Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB2942 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Creighton S.B. No. 2942
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6	6	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
7	7	AN ACT
8	8	relating to certain charter school programs and students.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 12.252, Education Code, is amended by
11	11	adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
12	12	(c) In matters related to operation of a charter school
13	13	under this subchapter, a charter school or charter holder is immune
14	14	from liability and suit to the same extent as a school district, and
15	15	the employees and volunteers of the charter school or charter
16	16	holder are immune from liability and suit to the same extent as
17	17	school district employees and volunteers. A member of the
18	18	governing body of a charter school or of a charter holder governed
19	19	by this chapter is immune from liability and suit to the same extent
20	20	as a school district trustee.
21	21	SECTION 2. Section 12.258(a), Education Code is amended to
22	22	read as follows:
23	23	(a) A person who is at least 18 years of age and not more
24	24	than 60 [50] years of age is eligible to enroll in an adult
25	25	education program operated under a charter granted under this
26	26	subchapter if the person:
27	27	(1) has failed to complete the curriculum requirements
28	28	for high school graduation; or
29	29	(2) has failed to perform satisfactorily on an
30	30	assessment instrument required for high school graduation.
31	31	SECTION 3. Section 12.260, Education Code, is amended by
32	32	adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
33	33	(b-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (b), a student enrolled in
34	34	an adult education program operated by an entity described by
35	35	Section 12.256(1)(D) or by a partnering nonprofit entity is
36	36	eligible for receipt of a high school diploma under this subchapter
37	37	if the student performs satisfactorily on an assessment instrument
38	38	prescribed by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board under
39	39	Section 130.455, provided that the student meets all other
40	40	applicable requirements for receipt of a diploma.
41	41	SECTION 4. Section 12.261(b), Education Code, is amended to
42	42	read as follows:
43	43	(b) An expansion amendment submitted under Subsection (a)
44	44	is considered approved if the commissioner does not provide written
45	45	notice to the eligible entity of the disapproval of the expansion
46	46	amendment on or before the 30th day following receipt of the
47	47	amendment [August 1].
48	48	SECTION 5. Section 12.262(b), Education Code, is amended to
49	49	read as follows:
50	50	(b) The commissioner shall include in the accountability
51	51	framework adopted under Subsection (a) performance domains that
52	52	measure:
53	53	(1) academic growth;
54	54	(2) career readiness; and
55	55	(3) [one-year post-graduation and longitudinal
56	56	postsecondary outcomes;
57	57	[(4) longitudinal wage and career growth; and
58	58	[(5)] operational performance.
59	59	SECTION 6. Sections 12.263(b), (e), and (f), Education
60	60	Code, are amended to read as follows:
61	61	(b) For purposes of determining the average daily
62	62	attendance of an adult education program operated under a charter
63	63	granted under this subchapter, a student is considered to be in
64	64	average daily attendance, with a 100 percent attendance rate, for:
65	65	(1) all of the instructional days of the school year, if the
66	66	student is enrolled for at least 75 percent of the school year;
67	67	(2) three-quarters [half] of the instructional days of the
68	68	school year, if the student is enrolled for at least 50 percent but
69	69	less than 75 percent of the school year;
70	70	(3) half [a quarter] of the instructional days of the school
71	71	year, if the student is enrolled for at least 25 percent but less
72	72	than 50 percent of the school year; or
73	73	(4) a quarter [one-tenth] of the instructional days of the
74	74	school year, if the student is enrolled for at least 10 percent but
75	75	less than 25 percent of the school year.
76	76	(e) For purposes of the college, career, or military
77	77	readiness outcomes bonus under Section 48.110, notwithstanding
78	78	Subsection (f) of that section, an annual graduate of an adult
79	79	education program operated under a charter granted under this
80	80	subchapter demonstrates career readiness by earning an
81	81	industry-accepted certificate not later than six months after
82	82	completing the program. The commissioner must make a bonus payment
83	83	under this section not later than the end of the six-week period
84	84	following the graduate's demonstration of career readiness, or a
85	85	shorter period if the commissioner determines that available data
86	86	accurately reflects the graduate's career readiness.
87	87	(f) In addition to funding provided under Subsection (a), an
88	88	eligible entity granted a charter under this subchapter is entitled
89	89	to receive for the adult education program an annual allotment,
90	90	provided in accordance with a schedule established by commissioner
91	91	rule, equal to the maximum basic allotment under Section 48.051(a)
92	92	or (b) multiplied by:
93	93	(1) for each credit earned by a student enrolled in the
94	94	adult education program during the preceding six-week period, or a
95	95	shorter period determined to be reasonable by the commissioner
96	96	[school year]:
97	97	(A) 0.025 [0.01] for a course other than a career
98	98	and technology education course; and
99	99	(B) 0.05 [0.02] for a career and technology
100	100	education course; and
101	101	(2) 0.2 [0.1] for each student who successfully
102	102	completed the adult education program and earned a high school
103	103	diploma during the preceding six-week period, or a shorter period
104	104	determined to be reasonable by the commissioner [school year].
105	105	SECTION 7. Section 12.264(b), Education Code, is amended to
106	106	read as follows:
107	107	(b) From any gifts, grants, or donations appropriated or
108	108	otherwise available to the commissioner for the purpose, the
109	109	commissioner shall provide to an eligible entity granted a charter
110	110	under this subchapter funding for costs associated
111	111	with establishing a new campus for an adult education program
112	112	operated under this subchapter not later than the 45th day after
113	113	the date the charter is granted or a charter holder notifies the
114	114	commissioner of a decision to replicate its adult education program
115	115	at a new campus. An entity is only eligible to receive funding under
116	116	this section for a new campus if that campus has a minimum
117	117	enrollment capacity of at least 200 students, except that an entity
118	118	is also eligible to receive a one-time allotment of funding under
119	119	this section if it establishes multiple campuses with an aggregate
120	120	enrollment capacity of at least 200 students.
121	121	SECTION 8. (a) A student is entitled to the benefits of the
122	122	Foundation School Program if, on September 1 of the school year, the
123	123	student:
124	124	(1) is 5 years of age or older and under 21 years of age
125	125	and has not graduated from high school, or is at least 21 years of
126	126	age and under 26 years of age and has been admitted by a school
127	127	district to complete the requirements for a high school diploma; or
128	128	(2) is at least 18 years of age and under 60 [50] years
129	129	of age and is enrolled in an adult education program provided under
130	130	the adult high school charter school program under Subchapter G,
131	131	Chapter 12.
132	132	SECTION 9. Section 48.005(j), Education Code is amended to
133	133	read as follows:
134	134	(j) A district or charter school is eligible to earn full
135	135	average daily attendance under Subsection (a) if the district or
136	136	school provides at least 43,200 minutes of instructional time to
137	137	students enrolled in:
138	138	(1) a dropout recovery school or program operating
139	139	under Section 12.1141(c) or Section 39.0548;
140	140	(2) an alternative education program operating under
141	141	Section 37.008;
142	142	(3) a school program located at a day treatment
143	143	facility, residential treatment facility, psychiatric hospital, or
144	144	medical hospital; or
145	145	(4) a school program offered at a correctional
146	146	facility [; or
147	147	[(5) a school operating under Subchapter G, Chapter 12].
148	148	SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.