Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2114 Compare Versions

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1	1	88R6150 JES-D
2	2	By: Toth H.B. No. 2114
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the establishment of an empowerment scholarship account
8	8	program.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Chapter 29, Education Code, is amended by adding
11	11	Subchapter J to read as follows:
12	12	SUBCHAPTER J. EMPOWERMENT SCHOLARSHIP ACCOUNT PROGRAM
13	13	Sec. 29.351. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
14	14	(1) "Account" means an empowerment scholarship
15	15	account established under the program.
16	16	(2) "Child with a disability" means a child who is:
17	17	(A) eligible to participate in a school
18	18	district's special education program under Section 29.003; or
19	19	(B) covered by Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of
20	20	1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794).
21	21	(3) "Curriculum" means a complete course of study for
22	22	a particular content area or grade level.
23	23	(4) "Financial institution" means a bank, credit
24	24	union, savings bank, or savings and loan association organized
25	25	under the laws of this state, the laws of another state, or federal
26	26	law that has its main office or a branch office in this state. The
27	27	term does not include any institution the deposits of which are not
28	28	insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or the
29	29	National Credit Union Administration.
30	30	(5) "Parent" means a resident of this state who is a
31	31	natural or adoptive parent, managing or possessory conservator,
32	32	legal guardian, custodian, or other person with legal authority to
33	33	act on behalf of a child.
34	34	(6) "Postsecondary educational institution" means:
35	35	(A) an institution of higher education or a
36	36	private or independent institution of higher education as defined
37	37	by Section 61.003; or
38	38	(B) a career school or college as defined by
39	39	Section 132.001.
40	40	(7) "Program" means the empowerment scholarship
41	41	account program established under this subchapter.
42	42	(8) "Program participant" means a child and a parent
43	43	of a child enrolled in the program.
44	44	Sec. 29.352. PURPOSES. The purposes of the empowerment
45	45	scholarship account program are to:
46	46	(1) improve public schools and overall academic
47	47	performance;
48	48	(2) promote efficiency;
49	49	(3) promote and preserve the liberties and rights of
50	50	the people; and
51	51	(4) increase parental options.
52	52	Sec. 29.353. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM. (a) The
53	53	comptroller shall establish and administer an empowerment
54	54	scholarship account program to provide funding for certain
55	55	education-related expenses of eligible children.
56	56	(b) The comptroller, with cooperation from the agency,
57	57	shall ensure that information about the program is readily
58	58	available to the public through various sources, including the
59	59	agency's Internet website. The comptroller shall make information
60	60	about the program available to parents of children eligible to
61	61	participate in the program through the comptroller's Internet
62	62	website.
63	63	Sec. 29.354. ELIGIBLE CHILD. (a) A child is eligible to
64	64	participate in the program if the child is eligible to attend a
65	65	public school under Section 25.001.
66	66	(b) A child may participate in the program until the
67	67	earliest of the following dates:
68	68	(1) the date on which the child graduates from high
69	69	school;
70	70	(2) the date on which the child is no longer eligible
71	71	to attend a public school under Section 25.001;
72	72	(3) the date on which the child enrolls in a public
73	73	school, including an open-enrollment charter school; or
74	74	(4) the date on which the child is declared ineligible
75	75	for the program by the comptroller under this subchapter.
76	76	(c) Notwithstanding Subsection (b), the comptroller shall
77	77	establish guidelines for, in the least disruptive manner possible:
78	78	(1) a child participating in the program to cease
79	79	participation and enroll in a public school, including an
80	80	open-enrollment charter school; and
81	81	(2) a child who previously participated in the program
82	82	and subsequently enrolled in a public school, including an
83	83	open-enrollment charter school, to resume participation in the
84	84	program.
85	85	Sec. 29.355. ENROLLMENT IN PROGRAM. (a) A parent of an
86	86	eligible child may enroll the child in the program for the following
87	87	school year.
88	88	(b) The comptroller shall by rule create an enrollment form
89	89	for the program and make the enrollment form readily available to
90	90	interested parents through various sources, including the
91	91	comptroller's Internet website.
92	92	(c) The comptroller shall provide to each parent who submits
93	93	an enrollment form a publication that describes the operation of
94	94	the program, including:
95	95	(1) expenses allowed under the program under Section
96	96	29.357;
97	97	(2) expense reporting requirements; and
98	98	(3) a description of the responsibilities of program
99	99	participants and the duties of the comptroller under this
100	100	subchapter.
101	101	Sec. 29.356. PARTICIPATION IN PROGRAM. (a) To receive
102	102	funding under the program, a parent of an eligible child must agree
103	103	to:
104	104	(1) spend funds received through the program only for
105	105	expenses allowed under Section 29.357;
106	106	(2) notify the comptroller if the child enrolls in a
107	107	public school, including an open-enrollment charter school, not
108	108	later than the 30th day after the date of enrollment; and
109	109	(3) inform the comptroller if the child graduates from
110	110	high school.
111	111	(b) The parent of a child participating in the program is
112	112	the trustee of the child's account.
113	113	(c) The comptroller shall provide annually to each program
114	114	participant the publication provided under Section 29.355(c).
115	115	Sec. 29.357. APPROVED EDUCATION-RELATED EXPENSES. (a)
116	116	Funds received under the program may be used only for the following
117	117	expenses incurred by a program participant:
118	118	(1) tuition and fees:
119	119	(A) at a private school accredited by an
120	120	organization that is recognized by the Texas Private School
121	121	Accreditation Commission;
122	122	(B) at a postsecondary educational institution;
123	123	or
124	124	(C) for an online educational course or program;
125	125	(2) the purchase of textbooks or other instructional
126	126	materials;
127	127	(3) the purchase of a curriculum;
128	128	(4) fees for classes or other educational services
129	129	provided by a public school, if the classes or services do not
130	130	qualify the child to be included in the school's average daily
131	131	attendance;
132	132	(5) fees for services provided by a private tutor or
133	133	teaching service;
134	134	(6) for a child with a disability, fees for
135	135	educational therapies or services provided by a practitioner or
136	136	provider;
137	137	(7) costs of computer hardware and software and other
138	138	technological devices, not to exceed in any year 10 percent of the
139	139	total amount paid to the program participant's account that year;
140	140	(8) fees for a nationally norm-referenced achievement
141	141	test or examination, an assessment instrument adopted by the agency
142	142	under Section 39.023, an advanced placement test or similar
143	143	examination, or any examination related to college or university
144	144	admission; and
145	145	(9) fees for the management of the participant's
146	146	account charged by a financial institution.
147	147	(b) Expenses allowed under Subsection (a) do not include
148	148	expenses for:
149	149	(1) consumable supplies, including paper, pens,
150	150	pencils, folders, and notebooks;
151	151	(2) food; or
152	152	(3) before-school or after-school child care or child
153	153	care during school holidays and vacations.
154	154	(c) An education service provider or vendor of educational
155	155	products must provide a program participant with a receipt for each
156	156	expense allowed under Subsection (a) charged by the provider or
157	157	vendor to the participant.
158	158	(d) The content or religious nature of a product or service
159	159	may not be considered in determining whether a payment for the
160	160	product or service is an expense allowed under Subsection (a).
161	161	(e) A finding that a program participant used funds
162	162	distributed under the program to pay for an expense not allowed
163	163	under Subsection (a) does not affect the validity of any payment
164	164	made by the participant for an expense that is allowed under that
165	165	subsection.
166	166	Sec. 29.358. AMOUNT OF PAYMENT; FINANCING. (a) A parent of
167	167	an eligible child shall receive each year that the child
168	168	participates in the program quarterly payments from the state to
169	169	the child's account equal to a total amount of $10,000.
170	170	(b) In addition to any funding the district receives under
171	171	Chapter 48, for each child participating in the program, the school
172	172	district the child would otherwise attend is entitled to receive
173	173	for the first year in which the child participates in the program an
174	174	amount equal to 50 percent of the difference between:
175	175	(1) the state average maintenance and operations
176	176	expenditures per student in average daily attendance for the
177	177	preceding fiscal year; and
178	178	(2) the amount the child's parent receives under
179	179	Subsection (a) for the year.
180	180	(c) Any funds remaining in a child's account at the end of a
181	181	fiscal year are carried forward to the next fiscal year unless
182	182	another provision of this subchapter mandates the closure of the
183	183	account.
184	184	(d) The parent of a child participating in the program may
185	185	make payments for the expenses of educational programs, services,
186	186	and products not covered by funds in the child's account.
187	187	(e) A payment under Subsection (a) may not be financed using
188	188	federal funds or money appropriated from the available school fund.
189	189	Sec. 29.359. ADMINISTRATION OF ACCOUNTS. (a) The
190	190	comptroller may contract with one or more financial institutions to
191	191	establish and manage an account for each child participating in the
192	192	program. A program participant must be able to access the
193	193	participant's account by using a debit card or online or electronic
194	194	transfer payment service.
195	195	(b) The comptroller shall make quarterly payments to each
196	196	program participant's account in equal amounts on or before the
197	197	15th day of August, November, February, and May.
198	198	(c) The comptroller may deduct an amount from each quarterly
199	199	payment to a program participant's account to cover the
200	200	comptroller's cost of administering the program. The amount
201	201	deducted may not exceed five percent of the payment.
202	202	(d) Not later than 30 days after the end of each fiscal year,
203	203	the comptroller shall reconcile payments made to and from all
204	204	accounts under the program.
205	205	(e) On the date on which a child who participated in the
206	206	program is no longer eligible to participate in the program under
207	207	Section 29.354(b), the child's account is closed and any remaining
208	208	funds are returned to the state for deposit in the foundation school
209	209	fund.
210	210	(f) The comptroller may contract with a private entity to
211	211	administer all or any part of the program.
212	212	Sec. 29.360. RANDOM AUDITING OF ACCOUNTS. (a) The
213	213	comptroller shall contract with a private entity to randomly audit
214	214	accounts as necessary to ensure compliance with applicable law and
215	215	the requirements of the program.
216	216	(b) In auditing an account, the comptroller or private
217	217	entity may require that a program participant provide further
218	218	information and documentation regarding any payment from the
219	219	participant's account.
220	220	(c) The private entity shall report to the comptroller any
221	221	violation of this subchapter or other relevant law found by the
222	222	entity during an audit conducted under this section.
223	223	Sec. 29.361. SUSPENSION OF ACCOUNT. (a) The comptroller
224	224	shall suspend the account of a program participant who fails to
225	225	comply with applicable law or a requirement of the program,
226	226	including a requirement under Section 29.356(a), or who
227	227	substantially misuses funds received under the program.
228	228	(b) On suspension of an account under Subsection (a), the
229	229	comptroller shall notify the program participant in writing that
230	230	the account has been suspended and that no further payments may be
231	231	made from the account. The notification must specify the grounds
232	232	for the suspension and state that the participant has 10 business
233	233	days to respond and take any corrective action required by the
234	234	comptroller.
235	235	(c) On the expiration of the 10-day period under Subsection
236	236	(b), the comptroller shall:
237	237	(1) order permanent closure of the suspended account
238	238	and declare the program participant ineligible for the program;
239	239	(2) order temporary reinstatement of the account,
240	240	conditioned on the performance of a specified action by the
241	241	participant; or
242	242	(3) order full reinstatement of the account.
243	243	(d) The comptroller may recover funds distributed under the
244	244	program that were used for expenses not allowed under Section
245	245	29.357(a) from the program participant or the entity that received
246	246	the funds if the participant's account is suspended or closed under
247	247	this section.
248	248	Sec. 29.362. TUITION AND FEES; REFUND PROHIBITED. (a) An
249	249	education service provider may not charge a child participating in
250	250	the program an amount greater than the standard amount charged for
251	251	that service by the provider.
252	252	(b) An education service provider or a vendor of educational
253	253	products receiving funds distributed under the program may not in
254	254	any manner rebate, refund, or credit to or share with a program
255	255	participant, or any person on behalf of a participant, any program
256	256	funds paid or owed by the participant to the provider or vendor.
257	257	Sec. 29.363. REFERRAL TO ATTORNEY GENERAL. (a) If the
258	258	comptroller obtains evidence of fraudulent use of an account, the
259	259	comptroller may refer the case to the attorney general for
260	260	investigation.
261	261	(b) With the consent of the appropriate local county or
262	262	district attorney, the attorney general has concurrent
263	263	jurisdiction with the consenting local prosecutor to prosecute an
264	264	offense referred to the attorney general under Subsection (a).
265	265	Sec. 29.364. PROVIDER ACCOUNTABILITY. (a) A private
266	266	school must be accredited by an organization that is recognized by
267	267	the Texas Private School Accreditation Commission to receive funds
268	268	distributed under the program.
269	269	(b) A private tutor or teaching service and a practitioner
270	270	or provider who provides educational therapies or services for a
271	271	child with a disability must be licensed or accredited by a regional
272	272	or national accrediting organization to receive funds distributed
273	273	under the program.
274	274	Sec. 29.365. PROGRAM PARTICIPANT, PROVIDER, AND VENDOR
275	275	AUTONOMY. (a) An education service provider or vendor of
276	276	educational products that receives funds distributed under the
277	277	program is not an agent of the state or federal government.
278	278	(b) Except as provided by this subchapter, the comptroller,
279	279	the agency, the State Board of Education, any other state agency, or
280	280	any school district may not:
281	281	(1) regulate the educational program of an education
282	282	service provider or vendor of educational products that receives
283	283	funds distributed under the program; or
284	284	(2) exercise control or supervision over a program
285	285	participant or an education service provider or vendor of
286	286	educational products that receives funds distributed under the
287	287	program.
288	288	(c) The program does not expand the regulatory authority of
289	289	the state or any school district to impose any additional
290	290	regulation on an education service provider or vendor of
291	291	educational products except those reasonably necessary to enforce
292	292	the program as provided by this subchapter.
293	293	(d) A private school may not be required to modify the
294	294	school's creed, practices, admissions policies, curriculum,
295	295	performance standards, or assessments to receive funds distributed
296	296	under the program.
297	297	(e) A private school voluntarily selected by a parent for
298	298	the parent's child to attend or a parent who homeschools the
299	299	parent's child, with or without governmental assistance, may not be
300	300	required to comply with any state law or rule governing the
301	301	applicable educational program that was not in effect on January 1,
302	302	2023.
303	303	(f) In any proceeding challenging a rule adopted by a state
304	304	agency or officer under this subchapter, the agency or officer has
305	305	the burden of proof to establish that the rule:
306	306	(1) is necessary to implement or enforce the program
307	307	as provided by this subchapter; and
308	308	(2) does not impose an undue burden on a program
309	309	participant or an education service provider or vendor of
310	310	educational products that receives or seeks to receive funds
311	311	distributed under the program.
312	312	Sec. 29.366. STUDENT RECORDS AND INFORMATION. (a) On
313	313	request by the parent of a child participating in the program, the
314	314	school district or open-enrollment charter school that the child
315	315	would otherwise attend shall provide a copy of the child's school
316	316	records possessed by the district or school, if any, to the child's
317	317	parent or, if applicable, the private school the child attends.
318	318	(b) The agency shall provide to the comptroller any
319	319	information available to the agency requested by the comptroller
320	320	regarding a child who participates or seeks to participate in the
321	321	program.
322	322	Sec. 29.367. REPORTING NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS. (a) Not
323	323	later than October 1 of each year, the comptroller shall notify the
324	324	commissioner and the Legislative Budget Board of the number of
325	325	eligible children likely to participate in the program,
326	326	disaggregated by the school district or open-enrollment charter
327	327	school the eligible children would otherwise attend.
328	328	(b) Not later than March 1 of each year, the comptroller
329	329	shall provide final information to the commissioner and the
330	330	Legislative Budget Board regarding the number of children
331	331	participating in the program, disaggregated in the same manner as
332	332	the initial information under Subsection (a).
333	333	Sec. 29.368. ANNUAL SURVEY. The comptroller may conduct an
334	334	annual parental satisfaction survey that asks each parent of a
335	335	child participating in the program to express:
336	336	(1) the parent's overall level of satisfaction with
337	337	the program; and
338	338	(2) the parent's opinion on specified topics and
339	339	issues relevant to the effectiveness of the program.
340	340	Sec. 29.369. RULES. The comptroller shall:
341	341	(1) adopt rules as necessary to implement this
342	342	subchapter, including:
343	343	(A) rules regarding expense reporting
344	344	requirements for program participants; and
345	345	(B) rules for implementing this subchapter in a
346	346	manner that ensures compliance with federal law regarding
347	347	confidentiality of student educational information, including the
348	348	Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C.
349	349	Section 1232g); and
350	350	(2) coordinate as necessary to:
351	351	(A) calculate annually the savings to the state
352	352	from the implementation of the program; and
353	353	(B) prevent fraud in financial transactions
354	354	under the program, including by adopting measures to permit
355	355	anonymous fraud reporting by telephone hotline or online
356	356	communication.
357	357	Sec. 29.370. GIFTS, GRANTS, AND DONATIONS. The comptroller
358	358	may solicit and accept gifts, grants, and donations from any public
359	359	or private source for any expenses related to the administration of
360	360	the program, including the initial implementation of the program.
361	361	SECTION 2. Section 48.266, Education Code, is amended by
362	362	adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
363	363	(b-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (b), the commissioner
364	364	shall adjust enrollment estimates and entitlement for each school
365	365	district for each school year based on information provided by the
366	366	comptroller under Section 29.367. This subsection expires
367	367	September 1, 2026.
368	368	SECTION 3. Notwithstanding Section 29.359(b), Education
369	369	Code, as added by this Act, not later than September 15, 2024, the
370	370	comptroller shall make the initial payment to each program
371	371	participant's education savings account as provided by Subchapter
372	372	J, Chapter 29, Education Code, as added by this Act.
373	373	SECTION 4. This Act applies beginning with the 2024-2025
374	374	school year.
375	375	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
376	376	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
377	377	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
378	378	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
379	379	Act takes effect September 1, 2023.