By: Bettencourt, et al. S.B. No. 568
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to special education in public schools, including funding
for special education under the Foundation School Program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 7.021(b)(10), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(10) The agency shall carry out duties assigned under
Section 30.002 concerning children who have visual impairments, are
deaf or hard of hearing, or are deaf-blind [with visual
impairments].
SECTION 2. Section 7.055(b)(25), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(25) The commissioner shall develop a system to
distribute to school districts or regional education service
centers a special supplemental allowance for students with visual
impairments as required under Section 30.0021 [30.002].
SECTION 3. Section 8.051(d), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(d) Each regional education service center shall maintain
core services for purchase by school districts and campuses. The
core services are:
(1) training and assistance in:
(A) teaching each subject area assessed under
Section 39.023; and
(B) providing instruction in personal financial
literacy as required under Section 28.0021;
(2) training and assistance in providing each program
that qualifies for a funding allotment under Section 48.102,
48.1021, 48.103, 48.104, 48.105, or 48.109;
(3) assistance specifically designed for a school
district or campus assigned an unacceptable performance rating
under Section 39.054;
(4) training and assistance to teachers,
administrators, members of district boards of trustees, and members
of site-based decision-making committees;
(5) assistance specifically designed for a school
district that is considered out of compliance with state or federal
special education requirements, based on the agency's most recent
compliance review of the district's special education programs; and
(6) assistance in complying with state laws and rules.
SECTION 4. Sections 28.025(c-7) and (c-8), Education Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(c-7) Subject to Subsection (c-8), a student who is enrolled
in a special education program under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, may
earn the distinguished level of achievement under Subsection (b-15)
or an endorsement on the student's transcript under Subsection
(c-1) by:
(1) successfully completing, with or without
modification of the curriculum:
(A) the curriculum requirements identified by
the State Board of Education under Subsection (a); [and]
(B) for the distinguished level of achievement,
the additional curriculum requirements prescribed under Subsection
(b-15); and
(C) for an endorsement, the additional
[endorsement] curriculum requirements prescribed by the State
Board of Education under Subsection (c-2); and
(2) successfully completing all curriculum
requirements for the distinguished level of achievement or that
endorsement adopted by the State Board of Education:
(A) without modification of the curriculum; or
(B) with modification of the curriculum,
provided that the curriculum, as modified, is sufficiently rigorous
as determined by the student's admission, review, and dismissal
committee and documented in the student's individualized education
program.
(c-8) For purposes of Subsection (c-7), the admission,
review, and dismissal committee of a student in a special education
program under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, shall determine whether the
student is required to achieve satisfactory performance on an
end-of-course assessment instrument to earn the distinguished
level of achievement or an endorsement on the student's transcript.
SECTION 5. Section 29.001, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 29.001. IMPLEMENTATION OF SPECIAL EDUCATION
LAW [STATEWIDE PLAN]. (a) As the state education agency
responsible for carrying out the purposes of Part B, Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Section 1411 et seq.),
the [The] agency shall develop, and revise [modify] as necessary, a
comprehensive system to ensure statewide and local compliance
[design, consistent] with federal and state law related to special
education[, for the delivery of services to children with
disabilities in this state that includes rules for the
administration and funding of the special education program so that
a free appropriate public education is available to all of those
children between the ages of three and 21].
(b) The comprehensive system must [statewide design shall]
include the provision of services primarily through school
districts and shared services arrangements, supplemented by
regional education service centers.
(c) The comprehensive system must focus on maximizing
student outcomes and include [agency shall also develop and
implement a statewide plan with programmatic content that includes
procedures designed to]:
(1) rulemaking, technical assistance, guidance
documents, monitoring protocols, data elements necessary for
statewide reporting, and other resources as necessary to implement
and ensure compliance with federal and state law related to special
education [ensure state compliance with requirements for
supplemental federal funding for all state-administered programs
involving the delivery of instructional or related services to
students with disabilities];
(2) the facilitation of [facilitate] interagency
coordination when other state agencies are involved in the delivery
of instructional or related services to students with disabilities;
(3) the pursuit of [periodically assess statewide
personnel needs in all areas of specialization related to special
education and pursue] strategies to meet statewide special
education and related services personnel [those] needs [through a
consortium of representatives from regional education service
centers, local education agencies, and institutions of higher
education and through other available alternatives];
(4) ensuring [ensure] that regional education service
centers throughout the state maintain a regional support function,
which may include procedures for service centers to assist school
districts in identifying existing public or private educational or
related services in each region, cooperatively developing programs
for students with disabilities, providing to or obtaining for
school districts special equipment, delivering services, and
facilitating [direct service delivery and a component designed to
facilitate] the placement of students with disabilities who cannot
be appropriately served in their resident districts;
(5) [allow the agency to] effectively monitoring
[monitor] and periodically conducting [conduct] site visits of all
school districts to ensure that rules adopted under this subchapter
[section] are applied in a consistent and uniform manner, to ensure
that districts are complying with those rules, and to ensure that
annual statistical reports filed by the districts and not otherwise
available through the Public Education Information Management
System under Sections 48.008 and 48.009 are accurate and complete;
and
(6) the provision of training and technical assistance
to ensure that:
(A) appropriately trained personnel are involved
in the diagnostic and evaluative procedures operating in all
districts and that those personnel routinely serve on district
multidisciplinary evaluation teams and admissions, review, and
dismissal committees;
(B) [(7) ensure that] an individualized
education program for each student with a disability is properly
developed, implemented, and maintained in the least restrictive
environment that is appropriate to meet the student's educational
needs;
(C) appropriately trained personnel are
available to students with disabilities who have significant
behavioral support needs, including by providing behavioral
support training for a paraprofessional or teacher placed in a
classroom or other setting that is intended to provide specialized
behavioral supports to a student with a disability, as needed or at
regular intervals as provided in the student's individualized
education program;
(D) [(8) ensure that,] when appropriate, each
student with a disability is provided an opportunity to participate
in career and technology and physical education classes[, in
addition to participating in regular or special classes];
(E) [(9) ensure that] each student with a
disability is provided necessary related services;
(F) school districts have an opportunity to
request technical assistance from the agency or a regional
education service center in establishing classroom environments
conducive to learning for students with disabilities, including
environments for students whose data indicate behavior that
significantly impedes the student's own learning and the learning
of other students;
(G) [(10) ensure that] an individual assigned
to act as a surrogate parent for a child with a disability, as
provided by 20 U.S.C. Section 1415(b), is required to:
(i) [(A)] complete a training program that
complies with minimum standards established by agency rule;
(ii) [(B)] visit the child and the child's
school;
(iii) [(C)] consult with persons involved
in the child's education, including teachers, caseworkers,
court-appointed volunteers, guardians ad litem, attorneys ad
litem, foster parents, and caretakers;
(iv) [(D)] review the child's educational
records;
(v) [(E)] attend meetings of the child's
admission, review, and dismissal committee;
(vi) [(F)] exercise independent judgment
in pursuing the child's interests; and
(vii) [(G)] exercise the child's due
process rights under applicable state and federal law; and
(H) [(11) ensure that] each district develops a
process to be used by a teacher who instructs a student with a
disability in a general education [regular] classroom setting:
(i) [(A)] to request a review of the
student's individualized education program;
(ii) [(B)] to provide input in the
development of the student's individualized education program;
(iii) [(C)] that provides for a timely
district response to the teacher's request; and
(iv) [(D)] that provides for notification
to the student's parent or legal guardian of that response.
SECTION 6. Subchapter A, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 29.0012 to read as follows:
Sec. 29.0012. ANNUAL MEETING ON SPECIAL EDUCATION. (a) At
least once each year, the board of trustees of a school district or
the governing body of an open-enrollment charter school shall
include during a public meeting a discussion of the performance of
students receiving special education services at the district or
school.
(b) The agency by rule shall adopt a set of performance
indicators for measuring and evaluating the quality of learning and
achievement for students receiving special education services at
the school district or open-enrollment charter school to be
considered at a meeting held under this section. The indicators
must include performance on the college, career, or military
readiness outcomes described by Section 48.110.
SECTION 7. Section 29.003, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 29.003. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA. (a) The agency shall
develop specific eligibility criteria based on the general
classifications established by this section and in accordance with
federal law [with reference to contemporary diagnostic or
evaluative terminologies and techniques]. Eligible students with
disabilities shall enjoy the right to a free appropriate public
education, which may include instruction in the general education
[regular] classroom, instruction through special teaching, or
instruction through contracts approved under this subchapter.
Instruction shall be supplemented by the provision of related
services when appropriate.
(b) A student is eligible to participate in a school
district's special education program [if the student]:
(1) from birth through [is not more than] 21 years of
age if the student [and] has a visual [or auditory] impairment, is
deaf or hard of hearing, or is deaf-blind and that disability
prevents the student from being adequately or safely educated in
public school without the provision of special education services;
[or]
(2) from three years of age through nine years of age
if the student is experiencing developmental delays as described by
20 U.S.C. Section 1401(3)(B) and defined by commissioner rule; or
(3) from 3 years of age through [is at least three but
not more than] 21 years of age if the student [and] has one or more
of the [following] disabilities described by 20 U.S.C. Section
1401(3)(A) and that disability prevents the student from being
adequately or safely educated in public school without the
provision of special education services[:
[(A) physical disability;
[(B) intellectual or developmental disability;
[(C) emotional disturbance;
[(D) learning disability;
[(E) autism;
[(F) speech disability; or
[(G) traumatic brain injury].
SECTION 8. Sections 29.005(a), (d), and (e), Education
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) Before a child is enrolled in a special education
program of a school district, the district shall establish a
committee composed of the persons required under 20 U.S.C. Section
1414(d) to develop the child's individualized education program.
If a committee is required to include a general [regular] education
teacher, the [regular education] teacher included must, to the
extent practicable, be a teacher who is responsible for
implementing a portion of the child's individualized education
program.
(d) If the primary language of the child's parent is a
language other than [is unable to speak] English, the district
shall:
(1) provide the parent with a written or audiotaped
copy of the child's individualized education program translated
into Spanish if Spanish is the parent's primary [native] language;
or
(2) if the parent's primary [native] language is a
language other than Spanish, make a good faith effort to provide the
parent with a written or audiotaped copy of the child's
individualized education program translated into the parent's
primary [native] language.
(e) The commissioner by rule may require a school district
to include in the individualized education program of a student
with autism [or another pervasive developmental disorder] any
information or requirement determined necessary to ensure the
student receives a free appropriate public education as required
under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C.
Section 1400 et seq.).
SECTION 9. Section 29.0051, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
(d) From federal money appropriated or otherwise available
for the purpose, the commissioner may develop or procure the model
form developed under Subsection (a) in a digital format. If the
commissioner develops or procures the model form in a digital
format, the commissioner shall adopt rules regarding school
district use of the form in that format.
SECTION 10. Subchapter A, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 29.0056 to read as follows:
Sec. 29.0056. INFORMATION REGARDING STATE SUPPORTED LIVING
CENTERS. (a) In this section, "state supported living center" has
the meaning assigned by Section 531.002, Health and Safety Code.
(b) The Health and Human Services Commission, in
collaboration with the agency and stakeholders who represent the
full continuum of educational residential placement options, shall
develop and provide to the agency materials regarding educational
residential placement options for children who may qualify for
placement in a state supported living center. The agency shall make
the materials developed under this subsection available to school
districts.
(c) At a meeting of a child's admission, review, and
dismissal committee at which residential placement is discussed,
the school district shall provide to the child's parent the
materials developed under Subsection (b).
SECTION 11. Sections 29.006(a) and (c), Education Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) The governor shall appoint a continuing advisory
committee consistent with[, composed of 17 members, under] 20
U.S.C. Section 1412(a)(21). At least one member appointed under
this subsection must be a director of special education programs
for a school district.
(c) Members of the committee are appointed for staggered
terms of four years with the terms of half of the [eight or nine]
members or, for an odd number of members, half of the members
rounded down or half of the members rounded up expiring on February
1 of each odd-numbered year.
SECTION 12. Section 29.008, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 29.008. CONTRACTS FOR SERVICES; RESIDENTIAL AND DAY
PLACEMENT PROGRAMS. (a) The commissioner shall set minimum
standards for and develop and update as necessary a list of approved
public or private facilities, institutions, agencies, or
businesses inside or outside of this state that a [A] school
district, shared services arrangement unit, or regional education
service center may contract with [a public or private facility,
institution, or agency inside or outside of this state] for the
provision of services to students with disabilities in a
residential or day placement program.
(a-1) [Each contract for residential placement must be
approved by the commissioner.] The commissioner may approve a
facility, institution, agency, or business under Subsection (a)
[residential placement contract] only after at least a programmatic
evaluation of personnel qualifications, costs, adequacy of
physical plant and equipment, and curriculum content. [The
commissioner may approve either the whole or a part of a facility or
program.]
(a-2) Each contract described by this section must be
approved by the commissioner. A school district, shared services
arrangement unit, or regional education service center seeking to
place a student in a residential or day placement program that is
not on the list developed under Subsection (a) must submit to the
commissioner an application for approval in accordance with
Subsections (a) and (a-1).
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), costs of an
approved contract for residential placement may be paid from a
combination of federal, state, and local funds. The local share of
the total contract cost for each student is that portion of the
local tax effort that exceeds the district's local fund assignment
under Section 48.256, divided by the average daily attendance in
the district. If the contract involves a private facility, the
state share of the total contract cost is that amount remaining
after subtracting the local share. If the contract involves a
public facility, the state share is that amount remaining after
subtracting the local share from the portion of the contract that
involves the costs of instructional and related services. For
purposes of this subsection, "local tax effort" means the total
amount of money generated by taxes imposed for debt service and
maintenance and operation less any amounts paid into a tax
increment fund under Chapter 311, Tax Code. This subsection
expires September 1, 2027.
(c) When a student, including one for whom the state is
managing conservator, is placed primarily for care or treatment
reasons in a private [residential] facility that operates its own
private education program, none of the costs may be paid from public
education funds. If a [residential] placement primarily for care
or treatment reasons involves a private [residential] facility in
which the education program is provided by the school district, the
portion of the costs that includes appropriate education services,
as determined by the school district's admission, review, and
dismissal committee, shall be paid from state and federal education
funds.
(d) A district that contracts for the provision of education
services rather than providing the services itself shall oversee
the implementation of the student's individualized education
program and shall annually reevaluate the appropriateness of the
arrangement. The reevaluation must include standards and
expectations that must be met to reintegrate the student to the
general education setting. An approved facility, institution, [or]
agency, or business with whom the district contracts shall
periodically report to the district and the agency on the services
the student has received or will receive in accordance with the
contract as well as diagnostic or other evaluative information that
the district or agency requires in order to fulfill its obligations
under this subchapter.
(e) The commissioner shall adopt rules for residential and
day placement of students receiving special education services.
SECTION 13. The heading to Section 29.009, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 29.009. PUBLIC NOTICE CONCERNING EARLY CHILDHOOD
SPECIAL EDUCATION [PRESCHOOL] PROGRAMS [FOR STUDENTS WITH
DISABILITIES].
SECTION 14. Section 29.010, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 29.010. GENERAL SUPERVISION AND COMPLIANCE. (a) The
agency shall develop [adopt] and implement a comprehensive system
for monitoring school district compliance with federal and state
laws relating to special education. The monitoring system must
include a comprehensive cyclical process and a targeted risk-based
process [provide for ongoing analysis of district special education
data and of complaints filed with the agency concerning special
education services and for inspections of school districts at
district facilities]. The agency shall establish criteria and
instruments for use in determining district compliance under this
section [use the information obtained through analysis of district
data and from the complaints management system to determine the
appropriate schedule for and extent of the inspection].
(a-1) As part of the monitoring system, the agency may
require a school district to obtain specialized technical
assistance for a documented noncompliance issue or if data
indicates that technical assistance is needed, such as an incident
involving injury to staff or students by a student receiving
special education services or data indicating an excessive number
of restraints are used on students receiving special education
services.
(b) As part of the monitoring process [To complete the
inspection], the agency must obtain information from parents and
teachers of students in special education programs in the district.
(c) The agency shall develop and implement a system of
interventions and sanctions for school districts the agency
identifies as being in noncompliance with [whose most recent
monitoring visit shows a failure to comply with major requirements
of] the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C.
Section 1400 et seq.), federal regulations, state statutes, or
agency requirements necessary to carry out federal law or
regulations or state law relating to special education.
(d) The agency shall establish a system of progressive
sanctions and enforcement provisions to apply to [For] districts
that remain in noncompliance for more than one year[, the first
stage of sanctions shall begin with annual or more frequent
monitoring visits]. The [Subsequent] sanctions must [may] range in
severity and may include [up to] the withholding of funds. If funds
are withheld, the agency may use the funds, or direct the funds to
be used, to provide, through alternative arrangements, services to
students and staff members in the district from which the funds are
withheld.
(e) The agency's complaint management division shall
develop a system for expedited investigation and resolution of
complaints concerning a district's failure to provide special
education or related services to a student eligible to participate
in the district's special education program.
[(f) This section does not create an obligation for or
impose a requirement on a school district or open-enrollment
charter school that is not also created or imposed under another
state law or a federal law.]
SECTION 15. Section 29.012(d), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(d) The Texas Education Agency, the Health and Human
Services Commission, the Department of Family and Protective
Services, and the Texas Juvenile Justice Department by a
cooperative effort shall develop and [by rule] adopt a memorandum
of understanding. The memorandum must:
(1) establish the respective responsibilities of
school districts and of residential facilities for the provision of
a free, appropriate public education, as required by the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Section 1400
et seq.) and its subsequent amendments, including each requirement
for children with disabilities who reside in those facilities;
(2) coordinate regulatory and planning functions of
the parties to the memorandum;
(3) establish criteria for determining when a public
school will provide educational services;
(4) provide for appropriate educational space when
education services will be provided at the residential facility;
(5) establish measures designed to ensure the safety
of students and teachers; and
(6) provide for binding arbitration consistent with
Chapter 2009, Government Code, and Section 154.027, Civil Practice
and Remedies Code.
SECTION 16. Section 29.013, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 29.013. NONEDUCATIONAL COMMUNITY-BASED SUPPORT
SERVICES GRANTS FOR CERTAIN STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES. (a) The
commissioner [agency] shall adopt rules establishing [establish]
procedures and criteria for the allocation of grants [funds
appropriated] under this section to students who are eligible under
Subsection (b) and the students' families [school districts] for
the provision of noneducational community-based support services
[to certain students with disabilities and their families so that
those students may receive an appropriate free public education in
the least restrictive environment].
(b) A grant [The funds] may be awarded under this section
[used] only to a student with a disability [for eligible students
with disabilities] who is [would remain or would have to be] placed
by the student's admission, review, and dismissal committee in:
(1) a residential program approved under Section
29.008; or
(2) a day placement program and is at risk of being
placed in a residential program approved under Section 29.008
[facilities primarily for educational reasons without the
provision of noneducational community-based support services].
(c) The support services may not be related to the provision
of a free appropriate public education to the student and may
include in-home family support, behavioral and other
disability-related supports for the student's family, respite
care, and case management for the student's family [families with a
student who otherwise would have been placed by a district in a
private residential facility].
(d) A school district shall:
(1) notify the parent of a student described by
Subsection (b) of the availability of grants under this section;
and
(2) designate a campus or district staff member to
assist families of students described by Subsection (b) in
accessing grants under this section.
(e) On request by the parent of a student described by
Subsection (b), the commissioner shall create an account for the
student to access a grant under this section through which the
parent may request payment for approved support services.
(f) In adopting rules under this section, the commissioner
shall adopt rules and guidelines detailing the process to access
grant money and the amount of each grant, including a process for a
parent to apply for an increase in the grant amount.
(g) The provision of services under this section does not
supersede or limit the responsibility of a school district or other
agencies to provide or pay for costs [of noneducational
community-based support services] to enable any student with
disabilities to receive a free appropriate public education in the
least restrictive environment. [Specifically, services provided
under this section may not be used for a student with disabilities
who is currently placed or who needs to be placed in a residential
facility primarily for noneducational reasons.]
(h) The commissioner may designate a regional education
service center to administer grants under this section.
SECTION 17. Sections 29.014(c) and (d), Education Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, a
student whose appropriate education program is a general [regular]
education program may receive services and be counted for
attendance purposes for the number of hours per week appropriate
for the student's condition if the student:
(1) is temporarily classified as eligible for
participation in a special education program because of the
student's confinement in a hospital; and
(2) the student's education is provided by a district
to which this section applies.
(d) The basic allotment for a student enrolled in a district
to which this section applies is adjusted by the tier of intensity
of service defined in accordance with [weight for a homebound
student under] Section 48.102 and designated by commissioner rule
for use under this section [48.102(a)].
SECTION 18. Section 29.0162(b), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) The commissioner by rule shall adopt additional
qualifications and requirements for a representative for purposes
of Subsection (a)(2). The rules must:
(1) prohibit an individual from being a representative
under Subsection (a)(2) opposing a school district if:
(A) the individual has prior employment
experience with the district; and
(B) the district raises an objection to the
individual serving as a representative;
(2) include requirements that the representative have
knowledge of:
(A) all special education dispute resolution
options available to parents, including due process and due process
rules, hearings, and procedure; and
(B) federal and state special education laws;
(3) require, if the representative receives monetary
compensation from a person for representation in an impartial due
process hearing, that the representative agree to abide by a
voluntary code of ethics and professional conduct during the period
of representation; and
(4) require, if the representative receives monetary
compensation from a person for representation in an impartial due
process hearing, that the representative enter into a written
agreement for representation with the person who is the subject of
the special education due process hearing that includes a process
for resolving any disputes between the representative and the
person.
SECTION 19. Section 29.018(b), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) A school district is eligible to apply for a grant under
this section if:
(1) the district does not receive sufficient funds,
including state funds provided under Sections [Section] 48.102 and
48.1021 and federal funds, for a student with disabilities to pay
for the special education services provided to the student; or
(2) the district does not receive sufficient funds,
including state funds provided under Sections [Section] 48.102 and
48.1021 and federal funds, for all students with disabilities in
the district to pay for the special education services provided to
the students.
SECTION 20. The heading to Section 29.020, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 29.020. STATE-ADMINISTERED INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION
PROGRAM FACILITATION [PROJECT].
SECTION 21. Sections 29.020(a) and (c), Education Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) The agency shall develop rules in accordance with this
section applicable to state-administered [the administration of a
state] individualized education program facilitation [project].
The program shall include the provision of an independent
individualized education program facilitator as a dispute
resolution method that may be used to avoid a potential dispute
between a school district and a parent of a student with a
disability or to facilitate an admission, review, and dismissal
committee meeting with parties who are in a dispute about decisions
relating to the provision of a free appropriate public education to
a student with a disability. Facilitation [implemented under the
project] must comply with rules developed under this subsection.
(c) If the commissioner determines that adequate funding is
available, the commissioner may authorize the use of federal funds
to implement [the] individualized education program facilitation
[project] in accordance with this section.
SECTION 22. Sections 29.022(a), (a-1), (b), (c), (c-1),
(d), (f), (h), (k), (l), (q), (s), and (t), Education Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) In order to promote student safety, on receipt of a
written request authorized under Subsection (a-1), a school
district or open-enrollment charter school shall provide
equipment, including a video camera, to the school or schools in the
district or the charter school campus or campuses specified in the
request. A school or campus that receives equipment as provided by
this subsection shall place, operate, and maintain one or more
video cameras in special education [self-contained] classrooms and
other special education settings [in which a majority of the
students in regular attendance are provided special education and
related services and are assigned to one or more self-contained
classrooms or other special education settings for at least 50
percent of the instructional day], provided that:
(1) a school or campus that receives equipment as a
result of the request by a parent or staff member is required to
place equipment only in classrooms or settings in which the
parent's child is in regular attendance or to which the staff member
is assigned, as applicable; and
(2) a school or campus that receives equipment as a
result of the request by a board of trustees, governing body,
principal, or assistant principal is required to place equipment
only in classrooms or settings identified by the requestor, if the
requestor limits the request to specific classrooms or settings
subject to this subsection.
(a-1) For purposes of Subsection (a):
(1) a parent of a child who receives special education
services in one or more special education [self-contained]
classrooms or other special education settings may request in
writing that equipment be provided to the school or campus at which
the child receives those services;
(2) a board of trustees or governing body may request
in writing that equipment be provided to one or more specified
schools or campuses at which one or more children receive special
education services in special education [self-contained]
classrooms or other special education settings;
(3) the principal or assistant principal of a school
or campus at which one or more children receive special education
services in special education [self-contained] classrooms or other
special education settings may request in writing that equipment be
provided to the principal's or assistant principal's school or
campus; and
(4) a staff member assigned to work with one or more
children receiving special education services in special education
[self-contained] classrooms or other special education settings
may request in writing that equipment be provided to the school or
campus at which the staff member works.
(b) A school or campus that places a video camera in a
special education classroom or other special education setting in
accordance with Subsection (a) shall operate and maintain the video
camera in the classroom or setting, as long as the classroom or
setting continues to satisfy the requirements under Subsection (a),
for the remainder of the school year in which the school or campus
received the request, unless the requestor withdraws the request in
writing. If for any reason a school or campus will discontinue
operation of a video camera during a school year, not later than the
fifth school day before the date the operation of the video camera
will be discontinued, the school or campus must notify the parents
of each student in regular attendance in the classroom or setting
that operation of the video camera will not continue unless
requested by a person eligible to make a request under Subsection
(a-1). Not later than the 10th school day before the end of each
school year, the school or campus must notify the parents of each
student in regular attendance in the classroom or setting that
operation of the video camera will not continue during the
following school year unless a person eligible to make a request for
the next school year under Subsection (a-1) submits a new request.
(c) Except as provided by Subsection (c-1), video cameras
placed under this section must be capable of:
(1) covering all areas of the special education
classroom or other special education setting, including a room
attached to the classroom or setting used for time-out; and
(2) recording audio from all areas of the special
education classroom or other special education setting, including a
room attached to the classroom or setting used for time-out.
(c-1) The inside of a bathroom or any area in the special
education classroom or other special education setting in which a
student's clothes are changed may not be visually monitored, except
for incidental coverage of a minor portion of a bathroom or changing
area because of the layout of the classroom or setting.
(d) Before a school or campus activates a video camera in a
special education classroom or other special education setting
under this section, the school or campus shall provide written
notice of the placement to all school or campus staff and to the
parents of each student attending class or engaging in school
activities in the classroom or setting.
(f) A school district or open-enrollment charter school may
solicit and accept gifts, grants, and donations from any person for
use in placing video cameras in special education classrooms or
other special education settings under this section.
(h) A school district or open-enrollment charter school may
not:
(1) allow regular or continual monitoring of video
recorded under this section; or
(2) use video recorded under this section for teacher
evaluation or for any other purpose other than the promotion of
safety of students receiving special education services in a
special education [self-contained] classroom or other special
education setting.
(k) The commissioner may adopt rules to implement and
administer this section, including rules regarding the special
education classrooms and other special education settings to which
this section applies.
(l) A school district or open-enrollment charter school
policy relating to the placement, operation, or maintenance of
video cameras under this section must:
(1) include information on how a person may appeal an
action by the district or school that the person believes to be in
violation of this section or a policy adopted in accordance with
this section, including the appeals process under Section 7.057;
(2) require that the district or school provide a
response to a request made under this section not later than the
seventh school business day after receipt of the request by the
person to whom it must be submitted under Subsection (a-3) that
authorizes the request or states the reason for denying the
request;
(3) except as provided by Subdivision (5), require
that a school or a campus begin operation of a video camera in
compliance with this section not later than the 45th school
business day, or the first school day after the 45th school business
day if that day is not a school day, after the request is authorized
unless the agency grants an extension of time;
(4) permit the parent of a student whose admission,
review, and dismissal committee has determined that the student's
placement for the following school year will be in a special
education classroom or other special education setting in which a
video camera may be placed under this section to make a request for
the video camera by the later of:
(A) the date on which the current school year
ends; or
(B) the 10th school business day after the date
of the placement determination by the admission, review, and
dismissal committee; and
(5) if a request is made by a parent in compliance with
Subdivision (4), unless the agency grants an extension of time,
require that a school or campus begin operation of a video camera in
compliance with this section not later than the later of:
(A) the 10th school day of the fall semester; or
(B) the 45th school business day, or the first
school day after the 45th school business day if that day is not a
school day, after the date the request is made.
(q) The agency shall collect through the Public Education
Information Management System (PEIMS) data relating to requests
made under this section and actions taken by a school district or
open-enrollment charter school in response to a request, including
the number of requests made, authorized, and denied.
(s) This section applies to the placement, operation, and
maintenance of a video camera in a special education
[self-contained] classroom or other special education setting
during the regular school year and extended school year services.
(t) A video camera placed under this section is not required
to be in operation for the time during which students are not
present in the special education classroom or other special
education setting.
SECTION 23. Sections 29.022(u)(3) and (4), Education Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(3) "Special education classroom or other special
education setting" means a classroom or setting primarily used for
delivering special education services to students who spend on
average less than 50 percent of an instructional day in a general
education classroom or setting ["Self-contained classroom" does
not include a classroom that is a resource room instructional
arrangement under Section 48.102].
(4) "Staff member" means a teacher, related service
provider, paraprofessional, counselor, or educational aide
assigned to work in a special education [self-contained] classroom
or other special education setting.
SECTION 24. Subchapter A, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
amended by adding Sections 29.023, 29.024, 29.025, and 29.026 to
read as follows:
Sec. 29.023. GRANT PROGRAM PROVIDING SERVICES TO STUDENTS
WITH AUTISM. (a) From money appropriated or otherwise available
for the purpose, the commissioner shall establish a program to
award grants to school districts and open-enrollment charter
schools that provide innovative services to students with autism.
(b) A school district, including a school district acting
through a district charter issued under Subchapter C, Chapter 12,
and an open-enrollment charter school, including a charter school
that primarily serves students with disabilities, as provided under
Section 12.1014, may apply for a grant under this section.
(c) A program is eligible for a grant under this section if
the program:
(1) incorporates:
(A) evidence-based and research-based design;
(B) the use of empirical data on student
achievement and improvement;
(C) parental support and collaboration;
(D) the use of technology;
(E) meaningful inclusion; and
(F) the ability to replicate the program for
students statewide; and
(2) gives priority for enrollment to students with
autism.
(d) A school district or open-enrollment charter school may
not:
(1) charge a fee for the program, other than those
authorized by law for students in public schools;
(2) require a parent to enroll a child in the program;
(3) allow an admission, review, and dismissal
committee to place a student in the program without the written
consent of the student's parent or guardian; or
(4) continue the placement of a student in the program
after the student's parent or guardian revokes consent, in writing,
to the student's placement in the program.
(e) A program under this section may:
(1) alter the length of the school day or school year
or the number of minutes of instruction received by students;
(2) coordinate services with private or
community-based providers;
(3) allow the enrollment of students without
disabilities or with other disabilities, if approved by the
commissioner; and
(4) adopt staff qualifications and staff-to-student
ratios that differ from the applicable requirements of this title.
(f) The commissioner shall create an external panel of
stakeholders, including parents of students with disabilities, to
provide assistance in the selection of applications for the award
of grants under this section.
(g) In selecting programs to receive a grant under this
section, the commissioner shall prioritize programs that are
collaborations between multiple school districts, multiple charter
schools, or school districts and charter schools. The selected
programs must reflect the diversity of this state.
(h) A program selected to receive a grant under this section
is to be funded for two years.
(i) A grant awarded to a school district or open-enrollment
charter school under this section is in addition to the Foundation
School Program money that the district or charter school is
otherwise entitled to receive. A grant awarded under this section
may not come out of Foundation School Program money.
(j) The commissioner and any program selected under this
section may accept gifts, grants, and donations from any public or
private source, person, or group to implement and administer the
program. The commissioner and any program selected under this
section may not require any financial contribution from parents to
implement and administer the program.
(k) A regional education service center may administer
grants awarded under this section.
Sec. 29.024. GRANT PROGRAM PROVIDING TRAINING IN DYSLEXIA
FOR TEACHERS AND STAFF. (a) From money appropriated or otherwise
available for the purpose, the commissioner shall establish a
program to award grants each school year to school districts and
open-enrollment charter schools to increase local capacity to
appropriately serve students with dyslexia.
(a-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), for grants awarded
for the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 school years, the commissioner
shall require applicants to apply for grants during a single
application cycle in the 2025-2026 school year with the intent of
significantly expanding the availability of personnel trained to
provide dyslexia services and supports to students with dyslexia.
This subsection expires September 1, 2027.
(b) A school district, including a school district acting
through a district charter issued under Subchapter C, Chapter 12,
or an open-enrollment charter school, including a charter school
that primarily serves students with disabilities, as provided under
Section 12.1014, is eligible to apply for a grant under this section
if the district or school submits to the commissioner a proposal on
the use of grant funds that:
(1) incorporates evidence-based and research-based
design; and
(2) increases local capacity to appropriately serve
students with dyslexia by providing:
(A) high-quality training to classroom teachers
and administrators in meeting the needs of students with dyslexia;
or
(B) training to intervention staff resulting in
appropriate credentialing related to dyslexia, with priority for
training staff to earn the credentials necessary to become a
licensed dyslexia therapist or certified academic language
therapist.
(c) The commissioner shall create an external panel of
stakeholders, including parents of students with disabilities, to
provide assistance in the selection of applications for the award
of grants under this section.
(d) A grant awarded to a school district or open-enrollment
charter school under this section is in addition to the Foundation
School Program money that the district or charter school is
otherwise entitled to receive. A grant awarded under this section
may not come out of Foundation School Program money.
(e) The commissioner and any grant recipient selected under
this section may accept gifts, grants, and donations from any
public or private source, person, or group to implement and
administer the grant. The commissioner and any grant recipient
selected under this section may not require any financial
contribution from parents to implement and administer the grant.
(f) A regional education service center may administer
grants awarded under this section.
Sec. 29.025. SUPPORTS FOR RECRUITING AND RETAINING SPECIAL
EDUCATION STAFF. (a) From money appropriated or otherwise
available for the purpose, the agency shall provide grants each
school year to school districts and open-enrollment charter schools
to increase the number of qualified and appropriately credentialed
special education staff, including special education teachers,
special education paraprofessionals, evaluation personnel,
ancillary instruction personnel, certified interpreters,
board-certified behavior analysts, registered behavior
technicians, and related service personnel.
(a-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), for grants awarded
for the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 school years, the commissioner
shall require applicants to apply for grants during a single
application cycle in the 2025-2026 school year with the intent of
significantly expanding the availability of special education
personnel. This subsection expires September 1, 2027.
(b) A school district or open-enrollment charter school
that receives a grant under this section shall require each person
the district or school uses the grant money to assist in becoming
licensed, certified, or otherwise credentialed as described by
Subsection (a) to work at the district or school for a period
established by commissioner rule.
(c) A regional education service center may administer
grants awarded under this section.
(d) The commissioner shall adopt rules establishing the
period of required employment described by Subsection (b) and any
other rules necessary to implement this section.
(e) In addition to the grants described by Subsection (a),
for the 2025-2026 school year, the commissioner shall provide
funding to school districts and open-enrollment charter schools to
support efforts to recruit and retain educational diagnosticians
and school psychologists. The commissioner by rule shall adopt a
formula for providing funding to a district or school under this
subsection. The total amount of funding provided under this
subsection may not exceed $125 million. This subsection expires
September 1, 2026.
Sec. 29.026. RULES. The commissioner may adopt rules as
necessary to implement this subchapter.
SECTION 25. The heading to Subchapter A-1, Chapter 29,
Education Code, is amended to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER A-1. PARENT-DIRECTED [SUPPLEMENTAL SPECIAL EDUCATION]
SERVICES FOR STUDENTS RECEIVING SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES
[PROGRAM]
SECTION 26. Sections 29.041(2) and (3), Education Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(2) "Supplemental [special education] instructional
materials" includes textbooks, computer hardware or software,
other technological devices, and other materials suitable for
addressing an educational need of a student receiving special
education services under Subchapter A.
(3) "Supplemental [special education] services" means
an additive service that provides an educational benefit to a
student receiving special education services under Subchapter A,
including:
(A) occupational therapy, physical therapy, and
speech therapy; and
(B) private tutoring and other supplemental
private instruction or programs.
SECTION 27. Section 29.042, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (c) and adding Subsection (e) to read
as follows:
(a) The agency by rule shall establish and administer a
parent-directed [supplemental special education services and
instructional materials] program for students receiving special
education services through which a parent may direct supplemental
services and supplemental instructional materials for the parent's
student [students] who meets [meet] the eligibility requirements
for participation in the program. Subject to Subsection (c), the
agency shall provide each student approved as provided by this
subchapter a grant in the amount provided under Section 48.306 [of
not more than $1,500] to purchase supplemental [special education]
services and supplemental [special education] instructional
materials.
(c) A student may receive one grant under this subchapter
unless the legislature appropriates money for an additional grant
in the General Appropriations Act [The commissioner shall set aside
an amount set by appropriation for each state fiscal year to fund
the program under this section. For each state fiscal year, the
total amount provided for student grants under Subsection (a) may
not exceed the amount set aside by the commissioner under this
subsection].
(e) The agency shall maintain an online user-friendly
application system for parents to apply for a grant described by
Subsection (a).
SECTION 28. Section 29.045, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 29.045. APPROVAL OF APPLICATION; ASSIGNMENT OF
ACCOUNT. The [Subject to available funding the] agency shall
approve each student who meets the program eligibility criteria
established under Section 29.044 and assign to the student an
account maintained under Section 29.042(b). The account may only
be used by the student's parent to purchase supplemental [special
education] services or supplemental [special education]
instructional materials for the student, subject to Sections 29.046
and 29.047.
SECTION 29. Sections 29.046(a) and (b), Education Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) Money in an account assigned to a student under Section
29.045 may be used only for supplemental [special education]
services and supplemental [special education] instructional
materials.
(b) Supplemental [special education] services must be
provided by an agency-approved provider.
SECTION 30. Sections 29.047(a), (c), (d), and (e),
Education Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The agency shall establish criteria necessary for
agency approval for each category of provider of a professional
service that is a supplemental [special education] service, as
identified by the agency.
(c) The agency shall provide a procedure for providers of
supplemental [special education] services to apply to the agency to
become an agency-approved provider.
(d) The agency may establish criteria for agency approval of
vendors for each category of supplemental [special education]
instructional materials identified by the agency.
(e) If the agency establishes criteria for agency approval
for a vendor of a category of supplemental [special education]
instructional materials, the agency shall provide a procedure for
vendors of that category to apply to the agency to become an
agency-approved vendor.
SECTION 31. Subchapter A-1, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 29.0475 to read as follows:
Sec. 29.0475. PROGRAM PARTICIPANT, PROVIDER, AND VENDOR
AUTONOMY. (a) A provider of supplemental services or vendor of
supplemental instructional materials that receives money
distributed under the program is not a recipient of federal
financial assistance on the basis of receiving that money.
(b) A rule adopted or action taken related to the program by
an individual, governmental entity, court of law, or program
administrator may not:
(1) consider the actions of a provider of supplemental
services, vendor of supplemental instructional materials, or
program participant to be the actions of an agent of state
government;
(2) limit:
(A) a provider of supplemental services' ability
to determine the methods used to educate the provider's students or
to exercise the provider's religious or institutional values; or
(B) a program participant's ability to determine
the participant's educational content or to exercise the
participant's religious values;
(3) obligate a provider of supplemental services or
program participant to act contrary to the provider's or
participant's religious or institutional values, as applicable;
(4) impose any regulation on a provider of
supplemental services, vendor of supplemental instructional
materials, or program participant beyond those regulations
necessary to enforce the requirements of the program; or
(5) require as a condition of receiving money
distributed under the program:
(A) a provider of supplemental services to modify
the provider's creed, practices, admissions policies, curriculum,
performance standards, employment policies, or assessments; or
(B) a program participant to modify the
participant's creed, practices, curriculum, performance standards,
or assessments.
(c) In a proceeding challenging a rule adopted by a state
agency or officer under this subchapter, the agency or officer has
the burden of proof to establish by clear and convincing evidence
that the rule:
(1) is necessary to implement or enforce the program
as provided by this subchapter;
(2) does not violate this section;
(3) does not impose an undue burden on a program
participant or a provider of supplemental services or vendor of
supplemental instructional materials that participates or applies
to participate in the program; and
(4) is the least restrictive means of accomplishing
the purpose of the program while recognizing the independence of a
provider of supplemental services to meet the educational needs of
students in accordance with the provider's religious or
institutional values.
SECTION 32. Section 29.048, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 29.048. ADMISSION, REVIEW, AND DISMISSAL COMMITTEE
DUTIES. (a) A student's admission, review, and dismissal
committee shall develop a student's individualized education
program under Section 29.005, in compliance with the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Section 1400 et seq.),
without consideration of any supplemental [special education]
services or supplemental instructional materials that may be
provided under the program under this subchapter.
(b) Unless the district first verifies that an account has
been assigned to the student under Section 29.045, the [The]
admission, review, and dismissal committee of a student approved
for participation in the program shall provide to the student's
parent at an admission, review, and dismissal committee meeting for
the student:
(1) information regarding the types of supplemental
[special education] services or supplemental instructional
materials available under the program and provided by
agency-approved providers for which an account maintained under
Section 29.042(b) for the student may be used; and
(2) instructions regarding accessing an account
described by Subdivision (1).
SECTION 33. Subchapter A-1, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 29.0485 to read as follows:
Sec. 29.0485. DETERMINATION OF COMMISSIONER FINAL.
Notwithstanding Section 7.057, a determination of the commissioner
under this subchapter is final and may not be appealed.
SECTION 34. Section 29.049, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 29.049. RULES. The commissioner shall adopt rules as
necessary to administer the supplemental [special education]
services and supplemental instructional materials program under
this subchapter.
SECTION 35. Section 29.301(1), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(1) "Admission, review, and dismissal committee"
means the committee required by [State Board of Education rules to
develop the individualized education program required by] the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Section 1400
et seq.) for any student needing special education.
SECTION 36. Sections 29.304(a) and (c), Education Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) A student who is deaf or hard of hearing must have an
education in which teachers, psychologists, speech language
pathologists [therapists], progress assessors, administrators, and
others involved in education understand the unique nature of
deafness and the hard-of-hearing condition. A teacher of students
who are deaf or hard of hearing either must be proficient in
appropriate language modes or use an interpreter certified in
appropriate language modes if certification is available.
(c) General [Regular] and special education personnel who
work with students who are deaf or hard of hearing must be
adequately prepared to provide educational instruction and
services to those students.
SECTION 37. Section 29.310, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (d) to read as
follows:
(c) The procedures and materials for the assessment and
placement of a student who is deaf or hard of hearing shall be in the
student's preferred mode of communication. All other procedures
and materials used with any student who is deaf or hard of hearing
and who is an emergent bilingual student as defined by Section
29.052 [has limited English proficiency] shall be in the student's
preferred mode of communication.
(d) In recognizing the need for development of language and
communication abilities in students who are deaf or hard of hearing
but also calling for the use of methods of communication that will
meet the needs of each individual student, each student who is deaf
or hard of hearing must be thoroughly assessed to ascertain the
student's potential for communicating through a variety of means.
SECTION 38. Section 29.313, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 29.313. EVALUATION OF DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING
SERVICES [PROGRAMS]. (a) Each school district must provide
continuous evaluation of the effectiveness of the district's
services [programs of the district] for students who are deaf or
hard of hearing. The [If practicable,] evaluations shall follow
program excellence indicators established by the agency.
(b) Each school district shall submit the evaluations under
this section to the agency on a schedule set by the agency.
SECTION 39. Section 29.314, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 29.314. TRANSITION INTO GENERAL EDUCATION [REGULAR]
CLASS. In addition to satisfying requirements of the admission,
review, and dismissal committee and to satisfying requirements
under state and federal law for vocational training, each school
district shall develop and implement a transition plan for the
transition of a student who is deaf or hard of hearing into a
general education [regular] class [program] if the student is to be
transferred from a special class or center or nonpublic,
nonsectarian school into a general education [regular] class in a
public school for any part of the school day. The transition plan
must provide for activities:
(1) to integrate the student into the general
[regular] education program and specify the nature of each activity
and the time spent on the activity each day; and
(2) to support the transition of the student from the
special education program into the general [regular] education
program.
SECTION 40. Section 29.315, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 29.315. TEXAS SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF MEMORANDUM OF
UNDERSTANDING. The Texas Education Agency and the Texas School for
the Deaf shall develop[, agree to, and by commissioner rule adopt no
later than September 1, 1998,] a memorandum of understanding to
establish:
(1) the method for developing and reevaluating a set
of indicators of the quality of learning at the Texas School for the
Deaf;
(2) the process for the agency to conduct and report on
an annual evaluation of the school's performance on the indicators;
(3) the requirements for the school's board to
publish, discuss, and disseminate an annual report describing the
educational performance of the school; and
(4) [the process for the agency to assign an
accreditation status to the school, to reevaluate the status on an
annual basis, and, if necessary, to conduct monitoring reviews; and
[(5)] the type of information the school shall be
required to provide through the Public Education Information
Management System (PEIMS).
SECTION 41. Section 29.316, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 29.316. LANGUAGE ACQUISITION. (a) In this section,
"language[:
[(1) "Center" means the Educational Resource Center on
Deafness at the Texas School for the Deaf.
[(2) "Division" means the Division for Early Childhood
Intervention Services of the Health and Human Services Commission.
[(3) "Language] acquisition" includes expressive and
receptive language acquisition and literacy development in
English, American Sign Language, or both, or, if applicable, in
another language primarily used by a child's parent or guardian,
and is separate from any modality used to communicate in the
applicable language or languages.
(b) Each school district [The commissioner and the
executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission
jointly] shall ensure that the language acquisition of each child
eight years of age or younger who is deaf or hard of hearing is
regularly assessed using a tool or assessment approved by the
commissioner [determined to be valid and reliable as provided by
Subsection (d)].
(c) On a schedule determined by the commissioner, each
school district shall report to the commissioner through the Public
Education Information Management System (PEIMS) or another method
set by commissioner rule the assessment data collected under
Subsection (b) [Not later than August 31 of each year, the agency,
the division, and the center jointly shall prepare and post on the
agency's, the division's, and the center's respective Internet
websites a report on the language acquisition of children eight
years of age or younger who are deaf or hard of hearing. The report
must:
[(1) include:
[(A) existing data reported in compliance with
federal law regarding children with disabilities; and
[(B) information relating to the language
acquisition of children who are deaf or hard of hearing and also
have other disabilities;
[(2) state for each child:
[(A) the instructional arrangement used with the
child, as described by Section 48.102, including the time the child
spends in a mainstream instructional arrangement;
[(B) the specific language acquisition services
provided to the child, including:
[(i) the time spent providing those
services; and
[(ii) a description of any hearing
amplification used in the delivery of those services, including:
[(a) the type of hearing
amplification used;
[(b) the period of time in which the
child has had access to the hearing amplification; and
[(c) the average amount of time the
child uses the hearing amplification each day;
[(C) the tools or assessments used to assess the
child's language acquisition and the results obtained;
[(D) the preferred unique communication mode
used by the child at home; and
[(E) the child's age, race, and gender, the age
at which the child was identified as being deaf or hard of hearing,
and any other relevant demographic information the commissioner
determines to likely be correlated with or have an impact on the
child's language acquisition;
[(3) compare progress in English literacy made by
children who are deaf or hard of hearing to progress in that subject
made by children of the same age who are not deaf or hard of hearing,
by appropriate age range; and
[(4) be redacted as necessary to comply with state and
federal law regarding the confidentiality of student medical or
educational information].
(d) The commissioner[, the executive commissioner of the
Health and Human Services Commission, and the center] shall adopt
rules establishing the assessment data required to be reported
under Subsection (c) [enter into a memorandum of understanding
regarding:
[(1) the identification of experts in deaf education;
and
[(2) the determination, in consultation with those
experts, of the tools and assessments that are valid and reliable,
in both content and administration, for use in assessing the
language acquisition of children eight years of age or younger who
are deaf or hard of hearing].
(e) The commissioner shall annually post on the agency's
Internet website a report on the language acquisition of children
eight years of age or younger who are deaf or hard of hearing using
the assessment data reported under Subsection (c) [agency shall use
existing collected data and data collected and transferred from the
Department of State Health Services and the Health and Human
Services Commission, as agreed upon in the memorandum of
understanding, for the report under this section].
(f) The commissioner shall use the assessment data reported
under Subsection (c) in determining whether to award a grant under
Section 29.018 or in seeking federal money available for projects
aimed at improving outcomes for students with disabilities [and the
executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission
jointly shall adopt rules as necessary to implement this section,
including rules for:
[(1) assigning each child eight years of age or
younger who is deaf or hard of hearing a unique identification
number for purposes of the report required under Subsection (c) and
to enable the tracking of the child's language acquisition, and
factors affecting the child's language acquisition, over time; and
[(2) implementing this section in a manner that
complies with federal law regarding confidentiality of student
medical or educational information, including the Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. Section 1320d
et seq.) and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974
(20 U.S.C. Section 1232g), and any state law relating to the privacy
of student information].
SECTION 42. The heading to Section 30.002, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 30.002. STATE PLAN [EDUCATION] FOR CHILDREN WITH
VISUAL IMPAIRMENTS, WHO ARE DEAF OR HARD OF HEARING, OR WHO ARE
DEAF-BLIND.
SECTION 43. Sections 30.002(a), (b), (c), and (e),
Education Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The agency shall develop and administer a comprehensive
statewide plan for the education of children [with visual
impairments] who are under 22 [21] years of age and who have visual
impairments, are deaf or hard of hearing, or are deaf-blind that
will ensure that the children have an opportunity for achievement
equal to the opportunities afforded their peers who do not have
visual impairments, are not deaf or hard of hearing, or are not
deaf-blind [with normal vision].
(b) The agency shall:
(1) develop standards and guidelines for all special
education and related services for children who have visual
impairments, are deaf or hard of hearing, or are deaf-blind [with
visual impairments] that it is authorized to provide or support
under this code and federal law;
(2) supervise regional education service centers and
other entities in assisting school districts in serving children
who have visual impairments, are deaf or hard of hearing, or are
deaf-blind [with visual impairments] more effectively; and
(3) [develop and administer special education
services for students with both serious visual and auditory
impairments;
[(4) evaluate special education services provided for
children with visual impairments by school districts and approve or
disapprove state funding of those services; and
[(5)] maintain an effective liaison between special
education programs provided for children who have visual
impairments, are deaf or hard of hearing, or are deaf-blind [with
visual impairments] by school districts and related initiatives of
the Health and Human Services Commission, [the Department of State
Health Services Mental Health and Substance Abuse Division,] the
Texas Workforce Commission, and other related programs, agencies,
or facilities as appropriate.
(c) The comprehensive statewide plan for the education of
children who have visual impairments, are deaf or hard of hearing,
or are deaf-blind [with visual impairments] must:
(1) adequately provide for comprehensive diagnosis
and evaluation of each school-age child who has a visual
impairment, is deaf or hard of hearing, or is deaf-blind and
adequately outline the expectations of a school district for such a
child under three years of age [with a serious visual impairment];
(2) include the procedures, format, and content of the
individualized education program for each child who has a visual
impairment, is deaf or hard of hearing, or is deaf-blind [with a
visual impairment];
(3) emphasize providing educational services to
children who have visual impairments, are deaf or hard of hearing,
or are deaf-blind [with visual impairments] in their home
communities whenever possible;
(4) include information regarding the establishment
of regional day school programs for the deaf under Subchapter D and
the parameters of those programs [methods to ensure that children
with visual impairments receiving special education services in
school districts receive, before being placed in a classroom
setting or within a reasonable time after placement:
[(A) evaluation of the impairment; and
[(B) instruction in an expanded core curriculum,
which is required for students with visual impairments to succeed
in classroom settings and to derive lasting, practical benefits
from the education provided by school districts, including
instruction in:
[(i) compensatory skills, such as braille
and concept development, and other skills needed to access the rest
of the curriculum;
[(ii) orientation and mobility;
[(iii) social interaction skills;
[(iv) career planning;
[(v) assistive technology, including
optical devices;
[(vi) independent living skills;
[(vii) recreation and leisure enjoyment;
[(viii) self-determination; and
[(ix) sensory efficiency];
(5) provide for flexibility on the part of school
districts to meet the unique [special] needs of children who have
visual impairments, are deaf or hard of hearing, or are deaf-blind
[with visual impairments] through:
(A) specialty staff and resources provided by the
district;
(B) contractual arrangements with other
qualified public or private agencies;
(C) supportive assistance from regional
education service centers or adjacent school districts;
(D) short-term or long-term services through the
Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, the Texas School
for the Deaf, regional day school programs for the deaf, or related
facilities or programs; or
(E) other instructional and service arrangements
approved by the agency;
(6) [include a statewide admission, review, and
dismissal process;
[(7)] provide for effective interaction between the
[visually impaired child's] classroom setting of the child who has
a visual impairment, is deaf or hard of hearing, or is deaf-blind
and the child's home environment, including providing for parental
training and counseling either by school district staff or by
representatives of other organizations directly involved in the
development and implementation of the individualized education
program for the child;
(7) describe recommended and required professional
development activities based on the special education and related
services provided by school district staff to children who have
visual impairments, are deaf or hard of hearing, or are deaf-blind
[(8) require the continuing education and professional
development of school district staff providing special education
services to children with visual impairments];
(8) [(9)] provide for adequate monitoring and precise
evaluation of special education services provided to children who
have visual impairments, are deaf or hard of hearing, or are
deaf-blind [with visual impairments] through school districts;
[and]
(9) [(10)] require that school districts providing
special education services to children who have visual impairments,
are deaf or hard of hearing, or are deaf-blind [with visual
impairments] develop procedures for assuring that staff assigned to
work with the children have prompt and effective access directly to
resources available through:
(A) cooperating agencies in the area;
(B) the Texas School for the Blind and Visually
Impaired;
(C) the Texas School for the Deaf;
(D) the statewide outreach center at the Texas
School for the Deaf;
(E) the Central Media Depository for specialized
instructional materials and aids made specifically for use by
students with visual impairments;
(F) [(D)] sheltered workshops participating in
the state program of purchases of blind-made goods and services;
and
(G) [(E)] related sources; and
(10) assist in the coordination of educational
programs with other public and private agencies, including:
(A) agencies operating early childhood
intervention programs;
(B) preschools;
(C) agencies operating child development
programs;
(D) private nonsectarian schools;
(E) agencies operating regional occupational
centers and programs; and
(F) as appropriate, postsecondary and adult
programs for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing.
(e) Each eligible [blind or visually impaired] student who
has a visual impairment, is deaf or hard of hearing, or is
deaf-blind is entitled to receive educational programs according to
an individualized education program that:
(1) is developed in accordance with federal and state
requirements for providing special education services;
(2) is developed by a committee composed as required
by federal law;
(3) reflects that the student has been provided a
detailed explanation of the various service resources available to
the student in the community and throughout the state;
(4) provides a detailed description of the
arrangements made to provide the student with the evaluation and
instruction required under this subchapter and Subchapter A,
Chapter 29 [Subsection (c)(4)]; and
(5) sets forth the plans and arrangements made for
contacts with and continuing services to the student beyond regular
school hours to ensure the student learns the skills and receives
the instruction required under this subchapter and Subchapter A,
Chapter 29 [Subsection (c)(4)(B)].
SECTION 44. Subchapter A, Chapter 30, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 30.0021 to read as follows:
Sec. 30.0021. REQUIREMENTS FOR CHILDREN WITH VISUAL
IMPAIRMENTS. (a) Each child with a visual impairment must receive
instruction in an expanded core curriculum required for children
with visual impairments to succeed in classroom settings and to
derive lasting, practical benefits from education in a school
district, including instruction in:
(1) compensatory skills, such as braille and concept
development, and other skills necessary to access the rest of the
curriculum;
(2) orientation and mobility;
(3) social interaction skills;
(4) career education;
(5) assistive technology, including optical devices;
(6) independent living skills;
(7) recreation and leisure enjoyment;
(8) self-determination; and
(9) sensory efficiency.
(b) To determine a child's eligibility for a school
district's special education program under Subchapter A, Chapter
29, on the basis of a visual impairment, the full individual and
initial evaluation of the child under Section 29.004 and any
reevaluation of the child must, in accordance with commissioner
rule:
(1) include an orientation and mobility evaluation
conducted:
(A) by a person who is appropriately certified as
an orientation and mobility specialist, as determined by
commissioner rule; and
(B) in a variety of lighting conditions and
settings, including in the child's home, school, and community and
in settings unfamiliar to the child; and
(2) provide for a person who is appropriately
certified as an orientation and mobility specialist, as determined
by commissioner rule, to participate, as part of a
multidisciplinary team, in evaluating the data on which the
determination of the child's eligibility is based.
(c) In developing an individualized education program under
Section 29.005 for a child with a visual impairment, proficiency in
reading and writing must be a significant indicator of the child's
satisfactory educational progress. The individualized education
program must include instruction in braille and the use of braille
unless the child's admission, review, and dismissal committee
documents a determination, based on an evaluation of the child's
appropriate literacy media and literacy skills and the child's
current and future instructional needs, that braille is not an
appropriate literacy medium for the child.
(d) Braille instruction:
(1) may be used in combination with other special
education services appropriate to the educational needs of a child
with a visual impairment; and
(2) must be provided by a teacher certified to teach
children with visual impairments under Subchapter B, Chapter 21.
(e) A school district shall provide to each person assisting
in the development of an individualized education program for a
child with a visual impairment information describing the benefits
of braille instruction.
(f) To facilitate implementation of this section, the
commissioner shall develop a system to distribute from the
foundation school fund to school districts or regional education
service centers a special supplemental allowance for each student
with a visual impairment. The supplemental allowance may be spent
only for special education services uniquely required by the nature
of the child's disabilities and may not be used in lieu of
educational funds otherwise available under this code or through
state or local appropriations.
SECTION 45. Section 30.003, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (b), (d), (f-1), and (g) and adding Subsection
(b-1) to read as follows:
(b) If the student is admitted to the school for a full-time
program for the equivalent of two long semesters, the district's
share of the cost is an amount equal to the dollar amount of
maintenance and debt service taxes imposed by the district for that
year, subject to Subsection (b-1), divided by the district's
average daily attendance for the preceding year.
(b-1) The commissioner shall reduce the amount of
maintenance taxes imposed by the district that are obligated to be
paid under Subsection (b) for a year by the amount, if any, by which
the district is required to reduce the district's local revenue
level under Section 48.257 for that year.
(d) Each school district and state institution shall
provide to the commissioner the necessary information to determine
the district's share under this section. The information must be
reported to the commissioner on or before a date set by commissioner
rule [of the State Board of Education]. After determining the
amount of a district's share for all students for which the district
is responsible, the commissioner shall deduct that amount from the
payments of foundation school funds payable to the district. Each
deduction shall be in the same percentage of the total amount of the
district's share as the percentage of the total foundation school
fund entitlement being paid to the district at the time of the
deduction, except that the amount of any deduction may be modified
to make necessary adjustments or to correct errors. The
commissioner shall provide for remitting the amount deducted to the
appropriate school at the same time at which the remaining funds are
distributed to the district. If a district does not receive
foundation school funds or if a district's foundation school
entitlement is less than the amount of the district's share under
this section, the commissioner shall direct the district to remit
payment to the commissioner, and the commissioner shall remit the
district's share to the appropriate school.
(f-1) The commissioner shall determine the total amount
that the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired and the
Texas School for the Deaf would have received from school districts
in accordance with this section if the following provisions had not
reduced the districts' share of the cost of providing education
services:
(1) H.B. No. 1, Acts of the 79th Legislature, 3rd
Called Session, 2006;
(2) Subsection (b-1) of this section;
(3) Section 45.0032;
(4) [(3)] Section 48.255; and
(5) [(4)] Section 48.2551.
(g) The commissioner [State Board of Education] may adopt
rules as necessary to implement this section.
SECTION 46. Section 30.004(b), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) The commissioner [State Board of Education] shall adopt
rules prescribing the form and content of information required by
Subsection (a).
SECTION 47. Section 30.005, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 30.005. TEXAS SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY
IMPAIRED MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING. The Texas Education Agency
and the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired shall
develop[, agree to, and by commissioner rule adopt] a memorandum of
understanding to establish:
(1) the method for developing and reevaluating a set
of indicators of the quality of learning at the Texas School for the
Blind and Visually Impaired;
(2) the process for the agency to conduct and report on
an annual evaluation of the school's performance on the indicators;
(3) the requirements for the school's board to
publish, discuss, and disseminate an annual report describing the
educational performance of the school; and
(4) [the process for the agency to:
[(A) assign an accreditation status to the
school;
[(B) reevaluate the status on an annual basis;
and
[(C) if necessary, conduct monitoring reviews;
and
[(5)] the type of information the school shall be
required to provide through the Public Education Information
Management System (PEIMS).
SECTION 48. Section 30.081, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 30.081. LEGISLATIVE INTENT CONCERNING REGIONAL DAY
SCHOOLS FOR THE DEAF. The legislature, by this subchapter, intends
to continue a process of providing on a statewide basis a suitable
education to deaf or hard of hearing students who are under 22 [21]
years of age and assuring that those students have the opportunity
to become independent citizens.
SECTION 49. Section 30.083, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 30.083. STATEWIDE PLAN. [(a)] The director of
services shall develop and administer a comprehensive statewide
plan for educational services for students who are deaf or hard of
hearing and receive special education and related services through
a regional day school program for the deaf[, including continuing
diagnosis and evaluation, counseling, and teaching]. The plan
shall be included as part of the comprehensive state plan under
Section 30.002 [designed to accomplish the following objectives:
[(1) providing assistance and counseling to parents of
students who are deaf or hard of hearing in regional day school
programs for the deaf and admitting to the programs students who
have a hearing loss that interferes with the processing of
linguistic information;
[(2) enabling students who are deaf or hard of hearing
to reside with their parents or guardians and be provided an
appropriate education in their home school districts or in regional
day school programs for the deaf;
[(3) enabling students who are deaf or hard of hearing
who are unable to attend schools at their place of residence and
whose parents or guardians live too far from facilities of regional
day school programs for the deaf for daily commuting to be
accommodated in foster homes or other residential school facilities
provided for by the agency so that those children may attend a
regional day school program for the deaf;
[(4) enrolling in the Texas School for the Deaf those
students who are deaf or hard of hearing whose needs can best be met
in that school and designating the Texas School for the Deaf as the
statewide educational resource for students who are deaf or hard of
hearing;
[(5) encouraging students in regional day school
programs for the deaf to attend general education classes on a
part-time, full-time, or trial basis; and
[(6) recognizing the need for development of language
and communications abilities in students who are deaf or hard of
hearing, but also calling for the use of methods of communication
that will meet the needs of each individual student, with each
student assessed thoroughly so as to ascertain the student's
potential for communications through a variety of means, including
through oral or aural means, fingerspelling, or sign language].
[(b) The director of services may establish separate
programs to accommodate diverse communication methodologies.]
SECTION 50. Section 30.021(e), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(e) The school shall cooperate with public and private
agencies and organizations serving students and other persons with
visual impairments in the planning, development, and
implementation of effective educational and rehabilitative service
delivery systems associated with educating students with visual
impairments. To maximize and make efficient use of state
facilities, funding, and resources, the services provided in this
area may include conducting a cooperative program with other
agencies to serve students who have graduated from high school by
completing all academic requirements applicable to students in
general [regular] education, excluding satisfactory performance
under Section 39.025, who are younger than 22 years of age on
September 1 of the school year and who have identified needs related
to vocational training, independent living skills, orientation and
mobility, social and leisure skills, compensatory skills, or
remedial academic skills.
SECTION 51. Section 37.146(a), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) A complaint alleging the commission of a school offense
must, in addition to the requirements imposed by Article 45A.101,
Code of Criminal Procedure:
(1) be sworn to by a person who has personal knowledge
of the underlying facts giving rise to probable cause to believe
that an offense has been committed; and
(2) be accompanied by a statement from a school
employee stating:
(A) whether the child is eligible for or receives
special education services under Subchapter A, Chapter 29; and
(B) the graduated sanctions, if required under
Section 37.144, that were imposed on the child before the complaint
was filed.
SECTION 52. Section 38.003(c-1), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(c-1) The agency by rule shall develop procedures designed
to allow the agency to:
(1) effectively audit and monitor and periodically
conduct site visits of all school districts to ensure that
districts are complying with this section, including the program
approved by the State Board of Education under this section;
(2) identify any problems school districts experience
in complying with this section, including the program approved by
the State Board of Education under this section;
(3) develop reasonable and appropriate remedial
strategies to address school district noncompliance and ensure the
purposes of this section are accomplished, which may include the
publication of a recommended evidence-based dyslexia program list;
[and]
(4) solicit input from parents of students enrolled in
a school district during the auditing and monitoring of the
district under Subdivision (1) regarding the district's
implementation of the program approved by the State Board of
Education under this section; and
(5) engage in general supervision activities,
including activities under the comprehensive system for monitoring
described by Section 29.010, to ensure school district compliance
with the program approved by the State Board of Education under this
section and Part B, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20
U.S.C. Section 1411 et seq.).
SECTION 53. Section 48.009(b), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) The commissioner by rule shall require each school
district and open-enrollment charter school to report through the
Public Education Information Management System information
regarding:
(1) the number of students enrolled in the district or
school who are identified as having dyslexia;
(2) the availability of school counselors, including
the number of full-time equivalent school counselors, at each
campus;
(3) the availability of expanded learning
opportunities as described by Section 33.252 at each campus;
(4) the total number of students, other than students
described by Subdivision (5), enrolled in the district or school
with whom the district or school, as applicable, used intervention
strategies, as that term is defined by Section 26.004, at any time
during the year for which the report is made;
(5) the total number of students enrolled in the
district or school to whom the district or school provided aids,
accommodations, or services under Section 504, Rehabilitation Act
of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794), at any time during the year for
which the report is made;
(6) disaggregated by campus and grade, the number of:
(A) children who are required to attend school
under Section 25.085, are not exempted under Section 25.086, and
fail to attend school without excuse for 10 or more days or parts of
days within a six-month period in the same school year;
(B) students for whom the district initiates a
truancy prevention measure under Section 25.0915(a-4); and
(C) parents of students against whom an
attendance officer or other appropriate school official has filed a
complaint under Section 25.093; [and]
(7) the number of students who are enrolled in a high
school equivalency program, a dropout recovery school, or an adult
education program provided under a high school diploma and industry
certification charter school program provided by the district or
school and who:
(A) are at least 18 years of age and under 26
years of age;
(B) have not previously been reported to the
agency as dropouts; and
(C) enroll in the program at the district or
school after not attending school for a period of at least nine
months; and
(8) students enrolled in a special education program
under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, as necessary for the agency to
adequately perform general supervision activities and determine
funding under Sections 48.102 and 48.1021.
SECTION 54. Subchapter A, Chapter 48, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 48.011 to read as follows:
Sec. 48.011. COMMISSIONER AUTHORITY TO RESOLVE UNINTENDED
CONSEQUENCES. (a) Subject to Subsection (b), the commissioner
may, as necessary to implement changes made by the legislature to
public school finance and school district maintenance and
operations tax rates during the preceding four state fiscal years:
(1) adjust a school district's entitlement under this
chapter if the funding formulas used to determine the district's
entitlement result in an unanticipated loss, gain, or other result
for a school district; and
(2) modify dates relating to the adoption of a school
district's maintenance and operations tax rate and, if applicable,
an election required for the district to adopt that tax rate.
(b) Before making an adjustment under Subsection (a), the
commissioner shall notify and must receive approval from the
Legislative Budget Board and the office of the governor.
(c) If the commissioner makes an adjustment under
Subsection (a), the commissioner must provide to the legislature an
explanation regarding the changes necessary to resolve the
unintended consequences.
SECTION 55. Section 48.051(a), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) For each student in average daily attendance, not
including the time students spend each day in career and technology
education programs or in special education programs in a setting
[an instructional arrangement] other than a general education
setting [mainstream or career and technology education programs],
for which an additional allotment is made under Subchapter C, a
school district is entitled to an allotment equal to the lesser of
$6,160 or the amount that results from the following formula:
A = $6,160 X TR/MCR
where:
"A" is the allotment to which a district is entitled;
"TR" is the district's tier one maintenance and operations
tax rate, as provided by Section 45.0032; and
"MCR" is the district's maximum compressed tax rate, as
determined under Section 48.2551.
SECTION 56. Section 48.102, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 48.102. SPECIAL EDUCATION. (a) For each student in
average daily attendance in a special education program under
Subchapter A, Chapter 29, [in a mainstream instructional
arrangement,] a school district is entitled to an annual allotment
equal to the basic allotment, or, if applicable, the sum of the
basic allotment and the allotment under Section 48.101 to which the
district is entitled, multiplied by a weight in an amount set by the
legislature in the General Appropriations Act for the highest tier
of intensity of service for which the student qualifies [1.15].
(a-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), for the 2026-2027
school year, the amount of an allotment under this section shall be
determined in accordance with Section 48.1022. This subsection
expires September 1, 2027. [For each full-time equivalent student
in average daily attendance in a special education program under
Subchapter A, Chapter 29, in an instructional arrangement other
than a mainstream instructional arrangement, a district is entitled
to an annual allotment equal to the basic allotment, or, if
applicable, the sum of the basic allotment and the allotment under
Section 48.101 to which the district is entitled, multiplied by a
weight determined according to instructional arrangement as
follows:
[Homebound 5.0
[Hospital class 3.0
[Speech therapy 5.0
[Resource room 3.0
[Self-contained, mild and moderate, regular campus 3.0
[Self-contained, severe, regular campus 3.0
[Off home campus 2.7
[Nonpublic day school 1.7
[Vocational adjustment class 2.3]
(b) The commissioner by rule shall define eight tiers of
intensity of service for use in determining funding under this
section. The commissioner must include one tier specifically
addressing students receiving special education services in
residential placement and one tier for students receiving only
speech therapy [A special instructional arrangement for students
with disabilities residing in care and treatment facilities, other
than state schools, whose parents or guardians do not reside in the
district providing education services shall be established by
commissioner rule. The funding weight for this arrangement shall
be 4.0 for those students who receive their education service on a
local school district campus. A special instructional arrangement
for students with disabilities residing in state schools shall be
established by commissioner rule with a funding weight of 2.8].
(c) In defining the tiers of intensity of service under
Subsection (b), the commissioner shall consider:
(1) the type, frequency, and nature of services
provided to a student;
(2) the required certifications, licensures, or other
qualifications for personnel serving the student;
(3) any identified or curriculum-required
provider-to-student ratios for the student to receive the
appropriate services; and
(4) any equipment or technology required for the
services [For funding purposes, the number of contact hours
credited per day for each student in the off home campus
instructional arrangement may not exceed the contact hours credited
per day for the multidistrict class instructional arrangement in
the 1992-1993 school year].
(d) [For funding purposes the contact hours credited per day
for each student in the resource room; self-contained, mild and
moderate; and self-contained, severe, instructional arrangements
may not exceed the average of the statewide total contact hours
credited per day for those three instructional arrangements in the
1992-1993 school year.
[(e) The commissioner by rule shall prescribe the
qualifications an instructional arrangement must meet in order to
be funded as a particular instructional arrangement under this
section. In prescribing the qualifications that a mainstream
instructional arrangement must meet, the commissioner shall
establish requirements that students with disabilities and their
teachers receive the direct, indirect, and support services that
are necessary to enrich the regular classroom and enable student
success.
[(f) In this section, "full-time equivalent student" means
30 hours of contact a week between a special education student and
special education program personnel.
[(g) The commissioner shall adopt rules and procedures
governing contracts for residential placement of special education
students. The legislature shall provide by appropriation for the
state's share of the costs of those placements.
[(h)] At least 55 percent of the funds allocated under this
section must be used in the special education program under
Subchapter A, Chapter 29.
(e) [(i)] The agency shall ensure [encourage] the placement
of students in special education programs, including students in
residential placement [instructional arrangements], in the least
restrictive environment appropriate for their educational needs.
(f) [(j)] A school district that provides an extended year
program required by federal law for special education students who
may regress is entitled to receive funds in an amount equal to [75
percent, or a lesser percentage determined by the commissioner, of]
the basic allotment, or, if applicable, the sum of the basic
allotment and the allotment under Section 48.101 to which the
district is entitled for each [full-time equivalent] student in
average daily attendance, multiplied by the amount designated for
the highest tier of intensity of service for which the student
qualifies [student's instructional arrangement] under this
section, for each day the program is provided divided by the number
of days in the minimum school year. [The total amount of state
funding for extended year services under this section may not
exceed $10 million per year.] A school district may use funds
received under this section only in providing an extended year
program.
(g) [(k)] From the total amount of funds appropriated for
special education under this section, the commissioner shall
withhold an amount specified in the General Appropriations Act, and
distribute that amount to school districts for programs under
Section 29.014. The program established under that section is
required only in school districts in which the program is financed
by funds distributed under this subsection and any other funds
available for the program. After deducting the amount withheld
under this subsection from the total amount appropriated for
special education, the commissioner shall reduce each district's
allotment proportionately and shall allocate funds to each district
accordingly.
(h) Not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year,
the commissioner shall submit to the Legislative Budget Board, for
purposes of the allotment under this section, proposed weights for
the tiers of intensity of service for the next state fiscal
biennium.
SECTION 57. Subchapter C, Chapter 48, Education Code, is
amended by adding Sections 48.1021 and 48.1022 to read as follows:
Sec. 48.1021. SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICE GROUP ALLOTMENT.
(a) For each student in a special education program under
Subchapter A, Chapter 29, a school district is entitled to an
allotment in an amount set by the legislature in the General
Appropriations Act for the service group for which the student
receives services.
(a-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), for the 2026-2027
school year, the amount of an allotment under this section shall be
determined in accordance with Section 48.1022. This subsection
expires September 1, 2027.
(b) The commissioner by rule shall establish at least four
service groups for use in determining funding under this section.
In establishing the groups, the commissioner must consider:
(1) the type, frequency, and nature of services
provided to a student;
(2) the required certifications, licensures, or other
qualifications for personnel serving the student;
(3) any identified or curriculum-required
provider-to-student ratios for the student to receive the
appropriate services; and
(4) any equipment or technology required for the
services.
(c) At least 55 percent of the funds allocated under this
section must be used for a special education program under
Subchapter A, Chapter 29.
(d) Not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year,
the commissioner shall submit to the Legislative Budget Board, for
purposes of the allotment under this section, proposed amounts of
funding for the service groups for the next state fiscal biennium.
Sec. 48.1022. SPECIAL EDUCATION TRANSITION FUNDING.
(a) For the 2026-2027 school year, the commissioner may adjust
weights or amounts provided under Section 48.102 or 48.1021 as
necessary to ensure compliance with requirements regarding
maintenance of state financial support under 20 U.S.C. Section
1412(a)(18) and maintenance of local financial support under
applicable federal law.
(b) For the 2026-2027 school year, the commissioner shall
determine the formulas through which school districts receive
funding under Sections 48.102 and 48.1021. In determining the
formulas, the commissioner shall ensure the estimated statewide
increase from the amount that would have been provided under the
allotment under Section 48.102, as that section existed on
September 1, 2025, for the 2026-2027 school year to the amount
provided by the sum of the allotments under Sections 48.102 and
48.1021 for that school year is approximately $200 million.
(c) Each school district and open-enrollment charter school
shall report to the agency information necessary to implement this
section.
(d) The agency shall provide technical assistance to school
districts and open-enrollment charter schools to ensure a
successful transition in funding formulas for special education.
(e) This section expires September 1, 2028.
SECTION 58. Sections 48.103(b), (c), and (d), Education
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) A school district is entitled to an allotment under
Subsection (a) only for a student who:
(1) is receiving:
(A) instruction, services, or accommodations for
dyslexia or a related disorder in accordance with[:
[(A)] an individualized education program
developed for the student under Section 29.005; or
(B) accommodations for dyslexia or a related
disorder in accordance with a plan developed for the student under
Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794); or
(2) [is receiving instruction that:
[(A) meets applicable dyslexia program criteria
established by the State Board of Education; and
[(B) is provided by a person with specific
training in providing that instruction; or
[(3)] is permitted, on the basis of having dyslexia or
a related disorder, to use modifications in the classroom or
accommodations in the administration of assessment instruments
under Section 39.023 without a program or plan described by
Subdivision (1).
(c) A school district may receive funding for a student
under each provision of this section, [and] Section 48.102, and
Section 48.1021 for which [if] the student qualifies [satisfies the
requirements of both sections].
(d) A school district may use [an amount not to exceed 20
percent of] the allotment provided for a qualifying student under
this section to contract with a private provider to provide
supplemental academic services to the student that are recommended
under the student's program or plan described by Subsection (b). A
student may not be excused from school to receive supplemental
academic services provided under this subsection.
SECTION 59. Section 48.110(d), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(d) For each annual graduate in a cohort described by
Subsection (b) who demonstrates college, career, or military
readiness as described by Subsection (f) in excess of the minimum
number of students determined for the applicable district cohort
under Subsection (c), a school district is entitled to an annual
outcomes bonus of:
(1) if the annual graduate is educationally
disadvantaged, $5,000;
(2) if the annual graduate is not educationally
disadvantaged, $3,000; and
(3) if the annual graduate is enrolled in a special
education program under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, $4,000 [$2,000],
regardless of whether the annual graduate is educationally
disadvantaged.
SECTION 60. Section 48.151(g), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(g) A school district or county that provides special
transportation services for eligible special education students is
entitled to a state allocation at a [paid on a previous year's
cost-per-mile basis. The] rate per mile equal to the sum of the
rate per mile set under Subsection (c) and $0.13, or a greater
amount provided [allowable shall be set] by appropriation [based on
data gathered from the first year of each preceding biennium].
Districts may use a portion of their support allocation to pay
transportation costs, if necessary. The commissioner may grant an
amount set by appropriation for private transportation to reimburse
parents or their agents for transporting eligible special education
students. The mileage allowed shall be computed along the shortest
public road from the student's home to school and back, morning and
afternoon. The need for this type of transportation shall be
determined on an individual basis and shall be approved only in
extreme hardship cases.
SECTION 61. Subchapter D, Chapter 48, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 48.158 to read as follows:
Sec. 48.158. SPECIAL EDUCATION FULL INDIVIDUAL AND INITIAL
EVALUATION. For each child for whom a school district conducts a
full individual and initial evaluation under Section 29.004 or 20
U.S.C. Section 1414(a)(1), the district is entitled to an allotment
of $250 or a greater amount provided by appropriation.
SECTION 62. Section 48.265(a), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) If [Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if] the
commissioner determines that the amount appropriated for the
purposes of the Foundation School Program exceeds the amount to
which school districts are entitled under this chapter, the
commissioner may provide [by rule shall establish a grant program
through which excess funds are awarded as] grants using the excess
money for the purchase of video equipment, or for the reimbursement
of costs for previously purchased video equipment, used for
monitoring special education classrooms or other special education
settings required under Section 29.022.
SECTION 63. Section 48.279(e), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(e) After the commissioner has replaced any withheld
federal funds as provided by Subsection (d), the commissioner shall
distribute the remaining amount, if any, of funds described by
Subsection (a) to proportionately increase funding for the special
education allotment under Section 48.102 and the special education
service group allotment under Section 48.1021.
SECTION 64. Subchapter G, Chapter 48, Education Code, is
amended by adding Sections 48.304, 48.306, and 48.315 to read as
follows:
Sec. 48.304. DAY PLACEMENT PROGRAM OR COOPERATIVE FUNDING.
(a) For each qualifying day placement program or cooperative that a
regional education service center, school district, or
open-enrollment charter school establishes, the program or
cooperative is entitled to an allotment of:
(1) $250,000 for the first year of the program's or
cooperative's operation; and
(2) the sum of:
(A) $100,000 for each year of the program's or
cooperative's operation after the first year; and
(B) $150,000 if at least three students are
enrolled in the program or cooperative for a year described by
Paragraph (A).
(b) A day placement program or cooperative qualifies for
purposes of Subsection (a) if:
(1) the program or cooperative complies with
commissioner rules adopted for purposes of this section under
Section 48.004;
(2) the program or cooperative offers services to
students who are enrolled at any school district or open-enrollment
charter school in the county in which the program or cooperative is
offered, unless the commissioner by rule waives or modifies the
requirement under this subdivision for the program or cooperative
to serve all students in a county; and
(3) the agency has designated the program or
cooperative for service in the county in which the program or
cooperative is offered and determined that, at the time of
designation, the program or cooperative increases the availability
of day placement services in the county.
(c) The agency may not designate more than one day placement
program or cooperative for service per county each year.
(d) The agency may designate a regional education service
center to implement and administer this section.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section,
the agency may not provide an allotment under this section to more
than 20 day placement programs or cooperatives for a year.
Sec. 48.306. PARENT-DIRECTED SERVICES FOR STUDENTS
RECEIVING SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES GRANT. (a) A student to whom
the agency awards a grant under Subchapter A-1, Chapter 29, is
entitled to receive an amount of $1,500 or a greater amount provided
by appropriation.
(b) The legislature shall include in the appropriations for
the Foundation School Program state aid sufficient for the agency
to award grants under Subchapter A-1, Chapter 29, in the amount
provided by this section.
(c) A student may receive one grant under Subchapter A-1,
Chapter 29, unless the legislature appropriates money for an
additional grant in the General Appropriations Act.
(d) A regional education service center designated to
administer the program under Subchapter A-1, Chapter 29, for a
school year is entitled to an amount equal to four percent of each
grant awarded under that subchapter for that school year.
(e) Notwithstanding Section 7.057, a determination of the
commissioner under this section is final and may not be appealed.
Sec. 48.315. FUNDING FOR REGIONAL DAY SCHOOL PROGRAMS FOR
THE DEAF. (a) The program administrator or fiscal agent of a
regional day school program for the deaf is entitled to receive for
each school year an allotment of $6,925, or a greater amount
provided by appropriation, for each student receiving services from
the program.
(b) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the agency shall adjust
the amount of an allotment under that subsection for a school year
to ensure the total amount of allotments provided under that
subsection is at least $35 million for that school year.
SECTION 65. The following provisions of the Education Code
are repealed:
(1) Section 7.055(b)(24);
(2) Sections 7.102(c)(18), (19), (20), (21), and (22);
(3) Section 29.002;
(4) Section 29.0041(c);
(5) Section 29.005(f);
(6) Section 29.0161;
(7) Sections 29.308, 29.309, 29.311, 30.001, and
30.0015;
(8) Sections 30.002(c-1), (c-2), (f), (f-1), and (g);
(9) Section 30.084;
(10) Section 30.087(b); and
(11) Section 38.003(d).
SECTION 66. The commissioner of education shall award a
grant under Subchapter A-1, Chapter 29, Education Code, as amended
by this Act, for the 2025-2026 school year to each eligible
applicant who applied but was not accepted for the 2024-2025 school
year.
SECTION 67. Sections 8.051(d), 29.008, 29.014(c) and (d),
and 29.018(b), Education Code, as amended by this Act, apply
beginning with the 2026-2027 school year.
SECTION 68. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) or (c)
of this section, this Act takes effect immediately if this Act
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.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c) of this section,
the amendments made by this Act to Chapter 48, Education Code, take
effect September 1, 2025.
(c) Sections 48.009(b), 48.051(a), 48.102, 48.103(b), (c),
and (d), and 48.279(e), Education Code, as amended by this Act, and
Sections 48.1021 and 48.1022, Education Code, as added by this Act,
take effect September 1, 2026.