By Maxey H.B. No. 583
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to public education, including the parental involvement
1-3 division of the Texas Education Agency, waivers by school campuses
1-4 and districts, public school campus report cards, liability of
1-5 school districts, and the use of certain public school funds.
1-6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-7 SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 7, Education Code, is
1-8 amended by adding Section 7.025 to read as follows:
1-9 Sec. 7.025. PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT DIVISION. (a) The agency
1-10 shall establish a parental involvement division.
1-11 (b) The division shall develop, implement, and administer
1-12 programs and activities to encourage and maintain parental
1-13 involvement in public schools.
1-14 SECTION 2. Section 7.056(b), Education Code, is amended to
1-15 read as follows:
1-16 (b) A school campus or district seeking a waiver must submit
1-17 a written application to the commissioner not later than the 31st
1-18 day before the campus or district intends to take action requiring
1-19 a waiver. The application must include:
1-20 (1) a written plan approved by the board of trustees
1-21 of the district that states the achievement objectives of the
1-22 campus or district and the inhibition imposed on those objectives
1-23 by the requirement, restriction, or prohibition; and
1-24 (2) written comments and the signature of the
2-1 chairperson of [from] the appropriate campus- or district-level
2-2 committee established under Section 11.251 evidencing review of the
2-3 application by a majority of the members of the committee as
2-4 follows:
2-5 (A) in the case of an application by a district,
2-6 the chairperson of the district-level committee and of each
2-7 campus-level committee whose campus is affected by the waiver must
2-8 comment on and sign the application; and
2-9 (B) in the case of an application by a campus,
2-10 the chairperson of the campus-level committee for that campus must
2-11 comment on and sign the application.
2-12 SECTION 3. Section 39.052, Education Code, is amended by
2-13 amending Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsection (d) to read
2-14 as follows:
2-15 (b) The report card shall include the following information
2-16 where applicable:
2-17 (1) the academic excellence indicators adopted under
2-18 Sections 39.051(b)(1) through (8);
2-19 (2) student/teacher ratios; [and]
2-20 (3) administrative and instructional costs per
2-21 student;
2-22 (4) the phone number of the agency's parental
2-23 involvement division; and
2-24 (5) the phone number at the agency to call for
2-25 information concerning assessment instruments under Section 39.023.
2-26 (c) Phone numbers required under Subsections (b)(4) and (5)
2-27 must be toll free to further encourage parental involvement.
3-1 (d) The commissioner shall adopt rules for requiring
3-2 dissemination of appropriate student performance portions of campus
3-3 report cards and the information required under Subsections (b)(4)
3-4 and (5) annually to the parent, guardian, conservator, or other
3-5 person having lawful control of each student at the campus. On
3-6 written request, the school district shall provide a copy of a
3-7 campus report card to any other party.
3-8 SECTION 4. Section 45.105(c), Education Code, is amended to
3-9 read as follows:
3-10 (c) Local school funds from district taxes, tuition fees of
3-11 students not entitled to a free education, [and] other local
3-12 sources, and state funds not designated for a specific purpose may
3-13 be used for the purposes listed for state and county funds and for
3-14 purchasing appliances and supplies, paying insurance premiums,
3-15 paying janitors and other employees, buying school sites, and
3-16 buying, building, repairing, and renting school buildings,
3-17 including acquiring school buildings and sites by leasing through
3-18 annual payments with an ultimate option to purchase, and [paying]
3-19 for other purposes [goods and services] necessary in the conduct of
3-20 the public schools determined by the board of trustees. The
3-21 accounts and vouchers for county districts must be approved by the
3-22 county superintendent. If the state available school fund in any
3-23 municipality or district is sufficient to maintain the schools in
3-24 any year for at least eight months and leave a surplus, the surplus
3-25 may be spent for the purposes listed in this subsection.
3-26 SECTION 5. Subchapter B, Chapter 101, Civil Practice and
3-27 Remedies Code, is amended by adding Section 101.0216 to read as
4-1 follows:
4-2 Sec. 101.0216. LIABILITY OF SCHOOL DISTRICT. (a) A school
4-3 district is liable for damages for personal injury or death if:
4-4 (1) the personal injury or death is proximately caused
4-5 by the sexual misconduct of an employee with respect to a student
4-6 of the school district;
4-7 (2) the employee comes into contact with students of
4-8 the school district in the scope of the employee's employment; and
4-9 (3) because of specific facts known to the school
4-10 district, the school district knew or should have known that the
4-11 employee posed a risk to students.
4-12 (b) Sections 101.023, 101.024, and 101.106 do not apply to
4-13 the liability of a school district under this section.
4-14 (c) In this section, "sexual misconduct" includes any
4-15 conduct that would be a violation of Chapter 21, Penal Code, and
4-16 the victim of which is a child younger than 18 years of age,
4-17 without regard to whether the person is convicted of an offense
4-18 with respect to the conduct.
4-19 SECTION 6. Section 101.051, Civil Practice and Remedies
4-20 Code, is amended to read as follows:
4-21 Sec. 101.051. SCHOOL AND JUNIOR COLLEGE DISTRICTS PARTIALLY
4-22 EXCLUDED. (a) Except as to motor vehicles, this chapter does not
4-23 apply [to a school district or] to a junior college district.
4-24 (b) Except as to motor vehicles and as provided by Section
4-25 101.0216, this chapter does not apply to a school district.
4-26 SECTION 7. Section 22.051(b), Education Code, is amended to
4-27 read as follows:
5-1 (b) This section does not apply to the operation, use, or
5-2 maintenance of any motor vehicle or to any act for which a school
5-3 district may be liable under Section 101.0216, Civil Practice and
5-4 Remedies Code.
5-5 SECTION 8. The provisions of this Act relating to school
5-6 liability apply only to a cause of action that accrues on or after
5-7 the effective date of this Act. A cause of action that accrues
5-8 before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law as it
5-9 existed immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that
5-10 law is continued in effect for that purpose.
5-11 SECTION 9. (a) On January 1, 1998, the commissioner of
5-12 education shall consolidate all Texas Education Agency programs and
5-13 activities relating to parental involvement in the parental
5-14 involvement division of the agency established as required by
5-15 Section 7.025, Education Code, as added by this Act.
5-16 (b) All money, records, property, and equipment in the
5-17 custody of the Texas Education Agency on December 31, 1997, for
5-18 parental involvement program or activity purposes shall be
5-19 transferred to the custody of the parental involvement division of
5-20 the agency on January 1, 1998. A person employed by the Texas
5-21 Education Agency in a program or activity related to parental
5-22 involvement becomes an employee of the parental involvement
5-23 division of the agency on January 1, 1998.
5-24 SECTION 10. The amendment to Sections 39.052(b) and (d),
5-25 Education Code, by this Act, applies to campus report cards for the
5-26 1997-1998 school year and each school year thereafter.
5-27 SECTION 11. This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.
6-1 SECTION 12. The importance of this legislation and the
6-2 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
6-3 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
6-4 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
6-5 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.