1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to fees charged by an independent school district for
1-3 voluntary educational programs.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 11.158, Education Code, is amended by
1-6 amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (h) to read as
1-7 follows:
1-8 (a) The board of trustees of an independent school district
1-9 may require payment of:
1-10 (1) a fee for materials used in any program in which
1-11 the resultant product in excess of minimum requirements becomes, at
1-12 the student's option, the personal property of the student, if the
1-13 fee does not exceed the cost of materials;
1-14 (2) membership dues in student organizations or clubs
1-15 and admission fees or charges for attending extracurricular
1-16 activities, if membership or attendance is voluntary;
1-17 (3) a security deposit for the return of materials,
1-18 supplies, or equipment;
1-19 (4) a fee for personal physical education and athletic
1-20 equipment and apparel, although any student may provide the
1-21 student's own equipment or apparel if it meets reasonable
1-22 requirements and standards relating to health and safety
1-23 established by the board;
1-24 (5) a fee for items of personal use or products that a
2-1 student may purchase at the student's option, such as student
2-2 publications, class rings, annuals, and graduation announcements;
2-3 (6) a fee specifically permitted by any other statute;
2-4 (7) a fee for an authorized voluntary student health
2-5 and accident benefit plan;
2-6 (8) a reasonable fee, not to exceed the actual annual
2-7 maintenance cost, for the use of musical instruments and uniforms
2-8 owned or rented by the district;
2-9 (9) a fee for items of personal apparel that become
2-10 the property of the student and that are used in extracurricular
2-11 activities;
2-12 (10) a parking fee or a fee for an identification
2-13 card;
2-14 (11) a fee for a driver training course, not to exceed
2-15 the actual district cost per student in the program for the current
2-16 school year;
2-17 (12) a fee for a course offered for credit that
2-18 requires the use of facilities not available on the school premises
2-19 or the employment of an educator who is not part of the school's
2-20 regular staff, if participation in the course is at the student's
2-21 option;
2-22 (13) a fee for a course offered during summer school,
2-23 except that the board may charge a fee for a course required for
2-24 graduation only if the course is also offered without a fee during
2-25 the regular school year; [or]
2-26 (14) a reasonable fee for transportation of a student
2-27 who lives within two miles of the school the student attends to and
3-1 from that school, except that the board may not charge a fee for
3-2 transportation for which the school district receives funds under
3-3 Section 42.155(d); or
3-4 (15) a reasonable fee, not to exceed $50, for costs
3-5 associated with an educational program offered outside of regular
3-6 school hours through which a student who was absent from class
3-7 receives instruction voluntarily for the purpose of making up the
3-8 missed instruction and meeting the level of attendance required
3-9 under Section 25.092.
3-10 (h) For a fee charged under Subsection (a)(15), the school
3-11 district must provide a written form to be signed by the student's
3-12 legal guardian stating that this fee would not create a financial
3-13 hardship or discourage the student from attending the program. The
3-14 school district may only assess the fee if the student returns the
3-15 signed form.
3-16 SECTION 2. Section 25.092, Education Code, is amended by
3-17 amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (f) to read as
3-18 follows:
3-19 (b) The board of trustees of each school district shall
3-20 appoint one or more attendance committees to hear petitions for
3-21 class credit by students who are in attendance fewer than the
3-22 number of days required under Subsection (a). Classroom teachers
3-23 shall comprise a majority of the membership of the committee. A
3-24 committee may give class credit to a student because of extenuating
3-25 circumstances. Each board of trustees shall establish guidelines
3-26 to determine what constitutes extenuating circumstances and shall
3-27 adopt policies establishing alternative ways for students to make
4-1 up work or regain credit lost because of absences. The alternative
4-2 ways must include at least one option that does not require a
4-3 student to pay a fee authorized under Section 11.158(a)(15). A
4-4 certified public school employee may not be assigned additional
4-5 instructional duties as a result of this section outside of the
4-6 regular workday unless the employee is compensated for the duties
4-7 at a reasonable rate of pay.
4-8 (f) The availability of the option developed under
4-9 Subsection (b) must be substantially the same as the availability
4-10 of the educational program developed under Section 11.158(a)(15).
4-11 SECTION 3. This Act applies beginning with the 1999-2000
4-12 school year.
4-13 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
4-14 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-15 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-16 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-17 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
4-18 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
4-19 passage, and it is so enacted.
_______________________________ _______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 772 was passed by the House on May 4,
1999, by the following vote: Yeas 144, Nays 0, 2 present, not
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
No. 772 on May 28, 1999, by the following vote: Yeas 120, Nays 13,
2 present, not voting.
_______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 772 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 26, 1999, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays
0.
_______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: _____________________
Date
_____________________
Governor