By: Luna S.B. No. 1919
97S0980/1
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1-1 relating to the operation and administration of the Texas School
1-2 for the Blind and Visually Impaired.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Section 30.021, Education Code, is amended by
1-5 amending Subsections (d) and (e) and adding Subsection (f) to read
1-6 as follows:
1-7 (d) The school shall provide statewide services to parents
1-8 of students with visual impairments, school districts, regional
1-9 education service centers, and other agencies serving students with
1-10 visual impairments, including students who have one or more
1-11 disabilities in addition to the visual impairment, such as students
1-12 who are deaf-blind. Those services must include:
1-13 (1) developing and providing local, regional, and
1-14 statewide training for parents of students with visual impairments
1-15 and professionals who work with persons with visual impairments;
1-16 (2) providing consultation and technical assistance to
1-17 parents and professionals related to special education and related
1-18 services for students;
1-19 (3) developing and disseminating reference materials
1-20 including materials in the areas of curriculum, instructional
1-21 methodology, and educational technology;
1-22 (4) providing information related to library
1-23 resources, adapted materials, current research, technology
2-1 resources, and teaching, assessment, and transition of students
2-2 with visual impairments; [and]
2-3 (5) operating programs for lending educational and
2-4 technological materials to school districts and regional education
2-5 service centers; and
2-6 (6) facilitating the preparation of teachers for
2-7 visually impaired students by providing assistance to colleges and
2-8 universities as well as other teacher preparation programs.
2-9 (e) The school shall cooperate with public and private
2-10 agencies and organizations serving students and other persons with
2-11 visual impairments in the planning, development, and implementation
2-12 of effective educational and rehabilitative service delivery
2-13 systems associated with educating students with visual impairments.
2-14 To maximize and make efficient use of state facilities, funding,
2-15 and resources, the services provided in this area may include
2-16 conducting a cooperative program, together with the Texas
2-17 Commission for the Blind and other agencies, to serve students who
2-18 have graduated from high school by completing all academic
2-19 requirements applicable to students in regular education, excluding
2-20 satisfactory performance on the exit-level assessment instrument,
2-21 who are younger than 22 years of age on September 1 of the school
2-22 year and who have identified needs related to vocational training,
2-23 independent living skills, orientation and mobility, and social and
2-24 leisure skills.
2-25 (f) The school may operate an on-campus canteen to offer
3-1 food service at mealtimes and during other times of the day.
3-2 SECTION 2. Section 30.022, Education Code, is amended by
3-3 amending Subsections (d) and (g) and adding Subsections (i) and (j)
3-4 to read as follows:
3-5 (d) The board shall organize and conduct itself in the same
3-6 manner as an independent school district board of trustees to the
3-7 extent that the organization and conduct do [does] not conflict
3-8 with the board's responsibilities relating to the status of the
3-9 school as a state agency.
3-10 (g) Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, an
3-11 action of the board may be appealed to a district court in Travis
3-12 County. An action of the board related to a dismissal during the
3-13 term of a teacher's [professional employee's] contract or to a
3-14 nonrenewal of a teacher's [professional employee's] contract may be
3-15 appealed to the commissioner in the manner prescribed by Subchapter
3-16 G, Chapter 21. For the purposes of this subsection, the term
3-17 "teacher" has the meaning assigned by Section 30.024(a).
3-18 (i) The board may accept and retain control of gifts,
3-19 devises, bequests, donations, or grants, either absolutely or in
3-20 trust, of money, securities, personal property, and real property
3-21 from any individual, estate, group, association, or corporation.
3-22 The funds or other property donated or the income from the property
3-23 may be spent by the board for:
3-24 (1) any purpose designated by the donor that is in
3-25 keeping with the lawful purpose of the school; or
4-1 (2) any legal purpose, if a specific purpose is not
4-2 designated by the donor.
4-3 (j) The board may lease or allow the use of some or all of
4-4 the physical facilities of the school and shall adopt policies
4-5 implementing this subsection which may include establishing a fee
4-6 schedule for lease of the facilities to the following persons under
4-7 the following conditions:
4-8 (1) any organization, group, or individual for the
4-9 prevailing market rate; or
4-10 (2) a federal or state agency, a unit of local
4-11 government, a nonprofit organization, a school employee, or an
4-12 individual member of the general public for less than the
4-13 prevailing market rate if the board determines that sufficient
4-14 public benefit will be derived from the use.
4-15 SECTION 3. Subsection (b), Section 30.024, Education Code,
4-16 is amended to read as follows:
4-17 (b) The governing board of the school may enter into an
4-18 employment contract with any employee who provides, or supervises
4-19 any employee who provides, direct and regular educational services
4-20 to students or who provides other professional[,] educational
4-21 services. Each teacher shall be employed under a term contract as
4-22 provided by Subchapter E, Chapter 21, or under a probationary
4-23 contract as provided by Subchapter C, Chapter 21. An employee
4-24 employed under a contract under this subsection:
4-25 (1) shall be paid in accordance with a salary
5-1 structure adopted by the superintendent with the concurrence of the
5-2 board that provides salaries equal, on a daily-rate basis, to
5-3 salaries paid to employees employed in comparable positions by the
5-4 Austin Independent School District;
5-5 (2) is not eligible for longevity pay under Subchapter
5-6 D, Chapter 659, Government Code, and is not entitled to a paid day
5-7 off from work on any national or state holiday;
5-8 (3) is eligible for sick leave accrual under the
5-9 General Appropriations Act in each month in which at least one day
5-10 of the month is included in the term of the employment contract and
5-11 in any other month in which work is performed or paid leave is
5-12 taken;
5-13 (4) may be permitted by the board to take paid time
5-14 off from work during the term of the employment contract for
5-15 personal reasons as designated by the board, but the paid time off
5-16 may not exceed three days per contract term and may not be carried
5-17 forward from one contract term to a subsequent contract term;
5-18 (5) may be permitted by the board to be paid the
5-19 salary designated in the employment contract in 12 equal monthly
5-20 installments; and
5-21 (6) shall work the hours established by the board.
5-22 SECTION 4. Subchapter B, Chapter 30, Education Code, is
5-23 amended by adding Section 30.028 to read as follows:
5-24 Sec. 30.028. LEASE OF CERTAIN PROPERTY OF TEXAS SCHOOL FOR
5-25 THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED FOR A DAY-CARE CENTER. (a) THE
6-1 Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired may lease
6-2 available building space on the school's campus located at 1100
6-3 West 45th Street, Austin, Travis County, to a private provider to
6-4 provide a day-care center for children of the school's employees,
6-5 other state employees, and private customers.
6-6 (b) The school is authorized to determine a fair rental rate
6-7 for the property and may consider the actual benefits to be
6-8 received by the school's employees and students.
6-9 (c) The asset management division of the General Land Office
6-10 shall negotiate the terms of the lease and close the transaction on
6-11 behalf of the school as provided by Subchapter E, Chapter 31,
6-12 Natural Resources Code.
6-13 (d) Proceeds from the lease transaction conducted under this
6-14 section shall be deposited to the credit of the school in the
6-15 general revenue fund.
6-16 SECTION 5. Subsections (a), (d), and (e), Section 411.098,
6-17 Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
6-18 (a) The Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired is
6-19 entitled to obtain criminal history record information maintained
6-20 by the Department of Public Safety, the Federal Bureau of
6-21 Investigation identification division, or another law enforcement
6-22 agency which relates to school employees, professional consultants,
6-23 applicants for permanent, temporary, or consultative employment,
6-24 student teachers, educational interns, persons who perform ongoing
6-25 educational projects at the school, and volunteer positions whose
7-1 employment or potential employment or volunteer positions with the
7-2 school involves direct interactions with, or the opportunity to
7-3 interact and associate with, the children or youth attending the
7-4 school.
7-5 (d) The school may not provide the applicant, employee,
7-6 professional consultant, [or] volunteer, student teacher,
7-7 educational intern, or person who performs ongoing educational
7-8 projects at the school with a copy of [their] respective criminal
7-9 history record information obtained from the Department of Public
7-10 Safety, the Federal Bureau of Investigation identification
7-11 division, or another law enforcement agency. The school may
7-12 disclose to the applicant, employee, professional consultant, or
7-13 volunteer the dates and places of arrest, the offenses, and the
7-14 dispositions contained in the respective criminal history record
7-15 information.
7-16 (e) The failure or refusal to provide a complete set of
7-17 fingerprints or a complete name on request constitutes good cause
7-18 for dismissal or refusal to hire or accept for placement, as
7-19 applicable, with regard to school employees, professional
7-20 consultants, [and] applicants for permanent, temporary, or
7-21 consultative employment, student teachers, educational interns,
7-22 persons who perform ongoing educational projects at the school, or
7-23 volunteer positions whose employment or potential employment or
7-24 volunteer position with the school involves direct interactions
7-25 with, or the opportunity to interact and associate with, the
8-1 children or youth attending the school.
8-2 SECTION 6. Section 1, Chapter 22, Acts of the 57th
8-3 Legislature, 3rd Called Session, 1962 (Article 6228a-5, Vernon's
8-4 Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read as follows:
8-5 Sec. 1. Local Boards of Education of the Public Schools of
8-6 this State, the Governing Boards of the state-supported
8-7 institutions of higher education, the Texas Higher Education
8-8 Coordinating Board[, Texas College and University System], the
8-9 Texas [Central] Education Agency, the Texas School for the Blind
8-10 and Visually Impaired, the Texas Department of Mental Health and
8-11 Mental Retardation and the state schools, state hospitals, and
8-12 other facilities and institutions under its jurisdiction, the Texas
8-13 Department of Health and facilities and institutions under its
8-14 jurisdiction, the Texas Youth Commission and facilities and
8-15 institutions under its jurisdiction, and the governing boards of
8-16 Centers for Community Mental Health and Mental Retardation
8-17 Services, county hospitals, city hospitals, city-county hospitals,
8-18 hospital authorities, hospital districts, affiliated state
8-19 agencies, and political subdivisions of each of them, may enter
8-20 into agreements with their employees for the purchase of annuities
8-21 or for contributions to any type of investment for their employees
8-22 as authorized in Section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of
8-23 1954, as it existed on January 1, 1981.
8-24 SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.
8-25 SECTION 8. The importance of this legislation and the
9-1 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
9-2 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
9-3 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
9-4 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.