89R8998 AND-F
By: Cunningham H.B. No. 3551
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a school district student's reentry into a regular
educational environment from an alternative education program,
including parental rights related to that reentry.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 37.008(a-1), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a-1) The agency shall adopt minimum standards for the
operation of disciplinary alternative education programs,
including standards relating to:
(1) student/teacher ratios;
(2) student health and safety;
(3) reporting of abuse, neglect, or exploitation of
students;
(4) training for teachers in behavior management and
safety procedures; and
(5) planning for a student's reentry into a regular
educational environment [transition] from a disciplinary
alternative education program [to a regular campus].
SECTION 2. The heading to Section 37.023, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 37.023. REENTRY INTO REGULAR EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT
[TRANSITION] FROM ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION PROGRAM [TO REGULAR
CLASSROOM].
SECTION 3. Section 37.023, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (c), (d), and (e) and adding Subsections (c-1)
and (g) to read as follows:
(c) Not later than five instructional days after the date of
a student's release from an alternative education program, the
campus administrator shall hold a meeting to coordinate the
student's enrollment and reentry into [transition to] a regular
educational environment [classroom]. The coordination must
include assistance and recommendations from the student's parent or
a person standing in parental relation to the student and, as
applicable:
(1) school counselors;
(2) school district peace officers;
(3) school resource officers;
(4) licensed clinical social workers;
(5) campus behavior coordinators;
(6) classroom teachers who are or may be responsible
for implementing the student's personalized school reentry
[transition] plan developed under Subsection (d); and
(7) any other appropriate school district personnel.
(c-1) The campus administrator shall, before finalizing a
personalized school reentry plan for a student under Subsection
(d), provide to the student's parent or a person standing in
parental relation to the student:
(1) a list of the people who will be assisting in the
student's reentry into a regular educational environment under
Subsection (c); and
(2) an opportunity to meet, either in person or
remotely, with the people included on the list described by
Subdivision (1) to:
(A) discuss any proposed assistance or
recommendations for the student's reentry; and
(B) provide information regarding the student
that may be useful in developing the plan.
(d) The enrollment and school reentry assistance required
by Subsection (c) must include a personalized school reentry
[transition] plan for the student developed by the campus
administrator. A personalized school reentry [transition] plan:
(1) must include:
(A) recommendations for the best educational
placement of the student; and
(B) the provision of information to the student's
parent or a person standing in parental relation to the student
regarding the process to request a full individual and initial
evaluation of the student for purposes of special education
services under Section 29.004; and
(2) may include:
(A) recommendations for counseling, behavioral
management, or academic assistance for the student with a
concentration on the student's academic or career goals;
(B) recommendations for assistance for obtaining
access to mental health services provided by the district or
school, a local mental health authority, or another private or
public entity; and
(C) a regular review of the student's progress
toward the student's academic or career goals.
(e) As soon as practicable after completing a student's
personalized school reentry plan under Subsection (d) [If
practicable], the campus administrator shall provide an electronic
or written copy of the plan to [, or the administrator's designee,
shall meet with] the student's parent or a person standing in
parental relation to the student [to coordinate plans for the
student's transition].
(g) The commissioner may adopt rules as necessary to
implement this section.
SECTION 4. This Act applies beginning with the 2025-2026
school year.
SECTION 5. 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.