| |
| |
| |
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to the education of public school students with dyslexia, |
|
|
the education and training of educators who teach students with |
|
|
dyslexia, and the assessment of students with dyslexia attending an |
|
|
institution of higher education. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Section 21.044, Education Code, is amended to |
|
|
read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 21.044. EDUCATOR PREPARATION. (a) The board shall |
|
|
propose rules establishing the training requirements a person must |
|
|
accomplish to obtain a certificate, enter an internship, or enter |
|
|
an induction-year program. The board shall specify the minimum |
|
|
academic qualifications required for a certificate. |
|
|
(b) Any minimum academic qualifications for a certificate |
|
|
specified under Subsection (a) that require a person to possess a |
|
|
bachelor's degree must also require that the person receive, as |
|
|
part of the curriculum for that degree, instruction in detection |
|
|
and education of students with dyslexia. This subsection does not |
|
|
apply to a person who obtains a certificate through an alternative |
|
|
certification program adopted under Section 21.049. |
|
|
(c) The instruction under Subsection (b) must: |
|
|
(1) be developed by a panel of experts in the diagnosis |
|
|
and treatment of dyslexia who are: |
|
|
(A) employed by institutions of higher |
|
|
education; and |
|
|
(B) approved by the board; and |
|
|
(2) include information on: |
|
|
(A) characteristics of dyslexia; |
|
|
(B) identification of dyslexia; and |
|
|
(C) effective, multisensory strategies for |
|
|
teaching students with dyslexia. |
|
|
SECTION 2. Section 21.054, Education Code, is amended by |
|
|
adding Subsections (b) and (c) to read as follows: |
|
|
(b) Continuing education requirements for an educator who |
|
|
teaches students with dyslexia must include training regarding new |
|
|
research and practices in educating students with dyslexia. |
|
|
(c) The training required under Subsection (b) may be |
|
|
offered in an online course. |
|
|
SECTION 3. Section 38.003, Education Code, is amended by |
|
|
adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows: |
|
|
(b-1) Unless otherwise provided by law, a student |
|
|
determined to have dyslexia during testing under Subsection (a) or |
|
|
accommodated because of dyslexia may not be retested for dyslexia |
|
|
for the purpose of reassessing the student's need for |
|
|
accommodations until the district reevaluates the information |
|
|
obtained from previous testing of the student. |
|
|
SECTION 4. Subchapter A, Chapter 38, Education Code, is |
|
|
amended by adding Section 38.0031 to read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 38.0031. CLASSROOM TECHNOLOGY PLAN FOR STUDENTS WITH |
|
|
DYSLEXIA. (a) The agency shall establish a committee to develop a |
|
|
plan for integrating technology into the classroom to help |
|
|
accommodate students with dyslexia. The plan must: |
|
|
(1) determine the classroom technologies that are |
|
|
useful and practical in assisting public schools in accommodating |
|
|
students with dyslexia, considering budget constraints of school |
|
|
districts; and |
|
|
(2) develop a strategy for providing those effective |
|
|
technologies to students. |
|
|
(b) The agency shall provide the plan and information about |
|
|
the availability and benefits of the technologies identified under |
|
|
Subsection (a)(1) to school districts. |
|
|
(c) A member of the committee established under Subsection |
|
|
(a) is not entitled to reimbursement for travel expenses incurred |
|
|
by the member under this section unless agency funds are available |
|
|
for that purpose. |
|
|
SECTION 5. Subchapter Z, Chapter 51, Education Code, is |
|
|
amended by adding Section 51.9701 to read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 51.9701. ASSESSMENT FOR DYSLEXIA. Unless otherwise |
|
|
provided by law, an institution of higher education, as defined by |
|
|
Section 61.003, may not reassess a student determined to have |
|
|
dyslexia for the purpose of assessing the student's need for |
|
|
accommodations until the institution of higher education |
|
|
reevaluates the information obtained from previous assessments of |
|
|
the student. |
|
|
SECTION 6. (a) Except as provided by Subsections (b) and |
|
|
(c) of this section, this Act applies beginning with the 2011-2012 |
|
|
school year. |
|
|
(b) Subsection (b), Section 21.044, Education Code, as |
|
|
added by this Act, applies beginning with persons who commence |
|
|
enrollment in an institution of higher education during the |
|
|
2011-2012 academic year. |
|
|
(c) Section 51.9701, Education Code, as added by this Act, |
|
|
applies beginning with the 2011-2012 academic year. |
|
|
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
|
|
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
|
|
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
|
|
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
|
|
Act takes effect September 1, 2011. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
______________________________ |
______________________________ |
| |
President of the Senate |
Speaker of the House |
| |
|
|
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 866 passed the Senate on |
|
|
April 19, 2011, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0. |
|
|
|
| |
| |
______________________________ |
| |
Secretary of the Senate |
| |
|
|
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 866 passed the House on |
|
|
May 19, 2011, by the following vote: Yeas 148, Nays 0, one |
|
|
present not voting. |
|
|
|
| |
| |
______________________________ |
| |
Chief Clerk of the House |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
Approved: |
|
|
|
|
|
______________________________ |
|
|
Date |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
______________________________ |
|
|
Governor |