By Price H.B. No. 1940
75R8028 E
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;
2-15 (2) a student's attendance at the academy satisfies
2-16 compulsory state attendance requirements; and
2-17 (3) for each student enrolled, the academy is entitled
2-18 to allotments from the Foundation School Program under Chapter 42
2-19 as if the academy were a school district, except that the academy
2-20 shall have a local share applied that is equivalent to the local
2-21 fund assignment of the Beaumont Independent School District.
2-22 (d) The academy shall operate on the same fall and spring
2-23 semester basis as the university. Full-time students of the
2-24 academy must be enrolled for both the fall and spring semesters.
2-25 In addition to academic classes, the academy may offer short
2-26 courses, workshops, seminars, weekend instructional programs,
2-27 summer programs, and other innovative programs. Faculty members of
3-1 the university shall teach all academic classes at the academy. A
3-2 student of the academy may attend a college course offered by the
3-3 university and receive college credit for that course.
3-4 (e) The academy may offer any extracurricular activity that
3-5 a public secondary school could offer. Students attending the
3-6 academy may participate in all extracurricular activities
3-7 sanctioned by the University Interscholastic League.
3-8 (f) The academy shall admit only high school juniors and
3-9 seniors, except insofar as it may allow the admission of a student
3-10 who is not yet a high school junior but whose abilities, in the
3-11 sole judgment of the academy, warrant early admission. The academy
3-12 shall encourage minority secondary school students to apply for
3-13 admission.
3-14 (g) The board of regents of the Texas State University
3-15 System is hereby authorized to use available funds or to enter into
3-16 contracts and accept grants or matching grants for the purpose of
3-17 establishing an academy of humanities.
3-18 (h) Any money received by the board of regents on behalf of
3-19 the academy shall be expended to further the functions and purposes
3-20 of the academy listed in this section. This section does not
3-21 prevent the board from accepting federal funds or money from any
3-22 corporation or other private contributor for use in operating or
3-23 providing programs to the academy.
3-24 (i) The director of the academy shall serve at the pleasure
3-25 of the university's executive vice president for academic affairs.
3-26 (j) The liability of the state under Chapters 101 and 104,
3-27 Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is limited for the academy and
4-1 employees assigned to the academy and acting on behalf of the
4-2 academy to the same extent that the liability of a school district
4-3 and an employee of the school district is limited under Sections
4-4 22.051 and 22.052 and Section 101.051, Civil Practice and Remedies
4-5 Code. An employee assigned to the academy is entitled to
4-6 representation by the attorney general in a civil action based on
4-7 an action or omission of the employee in the course of his
4-8 employment, limits on liability, and indemnity under Chapter 104,
4-9 Civil Practice and Remedies Code.[;]
4-10 [(3) provide those students with academic and social
4-11 role models and mentors to motivate them to pursue academic
4-12 excellence and self-direction;]
4-13 [(4) provide a model setting for the training of
4-14 teachers in the educational materials and methods appropriate for
4-15 gifted learners;]
4-16 [(5) encourage the cooperation of business leaders and
4-17 Lamar University staff to provide practical settings and
4-18 experiences for those students through independent study,
4-19 shadowing, and mentorship;]
4-20 [(6) establish a setting to support necessary research
4-21 to determine the academy's effectiveness and to disseminate results
4-22 of that research; and]
4-23 [(7) promote the active involvement of parents in all
4-24 educational programs of the academy.]
4-25 [(c) To be eligible for admission to the academy, a student
4-26 must:]
4-27 [(1) complete and file with the board, on a form
5-1 prescribed by the board, an application for admission and a written
5-2 essay on a topic selected by the board;]
5-3 [(2) have successfully completed 10th grade in school;]
5-4 [(3) be nominated by a teacher, school administrator,
5-5 parent, community leader, or another secondary school student;]
5-6 [(4) submit to the board two written recommendations
5-7 from teachers;]
5-8 [(5) have a composite score on an assessment test that
5-9 is equal to or greater than the equivalent of 1,000 on the
5-10 Scholastic Aptitude Test;]
5-11 [(6) have a language score on an assessment test that
5-12 is equal to or greater than the equivalent of 550 on the Scholastic
5-13 Aptitude Test; and]
5-14 [(7) have complied with any other requirements adopted
5-15 by the board under this subchapter.]
5-16 [(d) The board shall recruit minority secondary school
5-17 students to apply for admission to the academy.]
5-18 [(e) The board shall select for admission to the academy
5-19 eligible students based on additional testing required by the board
5-20 and on a personal interview by a selection committee appointed by
5-21 the board. If the board selects an eligible student for admission
5-22 to the academy, the board shall send written notice to the student
5-23 and the student's school district.]
5-24 [(f) The board shall establish a tuition and fee scholarship
5-25 for each student who enrolls in the academy. A student who enrolls
5-26 in the academy is responsible for room, board, and book costs and
5-27 must live in a residence determined by board rule.]
6-1 [(g) The academy courses are taught by the faculty members
6-2 of Lamar University. The board may employ additional staff for the
6-3 academy.]
6-4 [(h) The board shall provide each student enrolled in the
6-5 academy with a mentor who is a faculty member at Lamar University
6-6 to assist the student in completing the student's course of study
6-7 in the academy.]
6-8 [(i) A student of the academy may attend a college course
6-9 offered by Lamar University and receive college credit for that
6-10 course.]
6-11 [(j) The board may accept gifts and grants from a public or
6-12 private source for the academy.]
6-13 SECTION 2. The importance of this legislation and the
6-14 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
6-15 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
6-16 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
6-17 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
6-18 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
6-19 passage, and it is so enacted.