Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1657 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R4088 KJE-F
2	2	By: Cunningham H.B. No. 1657
3	3
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5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the establishment of an education savings account
10	10	program for certain children.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Chapter 29, Education Code, is amended by adding
13	13	Subchapter J to read as follows:
14	14	SUBCHAPTER J. EDUCATION SAVINGS ACCOUNT PROGRAM
15	15	Sec. 29.351. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
16	16	(1) "Account" means an education savings account
17	17	established under the program.
18	18	(2) "Child with a disability" means a child who is:
19	19	(A) eligible to participate in a school
20	20	district's special education program under Section 29.003; or
21	21	(B) covered by Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of
22	22	1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794).
23	23	(3) "Financial institution" means a bank, credit
24	24	union, savings bank, or savings and loan association organized
25	25	under the laws of this state, the laws of another state, or federal
26	26	law that has its main office or a branch office in this state. The
27	27	term does not include any institution the deposits of which are not
28	28	insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or the
29	29	National Credit Union Administration.
30	30	(4) "Parent" means a resident of this state who is a
31	31	natural or adoptive parent, managing or possessory conservator,
32	32	legal guardian, custodian, or other person with legal authority to
33	33	act on behalf of a child.
34	34	(5) "Program" means the education savings account
35	35	program established under this subchapter.
36	36	(6) "Program participant" means a child and a parent
37	37	of a child enrolled in the program.
38	38	Sec. 29.352. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM. The comptroller
39	39	shall establish and administer an education savings account program
40	40	to provide funding for certain education-related expenses of
41	41	eligible children.
42	42	Sec. 29.353. ELIGIBLE CHILD. (a) A child is eligible to
43	43	participate in the program if the child:
44	44	(1) is eligible to attend a public school under
45	45	Section 25.001;
46	46	(2) either:
47	47	(A) attended a public school during the preceding
48	48	school year; or
49	49	(B) is entering kindergarten or first grade; and
50	50	(3) meets one or more of the following criteria:
51	51	(A) failed to perform satisfactorily on an
52	52	assessment instrument administered under Section 39.023(a) or an
53	53	end-of-course assessment instrument administered under Section
54	54	39.023(c) during the school year preceding the school year for
55	55	which the child applies to enroll in the program;
56	56	(B) is a child with a disability; or
57	57	(C) is educationally disadvantaged.
58	58	(b) A child who establishes eligibility under this section
59	59	may participate in the program until the earliest of the following
60	60	dates:
61	61	(1) the date on which the child no longer meets the
62	62	eligibility criteria under Subsection (a)(3);
63	63	(2) the date on which the child graduates from high
64	64	school;
65	65	(3) the date on which the child enrolls in a public
66	66	school, including an open-enrollment charter school; or
67	67	(4) the date on which the child is declared ineligible
68	68	for the program by the comptroller under this subchapter.
69	69	Sec. 29.354. APPLICATION FOR PROGRAM. (a) A parent of an
70	70	eligible child may apply on behalf of the child for participation in
71	71	the program for the following school year.
72	72	(b) The comptroller shall by rule create an application form
73	73	for the program and make the form readily available to interested
74	74	parents through various sources, including the comptroller's
75	75	Internet website.
76	76	(c) The comptroller shall provide to each parent who submits
77	77	an application form a publication that describes the operation of
78	78	the program, including:
79	79	(1) expenses allowed under the program under Section
80	80	29.356;
81	81	(2) expense reporting requirements; and
82	82	(3) a description of the responsibilities of program
83	83	participants and the duties of the comptroller and the agency under
84	84	this subchapter.
85	85	(d) The agency shall:
86	86	(1) review each application to ensure that the child
87	87	is eligible to participate in the program; and
88	88	(2) approve or reject each application.
89	89	Sec. 29.355. PARTICIPATION IN PROGRAM. (a) To receive
90	90	funding under the program, a parent of an eligible child must agree
91	91	to:
92	92	(1) spend money received through the program only for
93	93	expenses allowed under Section 29.356;
94	94	(2) notify the comptroller if the child enrolls in a
95	95	public school, not later than the 30th day after the date of
96	96	enrollment; and
97	97	(3) inform the comptroller if the child graduates from
98	98	high school.
99	99	(b) The parent of a child participating in the program is
100	100	the trustee of the child's account.
101	101	(c) The comptroller shall provide annually to each program
102	102	participant the publication provided under Section 29.354(c).
103	103	Sec. 29.356. ELIGIBLE EDUCATION-RELATED EXPENSES. (a)
104	104	Money received under the program may be used only for the following
105	105	expenses incurred by a program participant:
106	106	(1) tuition and fees at a private school accredited by
107	107	an organization that is recognized by the Texas Private School
108	108	Accreditation Commission or the agency;
109	109	(2) the purchase of textbooks or other instructional
110	110	materials or uniforms required by a private school, course, or
111	111	educational program in which the child is enrolled;
112	112	(3) costs related to academic assessments;
113	113	(4) costs related to an academic activity that adds
114	114	direct value to classroom instruction and curriculum, including an
115	115	academic field trip, performance, contest, demonstration, or
116	116	display;
117	117	(5) fees for transportation provided by a
118	118	fee-for-service transportation provider for the child to travel to
119	119	and from an education service provider or vendor of educational
120	120	products; and
121	121	(6) fees for educational therapies or services that
122	122	are not covered by any federal, state, or local government benefits
123	123	such as Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
124	124	or by any private insurance that the child is enrolled in at the
125	125	time of receiving the therapies or services.
126	126	(b) Money received under the program may not be used to pay
127	127	any person who is a member of the program participant's household.
128	128	(c) A finding that a program participant used money
129	129	distributed under the program to pay for an expense not allowed
130	130	under Subsection (a) does not affect the validity of any payment
131	131	made by the participant for an education-related expense that is
132	132	allowed under that subsection.
133	133	Sec. 29.357. AMOUNT OF PAYMENT; FINANCING. (a) A parent of
134	134	an eligible child shall receive each year that the child
135	135	participates in the program a payment to the child's account in an
136	136	amount that is equal to 90 percent of the amount to which the school
137	137	district in which the child resides would be entitled to receive for
138	138	the child under Chapter 48 if the child were enrolled in the
139	139	district.
140	140	(b) For each year a child participates in the program, the
141	141	school district in which the child resides is entitled to receive an
142	142	amount equal to 10 percent of the amount to which the district would
143	143	be entitled to receive for the child under Chapter 48 if the child
144	144	were enrolled in the district.
145	145	(c) Any money remaining in a child's account at the end of a
146	146	fiscal year is carried forward to the next fiscal year unless
147	147	another provision of this subchapter mandates the closure of the
148	148	account.
149	149	(d) A payment under the program may not be financed using
150	150	federal funds or money appropriated from the available school fund.
151	151	Sec. 29.358. ADMINISTRATION OF ACCOUNTS. (a) The
152	152	comptroller may contract with one or more financial institutions to
153	153	establish and manage an account for each child participating in the
154	154	program.
155	155	(b) The comptroller shall make quarterly payments to each
156	156	program participant's account in equal amounts on or before the
157	157	15th day of August, November, February, and May.
158	158	(c) The comptroller may deduct an amount from each quarterly
159	159	payment to a program participant's account to cover the
160	160	comptroller's cost of administering the program. The amount
161	161	deducted may not exceed three percent of the payment.
162	162	(d) Within the first month following the end of each fiscal
163	163	year, the comptroller shall reconcile payments made to and from all
164	164	accounts under the program.
165	165	(e) On the date on which a child ceases to participate in the
166	166	program for any reason, the child's account is closed and any
167	167	remaining money is returned to the state.
168	168	Sec. 29.359. PROGRAM PARTICIPANT, PROVIDER, AND VENDOR
169	169	AUTONOMY. (a) An education service provider or vendor of
170	170	educational products that receives money distributed under the
171	171	program is not a recipient of federal financial assistance on the
172	172	basis of receiving that money.
173	173	(b) A rule adopted or action taken related to the program by
174	174	an individual, governmental entity, court of law, or program
175	175	administrator may not:
176	176	(1) consider the actions of an education service
177	177	provider, vendor of educational products, or program participant to
178	178	be the actions of an agent of state government;
179	179	(2) limit:
180	180	(A) an education service provider's ability to
181	181	determine the methods used to educate the provider's students or to
182	182	exercise the provider's religious or institutional values; or
183	183	(B) a program participant's ability to determine
184	184	the participant's educational content or to exercise the
185	185	participant's religious values;
186	186	(3) obligate an education service provider or program
187	187	participant to act contrary to the provider's or participant's
188	188	religious or institutional values, as applicable;
189	189	(4) impose any regulation on an education service
190	190	provider, vendor of educational products, or program participant
191	191	beyond those regulations necessary to enforce the requirements of
192	192	the program; or
193	193	(5) require as a condition of receiving money
194	194	distributed under the program:
195	195	(A) an education service provider to modify the
196	196	provider's creed, practices, admissions policies, curriculum,
197	197	performance standards, employment policies, or assessments; or
198	198	(B) a program participant to modify the
199	199	participant's creed, practices, curriculum, performance standards,
200	200	or assessments.
201	201	(c) In a proceeding challenging a rule adopted by a state
202	202	agency or officer under this subchapter, the agency or officer has
203	203	the burden of proof to establish by clear and convincing evidence
204	204	that the rule:
205	205	(1) is necessary to implement or enforce the program
206	206	as provided by this subchapter;
207	207	(2) does not violate this section;
208	208	(3) does not impose an undue burden on a program
209	209	participant or an education service provider or vendor of
210	210	educational products that receives money or seeks to receive money
211	211	distributed under the program; and
212	212	(4) is the least restrictive means of accomplishing
213	213	the purpose of the program while recognizing the independence of an
214	214	education service provider to meet the educational needs of
215	215	students in accordance with the provider's religious or
216	216	institutional values.
217	217	Sec. 29.360. GIFTS, GRANTS, AND DONATIONS. The comptroller
218	218	may solicit and accept gifts, grants, and donations, other than
219	219	federal grants, from any public or private source for the program.
220	220	Sec. 29.361. RULES. The comptroller shall adopt rules as
221	221	necessary to implement this subchapter.
222	222	SECTION 2. This Act applies beginning with the 2026-2027
223	223	school year.
224	224	SECTION 3. As soon as practicable after the effective date
225	225	of this Act, the comptroller of public accounts shall adopt rules
226	226	necessary to implement the education savings account program under
227	227	Subchapter J, Chapter 29, Education Code, as added by this Act.
228	228	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.