| 1 | 1 | | By: Patterson H.B. No. 538 |
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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 the removal of restrictions on funding and payment of |
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| 7 | 7 | | costs for certain full-time online educational programs. |
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| 8 | 8 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 9 | 9 | | SECTION 1. Section 26.0031(c-1), Education Code, is amended |
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| 10 | 10 | | to read as follows: |
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| 11 | 11 | | (c-1) A school district or open-enrollment charter school |
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| 12 | 12 | | may decline to pay the cost for a student of more than three |
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| 13 | 13 | | yearlong electronic courses, or the equivalent, during any school |
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| 14 | 14 | | year. This subsection does not: |
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| 15 | 15 | | (1) limit the ability of the student to enroll in |
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| 16 | 16 | | additional electronic courses at the student's cost; or |
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| 17 | 17 | | (2) apply to a student enrolled in a full-time online |
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| 18 | 18 | | program [that was operating on January 1, 2013]. |
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| 19 | 19 | | SECTION 2. Section 30A.153(a-1), Education Code, is amended |
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| 20 | 20 | | to read as follows: |
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| 21 | 21 | | (a-1) For purposes of Subsection (a), a school district or |
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| 22 | 22 | | open-enrollment charter school is limited to the funding described |
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| 23 | 23 | | by that subsection for a student's enrollment in not more than three |
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| 24 | 24 | | electronic courses during any school year, unless the student is |
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| 25 | 25 | | enrolled in a full-time online program [that was operating on |
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| 26 | 26 | | January 1, 2013]. |
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| 27 | 27 | | SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply to |
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| 28 | 28 | | electronic courses taken through the state virtual school network |
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| 29 | 29 | | beginning with the 2021-2022 school year. |
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| 30 | 30 | | SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 31 | 31 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 32 | 32 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 33 | 33 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 34 | 34 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |
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