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| 1 | - | By: Bell of Kaufman, et al. H.B. No. 1468 | |
| 2 | - | (Senate Sponsor - Taylor, West) | |
| 3 | - | (In the Senate - Received from the House April 28, 2021; | |
| 4 | - | May 10, 2021, read first time and referred to Committee on | |
| 5 | - | Education; May 24, 2021, reported adversely, with favorable | |
| 6 | - | Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 0; | |
| 7 | - | May 24, 2021, sent to printer.) | |
| 8 | - | Click here to see the committee vote | |
| 9 | - | COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 1468 By: Taylor | |
| 1 | + | By: Bell of Kaufman, Huberty, Toth, H.B. No. 1468 | |
| 2 | + | González of El Paso, Dutton, et al. | |
| 10 | 3 | ||
| 11 | 4 | ||
| 12 | 5 | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED | |
| 13 | 6 | AN ACT | |
| 14 | - | relating to a local remote learning program | |
| 7 | + | relating to a local remote learning program offered by a public | |
| 15 | 8 | school. | |
| 16 | 9 | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | |
| 17 | - | SECTION 1. Section 21.051, Education Code, is amended by | |
| 18 | - | adding Subsection (g) to read as follows: | |
| 19 | - | (g) Rules proposed by the board under Section 21.044(a) or | |
| 20 | - | this section may not prohibit a candidate from satisfying | |
| 21 | - | certification requirements through an internship that provides the | |
| 22 | - | candidate employment as a teacher for courses offered through a | |
| 23 | - | local remote learning program under Section 29.9091 or the state | |
| 24 | - | virtual school network under Chapter 30A. This subsection expires | |
| 25 | - | September 1, 2023. | |
| 26 | - | SECTION 2. Section 25.092, Education Code, is amended by | |
| 10 | + | SECTION 1. Section 25.092, Education Code, is amended by | |
| 27 | 11 | adding Subsection (a-3) to read as follows: | |
| 28 | 12 | (a-3) A school district or open-enrollment charter school | |
| 29 | 13 | may adopt a policy to exempt students from the requirements of this | |
| 30 | 14 | section for one or more courses identified in the policy that are | |
| 31 | 15 | offered under a local remote learning program under Section | |
| 32 | - | 29.9091. This subsection expires September 1, | |
| 33 | - | SECTION | |
| 16 | + | 29.9091. This subsection expires September 1, 2027. | |
| 17 | + | SECTION 2. Subchapter Z, Chapter 29, Education Code, is | |
| 34 | 18 | amended by adding Section 29.9091 to read as follows: | |
| 35 | - | Sec. 29.9091. LOCAL REMOTE LEARNING PROGRAM. (a) A school | |
| 36 | - | district or open-enrollment charter school assigned an overall | |
| 37 | - | performance rating of C or higher under Section 39.054 for the | |
| 38 | - | preceding school year may operate a local remote learning program | |
| 39 | - | to offer virtual courses outside the state virtual school network | |
| 40 | - | under Chapter 30A to eligible students. | |
| 41 | - | (b) A school district or open-enrollment charter school | |
| 42 | - | that operates a full-time local remote learning program must | |
| 43 | - | include in the program: | |
| 44 | - | (1) at least one grade level in which an assessment | |
| 45 | - | instrument is required to be administered under Section 39.023(a), | |
| 46 | - | including each subject for which an assessment instrument is | |
| 47 | - | required; or | |
| 48 | - | (2) a complete high school program, including each | |
| 49 | - | course for which an end-of-course assessment instrument is required | |
| 50 | - | to be administered under Section 39.023(c). | |
| 19 | + | Sec. 29.9091. LOCAL REMOTE LEARNING PROGRAM. (a) In this | |
| 20 | + | section, "synchronous instruction" means instruction provided in a | |
| 21 | + | manner in which the instructor and the student are engaged at the | |
| 22 | + | same time with the ability to interact in real time. | |
| 23 | + | (b) A school district or open-enrollment charter school may | |
| 24 | + | establish a local remote learning program to offer synchronous | |
| 25 | + | virtual courses outside the state virtual school network under | |
| 26 | + | Chapter 30A to eligible students. | |
| 51 | 27 | (c) A virtual course offered under a local remote learning | |
| 52 | 28 | program: | |
| 53 | - | (1) may be provided through synchronous instruction, | |
| 54 | - | asynchronous instruction, or a combination of synchronous and | |
| 55 | - | asynchronous instruction; and | |
| 29 | + | (1) must be provided through synchronous instruction; | |
| 30 | + | and | |
| 56 | 31 | (2) may be provided in combination with in-person | |
| 57 | 32 | instruction as appropriate to meet the needs of individual | |
| 58 | 33 | students. | |
| 59 | 34 | (d) A student is eligible to enroll in a virtual course | |
| 60 | 35 | offered under a local remote learning program if the student: | |
| 61 | - | (1) is enrolled in a school district or | |
| 62 | - | open-enrollment charter school; | |
| 63 | - | (2) has reasonable access to in-person services for | |
| 36 | + | (1) was enrolled in a public school in this state in | |
| 37 | + | the preceding school year; | |
| 38 | + | (2) is enrolled in a school district or | |
| 39 | + | open-enrollment charter school in grade level three or above; | |
| 40 | + | (3) has reasonable access to in-person services for | |
| 64 | 41 | the course at a district or school facility; and | |
| 65 | - | ( | |
| 42 | + | (4) meets any additional criteria, including minimum | |
| 66 | 43 | academic standards, established by the school district or | |
| 67 | 44 | open-enrollment charter school in which the student is enrolled. | |
| 68 | 45 | (e) A school district or open-enrollment charter school | |
| 69 | - | that | |
| 46 | + | that offers a local remote learning program: | |
| 70 | 47 | (1) shall periodically assess the performance of | |
| 71 | 48 | students enrolled in virtual courses under the program; and | |
| 72 | - | (2) | |
| 73 | - | ||
| 74 | - | ||
| 75 | - | ||
| 49 | + | (2) may remove a student from virtual courses under | |
| 50 | + | the program and return the student to in-person instruction if the | |
| 51 | + | district or school determines that the student does not meet the | |
| 52 | + | criteria described by Subsection (d). | |
| 76 | 53 | (f) A school district or open-enrollment charter school may | |
| 77 | - | remove a student from virtual courses under Subsection (e)(2) only | |
| 78 | - | if the district or school establishes a process to ensure that each | |
| 79 | - | student and the student's parents have sufficient notice and | |
| 80 | - | opportunity to provide input before the student is removed from | |
| 81 | - | those courses. | |
| 82 | - | (g) A school district or open-enrollment charter school may | |
| 83 | 54 | contract with another school district or open-enrollment charter | |
| 84 | 55 | school to allow a student enrolled in the sending district or school | |
| 85 | 56 | to enroll in virtual courses offered under the local remote | |
| 86 | 57 | learning program of the receiving district or school. A student | |
| 87 | 58 | enrolled in virtual courses under an agreement described by this | |
| 88 | 59 | subsection is considered enrolled in the sending district or school | |
| 89 | 60 | for purposes of average daily attendance and accountability under | |
| 90 | 61 | Chapters 39 and 39A. | |
| 91 | - | ( | |
| 62 | + | (g) An assessment instrument administered under Section | |
| 92 | 63 | 39.023 or 39.025 to a student enrolled in a virtual course offered | |
| 93 | 64 | under a local remote learning program shall be administered to the | |
| 94 | 65 | student in the same manner in which the assessment instrument is | |
| 95 | 66 | administered to other school district or open-enrollment charter | |
| 96 | 67 | school students. | |
| 97 | - | ( | |
| 68 | + | (h) If a school district or open-enrollment charter school | |
| 98 | 69 | offers virtual courses under a local remote learning program for | |
| 99 | 70 | students receiving special education services, the courses must | |
| 100 | 71 | meet the needs of a participating student in a manner consistent | |
| 101 | 72 | with Subchapter A of this chapter and with federal law, including | |
| 102 | 73 | the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Section | |
| 103 | 74 | 1400 et seq.) and Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. | |
| 104 | 75 | Section 794). | |
| 105 | - | (j) A teacher may not provide instruction for a virtual | |
| 106 | - | course offered under a full-time local remote learning program | |
| 107 | - | unless the teacher has completed a professional development course | |
| 108 | - | on virtual instruction. | |
| 109 | - | (k) A school district or open-enrollment charter school may | |
| 76 | + | (i) A school district or open-enrollment charter school may | |
| 110 | 77 | not require a teacher to provide both virtual instruction and | |
| 111 | 78 | in-person instruction for a course during the same class period. | |
| 112 | - | ( | |
| 79 | + | (j) A student enrolled in a virtual course offered under a | |
| 113 | 80 | local remote learning program may participate in an extracurricular | |
| 114 | 81 | activity sponsored or sanctioned by the school district or | |
| 115 | 82 | open-enrollment charter school in which the student is enrolled or | |
| 116 | 83 | by the University Interscholastic League in the same manner as | |
| 117 | 84 | other district or school students. | |
| 118 | - | ( | |
| 85 | + | (k) A student enrolled in a virtual course offered under a | |
| 119 | 86 | local remote learning program shall be counted toward the school | |
| 120 | 87 | district's or open-enrollment charter school's average daily | |
| 121 | 88 | attendance in the same manner as other district or school students. | |
| 122 | 89 | The commissioner shall adopt rules providing for a method of taking | |
| 123 | 90 | attendance, once each school day, for students enrolled in a | |
| 124 | 91 | virtual course offered under a local remote learning program. | |
| 125 | - | ( | |
| 92 | + | (l) Chapter 30A does not apply to a virtual course offered | |
| 126 | 93 | under a local remote learning program. | |
| 127 | - | (o) This section does not prohibit a student enrolled in a | |
| 128 | - | school district or open-enrollment charter school that operates a | |
| 129 | - | local remote learning program from enrolling in courses offered | |
| 130 | - | through the state virtual school network under Chapter 30A. | |
| 131 | - | (p) In determining the performance ratings under Section | |
| 132 | - | 39.054 of a school district or open-enrollment charter school that | |
| 133 | - | operates a full-time local remote learning program, the | |
| 134 | - | commissioner shall evaluate the performance of students enrolled in | |
| 135 | - | the program separately from the performance of other district or | |
| 136 | - | school students and assign separate campus overall and domain | |
| 137 | - | performance ratings for the program. | |
| 138 | - | (q) A school district or open-enrollment charter school | |
| 139 | - | that operates a local remote learning program may not enroll in the | |
| 140 | - | program more than 10 percent of the district's or school's enrolled | |
| 141 | - | students. | |
| 142 | - | (r) This section expires September 1, 2023. | |
| 143 | - | SECTION 4. Section 39.301, Education Code, is amended by | |
| 94 | + | (m) This section expires September 1, 2027. | |
| 95 | + | SECTION 3. Section 39.301, Education Code, is amended by | |
| 144 | 96 | adding Subsection (c-1) to read as follows: | |
| 145 | 97 | (c-1) In addition to the indicators described by Subsection | |
| 146 | 98 | (c), the indicators for reporting purposes must include, for each | |
| 147 | 99 | school district and campus, the performance of students who spend | |
| 148 | 100 | at least half of the students' instructional time in virtual | |
| 149 | 101 | courses offered under a local remote learning program under Section | |
| 150 | - | 29.9091. This subsection expires September 1, 2023. | |
| 151 | - | SECTION 5. Section 48.005, Education Code, is amended by | |
| 152 | - | adding Subsections (m-1) and (m-2) to read as follows: | |
| 153 | - | (m-1) This subsection applies only to a dropout recovery | |
| 154 | - | school or program operating under Section 12.1141(c) or 39.0548 | |
| 155 | - | that is provided as a local remote learning program under Section | |
| 156 | - | 29.9091. For a dropout recovery school or program to which this | |
| 157 | - | subsection applies, the commissioner shall establish an | |
| 158 | - | asynchronous progression funding method for determining average | |
| 159 | - | daily attendance based on full and partial semester course | |
| 160 | - | completion. | |
| 161 | - | (m-2) Subsection (m-1) and this subsection expire September | |
| 162 | - | 1, 2023. | |
| 163 | - | SECTION 6. Section 48.053, Education Code, is amended by | |
| 164 | - | adding Subsections (b-1) and (b-2) to read as follows: | |
| 102 | + | 29.9091. This subsection expires September 1, 2027. | |
| 103 | + | SECTION 4. Section 48.053, Education Code, is amended by | |
| 104 | + | adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows: | |
| 165 | 105 | (b-1) This subsection applies only to a special-purpose | |
| 166 | 106 | district described by Subsection (a) that existed before September | |
| 167 | - | 1, 2019, and that operates a local remote learning program under | |
| 168 | - | Section 29.9091. For a local remote learning program of a district | |
| 169 | - | to which this subsection applies, the commissioner shall establish | |
| 170 | - | an asynchronous progression funding method that may be used to | |
| 171 | - | determine the amount of the district's entitlement under Subsection | |
| 172 | - | (b) based on full and partial semester course completion. | |
| 173 | - | (b-2) Subsection (b-1) and this subsection expire September | |
| 174 | - | 1, 2023. | |
| 175 | - | SECTION 7. This Act applies beginning with the 2021-2022 | |
| 107 | + | 1, 2019. For a district to which this subsection applies, the | |
| 108 | + | commissioner shall establish an asynchronous progression funding | |
| 109 | + | method that may be used to determine the amount of the district's | |
| 110 | + | entitlement under Subsection (b) based on full and partial semester | |
| 111 | + | course completion. | |
| 112 | + | SECTION 5. This Act applies beginning with the 2021-2022 | |
| 176 | 113 | school year. | |
| 177 | - | SECTION | |
| 114 | + | SECTION 6. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives | |
| 178 | 115 | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as | |
| 179 | 116 | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this | |
| 180 | 117 | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this | |
| 181 | 118 | Act takes effect September 1, 2021. | |
| 182 | - | * * * * * |