| 2 | 4 | | |
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| 3 | 5 | | |
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| 4 | 6 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 5 | 7 | | AN ACT |
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| 6 | 8 | | relating to a notice of educational rights for certain student |
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| 7 | 9 | | evaluations. |
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| 8 | 10 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 9 | 11 | | SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 29, Education Code, is |
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| 10 | 12 | | amended by adding Section 29.023 to read as follows: |
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| 11 | 13 | | Sec. 29.023. NOTICE OF RIGHTS. (a) The agency shall |
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| 12 | 14 | | develop a notice for distribution as provided by Subsection (c) and |
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| 13 | 15 | | posting on the agency's Internet website that indicates: |
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| 14 | 16 | | (1) the change made from 2016 to 2017 in reporting |
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| 15 | 17 | | requirements for school districts and open-enrollment charter |
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| 16 | 18 | | schools regarding the special education representation indicator |
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| 17 | 19 | | adopted in the Performance-Based Monitoring Analysis System |
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| 18 | 20 | | Manual; and |
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| 19 | 21 | | (2) in plain language, the rights of a child under both |
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| 20 | 22 | | federal and state law and the general process available to initiate |
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| 21 | 23 | | a referral of a child for a full individual and initial evaluation |
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| 22 | 24 | | under Section 29.004 to determine the child's eligibility for |
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| 23 | 25 | | special education services. |
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| 24 | 26 | | (b) A school district or open-enrollment charter school |
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| 25 | 27 | | shall include in the notice developed by the agency under |
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| 26 | 28 | | Subsection (a) information indicating where the local processes and |
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| 27 | 29 | | procedures for initiating a referral for special education services |
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| 28 | 30 | | eligibility evaluation may be found. |
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| 29 | 31 | | (c) By a date established by the commissioner, each school |
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| 30 | 32 | | district or open-enrollment charter school shall provide the notice |
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| 31 | 33 | | to the parent of each child who attends school in the district or at |
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| 32 | 34 | | the school at any time during the 2019-2020 school year. A school |
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| 33 | 35 | | district or open-enrollment charter school shall also make the |
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| 34 | 36 | | notice available on request to any person. The notice must be |
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| 35 | 37 | | available in English and Spanish, and a school district or |
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| 36 | 38 | | open-enrollment charter school shall make a good faith effort to |
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| 37 | 39 | | provide the notice in the parent's native language if the parent's |
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| 38 | 40 | | native language is a language other than English or Spanish. |
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| 39 | 41 | | (d) The notice is in addition to requirements imposed by |
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| 40 | 42 | | Section 26.0081. |
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| 41 | 43 | | (e) The commissioner may adopt rules necessary to implement |
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| 42 | 44 | | this section. |
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| 43 | 45 | | (f) This section expires September 1, 2023. |
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| 44 | 46 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 45 | 47 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 46 | 48 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 47 | 49 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 48 | 50 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |
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