88S40601 MM-F
By: Jetton H.B. No. 115
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the establishment of an education savings account
program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The purpose of this Act is to:
(1) provide additional educational options to assist
families in this state in exercising the right to direct the
educational needs of their children; and
(2) achieve a general diffusion of knowledge.
SECTION 2. Chapter 29, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter J to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER J. EDUCATION SAVINGS ACCOUNT PROGRAM
Sec. 29.351. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Account" means an education savings account
established under the program.
(2) "Approved educational assistance organization"
means an organization approved under Section 29.354 to support the
administration of the program.
(3) "Approved education-related expense" means an
expense approved under Section 29.359.
(4) "Child with a disability" means a child who is
eligible to participate in a school district's special education
program under Section 29.003.
(5) "Cocurricular activity" means an activity that
directly adds value to classroom instruction and curriculum,
including an academic field trip, performance, contest, or display.
The term does not include an athletic or other nonacademic
activity.
(6) "Higher education provider" means an institution
of higher education or a private or independent institution of
higher education, as those terms are defined by Section 61.003.
(7) "Parent" means a resident of this state who is a
natural or adoptive parent, managing or possessory conservator,
legal guardian, custodian, or other person with legal authority to
act on behalf of a child.
(8) "Program" means the program established under this
subchapter.
(9) "Program participant" means a child and a parent
of a child enrolled in the program.
Sec. 29.352. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM. The comptroller
shall establish a program to provide funding for approved
education-related expenses of children participating in the
program.
Sec. 29.353. PROGRAM FUND. (a) The program fund is an
account in the general revenue fund to be administered by the
comptroller.
(b) The fund is composed of:
(1) general revenue transferred to the fund;
(2) money appropriated to the fund;
(3) gifts, grants, and donations received under
Section 29.370; and
(4) any other money available for purposes of the
program.
(c) Money in the fund may be appropriated only for the uses
specified by this subchapter.
Sec. 29.354. SELECTION OF APPROVED EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE
ORGANIZATIONS. (a) An organization may apply to the comptroller
for approval as an approved educational assistance organization
during an application period established by the comptroller.
(b) To be eligible for approval, an organization must:
(1) have the ability to perform the duties and
functions required of an approved educational assistance
organization under this subchapter;
(2) be in good standing with the state; and
(3) be able to assist the comptroller in administering
the program, including the ability to:
(A) accept, process, and track applications for
the program;
(B) assist prospective applicants, applicants,
and program participants with finding education service providers
and vendors of educational products, including by developing and
maintaining an Internet website with information regarding those
providers and vendors; and
(C) accept and process payments for approved
education-related expenses.
(c) The comptroller may approve not more than five
educational assistance organizations to support the administration
of the program.
Sec. 29.355. ELIGIBLE CHILD. (a) A child is eligible to
participate in the program if the child is eligible to:
(1) attend a public school under Section 25.001; or
(2) enroll in a public school's prekindergarten
program under Section 29.153.
(b) A child who establishes eligibility under this section
may, subject to available funding and the requirements of this
subchapter, participate in the program until the earliest of the
following dates:
(1) the date on which the child graduates from high
school;
(2) the date on which the child is no longer eligible
to attend a public school under Section 25.001;
(3) the date on which the child enrolls in a public
school, including an open-enrollment charter school, in a manner in
which the child will be counted toward the school's average daily
attendance for purposes of the allocation of funding under the
foundation school program; or
(4) the date on which the child is declared ineligible
for the program by the comptroller under this subchapter.
Sec. 29.356. APPLICATION TO PROGRAM. (a) A parent of an
eligible child may apply to an approved educational assistance
organization to enroll the child in the program for the following
semester. The comptroller shall establish semiannual deadlines by
which an applicant must complete and submit an application form to
participate in the program.
(b) On receipt of more acceptable applications during an
application period for admission under this section than available
positions in the program due to insufficient funding, an approved
educational assistance organization shall, at the direction of the
comptroller and subject to Subsection (c), fill the available
positions by lottery in the following order:
(1) siblings of children participating in the program;
(2) children with a disability who are educationally
disadvantaged;
(3) children who are educationally disadvantaged;
(4) children with a disability who are not
educationally disadvantaged; and
(5) applicants not described by Subdivision (1), (2),
(3), or (4).
(c) In filling available positions under Subsection (b), if
a sibling of a child accepted into the program under that subsection
applied to enroll in the program during the same application period
in which the child was accepted, an approved educational assistance
organization shall, subject to the availability of positions,
concurrently accept the child and the child's sibling into the
program.
(d) The comptroller shall create an application form for the
program. The application form must state the semiannual
application deadlines established under Subsection (a).
(e) Each approved educational assistance organization
shall:
(1) make the application form readily available
through various sources, including the organization's Internet
website; and
(2) ensure that the application form, including any
required supporting document, is capable of being submitted to the
organization electronically.
(f) An approved educational assistance organization shall
post on the organization's Internet website an applicant and
participant handbook with a description of the program, including
information regarding:
(1) approved education-related expenses;
(2) the assistance the organization provides with
respect to finding and selecting education service providers and
vendors of educational products;
(3) the application process under this section;
(4) the program expenditures process under Section
29.360; and
(5) the responsibilities of program participants.
(g) An approved educational assistance organization shall
annually provide to the parent of each child participating in the
program the information described by Subsection (f). The
organization may provide the information electronically.
(h) An approved educational assistance organization:
(1) may require the parent of a child participating in
the program for whom the organization is responsible to submit
annual notice regarding the parent's intent for the child to
continue participating in the program for the next school year; and
(2) may not require a program participant in good
standing to annually resubmit an application for continued
participation in the program.
(i) Not later than the 30th day after the date on which an
approved educational assistance organization requires notice to be
submitted under Subsection (h)(1), the organization shall notify
the comptroller and each other approved educational assistance
organization regarding each notice received under that
subdivision.
Sec. 29.357. PARTICIPATION IN PROGRAM. To receive funding
under the program, a parent of a child participating in the program
must agree to:
(1) use money in the child's account only for approved
education-related expenses;
(2) share or authorize the administrator of an
assessment instrument to share with the program participant's
approved educational assistance organization and the researchers
contracted under Section 29.371 the results of any assessment
instrument required to be administered to the child under Section
29.358(b)(1)(B);
(3) refrain from selling an item purchased with
program money before the first anniversary of the purchase date;
and
(4) notify the program participant's approved
educational assistance organization not later than the 30th day
after the date on which the child:
(A) enrolls in a public school, including an
open-enrollment charter school;
(B) graduates from high school; or
(C) is no longer eligible to either:
(i) enroll in a public school under Section
25.001; or
(ii) enroll in a public school's
prekindergarten program under Section 29.153.
Sec. 29.358. PREAPPROVED PROVIDERS AND VENDORS. (a) The
comptroller shall by rule establish a process for the preapproval
of education service providers and vendors of educational products
for participation in the program. The comptroller shall allow for
the submission of applications on a rolling basis.
(b) The comptroller shall approve an education service
provider or vendor of educational products for participation in the
program if the provider or vendor:
(1) for a private school, demonstrates:
(A) accreditation by an organization recognized
by:
(i) the Texas Private School Accreditation
Commission; or
(ii) the agency; and
(B) in each grade level and subject area in which
an assessment instrument is required to be administered under
Section 39.023(a)(1), (2), (3), or (4) or (c), administration of a
nationally norm-referenced assessment instrument or the
appropriate assessment instrument required under Subchapter B,
Chapter 39;
(2) for a public school, demonstrates:
(A) accreditation by the agency; and
(B) the ability to provide services or products
to children participating in the program in a manner in which the
children are not counted toward the school's average daily
attendance;
(3) for a private tutor, therapist, or teaching
service:
(A) demonstrates that the tutor or therapist or
each employee of the teaching service who intends to provide
educational services to a child participating in the program:
(i) is an educator employed by or a retired
educator formerly employed by a school accredited by the agency, an
organization recognized by the agency, or an organization
recognized by the Texas Private School Accreditation Commission;
(ii) holds a relevant license or
accreditation issued by a state, regional, or national
certification or accreditation organization; or
(iii) is employed in or retired from a
teaching or tutoring capacity at a higher education provider;
(B) the tutor or therapist or each employee of
the teaching service who intends to provide educational services to
a child participating in the program provides to the comptroller a
national criminal history record information review completed by
the tutor, therapist, or employee, as applicable, within a period
established by comptroller rule; and
(C) the tutor or therapist or each employee of
the teaching service who intends to provide educational services to
a child participating in the program is not:
(i) required to be discharged or refused to
be hired by a school district under Section 22.085; or
(ii) included in the registry under Section
22.092;
(4) for a higher education provider, demonstrates
nationally recognized postsecondary accreditation; or
(5) for a provider or vendor not described by
Subdivision (1), (2), (3), or (4):
(A) demonstrates the ability to provide to
program participants services or products that are approved
education-related expenses;
(B) requires each employee of the provider or
vendor who intends to provide educational services to a child
participating in the program to provide to the comptroller a
national criminal history record information review completed by
the employee within a period established by comptroller rule; and
(C) demonstrates that each employee of the
provider or vendor who intends to provide educational services to a
child participating in the program is not:
(i) required to be discharged or refused to
be hired by a school district under Section 22.085; or
(ii) included in the registry under Section
22.092.
(c) In recognizing an organization for purposes of
Subsection (b)(1)(A)(ii), the agency shall ensure that the
organization, through the organization's accreditation standards,
supports the college, career, and military readiness of children
participating in the program, including by coordinating with the
Tri-Agency Workforce Initiative established under Chapter 2308A,
Government Code.
(d) The comptroller shall review the national criminal
history record information or documentation for each private tutor,
therapist, teaching service employee, or other employee of an
education service provider or vendor of educational products 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, service, or other provider or vendor
must provide the comptroller with any information requested by the
comptroller to enable the comptroller to complete the review.
(e) An education service provider or vendor of educational
products shall provide information requested by the comptroller to
verify the provider's or vendor's eligibility for preapproval under
Subsection (b). The comptroller may not approve a provider or
vendor if the comptroller cannot verify the provider's or vendor's
eligibility for preapproval.
(f) A preapproved education service provider or vendor of
educational products that no longer meets the requirements of this
section must notify the comptroller, each approved educational
assistance organization, and each program participant served by the
provider or vendor under the program not later than the 15th day
after the date that the provider or vendor no longer meets the
requirements. The notice must include the reason the provider or
vendor no longer meets the requirements of this section. The
comptroller shall adopt a form for use under this subsection.
(g) The comptroller shall by rule prohibit an education
service provider or vendor of educational products that is not
preapproved under Subsection (a) from receiving payment directly
from a program participant's account for an approved
education-related expense, including an expense incurred after the
date on which a formerly preapproved provider or vendor no longer
meets the requirements of this section.
Sec. 29.359. APPROVED EDUCATION-RELATED EXPENSES. (a)
Subject to Subsection (b), money in an account may be used only for
the following education-related expenses incurred by a child
participating in the program:
(1) tuition and fees for a private school, higher
education provider, or educational course or program;
(2) the purchase of textbooks or other instructional
materials;
(3) uniforms required by a school, higher education
provider, course, or program in which the child is enrolled;
(4) costs related to cocurricular activities;
(5) costs related to academic assessments;
(6) fees for services provided by a private tutor or
teaching service;
(7) fees for classes or other educational services
provided by a public school, including an open-enrollment charter
school, if the classes or services do not qualify the child to be
included in the school's average daily attendance;
(8) for a child with a disability, costs of computer
hardware and software and other technological devices prescribed by
a physician to facilitate a child's education, not to exceed in any
year 10 percent of the total amount paid to the program
participant's account that year;
(9) fees for transportation provided by a
fee-for-service transportation provider for the child to travel to
and from an education service provider or vendor of educational
products; and
(10) fees for educational therapies or services
provided by a practitioner or provider, only for fees that are not
covered by any federal, state, or local government benefits such as
Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) or by
any private insurance that the child is enrolled in at the time of
receiving the therapies or services.
(b) Money in an account may not be used to pay any person who
is related to the program participant within the third degree by
consanguinity or affinity, as determined under Chapter 573,
Government Code.
(c) A finding that a program participant used money
distributed under the program to pay for an expense not allowed
under Subsection (a) does not affect the validity of any payment
made by the participant for an approved education-related expense
that is allowed under that subsection.
Sec. 29.360. PROGRAM EXPENDITURES. (a) The comptroller
shall disburse from the program fund to each approved educational
assistance organization the amount specified under Section
29.361(a) for each child participating in the program served by the
organization.
(b) To initiate payment to a preapproved education service
provider or vendor of educational products for an approved
education-related expense, the parent of a child participating in
the program must submit a request in a form prescribed by
comptroller rule to the approved educational assistance
organization that serves the child.
(c) Subject to Subsection (e) and Sections 29.362(g) and
29.364, on receiving a request under Subsection (b), an approved
educational assistance organization shall verify that the request
is for an approved education-related expense and, not later than
the fifth business day after the date the organization verifies the
request, send payment to the education service provider or vendor
of educational products.
(d) Notwithstanding Subsection (b), each approved
educational assistance organization shall establish a process by
which the parent of a child participating in the program who makes a
payment for an approved education-related expense using money other
than money in the child's account may request reimbursement for the
expense from the child's account. The organization may require the
use of an online platform for purposes of requesting reimbursement.
(e) A disbursement under this section may not exceed the
applicable program participant's account balance.
(f) An approved educational assistance organization shall
provide program participants with electronic access to:
(1) view the participant's current account balance;
(2) initiate the payment process under Subsection (b);
and
(3) view a summary of the participant's past account
activity, including payments from the account to education service
providers and vendors of educational products.
Sec. 29.361. AMOUNT OF PAYMENT; FINANCING. (a) Regardless
of the deadline by which the parent applies for enrollment in the
program under Section 29.356(a), a parent of a child participating
in the program shall receive each year that the child participates
in the program payments from the state to the child's account in a
total amount equal to the sum of:
(1) the state average maintenance and operations
revenue per student in average daily attendance for the preceding
state fiscal year; and
(2) for a child who was a child with a disability at
the time the child was initially determined to be eligible for
enrollment in the program, the greater of:
(A) $1,500; or
(B) if applicable, the amount the school district
in which the child was previously enrolled was entitled to receive
for the child under Chapter 48 based on the child's participation in
the district's special education program for the most recent school
year in which the child participated in that program, as determined
by commissioner rule, including any funding based on the intensity
of service or service group for which the child qualified and
excluding any amount attributable to:
(i) the basic allotment under Section
48.051 for time the child spent in a general education setting; or
(ii) the allotment under Section 48.101.
(b) Any money remaining in a child's account at the end of a
fiscal year is carried forward to the next fiscal year unless
another provision of this subchapter mandates the closure of the
account.
(c) The parent of a child participating in the program is
entitled to make payments for the expenses of educational programs,
services, and products using money other than money in the child's
account.
(d) A payment under Subsection (a) may not be financed using
federal money or money from the available school fund or
instructional materials and technology fund.
(e) Payments received under this subchapter do not
constitute taxable income to a parent of a child participating in
the program, unless otherwise provided by federal law.
(f) Not later than May 1 of each year, the agency shall
submit to the comptroller the data necessary to calculate the
amount specified under Subsection (a).
Sec. 29.362. ADMINISTRATION OF ACCOUNTS. (a) On receipt
of money distributed by the comptroller for purposes of making
payments to program participants, an approved educational
assistance organization shall make semiannual payments to the
account of each child participating in the program served by the
organization in equal amounts on or before the first day of July and
January.
(b) Each year, the comptroller may deduct from the total
amount of money appropriated for purposes of this subchapter an
amount, not to exceed three percent of that total amount, to cover
the comptroller's cost of administering the program.
(c) Not later than the first day of the month preceding the
start of each quarter, each approved educational assistance
organization shall submit to the comptroller in the form prescribed
by comptroller rule an estimate of the organization's costs of
administering the program for that quarter.
(d) Each quarter, the comptroller shall disburse from money
appropriated for the program to each approved educational
assistance organization the amount necessary to cover the
organization's costs of administering the program for that quarter,
calculated as provided by Subsection (e). The total amount
disbursed to approved educational assistance organizations under
this subsection for a state fiscal year may not exceed five percent
of the amount appropriated for purposes of this subchapter for that
fiscal year.
(e) Subject to the limitation under Subsection (d), the
amount of an approved educational assistance organization's
disbursement under that subsection is the lesser of:
(1) the amount of the organization's estimate
submitted under Subsection (c); or
(2) the product of the total amount to be disbursed and
the average percentage of program participants served by the
organization during the preceding quarter.
(f) On or before the first day of October and February, an
approved educational assistance organization shall:
(1) verify with the agency that each child
participating in the program is not enrolled in a public school,
including an open-enrollment charter school, in a manner in which
the child is counted toward the school's average daily attendance
for purposes of the allocation of state funding under the
foundation school program; and
(2) notify the comptroller if the organization
determines that a child participating in the program is enrolled in
a public school, including an open-enrollment charter school, in a
manner in which the child is counted toward the school's average
daily attendance for purposes of the allocation of state funding
under the foundation school program.
(g) On the date on which a child who participated in the
program is no longer eligible to participate in the program under
Section 29.355 and payments for approved education-related
expenses from the child's account have been completed, the child's
account shall be closed and any remaining money returned to the
comptroller for deposit in the program fund.
(h) Each quarter, any interest or other earnings
attributable to money held by an approved educational assistance
organization for purposes of the program shall be remitted to the
comptroller for deposit in the program fund.
Sec. 29.363. AUDITING. (a) Subject to Subsection (b), the
state auditor:
(1) shall audit the comptroller and each approved
educational assistance organization with respect to the program's
operation at least once each state fiscal biennium; and
(2) may audit accounts to ensure compliance with this
subchapter.
(b) Work performed under this section by the state auditor
is subject to approval by the legislative audit committee for
inclusion in the audit plan under Section 321.013(c), Government
Code.
Sec. 29.364. SUSPENSION OF ACCOUNT. (a) An approved
educational assistance organization shall suspend the account of a
program participant who fails to remain in good standing by
complying with applicable law or a requirement of the program. Not
later than the fifth business day after the date on which the
organization suspends an account, the organization shall notify the
comptroller that the account has been suspended.
(b) On suspension of an account under Subsection (a), the
approved educational assistance organization shall notify the
program participant in writing that the account has been suspended
and that no additional payments may be made from the account. The
notification must specify the grounds for the suspension and state
that the participant has 30 business days to respond and take any
corrective action required to comply with this subchapter.
(c) On the expiration of the 30-day period under Subsection
(b), the comptroller shall:
(1) order closure of the suspended account;
(2) order temporary reinstatement of the account,
conditioned on the performance of a specified action by the program
participant; or
(3) order full reinstatement of the account.
(d) A payment to a preapproved education service provider or
vendor of educational products for an approved education-related
expense initiated under Section 29.360(b) before an account is
suspended under this section may not be denied on the basis of the
suspension.
Sec. 29.365. TUITION AND FEES; REFUND PROHIBITED. (a) An
education service provider or vendor of educational products may
not charge a child participating in the program an amount greater
than the standard amount charged for that service or product by the
provider or vendor.
(b) An education service provider or vendor of educational
products receiving money distributed under the program may not in
any manner rebate, refund, or credit to or share with a program
participant, or any person on behalf of a participant, any program
money paid or owed by the participant to the provider or vendor.
Sec. 29.366. REFERRAL TO DISTRICT ATTORNEY. If the
comptroller obtains evidence of fraudulent use of an account or
money distributed under the program by an approved educational
assistance organization, education service provider, vendor of
educational products, or program participant, the comptroller
shall notify the appropriate local county or district attorney with
jurisdiction over the principal place of business of the
organization, provider, or vendor or the residence of the program
participant, as applicable.
Sec. 29.367. SPECIAL EDUCATION NOTICE. (a) An approved
educational assistance organization shall post on the
organization's Internet website a notice that:
(1) states that a private school is not subject to
federal and state laws regarding the provision of educational
services to a child with a disability in the same manner as a public
school; and
(2) provides information regarding rights to which a
child with a disability is entitled under federal and state law if
the child attends a public school, including:
(A) rights provided under the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Section 1400 et seq.); and
(B) rights provided under Subchapter A.
(b) A private school in which a child with a disability who
is a program participant enrolls shall provide to the child's
parent a copy of the notice required under Subsection (a).
Sec. 29.368. PROGRAM PARTICIPANT, PROVIDER, AND VENDOR
AUTONOMY. (a) An education service provider or vendor of
educational products that receives money distributed under the
program is not a recipient of federal financial assistance and may
not be considered to be an agent of state government on the basis of
receiving that money.
(b) A rule adopted or other governmental action taken,
including an action taken by an approved educational assistance
organization, related to the program may not impose requirements
that are contrary to or limit the religious or institutional values
or practices of an education service provider, vendor of
educational products, or program participant, including by
limiting the ability of the provider, vendor, or participant, as
applicable, to:
(1) determine the methods of instruction or curriculum
used to educate students;
(2) determine admissions and enrollment practices,
policies, and standards;
(3) modify or refuse to modify the provider's,
vendor's, or participant's religious or institutional values or
practices, including operations, conduct, policies, standards,
assessments, or employment practices that are based on the
provider's, vendor's, or participant's religious or institutional
values or practices; or
(4) exercise the provider's, vendor's, or
participant's religious or institutional practices as determined
by the provider, vendor, or participant.
Sec. 29.369. STUDENT RECORDS AND INFORMATION. (a) On
request by the parent of a child participating or seeking to
participate in the program, the school district or open-enrollment
charter school that the child attends or previously attended shall
provide a copy of the child's school records possessed by the
district or school, if any, to the child's parent or, if requested,
the private school the child attends.
(b) As necessary to verify a child's eligibility for the
program, the agency, a school district, or an open-enrollment
charter school shall provide to the state auditor and an approved
educational assistance organization any information available to
the agency, district, or school regarding a child who participates
or seeks to participate in the program, including information
regarding the child's public school enrollment status and whether
the child can be counted toward a public school's average daily
attendance for purposes of the allocation of funding under the
foundation school program. The state auditor and the organization
may not retain information provided under this subsection beyond
the period necessary to determine a child's eligibility to
participate in the program.
(c) An approved educational assistance organization or an
education service provider or vendor of educational products that
obtains information regarding a child participating in the program:
(1) shall comply with:
(A) the requirements regarding the
confidentiality of student educational information under the
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20
U.S.C. Section 1232g); and
(B) state law regarding the confidentiality of
student educational information; and
(2) may not sell or otherwise distribute information
regarding a child participating in the program.
Sec. 29.370. GIFTS, GRANTS, AND DONATIONS. The comptroller
and an approved educational assistance organization may solicit and
accept gifts, grants, and donations from any public or private
source for any expenses related to the administration of the
program, including establishing the program and contracting for the
report required under Section 29.371.
Sec. 29.371. ANNUAL REPORT. (a) The comptroller shall
contract with one or more qualified researchers employed by a
higher education provider to compile and publish program data and
produce an annual longitudinal report regarding:
(1) the number of program applications received,
accepted, and waitlisted, disaggregated by age;
(2) program participant satisfaction;
(3) the results of assessment instruments shared in
accordance with Section 29.357(2);
(4) the effect of the program on public and private
school capacity, availability, and quality;
(5) the amount of cost savings accruing to the state as
a result of the program;
(6) in a report submitted in an even-numbered year
only, an estimate of the total amount of funding required for the
program for the next state fiscal biennium;
(7) the amount of gifts, grants, and donations
received under Section 29.370; and
(8) based on surveys of former program participants or
other sources available to the researcher, the number and
percentage of children who participated in the program and, within
one year after graduating from high school, are:
(A) college ready, as indicated by earning a
minimum of 12 non-remedial semester credit hours or the equivalent
or an associate degree from a postsecondary educational
institution;
(B) career ready, as indicated by:
(i) earning a credential of value included
in the library of credentials established under Section 2308A.007,
Government Code; or
(ii) employment at or above the median wage
in the child's region; or
(C) military ready, as indicated by achieving a
passing score set by the applicable military branch on the Armed
Services Vocational Aptitude Battery and enlisting in the armed
forces of the United States or the Texas National Guard.
(b) In producing program data and the report, a researcher
shall:
(1) use appropriate analytical and behavioral science
methodologies to ensure public confidence in the report; and
(2) comply with the requirements regarding the
confidentiality of student educational information under the
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C.
Section 1232g).
(c) The report must cover the five most recent school years
and include, subject to Subsection (b)(2), the data analyzed and
methodology used.
(d) The comptroller and each approved educational
assistance organization shall post the report on the comptroller's
and organization's respective Internet websites.
(e) To the extent consistent with state and federal law
regarding the confidentiality of student educational information,
the program data and report are public information under Chapter
552, Government Code.
Sec. 29.372. RULES; PROCEDURES. The comptroller shall
adopt rules and procedures as necessary to implement, administer,
and enforce this subchapter.
Sec. 29.373. APPEAL; JUDICIAL REVIEW. (a) A program
participant may appeal to the comptroller an administrative
decision made by the comptroller or an approved educational
assistance organization under this subchapter, including a
decision regarding eligibility, allowable expenses, or the
participant's removal from the program.
(b) A program participant, education service provider, or
vendor of educational products who is adversely affected or
aggrieved by a decision made by the comptroller or an approved
educational assistance organization under this subchapter may file
a suit challenging the decision in a district court in the county in
which the program participant resides or the provider or vendor has
its principal place of business, as applicable.
Sec. 29.374. RIGHT TO INTERVENE IN CIVIL ACTION. (a) A
program participant, education service provider, or vendor of
educational products may intervene in any civil action challenging
the constitutionality of the program.
(b) A court in which a civil action described by Subsection
(a) is filed may require that all program participants, education
service providers, and vendors of educational products wishing to
intervene in the action file a joint brief. A program participant,
education service provider, or vendor of educational products may
not be required to join a brief filed on behalf of the state or a
state agency.
SECTION 3. Section 22.092(d), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(d) The agency shall provide equivalent access to the
registry maintained under this section to:
(1) private schools;
(2) public schools; [and]
(3) nonprofit teacher organizations approved by the
commissioner for the purpose of participating in the tutoring
program established under Section 33.913; and
(4) the comptroller for the purpose of preapproving
education service providers and vendors of educational products
under Section 29.358 for participation in the program established
under Subchapter J, Chapter 29.
SECTION 4. Section 411.109, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
(b-1) The comptroller is entitled to obtain criminal
history record information maintained by the department about a
person who is a private tutor, a therapist, or an employee of a
teaching service, school, or other education service provider or
vendor of educational products who intends to provide educational
services to a child participating in the program established under
Subchapter J, Chapter 29, Education Code, and is seeking approval
to receive money distributed under that program.
SECTION 5. Subchapter J, Chapter 29, Education Code, as
added by this Act, applies beginning with the 2024-2025 school
year.
SECTION 6. (a) Not later than February 15, 2024, the
comptroller of public accounts shall adopt rules as provided by
Section 29.372, Education Code, as added by this Act.
(b) The comptroller of public accounts may identify rules
required by the passage of Subchapter J, Chapter 29, Education
Code, as added by this Act, that must be adopted on an emergency
basis for purposes of the 2024-2025 school year and may use the
procedures established under Section 2001.034, Government Code,
for adopting those rules. The comptroller of public accounts is not
required to make the finding described by Section 2001.034(a),
Government Code, to adopt emergency rules under this subsection.
SECTION 7. (a) The constitutionality and other validity
under the state or federal constitution of all or any part of
Subchapter J, Chapter 29, Education Code, as added by this Act, may
be determined in an action for declaratory judgment under Chapter
37, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, in a district court in the
county in which the violation is alleged to have occurred or where
the plaintiff resides or has its principal place of business.
(b) An order, however characterized, of a trial court
granting or denying a temporary or otherwise interlocutory
injunction or a permanent injunction on the grounds of the
constitutionality or unconstitutionality, or other validity or
invalidity, under the state or federal constitution of all or any
part of Subchapter J, Chapter 29, Education Code, as added by this
Act, may be reviewed only by direct appeal to the Texas Supreme
Court filed not later than the 15th business day after the date on
which the order was entered. The Texas Supreme Court shall give
precedence to appeals under this section over other matters.
(c) The direct appeal is an accelerated appeal.
(d) This section exercises the authority granted by Section
3-b, Article V, Texas Constitution.
(e) The filing of a direct appeal under this section will
automatically stay any temporary or otherwise interlocutory
injunction or permanent injunction granted in accordance with this
section pending final determination by the Texas Supreme Court,
unless the supreme court makes specific findings that the applicant
seeking such injunctive relief has pleaded and proved that:
(1) the applicant has a probable right to the relief it
seeks on final hearing;
(2) the applicant will suffer a probable injury that
is imminent and irreparable, and that the applicant has no other
adequate legal remedy; and
(3) maintaining the injunction is in the public
interest.
(f) An appeal under this section, including an
interlocutory, accelerated, or direct appeal, is governed, as
applicable, by the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, including
Rules 25.1(d)(6), 28.1, 32.1(g), 37.3(a)(1), 38.6(a) and (b),
40.1(b), and 49.4.
(g) This section does not authorize an award of attorney's
fees against this state, and Section 37.009, Civil Practice and
Remedies Code, does not apply to an action filed under this section.
(h) This section does not authorize a taxpayer suit to
contest the denial of a tax credit by the comptroller of public
accounts.
SECTION 8. It is the intent of the legislature that every
provision, section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word
in this Act, and every application of the provisions in this Act to
each person or entity, is severable from each other. If any
application of any provision in this Act to any person, group of
persons, or circumstances is found by a court to be invalid for any
reason, the remaining applications of that provision to all other
persons and circumstances shall be severed and may not be affected.
SECTION 9. 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 on the 91st day after the last day of the
legislative session.