By: Creighton S.B. No. 2942
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to certain charter school programs and students.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 12.252, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) In matters related to operation of a charter school
under this subchapter, a charter school or charter holder is immune
from liability and suit to the same extent as a school district, and
the employees and volunteers of the charter school or charter
holder are immune from liability and suit to the same extent as
school district employees and volunteers. A member of the
governing body of a charter school or of a charter holder governed
by this chapter is immune from liability and suit to the same extent
as a school district trustee.
SECTION 2. Section 12.258(a), Education Code is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A person who is at least 18 years of age and not more
than 60 [50] years of age is eligible to enroll in an adult
education program operated under a charter granted under this
subchapter if the person:
(1) has failed to complete the curriculum requirements
for high school graduation; or
(2) has failed to perform satisfactorily on an
assessment instrument required for high school graduation.
SECTION 3. Section 12.260, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
(b-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (b), a student enrolled in
an adult education program operated by an entity described by
Section 12.256(1)(D) or by a partnering nonprofit entity is
eligible for receipt of a high school diploma under this subchapter
if the student performs satisfactorily on an assessment instrument
prescribed by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board under
Section 130.455, provided that the student meets all other
applicable requirements for receipt of a diploma.
SECTION 4. Section 12.261(b), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) An expansion amendment submitted under Subsection (a)
is considered approved if the commissioner does not provide written
notice to the eligible entity of the disapproval of the expansion
amendment on or before the 30th day following receipt of the
amendment [August 1].
SECTION 5. Section 12.262(b), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) The commissioner shall include in the accountability
framework adopted under Subsection (a) performance domains that
measure:
(1) academic growth;
(2) career readiness; and
(3) [one-year post-graduation and longitudinal
postsecondary outcomes;
[(4) longitudinal wage and career growth; and
[(5)] operational performance.
SECTION 6. Sections 12.263(b), (e), and (f), Education
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) For purposes of determining the average daily
attendance of an adult education program operated under a charter
granted under this subchapter, a student is considered to be in
average daily attendance, with a 100 percent attendance rate, for:
(1) all of the instructional days of the school year, if the
student is enrolled for at least 75 percent of the school year;
(2) three-quarters [half] of the instructional days of the
school year, if the student is enrolled for at least 50 percent but
less than 75 percent of the school year;
(3) half [a quarter] of the instructional days of the school
year, if the student is enrolled for at least 25 percent but less
than 50 percent of the school year; or
(4) a quarter [one-tenth] of the instructional days of the
school year, if the student is enrolled for at least 10 percent but
less than 25 percent of the school year.
(e) For purposes of the college, career, or military
readiness outcomes bonus under Section 48.110, notwithstanding
Subsection (f) of that section, an annual graduate of an adult
education program operated under a charter granted under this
subchapter demonstrates career readiness by earning an
industry-accepted certificate not later than six months after
completing the program. The commissioner must make a bonus payment
under this section not later than the end of the six-week period
following the graduate's demonstration of career readiness, or a
shorter period if the commissioner determines that available data
accurately reflects the graduate's career readiness.
(f) In addition to funding provided under Subsection (a), an
eligible entity granted a charter under this subchapter is entitled
to receive for the adult education program an annual allotment,
provided in accordance with a schedule established by commissioner
rule, equal to the maximum basic allotment under Section 48.051(a)
or (b) multiplied by:
(1) for each credit earned by a student enrolled in the
adult education program during the preceding six-week period, or a
shorter period determined to be reasonable by the commissioner
[school year]:
(A) 0.025 [0.01] for a course other than a career
and technology education course; and
(B) 0.05 [0.02] for a career and technology
education course; and
(2) 0.2 [0.1] for each student who successfully
completed the adult education program and earned a high school
diploma during the preceding six-week period, or a shorter period
determined to be reasonable by the commissioner [school year].
SECTION 7. Section 12.264(b), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) From any gifts, grants, or donations appropriated or
otherwise available to the commissioner for the purpose, the
commissioner shall provide to an eligible entity granted a charter
under this subchapter funding for costs associated
with establishing a new campus for an adult education program
operated under this subchapter not later than the 45th day after
the date the charter is granted or a charter holder notifies the
commissioner of a decision to replicate its adult education program
at a new campus. An entity is only eligible to receive funding under
this section for a new campus if that campus has a minimum
enrollment capacity of at least 200 students, except that an entity
is also eligible to receive a one-time allotment of funding under
this section if it establishes multiple campuses with an aggregate
enrollment capacity of at least 200 students.
SECTION 8. (a) A student is entitled to the benefits of the
Foundation School Program if, on September 1 of the school year, the
student:
(1) is 5 years of age or older and under 21 years of age
and has not graduated from high school, or is at least 21 years of
age and under 26 years of age and has been admitted by a school
district to complete the requirements for a high school diploma; or
(2) is at least 18 years of age and under 60 [50] years
of age and is enrolled in an adult education program provided under
the adult high school charter school program under Subchapter G,
Chapter 12.
SECTION 9. Section 48.005(j), Education Code is amended to
read as follows:
(j) A district or charter school is eligible to earn full
average daily attendance under Subsection (a) if the district or
school provides at least 43,200 minutes of instructional time to
students enrolled in:
(1) a dropout recovery school or program operating
under Section 12.1141(c) or Section 39.0548;
(2) an alternative education program operating under
Section 37.008;
(3) a school program located at a day treatment
facility, residential treatment facility, psychiatric hospital, or
medical hospital; or
(4) a school program offered at a correctional
facility [; or
[(5) a school operating under Subchapter G, Chapter 12].
SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.