1-1 By: Bivins S.B. No. 10 1-2 (In the Senate - Filed March 4, 1999; March 4, 1999, read 1-3 first time and referred to Committee on Education; March 29, 1999, 1-4 reported adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the 1-5 following vote: Yeas 5, Nays 4; March 29, 1999, sent to printer.) 1-6 COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 10 By: Bivins 1-7 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-8 AN ACT 1-9 relating to the creation of a public education scholarship program 1-10 for certain educationally disadvantaged children in certain school 1-11 districts. 1-12 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-13 SECTION 1. Chapter 29, Education Code, is amended by adding 1-14 Subchapter J to read as follows: 1-15 Subchapter J. PUBLIC EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIP 1-16 PROGRAM 1-17 Sec. 29.351. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter: 1-18 (1) "Free school" means a nongovernmental educational 1-19 establishment that exists for the general education of elementary 1-20 or secondary students and that accepts funding from state and local 1-21 sources as provided by this subchapter in lieu of tuition for some 1-22 or all of its students. The term does not include a school that 1-23 provides education in a home setting or by the parent or that 1-24 limits enrollment to relatives of the staff of the school. 1-25 (2) "Parent" includes a guardian or custodian. 1-26 (3) "Private school" means a nongovernmental 1-27 educational establishment that does not accept funding from state 1-28 and local sources as provided by this subchapter in lieu of 1-29 tuition. 1-30 Sec. 29.352. ELIGIBILITY OF CHILD FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION 1-31 SCHOLARSHIP. (a) Except as provided by Section 29.368, a child is 1-32 eligible for a public education scholarship under this subchapter 1-33 if the child: 1-34 (1) attends school in a district whose central 1-35 administrative office is located in a county with a population of 1-36 more than 575,000; 1-37 (2) is educationally disadvantaged; 1-38 (3) did not perform satisfactorily on the most recent 1-39 assessment instrument administered to the child under Section 1-40 39.023 in reading, writing, or mathematics; 1-41 (4) was not enrolled in a private school during the 1-42 current or preceding school year; and 1-43 (5) was not enrolled in a free school during the 1-44 current or preceding school year, unless the child attended the 1-45 free school using a public education scholarship. 1-46 (b) After a student has used a public education scholarship 1-47 to attend a free school, the student remains eligible for the 1-48 scholarship until the student again enrolls in a public school. 1-49 (c) At any one time, no more than five percent of a school 1-50 district's total student population may be receiving scholarships 1-51 under this subchapter. 1-52 Sec. 29.353. PARENTAL CHOICE. (a) A school district 1-53 described by Section 29.352(a)(1) shall notify the parent of each 1-54 child eligible for a public education scholarship that the child is 1-55 eligible to attend a free school as provided by this subchapter. 1-56 (b) A child may attend a private school but may not receive 1-57 funding from state and local sources for that purpose under this 1-58 subchapter. 1-59 Sec. 29.354. FINANCING. (a) Each school district is 1-60 entitled to receive state funding as provided by Chapter 42 and 1-61 other law. 1-62 (b) A child eligible under Section 25.001 to attend school 1-63 in a school district but who attends a free school under this 1-64 subchapter and who registers that free school choice with the 2-1 district shall be considered in determining the district's average 2-2 daily attendance under Section 42.005. The commissioner shall 2-3 adopt a procedure that a free school shall use to report the 2-4 average daily attendance of any student for whom the free school is 2-5 receiving public education scholarship funds under this subchapter. 2-6 Sec. 29.355. PUBLIC EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIP. (a) Except as 2-7 provided by Subsection (b), a child's public education scholarship 2-8 is the sum of state and local revenues per student in average daily 2-9 attendance under the Foundation School Program available to school 2-10 districts, if required, after exercising an option under Section 2-11 41.003, including all school district tax revenues and an amount 2-12 determined by the commissioner for each state fiscal biennium that 2-13 represents the average annual state expenditure per student for 2-14 textbooks and the technology allotment under Section 31.021(b)(2). 2-15 (b) The district that a child attending a free school under 2-16 this subchapter would otherwise attend on the basis of residence 2-17 shall pay to the free school the lesser of: 2-18 (1) 80 percent of the child's public education 2-19 scholarship; or 2-20 (2) an amount equal to the sum of state and local 2-21 revenues per student less the sum of the adjustments under Sections 2-22 42.103 and 42.105, distributions from the available school fund, 2-23 federal funds, and any district expenditures for debt service for 2-24 the acquisition or improvement of facilities, computed on a per 2-25 student basis. 2-26 (c) A free school may not share with, refund to, or rebate 2-27 to the parent or child in any manner the child's public education 2-28 scholarship. The school district the child would otherwise attend 2-29 is entitled to the remainder of the child's public education 2-30 scholarship funds. 2-31 Sec. 29.356. TRANSPORTATION. A free school shall provide to 2-32 each student using a public education scholarship transportation 2-33 without charge to and from the free school if the student would be 2-34 entitled to transportation without charge under Section 42.155 if 2-35 the free school were a public school. 2-36 Sec. 29.357. CONDITIONS FOR RECEIPT OF FUNDS BY FREE 2-37 SCHOOLS. To receive a child's public education scholarship funds, 2-38 the free school selected for or by the child must certify to the 2-39 comptroller that the school has complied with the conditions 2-40 imposed by Sections 29.358-29.364. 2-41 Sec. 29.358. ACCREDITATION. A free school included in the 2-42 public education scholarship program must be accredited by a 2-43 private organization recognized by the commissioner, except that a 2-44 newly established free school may operate without such 2-45 accreditation if the school applies for accreditation before 2-46 accepting students under the program. 2-47 Sec. 29.359. ADMISSIONS. (a) A free school may not refuse 2-48 to enroll a child on the basis of the child's residence, race, 2-49 national origin, ethnic background, religion, physical or mental 2-50 ability or disability, or academic achievement. 2-51 (b) A free school may not consider athletic ability or the 2-52 amount of a public education scholarship in any admission process. 2-53 (c) A free school may refuse to enroll a child who has been 2-54 expelled from a school district during the term of alternative 2-55 education program placement or expulsion. 2-56 (d) Except as provided by Subsection (e), a free school that 2-57 has more public education scholarship applicants than available 2-58 positions must give priority to students at risk of dropping out of 2-59 school as defined by Section 29.081 and must fill other positions 2-60 by lottery. A free school must declare the number of available 2-61 positions and conduct the lottery for the next school year not 2-62 later than July 1 of each year. 2-63 (e) To achieve continuity in education, a free school may 2-64 give preference over at-risk students to enrolled students and to 2-65 the siblings of enrolled students residing in the same household or 2-66 other children residing in the same household as enrolled students 2-67 for the convenience of parents of those children. 2-68 Sec. 29.360. SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES. A child who is 2-69 eligible under state or federal law to receive special services, as 3-1 defined by Section 29.002, and who is eligible for a public 3-2 education scholarship is entitled to receive those services from 3-3 the state or the school district the child would otherwise attend 3-4 as provided by federal or state law. 3-5 Sec. 29.361. BILINGUAL EDUCATION SERVICES. A parent is 3-6 entitled to request, with the expectation that the request will not 3-7 be unreasonably denied, that a free school provide bilingual 3-8 education services or address the language needs of the child. A 3-9 free school that provides bilingual education in accordance with 3-10 state law is entitled to have the funding based on allotments for 3-11 bilingual education under Section 42.153 to the student's home 3-12 school district, for each child eligible for that allotment, 3-13 included in the student's public education scholarship. 3-14 Sec. 29.362. TUITION; ADDITIONAL CHARGES AND FEES. A free 3-15 school may not: 3-16 (1) charge an eligible child attending the school 3-17 under this subchapter tuition in addition to the child's public 3-18 education scholarship; or 3-19 (2) assess any additional charge, other than a fee 3-20 that a board of trustees is authorized to charge under Section 3-21 11.158, for providing an educational program or service to such a 3-22 child. 3-23 Sec. 29.363. EXPULSION OF STUDENTS. A free school may not 3-24 expel a student unless the student engages in an activity for which 3-25 the student may be expelled under Section 37.007. 3-26 Sec. 29.364. ACCOUNTABILITY. (a) Each free school shall 3-27 report to the commissioner concerning the scholarship students' 3-28 performance on the academic excellence indicators under Section 3-29 39.051. 3-30 (b) Each free school shall administer the appropriate 3-31 assessment instrument under Subchapter B, Chapter 39, to each 3-32 student using a public education scholarship to attend the school 3-33 and for whom an assessment instrument is required. A free school 3-34 shall administer the assessment instrument in the same manner as 3-35 the assessment instrument is administered to public school 3-36 students. To ensure the security of the assessment instrument and 3-37 the validity of the results, the commissioner shall adopt rules and 3-38 procedures for the administration of state-required assessment 3-39 instruments in free schools. 3-40 (c) For the purpose of evaluating the effectiveness of the 3-41 public education scholarship program, the commissioner shall report 3-42 and publish student assessment results in a manner that allows 3-43 comparisons between scholarship students attending free schools and 3-44 students attending public schools. The commissioner's report must 3-45 show statewide results and district and campus results. The 3-46 commissioner's report may not include any results that permit 3-47 direct or indirect identification of the students assessed. Copies 3-48 of the commissioner's report shall be made available for public 3-49 inspection at each public school and free school. 3-50 (d) The commissioner may determine that a free school is not 3-51 eligible to continue receiving public education scholarship funds 3-52 if the percentage of scholarship students attending the free school 3-53 who perform satisfactorily on the assessment instruments required 3-54 under Subchapter B, Chapter 39, is such that the free school would 3-55 be considered low-performing under Subchapter D, Chapter 39, if it 3-56 were a public school campus. The commissioner shall promptly 3-57 notify the comptroller of the commissioner's determination under 3-58 this subsection. 3-59 Sec. 29.365. EVALUATION OF PUBLIC EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIP 3-60 PROGRAM. (a) The State Board of Education shall designate an 3-61 impartial organization with experience in evaluating school choice 3-62 programs to annually evaluate the public education scholarship 3-63 program. 3-64 (b) An evaluation under this section must: 3-65 (1) include a comparison of each of the following 3-66 factors before and after implementation of the program: 3-67 (A) student performance and improvement on 3-68 assessment instruments administered under Subchapter B, Chapter 39; 3-69 (B) student performance and improvement in the 4-1 classroom; 4-2 (C) student attendance; 4-3 (D) students' grades; 4-4 (E) incidents involving student discipline; 4-5 (F) socioeconomic data on students' families; 4-6 and 4-7 (G) parents' satisfaction with their children's 4-8 schools; 4-9 (2) include a comparison of performance on assessment 4-10 instruments administered under Section 39.023 between students 4-11 using public education scholarships to attend free schools and 4-12 students in public schools who are of a similar age and background 4-13 and who reside in similar school districts; and 4-14 (3) examine the effects of the program on: 4-15 (A) eligible children who receive a public 4-16 education scholarship and who enroll in a free school; 4-17 (B) eligible children who receive a public 4-18 education scholarship but who do not enroll in a free school; and 4-19 (C) eligible children who do not apply for a 4-20 public education scholarship. 4-21 (c) Not later than September 1, 2004, the organization 4-22 conducting the evaluation shall file a written report stating the 4-23 results of the evaluation with the governor, lieutenant governor, 4-24 and speaker of the house of representatives. This subsection 4-25 expires January 1, 2005. 4-26 Sec. 29.366. DUTIES OF COMPTROLLER. (a) The comptroller 4-27 shall adopt rules, procedures, and forms for the payment of public 4-28 education scholarships to the free schools on behalf of parents of 4-29 students attending free schools. The comptroller's rules shall 4-30 provide for payment to a free school only after the school provides 4-31 services and only to the extent students receiving public education 4-32 scholarships attended school. 4-33 (b) The comptroller shall adopt rules, procedures, and forms 4-34 for a free school to permit review of the financial operations of 4-35 the school. The comptroller may determine that a free school is 4-36 not eligible to continue receiving public education scholarship 4-37 funds if the school fails to satisfy generally accepted standards 4-38 of fiscal management. 4-39 Sec. 29.367. STATUS OF FREE SCHOOLS. (a) A free school is 4-40 not a government agent or instrumentality, and the conduct of a 4-41 free school is governed by law governing private conduct rather 4-42 than by law governing state action. The purpose of this subchapter 4-43 is to allow maximum freedom to the private sector to respond to 4-44 educational needs without excessive government control, and this 4-45 subchapter shall be liberally construed to achieve that purpose. 4-46 (b) The State Board of Education, the commissioner, or the 4-47 comptroller may not in any way regulate the educational program of 4-48 a free school, except as necessary to ensure the school's 4-49 compliance with this title. 4-50 Sec. 29.368. PARTIAL TERMINATION OF PROGRAM. (a) Not later 4-51 than July 1, 2005, the commissioner shall compare the average 4-52 performance of each free school's scholarship students to the 4-53 average performance of students in public schools who are of a 4-54 similar age and background and who reside in similar school 4-55 districts. 4-56 (b) Beginning with the 2005-2006 school year: 4-57 (1) a free school may not accept a student using a 4-58 public education scholarship unless the school's average student 4-59 performance level, as determined under Subsection (a), is at least 4-60 10 percent higher than the average performance level of comparable 4-61 public school students; and 4-62 (2) a student who used a public education scholarship 4-63 to attend a free school other than a free school whose average 4-64 student performance level meets or exceeds the level required by 4-65 Subdivision (1) is no longer eligible for a public education 4-66 scholarship. 4-67 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999. 4-68 SECTION 3. The State Board of Education shall implement the 4-69 public education scholarship program as provided by Subchapter J, 5-1 Chapter 29, Education Code, as added by this Act, beginning with 5-2 the 2000-2001 school year. 5-3 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the 5-4 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 5-5 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 5-6 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 5-7 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended. 5-8 * * * * *