By: Dutton H.B. No. 3683
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to authorizing a dropout recovery competency-based
educational pilot program provided through a campus or campus
program charter or open-enrollment charter school.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 12, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter F to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER F. DROPOUT RECOVERY COMPETENCY-BASED EDUCATIONAL
PILOT PROGRAM
Sec. 12.201. DEFINITION. In this subchapter
, "program"
means a dropout recovery competency-based educational pilot
program authorized under this subchapter.
Sec. 12.202. PROGRAM AUTHORIZATION. (a) For the purpose of
offering during the 2020-2021 school year a dropout recovery
competency-based educational pilot program to serve eligible
students described by Section 12.203, the commissioner, subject to
Subsection (b), may:
(1) on the basis of an application submitted, grant a
charter to an eligible entity for an open-enrollment charter school
under Subchapter D to provide the program;
(2) authorize an open-enrollment charter school that
has been granted a charter under Subchapter D to provide the
program; or
(3) authorize a campus or campus program that has been
granted a charter under Subchapter C to provide the program.
(b) To qualify for authorization under this subchapter, a
program must:
(1) serve students in grades 9 through 12 and have an
enrollment of which at least 50 percent of the students are 17 years
of age or older as of September 1 of the school year as reported for
the fall semester Public Education Information Management System
(PEIMS) submission; and
(2) meet the eligibility requirements for and register
under alternative education accountability procedures adopted by
the commissioner.
Sec. 12.203. ELIGIBLE STUDENT. A student is eligible to
enroll in a program offered under this subchapter if the student is
at least 14 years of age and under 26 years of age on September 1 of
the school year and meets one or more of the following criteria:
(1) the student was reported through the Public
Education Information Management System (PEIMS) or another state to
have dropped out of school, including a student who has previously
dropped out of school;
(2) the student is a student at risk of dropping out of
school under the circumstances described by Section 29.081(d)(1),
(2), (3), (5), or (10);
(3) the student has been previously placed in a
disciplinary alternative education program under Section 37.006
during the previous or current school year based on the Public
Education Information Management System (PEIMS) submissions or
other supporting documentation;
(4) the student has been expelled under Section 37.007
during the previous four school years or the current school year;
(5) the student is currently on parole, probation,
deferred prosecution, deferred adjudication, or other conditional
release;
(6) the student is currently in the custody or care of
the Department of Family and Protective Services or has been
referred to the department during the previous or current school
year by a school official, officer of a juvenile court, or law
enforcement official;
(7) the student has been previously or is currently
homeless as defined by 42 U.S.C. Section 11302 or within the meaning
of the term "homeless children and youths" under 42 U.S.C. Section
11434a, as applicable;
(8) the student resided at any time or currently
resides in a residential care facility, including a detention
facility, substance abuse treatment facility, emergency shelter,
psychiatric hospital, halfway house, cottage home operation,
specialized child-care home, or general residential operation;
(9) the student is employed and working for pay at
least 15 hours or more each week to provide individual support or to
support the student's family;
(10) the student is ordered by a court to attend a high
school equivalency certificate program but has not yet earned the
certificate or a high school diploma;
(11) the student has previously been placed on a
personal graduation plan under Section 28.0212 or an intensive
program of instruction under Section 28.0213; or
(12) the student or the parent of or person standing in
parental relation to the student certifies to the school that the
student would benefit from the program to otherwise avoid dropping
out of school due to extenuating family circumstances or
responsibilities, including to provide medical or caregiving
services to a family member or to provide individual support or to
support the student's family.
Sec. 12.204. ELIGIBILITY FOR DIPLOMA. (a) A student
enrolled in a program under this subchapter may earn high school
course credits and receive a high school diploma if the student
successfully completes the curriculum requirements described under
Section 28.025.
(b) The commissioner by rule shall establish the
requirements to demonstrate satisfactory completion of the
program, including:
(1) successful completion of coursework to satisfy
curriculum requirements under the program; and
(2) successful performance on an examination under
Section 28.023 to demonstrate mastery of the curriculum.
Sec. 12.205. OPERATION OF PROGRAM. (a) An open-enrollment
charter school or campus or campus program authorized to operate a
program under this subchapter shall create an educational calendar
and class schedule for the program's operation that provides for
flexibility in class scheduling and student attendance. The
commissioner shall approve reasonable exceptions to accommodate
program scheduling and achieve the program's purpose.
(b) An open-enrollment charter school or a campus or campus
program authorized to operate a program under this subchapter shall
have an audit of the operations of the program, including the
financial operations, conducted at the authorized entity's
expense. The audit must be conducted by an independent certified
public accountant.
(c) For purposes of conducting an audit under this section,
the commissioner by rule shall establish requirements for verifying
course credits earned by program students.
Sec. 12.206. ACCOUNTABILITY. A program under this
subchapter shall be evaluated under Section 39.0548 and as provided
by commissioner rule.
Sec. 12.207. FUNDING. (a) An open-enrollment charter
school or campus or campus program authorized to operate a program
under this subchapter is entitled to receive full state funding as
provided by Section 12.106, provided that, for purposes of this
subchapter, the commissioner shall by rule determine a method to
calculate average daily attendance based on:
(1) a student's successful completion of a number of
courses as determined by commissioner rule; and
(2) a student's hours of contact time with the school.
(b) The method under Subsection (a) must provide for a
proportionate reduction in funding if a student fails to
successfully complete the number of courses determined under
Subsection (a)(1).
(c) An open-enrollment charter school or a campus or campus
program authorized to operate a program under this subchapter may
receive additional funds appropriated by the legislature for:
(1) an intensive program of instruction to the same
extent as a program under Section 28.0213; or
(2) accelerated instruction to the same extent as a
program under Section 28.0217.
Sec. 12.208. PROGRAM REPORTING SYSTEM. (a) The
commissioner by rule shall develop:
(1) a system for each open-enrollment charter school
and a campus or campus program authorized to operate a program under
this subchapter to report information relating to the program as
directed by the commissioner; and
(2) to the extent practicable, a monthly funding
schedule.
(b) Before developing the system and schedule under
Subsection (a) and in an effort to best serve the interests and
needs of eligible students under this subchapter, the commissioner
shall solicit input from approved charter schools that currently
operate dropout recovery programs.
Sec. 12.209. RULES; WAIVERS. (a) The commissioner shall
adopt rules necessary to implement and administer this subchapter.
(b) The commissioner may waive any requirement under this
code to facilitate the purposes of this subchapter.
Sec. 12.210. REPORT. Not later than December 1, 2021, the
commissioner shall submit a report to the legislature that:
(1) evaluates the implementation of this subchapter;
and
(2) makes recommendations regarding any legislative
or other action.
Sec. 12.211. EXPIRATION. This subchapter expires December
1, 2021.
SECTION 2. This Act applies beginning with the 2020-2021
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, 2019.