87S20135 MLH-D
By: Bell of Kaufman H.B. No. 30
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to virtual instruction and off-campus electronic
instruction at a public school, certain requirements for
certification as a teacher for virtual instruction only, and the
allotment for special-purpose school districts under the
Foundation School Program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 21.051, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:
(g) Rules proposed by the board under Section 21.044(a) or
this section may allow a candidate to satisfy certification
requirements for virtual instruction only through an internship
that provides the candidate employment as a teacher for courses
offered through a local remote learning program under Section
29.9091 or the state virtual school network under Chapter 30A. This
subsection expires September 1, 2027.
SECTION 2. Section 25.092, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (a-4) to read as follows:
(a-4) A school district or open-enrollment charter school
may adopt a policy to exempt students from the requirements of this
section for one or more courses identified in the policy that are
offered under a local remote learning program under Section
29.9091. This subsection expires September 1, 2027.
SECTION 3. Subchapter Z, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 29.9091 to read as follows:
Sec. 29.9091. LOCAL REMOTE LEARNING PROGRAM. (a) A school
district or open-enrollment charter school assigned an overall
performance rating of C or higher under Section 39.054 for the
preceding school year or the most recent school year in which a
performance rating was assigned may operate a local remote learning
program to offer virtual courses outside the state virtual school
network under Chapter 30A to eligible students.
(b) A school district or open-enrollment charter school
that operates a full-time local remote learning program must
include in the program:
(1) at least one grade level in which an assessment
instrument is required to be administered under Section 39.023(a),
including each subject for which an assessment instrument is
required; or
(2) a complete high school program, including each
course for which an end-of-course assessment instrument is required
to be administered under Section 39.023(c).
(c) A virtual course offered under a local remote learning
program:
(1) may be provided through synchronous instruction,
asynchronous instruction, or a combination of synchronous and
asynchronous instruction; and
(2) may be provided in combination with in-person
instruction as appropriate to meet the needs of individual
students.
(d) A student is eligible to enroll in a virtual course
offered under a local remote learning program if the student:
(1) is enrolled in a school district or
open-enrollment charter school;
(2) has reasonable access to in-person services for
the course at a district or school facility; and
(3) meets any additional criteria, including minimum
academic standards, established by the school district or
open-enrollment charter school in which the student is enrolled.
(e) A school district or open-enrollment charter school
that operates a local remote learning program:
(1) shall periodically assess the performance of
students enrolled in virtual courses under the program; and
(2) subject to Subsection (f), may remove a student
from virtual courses under the program and return the student to
in-person instruction if the district or school determines that the
student does not meet the criteria described by Subsection (d).
(f) A school district or open-enrollment charter school may
remove a student from virtual courses under Subsection (e)(2) only
if the district or school establishes a process to ensure that each
student and the student's parents have sufficient notice and
opportunity to provide input before the student is removed from
those courses.
(g) A school district or open-enrollment charter school may
contract with another school district or open-enrollment charter
school to allow a student enrolled in the sending district or school
to enroll in virtual courses offered under the local remote
learning program of the receiving district or school. A student
enrolled in virtual courses under an agreement described by this
subsection is considered enrolled in the sending district or school
for purposes of average daily attendance and accountability under
Chapters 39 and 39A.
(h) An assessment instrument administered under Section
39.023 or 39.025 to a student enrolled in a virtual course offered
under a local remote learning program shall be administered to the
student in the same manner in which the assessment instrument is
administered to other school district or open-enrollment charter
school students.
(i) If a school district or open-enrollment charter school
offers virtual courses under a local remote learning program for
students receiving special education services, the courses must
meet the needs of a participating student in a manner consistent
with Subchapter A of this chapter and with federal law, including
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Section
1400 et seq.) and Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C.
Section 794).
(j) A teacher may not provide instruction for a virtual
course offered under a full-time local remote learning program
unless the teacher has completed a professional development course
on virtual instruction.
(k) A school district or open-enrollment charter school may
not require a teacher to provide both virtual instruction and
in-person instruction for a course during the same class period.
(l) A student enrolled in a virtual course offered under a
local remote learning program may participate in an extracurricular
activity sponsored or sanctioned by the school district or
open-enrollment charter school in which the student is enrolled or
by the University Interscholastic League in the same manner as
other district or school students.
(m) A student enrolled in a virtual course offered under a
local remote learning program shall be counted toward the school
district's or open-enrollment charter school's average daily
attendance in the same manner as other district or school students.
The commissioner shall adopt rules providing for a method of taking
attendance, once each school day, for students enrolled in a
virtual course offered under a local remote learning program.
(n) Chapter 30A does not apply to a virtual course offered
under a local remote learning program.
(o) This section does not prohibit a student enrolled in a
school district or open-enrollment charter school that operates a
local remote learning program from enrolling in courses offered
through the state virtual school network under Chapter 30A.
(p) In evaluating under Chapter 39 the performance of a
school district or open-enrollment charter school that operates a
full-time local remote learning program, the commissioner shall
evaluate the performance of students enrolled in the program
separately from other district or school students.
(q) A school district or open-enrollment charter school
that operates a local remote learning program may not enroll in the
program a number of students that exceeds 10 percent of the total
number of students enrolled in the district or school during the
2021-2022 school year. The commissioner may waive this subsection
on application by a school district or open-enrollment charter
school.
(r) This section expires September 1, 2027.
SECTION 4. Section 39.301, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (c-1) to read as follows:
(c-1) In addition to the indicators described by Subsection
(c), the indicators for reporting purposes must include, for each
school district and campus, the performance of students who spend
at least half of the students' instructional time in virtual
courses offered under a local remote learning program under Section
29.9091. This subsection expires September 1, 2027.
SECTION 5. Section 48.005, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (h) and adding Subsections (m-1) and (m-2) to
read as follows:
(h) Subject to rules adopted by the commissioner under
Section 48.007(b), time that a student participates in an
off-campus instructional program approved under Section 48.007(a)
or a course or program provided under Section 48.007(c) shall be
counted as part of the minimum number of instructional hours
required for a student to be considered a full-time student in
average daily attendance for purposes of this section.
(m-1) This subsection applies only to a dropout recovery
school or program operating under Section 12.1141(c) or 39.0548
that is provided as a local remote learning program under Section
29.9091. For a dropout recovery school or program to which this
subsection applies, the commissioner shall establish an
asynchronous progression funding method for determining average
daily attendance based on full and partial semester course
completion.
(m-2) Subsection (m-1) and this subsection expire September
1, 2027.
SECTION 6. The heading to Section 48.007, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 48.007. OFF-CAMPUS COURSES OR PROGRAMS COUNTED
[APPROVED] FOR PURPOSES OF AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE.
SECTION 7. Section 48.007, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (c), (d), (e), and
(f) to read as follows:
(b) The commissioner shall adopt by rule verification and
reporting procedures to report student participation [concerning
time spent by students participating] in instructional programs
approved under Subsection (a) or courses or programs provided under
Subsection (c).
(c) A school district or open-enrollment charter school may
provide one or more off-campus electronic courses, an off-campus
electronic program, or an instructional program that combines
in-person instruction and off-campus electronic instruction to
students enrolled in the district or school who have reasonable
access to in-person services at a district or school facility.
Off-campus electronic instruction for a course or program provided
under this subsection may be provided synchronously or
asynchronously. A student enrolled in a course or program provided
under this subsection shall be counted toward the district's or
school's average daily attendance in the same manner as other
district or school students. In adopting rules under Subsection
(b), the commissioner shall provide for a method of taking
attendance, once each school day, for students enrolled in a course
or program provided under this subsection.
(d) A school district or open-enrollment charter school
that operated during the 2020-2021 school year a full-time virtual
program outside the state virtual network under Chapter 30A may:
(1) continue to operate the virtual program on a
full-time basis;
(2) apply the same enrollment and transfer criteria
used during the 2020-2021 school year; and
(3) offer the program to students in any grade level or
combination of grade levels from kindergarten through grade 12 as
long as the program includes at least one grade level for which an
assessment instrument is administered under Section 39.023.
(e) A full-time virtual program described by Subsection (d)
may not exceed the program's enrollment level for the 2020-2021
school year during any subsequent school year.
(f) Subsections (d) and (e) and this subsection expire
September 1, 2027.
SECTION 8. Section 48.053, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (b-1) and (b-2) to read as follows:
(b-1) This subsection applies only to a special-purpose
district described by Subsection (a) that existed before September
1, 2019. For a district to which this subsection applies, the
commissioner shall establish an asynchronous progression funding
method that may be used to determine the amount of the district's
entitlement under Subsection (b) based on full and partial semester
course completion.
(b-2) Subsection (b-1) and this subsection expire September
1, 2027.
SECTION 9. This Act applies beginning with the 2021-2022
school year.
SECTION 10. 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 on the 91st day after the last day of
the legislative session.