89R13795 MM-F
By: Schoolcraft H.B. No. 122
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the capacity and usage of school district facilities
and the transfer of students between school districts.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 7, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 7.0611 to read as follows:
Sec. 7.0611. FACILITY USAGE REPORT. (a) In this section,
"instructional facility" has the meaning assigned by Section
46.001.
(b) The agency by rule shall require each school district to
annually report the following information in the form and manner
prescribed by the agency:
(1) the square footage of each district facility and
the acreage of land on which each facility sits;
(2) the total student capacity for each instructional
facility on a district campus;
(3) for each district campus:
(A) the enrollment capacity; and
(B) the number of students currently enrolled;
(4) whether a district facility is used by one or more
campuses and the campus identifier of each campus that uses the
facility;
(5) what each district facility is used for,
including:
(A) an instructional facility;
(B) a career and technology center;
(C) an administrative building;
(D) a food service facility; and
(E) a transportation facility;
(6) whether the district has vacant land and the
acreage of that land; and
(7) whether each district facility is leased or owned.
(c) From the information submitted under Subsection (b),
the agency shall produce and make available to the public on the
agency's Internet website an annual report on school district land
and facilities. The agency may combine the report required under
this section with any other required report to avoid multiplicity
of reports.
(d) If the agency determines information provided under
Subsection (b) would create a security risk, that information is
considered confidential for purposes of Chapter 552, Government
Code, and may not be disclosed in the annual report under Subsection
(c).
(e) The commissioner may adopt rules as necessary to
implement this section.
SECTION 2. Section 25.001(h), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(h) In addition to the penalty provided by Section 37.10,
Penal Code, a person who knowingly falsifies information on a form
required for enrollment of a student in a school district is liable
to the district if the student is not eligible for enrollment in the
district but is enrolled on the basis of the false information. The
person is liable, for the period during which the ineligible
student is enrolled, for [the greater of:
[(1) the maximum tuition fee the district may charge
under Section 25.038; or
[(2)] the amount the district has budgeted for each
student as maintenance and operating expenses.
SECTION 3. Section 25.036, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 25.036. TRANSFER OF STUDENT. (a) Any child, other
than a high school graduate, who is younger than 21 years of age and
eligible for enrollment on September 1 of any school year may apply
to transfer for in-person instruction annually from the child's
school district of residence to another district in this state [if
both the receiving district and the applicant parent or guardian or
person having lawful control of the child jointly approve and
timely agree in writing to the transfer].
(b) A transfer application [agreement] under this section
shall be filed and preserved as a receiving district record for
audit purposes of the agency.
(c) A school district may deny approval of a transfer under
this section only if:
(1) the district or a school in the district to which a
student seeks to transfer is at full student capacity or has more
requests for transfers than available positions after the district
has filled available positions in accordance with Subsection (e)
and has satisfied the requirement provided under Subsection (f);
(2) before the application deadline for the applicable
school year, the district adopted a policy that provides for the
exclusion of a student who has a documented history of a criminal
offense, a juvenile court adjudication, or discipline problems
under Subchapter A, Chapter 37, and the student meets the
conditions for exclusion under the policy; or
(3) approving the transfer would supersede a
court-ordered desegregation plan.
(d) For the purpose of determining whether a school in a
school district is at full student capacity under Subsection
(c)(1), the district may not consider equity as a factor in the
district's decision-making process.
(e) A school district that has more applicants for transfer
under this section than available positions must fill the available
positions by lottery and must give priority to applicants in the
following order:
(1) students who:
(A) do not reside in the district but were
enrolled in the district in the preceding school year; or
(B) are dependents of an employee of the
receiving district; and
(2) students:
(A) receiving special education services under
Subchapter A, Chapter 29;
(B) who are dependents of military personnel;
(C) who are dependents of law enforcement
personnel;
(D) in foster care;
(E) who are the subject of court-ordered
modification of an order establishing conservatorship or
possession and access; or
(F) who are siblings of a student who is enrolled
in the receiving district at the time the student seeks to transfer.
(f) A school district may deny approval of a transfer under
Subsection (c)(1) only if the district annually submits the
information regarding student capacity and facility usage by campus
required under Section 7.0611.
(g) Unless otherwise required by law, a receiving school
district may, but is not required to, provide transportation to a
student who transfers to the receiving district under this section.
(h) A receiving school district may revoke, at any time
during the school year, the approval of the student's transfer only
if:
(1) the student engages in conduct:
(A) for which a student is required or permitted
to be removed from class and placed in a disciplinary alternative
education program under Section 37.006; or
(B) for which a student is required or permitted
to be expelled from school under Section 37.007; and
(2) before revoking approval of the student's
transfer, the district:
(A) ensures the student is afforded appropriate
due process and complies with any requirements of state law or
district policy relating to the expulsion of a student to the same
extent as if the student were being expelled under Section 37.007;
and
(B) if the student is a child with a disability
under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C.
Section 1400 et seq.), or the district suspects or has a reason to
suspect that the student may be a child with a disability, complies
with all federal and state requirements regarding revoking the
approval of the student's transfer.
(i) In the case of a transfer under this section, a child's
school district of residence shall provide the receiving district
with the child's disciplinary record and any threat assessment
involving the child's behavior conducted under Section 37.115.
SECTION 4. Section 25.038, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 25.038. TUITION FEE FOR TRANSFER STUDENTS PAID BY
SCHOOL DISTRICT. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), a
[The] receiving school district may charge a tuition fee to another
school district, if the receiving district has contracted with the
other district to educate the other district's students, to the
extent that the district's actual expenditure per student in
average daily attendance, as determined by its board of trustees,
exceeds the sum the district benefits from state aid sources as
provided by Section 25.037. However, unless a tuition fee is
prescribed and set out in a transfer agreement before its execution
by the parties, an increase in tuition charge may not be made for
the year of that transfer that exceeds the tuition charge, if any,
of the preceding school year.
(b) A school district may not charge a tuition fee under
this section for a student transfer authorized under Section
25.036.
SECTION 5. Subchapter B, Chapter 25, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 25.048 to read as follows:
Sec. 25.048. LIMITATION ON DENYING TRANSFER. A school
district may deny approval of a student's transfer on the basis of a
lack of capacity only if the district has reported capacity and
facility usage information for the applicable school year under
Section 7.0611.
SECTION 6. The following provisions are repealed:
(1) Section 25.0344, Education Code, as added by
Chapter 583 (H.B. 2892), Acts of the 88th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2023; and
(2) Section 25.0344, Education Code, as added by
Chapter 322 (H.B. 1959), Acts of the 88th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2023.
SECTION 7. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act,
a student accepted for transfer to a school district for the
2025-2026 school year under Section 25.036, Education Code, on a
date occurring before the effective date of this Act is entitled to
transfer to the district for that school year in the same manner as
any other student accepted for transfer to the district for that
school year on a date occurring on or after the effective date of
this Act.
SECTION 8. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails
over another Act of the 89th Legislature, Regular Session, 2025,
relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
codes.
SECTION 9. This Act applies beginning with the 2025-2026
school year.
SECTION 10. 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 September 1, 2025.