Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4148 Compare Versions

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1	1	88R7918 PRL-F
2	2	By: Dutton H.B. No. 4148
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the transfer of students between public schools.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Section 25.001, Education Code, is amended by
10	10	amending Subsection (h) and adding Subsection (k) to read as
11	11	follows:
12	12	(h) In addition to the penalty provided by Section 37.10,
13	13	Penal Code, a person who knowingly falsifies information on a form
14	14	required for enrollment of a student in a school district is liable
15	15	to the district if the student is not eligible for enrollment in the
16	16	district but is enrolled on the basis of the false information. The
17	17	person is liable, for the period during which the ineligible
18	18	student is enrolled, for [the greater of:
19	19	[(1) the maximum tuition fee the district may charge
20	20	under Section 25.038; or
21	21	[(2)] the amount the district has budgeted for each
22	22	student as maintenance and operating expenses.
23	23	(k) Notwithstanding any other law, a school district shall
24	24	allow a student who qualifies for admission under this subchapter
25	25	to enroll at the campus nearest to the student's residence offering
26	26	the appropriate grade level, regardless of whether the student
27	27	resides in the attendance zone of that district or campus and
28	28	provided that the campus has capacity, as determined under Section
29	29	25.046.
30	30	SECTION 2. Section 25.036, Education Code, is amended to
31	31	read as follows:
32	32	Sec. 25.036. TRANSFER OF STUDENT. (a) Any child, other
33	33	than a high school graduate, who is younger than 21 years of age and
34	34	eligible for enrollment on September 1 of any school year may apply
35	35	to transfer [annually] from the child's school district [of
36	36	residence] to any public school [another district] in this state
37	37	that offers the appropriate grade level and has capacity, as
38	38	determined under Section 25.046 [if both the receiving district and
39	39	the applicant parent or guardian or person having lawful control of
40	40	the child jointly approve and timely agree in writing to the
41	41	transfer].
42	42	(b) Before the beginning of each school year, a school
43	43	district shall:
44	44	(1) require a transfer applicant under Subsection (a)
45	45	to complete and submit the district's transfer application form by
46	46	a reasonable deadline established by the district; and
47	47	(2) admit each eligible transfer applicant until
48	48	enrollment at the campus reaches capacity, as determined under
49	49	Section 25.046.
50	50	(c) If a school district receives more eligible transfer
51	51	applications for a district campus or a specific grade level at a
52	52	district campus than the district has capacity for at that campus or
53	53	in that grade level, as determined under Section 25.046, the
54	54	district shall fill the available positions by lottery. A school
55	55	district shall offer to a student who the district does not enroll
56	56	due to lack of capacity an available position, if any, in the
57	57	appropriate grade level at another district campus.
58	58	(d) A school district that must fill positions by lottery
59	59	under Subsection (c) shall, in developing the lottery system,
60	60	ensure priority is given to an applicant who:
61	61	(1) resides within the district;
62	62	(2) is enrolled as a transfer student in the district
63	63	at another campus but has completed the highest grade level offered
64	64	at that campus;
65	65	(3) is a sibling of a student currently enrolled at a
66	66	district campus;
67	67	(4) is applying to transfer to a campus that is the
68	68	campus geographically nearest to the student's residence that
69	69	offers the appropriate grade level, regardless of whether the
70	70	student resides in the attendance zone of that campus;
71	71	(5) receives special education services under
72	72	Subchapter A, Chapter 29;
73	73	(6) is in foster care; or
74	74	(7) is a dependent of a person who is employed at the
75	75	campus to which the student is applying to transfer.
76	76	(e) A school district that receives more eligible transfer
77	77	applications for a district campus or a specific grade level at a
78	78	district campus than the district may enroll at the capacity
79	79	determined under Section 25.046 for that campus or grade level
80	80	shall establish and maintain a waiting list for transfer applicants
81	81	who are not admitted.
82	82	(f) If a position at a school district campus with a
83	83	waitlist under Subsection (e) becomes available after the start of
84	84	the school year, the district shall first admit transfer applicants
85	85	according to that waitlist and then admit any additional transfer
86	86	applicants in the order in which those additional transfer
87	87	applications are received.
88	88	(g) A school district may not deny a student's transfer
89	89	application unless:
90	90	(1) the requested district or campus is determined to
91	91	be at capacity under Section 25.046; or
92	92	(2) the student requesting the transfer is, at the
93	93	time of the application:
94	94	(A) expelled or suspended from the student's
95	95	school;
96	96	(B) placed in a disciplinary alternative
97	97	education program or a juvenile justice alternative education
98	98	program; or
99	99	(C) subject to an ongoing disciplinary
100	100	proceeding under a district's student code of conduct adopted under
101	101	Section 37.001, which may lead to the student's:
102	102	(i) out-of-school suspension;
103	103	(ii) placement in a disciplinary
104	104	alternative education program or juvenile justice alternative
105	105	education program; or
106	106	(iii) expulsion.
107	107	(h) Notwithstanding any other law, a transfer applicant
108	108	under this section may only appeal a denial of the applicant's
109	109	transfer application as provided by this subsection. The parent of
110	110	or person standing in parental relation to a student may appeal a
111	111	denial of the student's transfer application by submitting the
112	112	appeal not later than the 10th day after the date of notification of
113	113	the application denial to the board of trustees of the receiving
114	114	school district. The receiving school district must consider the
115	115	appeal at the board's next regularly scheduled meeting and notify
116	116	the parent of the board's decision not later than the 10th day after
117	117	the date of that meeting. If the receiving school district board of
118	118	trustees denies the appeal, the parent of or person standing in
119	119	parental relation to the student may appeal that denial by
120	120	submitting the appeal to the commissioner not later than the 10th
121	121	day after the date of notification of the board's denial of the
122	122	appeal. The commissioner must provide a decision regarding an
123	123	appeal received under this subsection not later than the 90th day
124	124	after the date the commissioner receives notice of the appeal. The
125	125	commissioner must allow the appealing person and a representative
126	126	from the receiving school district to provide comment to the
127	127	commissioner regarding the appeal. An appeal under this subsection
128	128	must be submitted on a form approved by the commissioner.
129	129	(i) A student who transfers to another school district or
130	130	district campus as provided by this section may remain at the
131	131	receiving campus until that student completes the highest grade
132	132	level offered at the campus.
133	133	(j) Once a student who transfers to another school district
134	134	or district campus as provided by this section completes the
135	135	highest grade level offered at the receiving campus, the student
136	136	must reapply to continue attending school in the receiving
137	137	district. The district must prioritize admitting the student as
138	138	provided by Subsection (d).
139	139	(k) A school district may not deny admission to a student
140	140	who resides in the attendance zone of the district, including a
141	141	student who attends an open-enrollment charter school in the
142	142	district, for the purpose of accepting a transfer applicant under
143	143	this section.
144	144	(l) A school district campus that uses a selective
145	145	admissions process in accordance with a specific instructional
146	146	model or performing arts focus may retain that selective admissions
147	147	process if the admissions process prohibits discrimination on the
148	148	basis of a student's:
149	149	(1) sex, national origin, ethnicity, religion,
150	150	disability, socioeconomic status, or athletic ability;
151	151	(2) disciplinary record, except as permitted under
152	152	Subsection (g); or
153	153	(3) assigned school district or district campus based
154	154	on the attendance zone of the student's residence.
155	155	(m) The commissioner shall adopt rules necessary to
156	156	implement this section, including rules establishing:
157	157	(1) an admissions lottery, as described by Subsection
158	158	(c), and a waitlist as described by Subsection (e);
159	159	(2) procedures to ensure that selective admissions
160	160	processes at applicable open-enrollment district campuses comply
161	161	with Subsection (l); and
162	162	(3) procedures to ensure this section complies with
163	163	state and federal law regarding confidentiality of student medical
164	164	or educational information, including the Health Insurance
165	165	Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. Section 1320d
166	166	et seq.) and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974
167	167	(20 U.S.C. Section 1232g). [A transfer agreement under this section
168	168	shall be filed and preserved as a receiving district record for
169	169	audit purposes of the agency.]
170	170	SECTION 3. Subchapter B, Chapter 25, Education Code, is
171	171	amended by adding Sections 25.046 and 25.047 to read as follows:
172	172	Sec. 25.046. TRANSFER CAPACITY; DISTRICT POLICY. (a)
173	173	Except as provided by Subsection (c), each year on the first day of
174	174	January, April, July, and October, the board of trustees of a school
175	175	district shall determine the capacity of each district campus and
176	176	the capacity of each grade level offered at each campus. For
177	177	purposes of this section, the capacity of a district campus or a
178	178	grade level at that campus is the total number of students that may
179	179	be admitted at the campus or at that grade level, as applicable,
180	180	less the students who are currently enrolled at that campus or at
181	181	that grade level, as applicable. Based on the board's
182	182	determination of campus or grade level capacity and current student
183	183	enrollment, the district shall identify the number of available
184	184	positions at each campus and for each grade level. In determining
185	185	campus and grade level capacity, the district shall consult the
186	186	most recent district facility plan, including a facility plan
187	187	created as part of a district bond proposal.
188	188	(b) The district shall post for each campus in the district
189	189	on the district's Internet website, if the district maintains a
190	190	website, the most recent determination of campus and grade level
191	191	capacity. If the district does not maintain a website, the district
192	192	shall make the information required under this subsection available
193	193	to the public at an administrative office of the district.
194	194	(c) A school district is not required to determine the
195	195	capacity of a new instructional facility, as defined by Section
196	196	48.152, in the first school year in which students attend the new
197	197	instructional facility.
198	198	(d) The board of trustees of a school district shall adopt a
199	199	written policy that meets the requirements adopted by the
200	200	commissioner under Subsection (f) for the admission of a transfer
201	201	applicant under this subchapter. The board shall make the policy
202	202	available to the public in the same manner the district makes
203	203	available a district's determination of campus and grade level
204	204	capacity under Subsection (b). The policy must include:
205	205	(1) adoption of a transfer application form;
206	206	(2) the provision of the address of the district
207	207	administrative office where a person may access the district's
208	208	determination of campus and grade level capacity, if the district
209	209	does not maintain an Internet website; and
210	210	(3) the provision of information regarding available
211	211	options for transportation provided by the district or in the
212	212	community.
213	213	(e) The agency shall establish and maintain on the agency's
214	214	Internet website a publication that includes each school district's
215	215	policy adopted under this section and each district's campus or
216	216	grade level capacity determinations under Subsection (a).
217	217	(f) The commissioner shall adopt rules and prescribe
218	218	procedures necessary to implement this section, including by
219	219	developing any necessary model policies, forms, or templates for
220	220	use by a school district in complying with Subsection (d). In
221	221	adopting rules to implement this section, the commissioner shall
222	222	consider feedback from districts and shall prioritize:
223	223	(1) flexibility of access for students;
224	224	(2) encouraging districts to accommodate student
225	225	transfers; and
226	226	(3) preventing districts from discouraging student
227	227	transfers.
228	228	Sec. 25.047. REPORTING AND AUDIT REQUIREMENTS. (a)
229	229	Subject to Subsection (b), each school district shall annually
230	230	submit not later than the last Friday in October of each school year
231	231	a report to the agency regarding the transfer of students to and
232	232	from the district during the previous school year. The report must
233	233	include:
234	234	(1) for each district campus, the quarterly campus and
235	235	grade level capacity determinations under Section 25.046;
236	236	(2) for each campus, the number of transfer
237	237	applications for transfers to that campus the district received,
238	238	the number of applications that were granted, and the number of
239	239	applications that were denied, including the reason for the denial,
240	240	during the preceding school year;
241	241	(3) the information described by Subdivisions (1) and
242	242	(2) aggregated for all campuses in the district; and
243	243	(4) for the purposes of demographic analysis, any
244	244	information required by the commissioner as necessary to identify
245	245	each student admitted to or denied admission to a campus in the
246	246	district who is or was previously enrolled in a public school in
247	247	this state.
248	248	(b) A school district with only one campus serving each
249	249	grade level is exempt from Subsection (a)(3).
250	250	(c) Not later than March 15 of each year, the agency shall
251	251	post on the agency's Internet website a report on the transfer and
252	252	assignment of students. The report must include:
253	253	(1) a summary of school district admission practices
254	254	relating to student transfer admissions;
255	255	(2) for the state, the aggregated data reported under
256	256	Subsection (a);
257	257	(3) for each district, the aggregated data reported
258	258	under Subsection (a);
259	259	(4) a demographic analysis of the students
260	260	transferring districts;
261	261	(5) a demographic analysis of the students
262	262	transferring between campuses within the same district;
263	263	(6) for each district, the number of transfer
264	264	applicants seeking admission or withdrawal, showing the potential
265	265	net change in enrollment; and
266	266	(7) for each district, the actual number of students
267	267	who transferred into or out of the district, showing the actual net
268	268	change in enrollment.
269	269	(d) Every sixth year, the agency shall publish a study of
270	270	statewide transfer trends that includes:
271	271	(1) the total number of students transferring
272	272	districts and of students transferring between campuses within the
273	273	same district;
274	274	(2) using data from the previous six school years, an
275	275	analysis at the state and district level of changes in:
276	276	(A) the number of school districts and campuses
277	277	admitting transfer students;
278	278	(B) the number of students transferring
279	279	districts; and
280	280	(C) the number of students transferring between
281	281	campuses within the same district;
282	282	(3) a demographic analysis of the students
283	283	transferring districts and of the students transferring between
284	284	campuses within the same district;
285	285	(4) using data from the previous six school years, an
286	286	analysis of the patterns of student movement between districts and
287	287	campuses, including a description of any characteristics that are
288	288	correlated with students transferring to or away from districts or
289	289	schools;
290	290	(5) a summary of district practices regarding
291	291	transportation of transfer students;
292	292	(6) an explanation of the reasons students choose to
293	293	transfer districts or campuses and the barriers faced by students
294	294	in transferring districts or campuses;
295	295	(7) an explanation of the challenges restricting
296	296	school districts from admitting more transfer students;
297	297	(8) performance outcomes for inter- and
298	298	intra-district transfer students, including changes in student
299	299	proficiency after the date of transfer; and
300	300	(9) the effects of inter-district transfers on test
301	301	scores and program offerings for sending and receiving districts.
302	302	(e) Each year, the agency shall randomly select 10 percent
303	303	of the school districts in the state and conduct an audit of each
304	304	district's capacity determination under Section 25.046 and of each
305	305	district's approved and denied transfer applications. If the
306	306	agency finds inaccurate reporting of capacity levels by a school
307	307	district, the agency shall set the capacity for the school
308	308	district. Districts audited during the previous two school years
309	309	may not be selected for audit in a school year.
310	310	(f) The commissioner shall adopt rules necessary to
311	311	implement this section.
312	312	SECTION 4. Section 34.007(a), Education Code, is amended to
313	313	read as follows:
314	314	(a) A board of county school trustees or a school district
315	315	board of trustees may establish and operate an economical public
316	316	school transportation system:
317	317	(1) in the county or district, as applicable;
318	318	(2) outside the county or district, as applicable, if
319	319	the county or school district enters into an interlocal contract as
320	320	provided by Chapter 791, Government Code; or
321	321	(3) outside the district if students enrolled in the
322	322	district reside outside the district and the district:
323	323	(A) has an active policy adopted by the board
324	324	that prohibits screening transfer students who reside outside the
325	325	district based on the student's academic performance, disciplinary
326	326	history, except as provided by Section 25.036(g)(2), or attendance
327	327	record, regardless of any relevant district or innovation plan
328	328	adopted by the board or authorization to screen transfer students
329	329	under any other authority; [and]
330	330	(B) certifies that the district has:
331	331	(i) an overall performance rating of C or
332	332	higher under Section 39.054 for the preceding school year or the
333	333	most recent school year in which a performance rating was assigned;
334	334	and
335	335	(ii) an overall accountability score of 70
336	336	or higher for the preceding school year or the most recent school
337	337	year in which a performance rating was assigned as calculated by the
338	338	agency for purposes of determining the district's overall
339	339	performance rating under Section 39.054; and
340	340	(C) certifies that the district or receiving
341	341	campus has [(iii)] the same or better overall performance rating
342	342	under Section 39.054 for the preceding school year or the most
343	343	recent school year in which a performance rating was assigned as the
344	344	school district or campus from which the district will transport
345	345	students under this subdivision.
346	346	SECTION 5. The following provisions of the Education Code
347	347	are repealed:
348	348	(1) Section 25.038;
349	349	(2) Sections 25.039(b) and (c); and
350	350	(3) Section 48.154.
351	351	SECTION 6. The changes in law made by this Act may not be
352	352	interpreted to affect the authority or existing rules of the
353	353	University Interscholastic League regarding the participation of a
354	354	student in an interscholastic competition.
355	355	SECTION 7. Not later than September 1, 2029, the Texas
356	356	Education Agency shall publish the first study of statewide
357	357	transfer trends required under Section 25.047, Education Code, as
358	358	added by this Act.
359	359	SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.