86R1110 SRS-D
By: Pacheco H.B. No. 2515
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the scheduling of the first and last days of school for
students by school districts.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 12A.003(b), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) A local innovation plan must:
(1) provide for a comprehensive educational program
for the district, which program may include:
(A) innovative curriculum, instructional
methods, and provisions regarding community participation, campus
governance, and parental involvement;
(B) except as provided by Section 12A.004(a),
modifications to the school day or year;
(C) provisions regarding the district budget and
sustainable program funding;
(D) accountability and assessment measures that
exceed the requirements of state and federal law; and
(E) any other innovations prescribed by the board
of trustees; and
(2) identify requirements imposed by this code that
inhibit the goals of the plan and from which the district should be
exempted on adoption of the plan, subject to Section 12A.004.
SECTION 2. Section 12A.004(a), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) A local innovation plan may not provide for the
exemption of a district designated as a district of innovation from
the following provisions of this title:
(1) a state or federal requirement applicable to an
open-enrollment charter school operating under Subchapter D,
Chapter 12;
(2) Subchapters A, C, D, and E, Chapter 11, except that
a district may be exempt from Sections 11.1511(b)(5) and (14) and
Section 11.162;
(3) state curriculum and graduation requirements
adopted under Chapter 28; [and]
(4) academic and financial accountability and
sanctions under Chapters 39 and 39A; and
(5) the first or last day of instruction requirements
under Sections 25.0811 and 25.0812.
SECTION 3. Section 25.0811(a), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by this section, a school district
may not begin instruction for students for a school year before the
Tuesday after Labor Day [the fourth Monday in August]. A school
district may:
(1) begin instruction for students for a school year
before the Tuesday after Labor Day [the fourth Monday in August] if
the district operates a year-round system under Section 25.084; or
(2) begin instruction for students for a school year
on or after the first Monday in August at a campus or at not more
than 20 percent of the campuses in the district if:
(A) the district has a student enrollment of
190,000 or more;
(B) the district at the beginning of the school
year provides, financed with local funds, days of instruction for
students at the campus or at each of the multiple campuses, in
addition to the minimum [number of days of] instruction time
required under Section 25.081;
(C) the campus or each of the multiple campuses
is [are] undergoing comprehensive reform, as determined by the
board of trustees of the district; and
(D) a majority of the students at the campus or at
each of the multiple campuses are educationally disadvantaged.
SECTION 4. Section 25.0812, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as
follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (a-1) or (b), a school
district may not schedule the last day of school for students for a
school year before May 15 or after the Friday preceding Memorial
Day.
(a-1) A school district may schedule the last day of school
for students for a school year after the Friday preceding Memorial
Day if the district operates a year-round system under Section
25.084.
SECTION 5. Section 25.084(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A school district may operate its schools year-round on
either a single-track or a multitrack calendar. If a school
district adopts a year-round system, the district may modify:
(1) the number of contract days of employees and the
number of days of operation, including any time required for staff
development, planning and preparation, and continuing education,
otherwise required by law;
(2) testing dates, data reporting, and related
matters;
(3) the date of the first day of instruction of the
school year under Section 25.0811 and the date of the last day of
school for a school year under Section 25.0812 for a school that was
operating year-round for the 2018-2019 [2000-2001] school year; and
(4) a student's eligibility to participate in
extracurricular activities when the student's calendar track is not
in session.
SECTION 6. This Act applies beginning with the 2020-2021
school year.
SECTION 7. 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, 2019.