88R18837 TSS-F
By: Allen, A. Johnson of Harris, H.B. No. 1626
Thompson of Harris, Wu, Hull
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1626:
By: Thompson of Harris C.S.H.B. No. 1626
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a public school student's transition from an
alternative education program to a regular educational
environment, including parental rights related to that transition,
and the admission of certain students with a criminal or
disciplinary history.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 25.001, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (b-3) to read as follows:
(b-3) Notwithstanding any provision of Chapter 37, the
board of trustees of a school district or the board's designee may
not refuse to enroll a student based on the student's criminal,
juvenile, or disciplinary history or standing. A district shall
promptly enroll a student released from an alternative education
program, as defined by Section 37.023, who is otherwise eligible
for enrollment under Subsection (b). This subsection may not be
construed to prohibit the board or the board's designee from:
(1) revoking admission of a student under Subsection
(b-1);
(2) refusing to admit a person under 18 years of age
whom the board is not required to admit under Subsection (d);
(3) transferring a student in accordance with Section
25.0341 or 25.0342; or
(4) expelling a student or placing a student in a
disciplinary alternative education program under Section 37.008 or
a juvenile justice alternative education program under Section
37.011 in accordance with Section 37.0051, 37.0052, 37.006, 37.007,
37.0081, or 37.011, as applicable.
SECTION 2. The heading to Section 37.023, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 37.023. TRANSITION FROM ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION PROGRAM
TO REGULAR EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT [CLASSROOM].
SECTION 3. Section 37.023, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (c), (d), and (e) and adding Subsections
(c-1), (d-1), (g), and (h) to read as follows:
(c) Not later than five instructional days after the date of
a student's release from an alternative education program, the
campus administrator shall hold a meeting to coordinate the
student's enrollment and transition to a regular educational
environment [classroom]. The coordination must include assistance
and recommendations from the student's parent or a person standing
in parental relation to the student and, as applicable:
(1) school counselors;
(2) school district peace officers;
(3) school resource officers;
(4) licensed clinical social workers;
(5) campus behavior coordinators;
(6) classroom teachers who are or may be responsible
for implementing the student's personalized transition plan
developed under Subsection (d);
(7) for a student who is a student with a disability as
defined by Section 21.001, the campus special education
administrator or other campus administrator responsible for
overseeing the student's educational program, as applicable;
(8) for a student who is a court-related child, the
liaison officer appointed under Section 37.014; and
(9) [(7)] any other appropriate school district
personnel.
(c-1) The campus administrator shall, before finalizing a
personalized transition plan for a student under Subsection (d),
provide to the student's parent or a person standing in parental
relation to the student:
(1) a list of the people who will be assisting in the
student's enrollment and transition to a regular educational
environment under Subsection (c); and
(2) an opportunity to meet, either in person or
remotely, with the people included on the list described by
Subdivision (1) to:
(A) discuss any proposed assistance or
recommendations for the student's transition; and
(B) provide information regarding the student
that may be useful in developing the plan.
(d) The enrollment and transition assistance required by
Subsection (c) must include a personalized transition plan for the
student developed by the campus administrator. A personalized
transition plan:
(1) must include recommendations for the best
educational placement of the student based on a review of the
student's previous coursework, course credit earned, performance
on any assessment instrument administered under Section 37.0082,
and educational record, including:
(A) a calculation of the number of course credits
the student has earned toward graduation requirements, as
determined under Subsection (g); and
(B) a description of appropriate courses in which
the student should be placed; and
(2) may include:
(A) recommendations for counseling, behavioral
management, or academic assistance for the student with a
concentration on the student's academic or career goals;
(B) recommendations for assistance for obtaining
access to mental health services provided by the district or
school, a local mental health authority, or another private or
public entity; and
(C) the provision of information to the student's
parent or a person standing in parental relation to the student
about the process to request a full individual and initial
evaluation of the student for purposes of special education
services under Section 29.004[; and
[(D) a regular review of the student's progress
toward the student's academic or career goals].
(d-1) After a student has transitioned to a regular
educational environment under this section, the campus
administrator shall conduct reviews at the beginning of each
semester and the end of each school year of the student's progress
toward the student's academic or career goals.
(e) As soon as practicable after completing a student's
personalized transition plan under Subsection (d) [If
practicable], the campus administrator shall provide an electronic
or written copy of the personalized transition plan to [, or the
administrator's designee, shall meet with] the student's parent or
a person standing in parental relation to the student [to
coordinate plans for the student's transition].
(g) A campus administrator shall adopt a policy that, to the
greatest extent possible, allows for credits that were successfully
completed while the student was enrolled in an alternative
education program or at a previous school, including a school
within the Windham School District, to fulfill credits required for
high school graduation, provided that the completed courses meet
the standards adopted under Section 28.002(c). The policy adopted
under this subsection may provide for partial credit, if determined
appropriate by the administrator.
(h) The commissioner may adopt rules as necessary to
implement this section.
SECTION 4. This Act applies beginning with the 2023-2024
school year.
SECTION 5. 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, 2023.