By Wilson H.B. No. 656
75R4093 ESH-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to child-centered scholarships for public school students.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Chapter 29, Education Code, is amended by adding
1-5 Subchapter J to read as follows:
1-6 SUBCHAPTER J. CHILD-CENTERED SCHOLARSHIPS FOR PUBLIC OR PRIVATE
1-7 SCHOOL
1-8 Sec. 29.351. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
1-9 (1) "Parent" includes a guardian or custodian.
1-10 (2) "Private school" means a nongovernmental
1-11 educational establishment that exists for the general education of
1-12 elementary or secondary students.
1-13 (3) "Public school" means a school that is
1-14 administered and staffed by governmental employees.
1-15 Sec. 29.352. PARENTAL CHOICE. (a) Each school district in
1-16 this state shall participate in the child-centered scholarship
1-17 program.
1-18 (b) Each child eligible to attend school under Section
1-19 25.001 is eligible to attend either a public school in the school
1-20 district in which the child resides, a public school in another
1-21 school district, or a private school chosen for the child by the
1-22 child's parent as provided by this subchapter.
1-23 (c) A school district shall give priority to children who
1-24 reside in the district and may refuse to admit a child who resides
2-1 in another district.
2-2 (d) A child who wishes to use a child-centered scholarship
2-3 to attend a private school or a public school in a school district
2-4 other than the district in which the child resides shall register
2-5 the child's choice with the district in which the child resides. A
2-6 child who attends private school but does not receive a
2-7 child-centered scholarship is not required to register the child's
2-8 choice with the school district.
2-9 (e) A private school is not required to accept children
2-10 using child-centered scholarships.
2-11 Sec. 29.353. DETERMINATION OF AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE;
2-12 STATE FUNDING. (a) A child who uses a child-centered scholarship
2-13 to attend a private school or a school in a school district other
2-14 than the district in which the child resides is considered in
2-15 determining the average daily attendance under Section 42.005 of
2-16 the school district in which the child resides. The district in
2-17 which a child resides shall adopt a procedure that a private school
2-18 or a school in another school district shall use to report, on a
2-19 monthly basis, the attendance of any child attending the school
2-20 with a child-centered scholarship.
2-21 (b) A school district's state funding under Chapter 42 and
2-22 other law is based on the district's average daily attendance as
2-23 determined under this section and Section 42.005.
2-24 Sec. 29.354. AMOUNT OF CHILD-CENTERED SCHOLARSHIP. (a) The
2-25 child-centered scholarship of a child other than a child
2-26 identified as eligible for special education services under
2-27 Subchapter A is the statewide average of the amount of state and
3-1 local funding per student for the preceding school year. The
3-2 amount of state and local funding per student includes funding for
3-3 programs under this chapter other than special education programs
3-4 under Subchapter A. The amount of state and local funding per
3-5 student does not include:
3-6 (1) amounts spent for debt service;
3-7 (2) amounts distributed from the available school
3-8 fund; or
3-9 (3) amounts received from the federal government.
3-10 (b) The child-centered scholarship of a child identified as
3-11 eligible for special education services under Subchapter A is the
3-12 statewide average of the amount of state and local funding per
3-13 student for the preceding school year, as determined under
3-14 Subsection (a), plus the average amount spent per student for
3-15 special education programs under Subchapter A by the district in
3-16 which the child resides.
3-17 (c) Each school district shall distribute to the parent of
3-18 each child registering the child's school choice with the district
3-19 a certificate stating the amount of the child's child-centered
3-20 scholarship. The parent shall present the certificate to the
3-21 school the child chooses to attend.
3-22 (d) A child's child-centered scholarship is the entitlement
3-23 of the child, under the supervision of the child's parent, is not
3-24 an entitlement of any school of any kind, and is paid to the school
3-25 solely as a means of administrative convenience.
3-26 Sec. 29.355. PAYMENT OF CHILD-CENTERED SCHOLARSHIP. (a)
3-27 The school district in which a child resides shall:
4-1 (1) retain 100 percent of the child-centered
4-2 scholarship of a child who attends a district school;
4-3 (2) pay to the school district in which the child
4-4 attends school an amount equal to 100 percent of the child-centered
4-5 scholarship of a child who attends school in a district other than
4-6 the district in which the child resides; or
4-7 (3) pay to the private school the child attends an
4-8 amount equal to 90 percent of the child's child-centered
4-9 scholarship and retain the remainder of the child's child-centered
4-10 scholarship funds.
4-11 (b) A private school may not share with or refund or rebate
4-12 to the parent or child in any manner the child's child-centered
4-13 scholarship.
4-14 (c) To receive payment of a child-centered scholarship, a
4-15 private school or a school district must present the certificate
4-16 issued under Section 29.354(c) to the school district in which the
4-17 child resides. The school district shall make payment on a monthly
4-18 basis after educational services have been provided.
4-19 Sec. 29.356. CONDITIONS FOR RECEIPT OF FUNDS BY PRIVATE
4-20 SCHOOLS. To receive a child's child-centered scholarship funds,
4-21 the private school selected for or by the child must certify to the
4-22 school district in which the child resides that the school has
4-23 complied with the conditions imposed by Sections 29.357-29.360.
4-24 Sec. 29.357. ADMISSIONS. (a) A private school may not
4-25 refuse to enroll a child using a child-centered scholarship on the
4-26 basis of the child's residence, race, national origin, or ethnic
4-27 background.
5-1 (b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), a private school
5-2 that has more child-centered scholarship applicants than available
5-3 positions must fill the available positions by a reasonable random
5-4 selection process.
5-5 (c) A private school may give preference to enrolled
5-6 students to achieve continuity in education and may give preference
5-7 to other children residing in the same household as enrolled
5-8 students for the convenience of parents of those children.
5-9 Sec. 29.358. TUITION; ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE. (a) A private
5-10 school may not charge a child attending the school under this
5-11 subchapter tuition in addition to the child's child-centered
5-12 scholarship unless the school offers the child tuition assistance
5-13 in an amount equal to the difference between the amount of the
5-14 tuition and the amount of the child-centered scholarship.
5-15 (b) A private school may pay for uniforms, extracurricular
5-16 fees, transportation, meals, or any other expense reasonably
5-17 related to education.
5-18 Sec. 29.359. ACCOUNTABILITY. (a) Each public school or
5-19 private school shall administer to children attending the school
5-20 with a child-centered scholarship either:
5-21 (1) an assessment instrument required under Subchapter
5-22 B, Chapter 39; or
5-23 (2) a nationally recognized norm-referenced assessment
5-24 instrument selected by the school.
5-25 (b) The aggregate results of student assessments shall be
5-26 published and copies of the results shall be made available for
5-27 public inspection at each public school and private school.
6-1 Sec. 29.360. SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES. (a) A private
6-2 school shall provide, either directly or contractually with other
6-3 private schools or public schools, the educational and related
6-4 services identified by the individualized education plan for each
6-5 child with a disability attending the school with a child-centered
6-6 scholarship.
6-7 (b) The cost of special education services, as determined by
6-8 the school district in which the child resides, shall be added to
6-9 the child's child-centered scholarship. Except as required by
6-10 applicable federal law, a private school is responsible for
6-11 providing only educational and related services for which costs are
6-12 provided under this subsection.
6-13 Sec. 29.361. TRANSPORTATION. A school district in which a
6-14 child resides shall offer each child attending a public school or
6-15 private school with a child-centered scholarship transportation
6-16 free of charge to and from the public school the child would
6-17 otherwise attend to the extent the district would be required to
6-18 provide transportation if the child were attending that public
6-19 school. A private school may transport children from the public
6-20 school to the private school.
6-21 Sec. 29.362. STATUS OF PRIVATE SCHOOLS. (a) A private
6-22 school that accepts a child-centered scholarship is not a
6-23 government agent or instrumentality, and the conduct of a private
6-24 school is governed by law governing private conduct rather than law
6-25 governing state action.
6-26 (b) The agency, the State Board of Education, or the
6-27 commissioner may not in any way regulate the educational program of
7-1 a private school.
7-2 (c) The purpose of this subchapter is to allow maximum
7-3 freedom to the private sector to respond to educational needs
7-4 without excessive government control, and this subchapter shall be
7-5 liberally construed to achieve that purpose.
7-6 Sec. 29.363. FREE EXERCISE OF RELIGION. (a) The United
7-7 States Constitution and the Texas Constitution guarantee the right
7-8 to the free exercise of religion, and that right may not be
7-9 abridged by any government official. The purpose of this
7-10 subchapter is not to aid or inhibit religious education or to
7-11 prohibit the free exercise of religion but to neutrally provide
7-12 equal educational benefits for all citizens, regardless of
7-13 religious affiliation. Money may not be appropriated directly to a
7-14 private school, whether the school is sectarian or nonsectarian,
7-15 and may be appropriated only for the benefit of all children of
7-16 this state.
7-17 (b) The use of a child-centered scholarship at a religious
7-18 or parochial school does not constitute direct aid or benefit to
7-19 any church, sect, religious denomination, or sectarian institution.
7-20 (c) A decision by a parent or child to attend a private or
7-21 parochial school must be made without coercion or encouragement by
7-22 any governmental employee.
7-23 SECTION 2. This Act applies beginning with the 1997-1998
7-24 school year.
7-25 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
7-26 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
7-27 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
8-1 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
8-2 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
8-3 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
8-4 passage, and it is so enacted.