| 1 | 1 | | By: González of El Paso H.B. No. 2125 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 5 | 5 | | AN ACT |
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| 6 | 6 | | relating to eligibility criteria for certain public school students |
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| 7 | 7 | | who received special education services during the 2019-2020, |
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| 8 | 8 | | 2020-2021, 2021-2022, or 2022-2023 school year. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Section 29.003, Education Code, is amended by |
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| 11 | 11 | | amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (c) to read as |
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| 12 | 12 | | follows: |
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| 13 | 13 | | (b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), a [A] student is |
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| 14 | 14 | | eligible to participate in a school district's special education |
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| 15 | 15 | | program if the student: |
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| 16 | 16 | | (1) is not more than 21 years of age and has a visual or |
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| 17 | 17 | | auditory impairment that prevents the student from being adequately |
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| 18 | 18 | | or safely educated in public school without the provision of |
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| 19 | 19 | | special services; or |
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| 20 | 20 | | (2) is at least three but not more than 21 years of age |
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| 21 | 21 | | and has one or more of the following disabilities that prevents the |
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| 22 | 22 | | student from being adequately or safely educated in public school |
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| 23 | 23 | | without the provision of special services: |
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| 24 | 24 | | (A) physical disability; |
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| 25 | 25 | | (B) intellectual or developmental disability; |
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| 26 | 26 | | (C) emotional disturbance; |
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| 27 | 27 | | (D) learning disability; |
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| 28 | 28 | | (E) autism; |
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| 29 | 29 | | (F) speech disability; or |
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| 30 | 30 | | (G) traumatic brain injury. |
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| 31 | 31 | | (c) Notwithstanding Subsection (b), a student at least 21 |
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| 32 | 32 | | years of age during the 2019-2020, 2020-2021, 2021-2022, or |
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| 33 | 33 | | 2022-2023 school year shall remain eligible to participate in a |
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| 34 | 34 | | school district's special education program for one additional |
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| 35 | 35 | | school year if the student continues to have a disability listed in |
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| 36 | 36 | | Subsection (b)(2). |
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| 37 | 37 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 38 | 38 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 39 | 39 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 40 | 40 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 41 | 41 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |
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