Sec. 29.351. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Child with a disability" means a child who is:
(A) eligible to participate in a school
district's special education program under Section 29.003; or
(B) covered by Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of
1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794).
(2) "Enhancement services" means a service provided to
a program participant that is in addition to the special education
services that a school district is required to provide a child with
a disability under federal and state law.
(3) "Parent" means a resident who otherwise meets the
definition of this term under Section 26.002.
(4) "Agency" means the Texas Education Agency.
(5) "Program participant" means a student with a
disability and the parent(s) of a child enrolled in the program.
(6) "Private service provider" means an individual or
entity approved by the commissioner of education to provide
enhancement services to program participants and that follows all
accountability standards outlined in this subchapter.
Sec. 29.352. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM. (a) The agency
shall establish a program, including procedures and criteria in
accordance with this subchapter, for the allocation of funds
appropriated under this subchapter to school districts for the
provision of enhancement services to certain students with
disabilities and their families to promote and improve overall
academic performance.
(b) The commissioner shall notify program
participants, school districts in which the program participant is
enrolled, and approved private service providers that approval to
participate in this program is for one year. Approval to
participate as a program participant or a private service provider
does not guarantee approval for subsequent years of participation
within this program.
Sec. 29.353. PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS.
(A) A student with a disability is eligible for enhancement
services from a private service provider if the child has a Section
504 plan of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794)
or an individual education plan, and has one or more of the
following disabilities:
(A) dyslexia
(B) autism
(C) speech disability; or
(D) learning disability.
(B) A student or parent must apply to the agency through the
school district in which their child is enrolled to participate in
the program.
(C) A student must have attended public school in the
participating school district in the previous year prior to
receiving enhancement services created by Subchapter J. School
districts shall notify all eligible students and parents of this
program.
Sec. 29.354. ENHANCEMENT SERVICES.
(A) Funds provided by this program may be used only for the
following services provided by approved private service providers
under Section 29.357:
(1) costs of transportation for the student to receive
educational support services;
(2) fees for services provided by a commissioner-approved
private tutor or teaching service under Section 29.357;
(3) fees for educational therapies or support services
provided by a practitioner or provider under Section 29.357;
(4) costs of assistive technology;
(5) in-home and community-based training;
(6) positive behavioral support strategies;
(7) parent and family training support;
(8) communication interventions; and
(9) social skills, supports, and strategies.
(a-1) Any services not listed in (A) do not qualify as
enhancement services and are not eligible for funding under this
subchapter.
(B) Enhancement services shall be chosen by the parent in
consultation with the school principal's designee. The principal's
designee shall advise the parent on the enhancement program. The
parent shall choose the enhancement services and the private
service provider the program participant uses under this
subchapter.
Sec. 29.355. PROTECTION OF RIGHTS. (a) Students using
funds through a school district to access enhancement services from
an approved provider under Section 29.357 shall maintain rights
awarded to the student under Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of
1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794) and Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (20 U.S.C. Section 1400 et seq.), and the Americans
with Disabilities Act.
Sec. 29.356. ALLOCATION OF PROGRAM FUNDS.
(a) This program shall be funded at $10 million per year
from the state's general revenue fund.
(b) The commissioner shall award program funds to fund
enhancement services for students that meet the eligibility
criteria under Subsection 29.353. In awarding program funds to
eligible students, the commissioner shall prioritize students that
are economically disadvantaged. The selected students must reflect
the diversity of this state.
Sec. 29.357. PRIVATE SERVICE PROVIDER REQUIREMENTS.
(A) To be a private service provider, an entity or
individual:
(1) must be determined and approved by the
commissioner;
(2) must provide the agency a current financial audit
from a certified public accountant;
(3) must have operated for at least three or more
consecutive years, one of which has been in Texas;
(4) must provide evidence of having successfully
passed a criminal background check;
(5) must provide the agency a list of state and
national certification licensure credentials the provider has
achieved;
(6) must agree to comply with the state's curriculum
standards under Section 28.002 (b-3) and (b-4);
(7) may document to the commissioner that it provides
one or more of the enhancement services under 29.354 through an
existing contract with a school district; and
(8) may not solicit program participants to use their
private services with gifts, money, promotions, or any other kind
of emollient.
(a-1) A parent, the principal's designee who consults
with the parent of a program participant, or a private service
provider may appeal to the agency for a specific private service
provider to be approved. The commissioner shall develop rules to
implement this process.
(B) A private service provider shall deliver enhancement
services to a program participant on the basis of a written
agreement between the private service provider and the school
district in which the program participant is enrolled.
(C) (1) The private service provider must participate in a
meeting with the parent and the principal's designee who consults
with the parent of a program participant at least one time within a
semester of participation in enhancement services to discuss
progress and continued use of the private service provider's
enhancement services.
(2) A parent, the principal's designee who consults
with the parent of a program participant, or a private service
provider may request more frequent meetings between these groups to
discuss progress and continued use of the private service
provider's enhancement services.
(3) At the conclusion of the school year, enhancement
services cease. A parent must re-apply in a subsequent school year
to receive enhancement services during a subsequent school year.
Sec. 29.357. ACCOUNTABILITY. (a) An approved private
service provider shall adhere to the following accountability
standards to receive and maintain eligibility:
(1) report to the participating school district at the end
of each semester on the services the program participant has
received or will receive in accordance with the contract as well as
diagnostic or other evaluative information that the district
requires in order to fulfill its obligations under this subchapter;
(2) conduct pre- and post- measurement evaluations of the
program participant, and share this information with the program
participant's parent and participating school district;
(3) maintain a written contract with the school district of
the program participant to provide enhancement services;
(4) appropriately invoice the school district of the
program participant to provide enhancement services.
(b) The commissioner shall annually review previously
approved private service providers to determine if the private
service provider shall remain an approved provider for enhancement
services.
Sec. 29.358. PROGRAM REVIEW. (a) the agency with input
from program participants, parents of program participants,
private service providers, and participating school districts
shall review the performance of this program as established by
Subchapter J, and report to the legislature by December 31, 2020.
Sec. 29.359. STUDY. No later than September 1, 2018, the
agency shall report its findings to the legislature from a parent
survey and study of the special education services received from
the local school districts where their child(ren) are enrolled to
determine whether those services meet the requirements of IDEA, 504
and ADA or if the provided services are insufficient to meet the
needs of the child as stipulated in his or her individualized
education plan or 504 plan. The agency will include in its report to
the legislature a list of services that parents feel are needed but
not being provided along with the reasons for a lack of services
being provided.
Sec. 29.360. EXCUSED ABSENCES. (a) an appointment or
meeting with an approved private service provider for enhancement
services provided by the special education enhancement program
established under Subchapter J shall be considered excused
absences. Services under this subchapter must supplement, not
supplant, educational services provided by the school district.
Sec. 29.361. RESPONSIBILITY OF OTHER AGENCIES. (a) The
provision of services under this section does not supersede or
limit the responsibility of other agencies to provide or pay for
costs of enhancement services to enable any student with
disabilities to receive a free appropriate public education in the
least restrictive environment. Specifically, services provided
under this section may not be used for a student with disabilities
who is currently placed in a residential facility primarily for
non-educational reasons.
SECTION 2. This Act applies beginning with the 2018-2019
school year.
SECTION 3. 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.