75R12556 T
By Price H.B. No. 1940
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1940:
By Solis C.S.H.B. No. 1940
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the Texas Academy of Leadership in the Humanities at
1-3 Lamar University at Beaumont.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 96.707, Education Code, is amended to
1-6 read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 96.707. TEXAS ACADEMY OF LEADERSHIP IN THE HUMANITIES.
1-8 (a) The Texas Academy of Leadership in the Humanities is a
1-9 residential, educational institution for selected Texas high school
1-10 students who demonstrate leadership potential. The academy is
1-11 established as a two-year program at Lamar University at Beaumont
1-12 for secondary school students selected under this section. The
1-13 academy is under the management and control of the board of regents
1-14 of the Texas State University System, which shall set aside
1-15 adequate space on the Beaumont campus to be used for operation of
1-16 the academy and to carry out the purposes of this section.
1-17 (b) The goals of the academy are to:
1-18 (1) provide an enriched school for gifted and talented
1-19 high school juniors and seniors to complete their high school
1-20 education and to attend college courses for credit;
1-21 (2) identify exceptionally gifted and intelligent high
1-22 school students at the junior and senior levels and offer them a
1-23 challenging education to maximize their development;
1-24 (3) provide a rigorous academic program emphasizing
2-1 the humanities, but also including a strong and varied mathematics
2-2 and science curriculum; and
2-3 (4) [provide gifted and talented secondary school
2-4 students with accelerated academic experiences to ensure success as
2-5 undergraduates with advanced standing;]
2-6 [(2)] encourage those students to develop their full
2-7 leadership potential and their ethical decision-making
2-8 capabilities.
2-9 (c) The academy is not subject to the provisions of this
2-10 code or the rules of the Texas Education Agency regulating public
2-11 schools, except that:
2-12 (1) professional employees of the academy are entitled
2-13 to the limited liability of an employee under Section 22.051 or
2-14 22.052; and
2-15 (2) a student's attendance at the academy satisfies
2-16 compulsory state attendance requirements.
2-17 (d) The academy shall operate on the same fall and spring
2-18 semester basis as the university. Full-time students of the
2-19 academy must be enrolled for both the fall and spring semesters.
2-20 In addition to academic classes, the academy may offer short
2-21 courses, workshops, seminars, weekend instructional programs,
2-22 summer programs, and other innovative programs. Faculty members of
2-23 the university shall teach all academic classes at the academy. A
2-24 student of the academy may attend a college course offered by the
2-25 university and receive college credit for that course.
2-26 (e) The academy may offer any extracurricular activity that
2-27 a public secondary school could offer. Students attending the
3-1 academy may participate in all extracurricular activities
3-2 sanctioned by the University Interscholastic League.
3-3 (f) The academy shall admit only high school juniors and
3-4 seniors, except insofar as it may allow the admission of a student
3-5 who is not yet a high school junior but whose abilities, in the
3-6 sole judgment of the academy, warrant early admission. The academy
3-7 shall encourage minority secondary school students to apply for
3-8 admission.
3-9 (g) The board of regents of the Texas State University
3-10 System is hereby authorized to use available funds or to enter into
3-11 contracts and accept grants or matching grants for the purpose of
3-12 establishing an academy of humanities.
3-13 (h) Any money received by the board of regents on behalf of
3-14 the academy shall be expended to further the functions and purposes
3-15 of the academy listed in this section. This section does not
3-16 prevent the board from accepting federal funds or money from any
3-17 corporation or other private contributor for use in operating or
3-18 providing programs to the academy.
3-19 (i) The director of the academy shall serve at the pleasure
3-20 of the university's executive vice president for academic affairs.
3-21 (j) The liability of the state under Chapters 101 and 104,
3-22 Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is limited for the academy and
3-23 employees assigned to the academy and acting on behalf of the
3-24 academy to the same extent that the liability of a school district
3-25 and an employee of the school district is limited under Sections
3-26 22.051 and 22.052 and Section 101.051, Civil Practice and Remedies
3-27 Code. An employee assigned to the academy is entitled to
4-1 representation by the attorney general in a civil action based on
4-2 an action or omission of the employee in the course of his
4-3 employment, limits on liability, and indemnity under Chapter 104,
4-4 Civil Practice and Remedies Code.[;]
4-5 [(3) provide those students with academic and social
4-6 role models and mentors to motivate them to pursue academic
4-7 excellence and self-direction;]
4-8 [(4) provide a model setting for the training of
4-9 teachers in the educational materials and methods appropriate for
4-10 gifted learners;]
4-11 [(5) encourage the cooperation of business leaders and
4-12 Lamar University staff to provide practical settings and
4-13 experiences for those students through independent study,
4-14 shadowing, and mentorship;]
4-15 [(6) establish a setting to support necessary research
4-16 to determine the academy's effectiveness and to disseminate results
4-17 of that research; and]
4-18 [(7) promote the active involvement of parents in all
4-19 educational programs of the academy.]
4-20 [(c) To be eligible for admission to the academy, a student
4-21 must:]
4-22 [(1) complete and file with the board, on a form
4-23 prescribed by the board, an application for admission and a written
4-24 essay on a topic selected by the board;]
4-25 [(2) have successfully completed 10th grade in school;]
4-26 [(3) be nominated by a teacher, school administrator,
4-27 parent, community leader, or another secondary school student;]
5-1 [(4) submit to the board two written recommendations
5-2 from teachers;]
5-3 [(5) have a composite score on an assessment test that
5-4 is equal to or greater than the equivalent of 1,000 on the
5-5 Scholastic Aptitude Test;]
5-6 [(6) have a language score on an assessment test that
5-7 is equal to or greater than the equivalent of 550 on the Scholastic
5-8 Aptitude Test; and]
5-9 [(7) have complied with any other requirements adopted
5-10 by the board under this subchapter.]
5-11 [(d) The board shall recruit minority secondary school
5-12 students to apply for admission to the academy.]
5-13 [(e) The board shall select for admission to the academy
5-14 eligible students based on additional testing required by the board
5-15 and on a personal interview by a selection committee appointed by
5-16 the board. If the board selects an eligible student for admission
5-17 to the academy, the board shall send written notice to the student
5-18 and the student's school district.]
5-19 [(f) The board shall establish a tuition and fee scholarship
5-20 for each student who enrolls in the academy. A student who enrolls
5-21 in the academy is responsible for room, board, and book costs and
5-22 must live in a residence determined by board rule.]
5-23 [(g) The academy courses are taught by the faculty members
5-24 of Lamar University. The board may employ additional staff for the
5-25 academy.]
5-26 [(h) The board shall provide each student enrolled in the
5-27 academy with a mentor who is a faculty member at Lamar University
6-1 to assist the student in completing the student's course of study
6-2 in the academy.]
6-3 [(i) A student of the academy may attend a college course
6-4 offered by Lamar University and receive college credit for that
6-5 course.]
6-6 [(j) The board may accept gifts and grants from a public or
6-7 private source for the academy.]
6-8 SECTION 2. The importance of this legislation and the
6-9 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
6-10 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
6-11 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
6-12 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
6-13 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
6-14 passage, and it is so enacted.