By Davis of Dallas H.B. No. 772
76R3860 KKA-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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(a), Education Code, is amended to
1-6 read as follows:
1-7 (a) The board of trustees of an independent school district
1-8 may require payment of:
1-9 (1) a fee for materials used in any program in which
1-10 the resultant product in excess of minimum requirements becomes, at
1-11 the student's option, the personal property of the student, if the
1-12 fee does not exceed the cost of materials;
1-13 (2) membership dues in student organizations or clubs
1-14 and admission fees or charges for attending extracurricular
1-15 activities, if membership or attendance is voluntary;
1-16 (3) a security deposit for the return of materials,
1-17 supplies, or equipment;
1-18 (4) a fee for personal physical education and athletic
1-19 equipment and apparel, although any student may provide the
1-20 student's own equipment or apparel if it meets reasonable
1-21 requirements and standards relating to health and safety
1-22 established by the board;
1-23 (5) a fee for items of personal use or products that a
1-24 student may purchase at the student's option, such as student
2-1 publications, class rings, annuals, and graduation announcements;
2-2 (6) a fee specifically permitted by any other statute;
2-3 (7) a fee for an authorized voluntary student health
2-4 and accident benefit plan;
2-5 (8) a reasonable fee, not to exceed the actual annual
2-6 maintenance cost, for the use of musical instruments and uniforms
2-7 owned or rented by the district;
2-8 (9) a fee for items of personal apparel that become
2-9 the property of the student and that are used in extracurricular
2-10 activities;
2-11 (10) a parking fee or a fee for an identification
2-12 card;
2-13 (11) a fee for a driver training course, not to exceed
2-14 the actual district cost per student in the program for the current
2-15 school year;
2-16 (12) a fee for a course offered for credit that
2-17 requires the use of facilities not available on the school premises
2-18 or the employment of an educator who is not part of the school's
2-19 regular staff, if participation in the course is at the student's
2-20 option;
2-21 (13) a fee for a course offered during summer school,
2-22 except that the board may charge a fee for a course required for
2-23 graduation only if the course is also offered without a fee during
2-24 the regular school year; [or]
2-25 (14) a reasonable fee for transportation of a student
2-26 who lives within two miles of the school the student attends to and
2-27 from that school, except that the board may not charge a fee for
3-1 transportation for which the school district receives funds under
3-2 Section 42.155(d); or
3-3 (15) a reasonable fee for costs associated with an
3-4 educational program offered outside of regular school hours in
3-5 which a student's participation is voluntary, including a program
3-6 through which a student who was absent from class voluntarily
3-7 receives instruction for the purpose of making up the missed
3-8 instruction and meeting the level of attendance required under
3-9 Section 25.092.
3-10 SECTION 2. Section 25.092(b), Education Code, is amended to
3-11 read as follows:
3-12 (b) The board of trustees of each school district shall
3-13 appoint one or more attendance committees to hear petitions for
3-14 class credit by students who are in attendance fewer than the
3-15 number of days required under Subsection (a). Classroom teachers
3-16 shall comprise a majority of the membership of the committee. A
3-17 committee may give class credit to a student because of extenuating
3-18 circumstances. Each board of trustees shall establish guidelines
3-19 to determine what constitutes extenuating circumstances and shall
3-20 adopt policies establishing alternative ways for students to make
3-21 up work or regain credit lost because of absences. The alternative
3-22 ways must include at least one option that does not require a
3-23 student to pay a fee authorized under Section 11.158(a)(15). A
3-24 certified public school employee may not be assigned additional
3-25 instructional duties as a result of this section outside of the
3-26 regular workday unless the employee is compensated for the duties
3-27 at a reasonable rate of pay.
4-1 SECTION 3. This Act applies beginning with the 1999-2000
4-2 school year.
4-3 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
4-4 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-5 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-6 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-7 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
4-8 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
4-9 passage, and it is so enacted.