By: Middleton S.B. No. 2561
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the supplemental special education services program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 29.042, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (e) to read as
follows:
(a) The agency by rule shall establish and administer a
supplemental special education services and instructional
materials program for students who meet the eligibility
requirements for participation in the program. Subject to
Subsection (c), the agency shall annually provide each student
approved as provided by this subchapter a grant of not more than
$1,500 to purchase supplemental special education services and
supplemental special education instructional materials.
(e) A student may receive a grant under this subchapter for
each year for which the student is eligible.
SECTION 2. Section 29.044(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The agency shall establish eligibility criteria for the
approval of an application submitted under Section 29.043. The
criteria:
(1) must require that the student be eligible to
participate in a school district's [enrolled in the current school
year at a school district or open-enrollment charter school and in a
district's or school's] special education program under Subchapter
A; and
(2) may not require that the student be enrolled in a
school district or open-enrollment charter school.
SECTION 3. Section 29.045, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 29.045. APPROVAL OF APPLICATION; ASSIGNMENT OF
ACCOUNT; APPLICATION PRIORITY. (a) Subject to available funding
and the priorities provided by Subsection (b), the agency shall
approve each student who meets the program eligibility criteria
established under Section 29.044 and assign to the student an
account maintained under Section 29.042(b). The account may only
be used by the student's parent to purchase supplemental special
education services or supplemental special education instructional
materials for the student, subject to Sections 29.046, 29.0461, and
29.0471 [29.047].
(b) On receipt of acceptable applications for admission
under this subchapter in excess of available positions in the
program due to insufficient funding, the agency shall prioritize
applications in the following order:
(1) applications from students who have previously
received a grant under the program; and
(2) applications from students who demonstrate that a
needed supplemental special education service is not adequately
provided at the student's educational institution.
SECTION 4. Section 29.046, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 29.046. ACCOUNT USE RESTRICTION. (a) Money in an
account assigned to a student under Section 29.045 may be used only
for supplemental special education services and supplemental
special education instructional materials approved under Section
29.0461.
(b) Supplemental special education services must be
provided by a [an agency-approved] provider approved under Section
29.0471.
(c) Instructional [If the agency has approved vendors for a
category of instructional material under Section 29.047,
instructional] materials must be purchased from a [an
agency-approved] vendor approved under Section 29.0471 for that
category of instructional material. [If the agency does not
establish criteria for agency approval for a category of
instructional materials, money in the student's account may be used
to purchase the instructional materials from any vendor.]
SECTION 5. Subchapter A-1, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
amended by adding Sections 29.0461 and 29.0471 to read as follows:
Sec. 29.0461. APPROVED EXPENSES. (a) Subject to
Subsection (b), money in an account assigned to a student under
Section 29.045 may be used only for the following expenses incurred
by the student at a preapproved provider of supplemental special
education services or vendor of supplemental special education
instructional materials:
(1) tuition and fees:
(A) at a private school accredited by an
organization that is recognized by the agency;
(B) at an institution of higher education or
private or independent institution of higher education, as those
terms are defined by Section 61.003, for a course described by
Section 28.009 for which the student may receive high school credit
based on an agreement between the institution and the school in
which the student is enrolled; or
(C) for an online educational course or program;
(2) the purchase of textbooks or other instructional
materials or uniforms required by a school, institution, course, or
program described by Subdivision (1) in which the student is
enrolled;
(3) payments for the purchase of a curriculum;
(4) fees for classes or other educational services or
extracurricular programs provided by a public school;
(5) fees for services provided by a private tutor or
teaching service;
(6) fees for educational therapies or services
provided by a practitioner or provider, including respite therapy
services, other than fees covered by any federal, state, or local
government benefit program, including Medicaid or the children's
health insurance program, or any applicable private insurance;
(7) costs of computer hardware and other technological
devices that are primarily used for educational purposes, not to
exceed in any year 10 percent of the total amount deposited in the
student's account that year; and
(8) fees for a nationally standardized
norm-referenced achievement test, an advanced placement test or
similar examination, or any examination related to college or
university admission.
(b) Money in an account assigned to a student under Section
29.045 may not be used to pay any person who is:
(1) related to the student within the third degree of
consanguinity or affinity, as determined under Chapter 573,
Government Code; or
(2) a member of the student's household.
(c) A finding that a student or the student's parent used
money in the account assigned to the student under Section 29.045 to
pay for an expense not allowed under Subsection (a) does not affect
the validity of any payment made by the student or the student's
parent for an expense that is allowed under that subsection.
Sec. 29.0471. APPROVED PROVIDERS. (a) The agency by rule
shall establish a process for parents of eligible students to
request the preapproval of providers of supplemental special
education services and vendors of supplemental special education
instructional materials.
(b) The agency shall approve a provider of supplemental
special education services or vendor of supplemental special
education instructional materials for participation in the program
not later than the 30th day after the date the agency receives the
provider's or vendor's application if the provider or vendor:
(1) for an accredited private school, executes a
notarized affidavit, with supporting documents, concerning the
school's qualification to serve students who receive a grant under
this subchapter, including evidence of:
(A) a valid certificate of occupancy;
(B) policy statements regarding:
(i) admissions;
(ii) curriculum;
(iii) safety;
(iv) student to teacher ratios; and
(v) assessments;
(C) the school's agreement that students who
receive a grant under this subchapter are eligible to apply for
scholarships offered by the school to the same extent as other
students; and
(D) accreditation by an organization recognized
by the agency or the Texas Private School Accreditation Commission;
(2) for a private tutor, therapist, or teaching
service:
(A) executes a notarized affidavit, with
supporting documents, concerning the tutor's, therapist's, or
service's qualification to serve students who receive a grant under
this subchapter, including that the tutor or therapist or each
employee of the service who intends to provide services to a
student:
(i) is certified under Subchapter B,
Chapter 21;
(ii) holds a relevant license or
accreditation issued by a state, regional, or national licensing or
accreditation organization; or
(iii) is employed in a teaching or tutoring
capacity at an institution of higher education or a private or
independent institution of higher education, as those terms are
defined by Section 61.003; and
(B) the tutor or therapist or each employee of
the teaching service who intends to provide supplemental special
education services to a student who receives a grant under this
subchapter either:
(i) completes a national criminal history
record information review; or
(ii) provides to the agency documentation
indicating that the tutor, therapist, or employee, as applicable,
has completed a national criminal history record information review
within a period established by agency rule;
(3) for an online educational course or program
provider, executes a notarized affidavit, with supporting
documents, concerning the provider's qualification to serve
students who receive a grant under this subchapter; or
(4) for any provider or vendor not described by
Subdivision (1), (2), or (3), presents any necessary supporting
documents concerning the provider's or vendor's qualification to
serve students who receive a grant under this subchapter.
(f) The agency shall review the national criminal history
record information or documentation for each private tutor,
therapist, or teaching service employee who submits information or
documentation under this section and verify that the individual is
not included in the registry under Section 22.092. The tutor,
therapist, or service must provide the agency with any information
requested by the agency to enable the agency to complete the review.
The agency shall report the agency's findings from the review to the
parental review committee.
(g) The agency shall post on the agency's Internet website
the list of preapproved providers of supplemental special education
services and vendors of supplemental special education
instructional materials.
SECTION 6. The following provisions of Subchapter A-1,
Chapter 29, Education Code, are repealed:
(1) Section 29.044(b); and
(2) Sections 29.047 and 29.050.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.