| 1 | 1 | | By: Middleton S.B. No. 1068 |
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| 2 | 2 | | (In the Senate - Filed February 21, 2023; March 3, 2023, |
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| 3 | 3 | | read first time and referred to Committee on Education; |
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| 4 | 4 | | April 6, 2023, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 9, |
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| 5 | 5 | | Nays 3; April 6, 2023, sent to printer.) |
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| 6 | 6 | | Click here to see the committee vote |
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| 7 | 7 | | |
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| 8 | 8 | | |
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| 9 | 9 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 10 | 10 | | AN ACT |
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| 11 | 11 | | relating to the removal of restrictions on funding and payment of |
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| 12 | 12 | | costs for certain full-time online educational programs; |
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| 13 | 13 | | authorizing a fee. |
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| 14 | 14 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 15 | 15 | | SECTION 1. Section 26.0031(c-1), Education Code, is amended |
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| 16 | 16 | | to read as follows: |
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| 17 | 17 | | (c-1) A school district or open-enrollment charter school |
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| 18 | 18 | | may decline to pay the cost for a student of more than three |
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| 19 | 19 | | yearlong electronic courses, or the equivalent, during any school |
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| 20 | 20 | | year. This subsection does not: |
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| 21 | 21 | | (1) limit the ability of the student to enroll in |
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| 22 | 22 | | additional electronic courses at the student's cost; or |
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| 23 | 23 | | (2) apply to a student enrolled in a full-time online |
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| 24 | 24 | | program [that was operating on January 1, 2013]. |
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| 25 | 25 | | SECTION 2. Section 30A.153(a-1), Education Code, is amended |
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| 26 | 26 | | to read as follows: |
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| 27 | 27 | | (a-1) For purposes of Subsection (a), a school district or |
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| 28 | 28 | | open-enrollment charter school is limited to the funding described |
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| 29 | 29 | | by that subsection for a student's enrollment in not more than three |
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| 30 | 30 | | electronic courses during any school year, unless the student is |
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| 31 | 31 | | enrolled in a full-time online program [that was operating on |
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| 32 | 32 | | January 1, 2013]. |
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| 33 | 33 | | SECTION 3. Subchapter D, Chapter 30A, Education Code, is |
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| 34 | 34 | | amended by adding Section 30A.156 to read as follows: |
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| 35 | 35 | | Sec. 30A.156. PROGRAM ESTABLISHMENT FEE. (a) If the agency |
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| 36 | 36 | | determines that the cost of supporting the establishment of a |
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| 37 | 37 | | full-time online program, including the cost of evaluating and |
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| 38 | 38 | | approving electronic courses, will not be paid by the agency |
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| 39 | 39 | | because funds for that purpose are not available, a school district |
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| 40 | 40 | | or open-enrollment charter school that intends to operate a |
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| 41 | 41 | | full-time online program may pay to the agency a one-time fee in an |
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| 42 | 42 | | amount that is equal to the cost of establishing that program to |
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| 43 | 43 | | ensure adequate support for that program is provided. |
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| 44 | 44 | | (b) The agency shall develop and publish a fee schedule for |
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| 45 | 45 | | purposes of establishing a full-time online program. |
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| 46 | 46 | | SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act apply to |
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| 47 | 47 | | electronic courses taken through the state virtual school network |
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| 48 | 48 | | beginning with the 2023-2024 school year. |
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| 49 | 49 | | SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 50 | 50 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 51 | 51 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 52 | 52 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 53 | 53 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |
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| 54 | 54 | | * * * * * |
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