1-1 By: Davis of Dallas (Senate Sponsor - Nelson) H.B. No. 772
1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House May 5, 1999;
1-3 May 6, 1999, read first time and referred to Committee on
1-4 Education; May 14, 1999, reported favorably by the following vote:
1-5 Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 14, 1999, sent to printer.)
1-6 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-7 AN ACT
1-8 relating to fees charged by an independent school district for
1-9 voluntary educational programs.
1-10 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11 SECTION 1. Section 11.158(a), Education Code, is amended to
1-12 read as follows:
1-13 (a) The board of trustees of an independent school district
1-14 may require payment of:
1-15 (1) a fee for materials used in any program in which
1-16 the resultant product in excess of minimum requirements becomes, at
1-17 the student's option, the personal property of the student, if the
1-18 fee does not exceed the cost of materials;
1-19 (2) membership dues in student organizations or clubs
1-20 and admission fees or charges for attending extracurricular
1-21 activities, if membership or attendance is voluntary;
1-22 (3) a security deposit for the return of materials,
1-23 supplies, or equipment;
1-24 (4) a fee for personal physical education and athletic
1-25 equipment and apparel, although any student may provide the
1-26 student's own equipment or apparel if it meets reasonable
1-27 requirements and standards relating to health and safety
1-28 established by the board;
1-29 (5) a fee for items of personal use or products that a
1-30 student may purchase at the student's option, such as student
1-31 publications, class rings, annuals, and graduation announcements;
1-32 (6) a fee specifically permitted by any other statute;
1-33 (7) a fee for an authorized voluntary student health
1-34 and accident benefit plan;
1-35 (8) a reasonable fee, not to exceed the actual annual
1-36 maintenance cost, for the use of musical instruments and uniforms
1-37 owned or rented by the district;
1-38 (9) a fee for items of personal apparel that become
1-39 the property of the student and that are used in extracurricular
1-40 activities;
1-41 (10) a parking fee or a fee for an identification
1-42 card;
1-43 (11) a fee for a driver training course, not to exceed
1-44 the actual district cost per student in the program for the current
1-45 school year;
1-46 (12) a fee for a course offered for credit that
1-47 requires the use of facilities not available on the school premises
1-48 or the employment of an educator who is not part of the school's
1-49 regular staff, if participation in the course is at the student's
1-50 option;
1-51 (13) a fee for a course offered during summer school,
1-52 except that the board may charge a fee for a course required for
1-53 graduation only if the course is also offered without a fee during
1-54 the regular school year; [or]
1-55 (14) a reasonable fee for transportation of a student
1-56 who lives within two miles of the school the student attends to and
1-57 from that school, except that the board may not charge a fee for
1-58 transportation for which the school district receives funds under
1-59 Section 42.155(d); or
1-60 (15) a reasonable fee for costs associated with an
1-61 educational program offered outside of regular school hours through
1-62 which a student who was absent from class receives instruction
1-63 voluntarily for the purpose of making up the missed instruction and
1-64 meeting the level of attendance required under Section 25.092.
2-1 SECTION 2. Section 25.092(b), Education Code, is amended to
2-2 read as follows:
2-3 (b) The board of trustees of each school district shall
2-4 appoint one or more attendance committees to hear petitions for
2-5 class credit by students who are in attendance fewer than the
2-6 number of days required under Subsection (a). Classroom teachers
2-7 shall comprise a majority of the membership of the committee. A
2-8 committee may give class credit to a student because of extenuating
2-9 circumstances. Each board of trustees shall establish guidelines
2-10 to determine what constitutes extenuating circumstances and shall
2-11 adopt policies establishing alternative ways for students to make
2-12 up work or regain credit lost because of absences. The alternative
2-13 ways must include at least one option that does not require a
2-14 student to pay a fee authorized under Section 11.158(a)(15). A
2-15 certified public school employee may not be assigned additional
2-16 instructional duties as a result of this section outside of the
2-17 regular workday unless the employee is compensated for the duties
2-18 at a reasonable rate of pay.
2-19 SECTION 3. This Act applies beginning with the 1999-2000
2-20 school year.
2-21 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
2-22 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-23 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-24 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-25 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
2-26 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
2-27 passage, and it is so enacted.
2-28 * * * * *