By Hochberg H.B. No. 756
Line and page numbers may not match official copy.
Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E.
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to a pilot project to study electronic courses for public
1-3 school students.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Chapter 28, Education Code, is amended by adding
1-6 Section 28.027 to read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 28.027. PILOT PROJECT ON ELECTRONIC COURSES. (a) In
1-8 this section, "electronic course" means a course:
1-9 (1) made available to students through the Internet or
1-10 through electronic media; and
1-11 (2) in which a student is not physically present in
1-12 the classroom for all or part of the course.
1-13 (b) The commissioner shall create a pilot project to study
1-14 issues related to the security, viability, costs, and benefits of
1-15 state funding of electronic courses offered by school districts to
1-16 Texas public school students who are voluntarily enrolled in the
1-17 courses.
1-18 (c) A school district may apply to the commissioner to be
1-19 accepted in the pilot project by a deadline, set by the
1-20 commissioner, which shall be no later than January 1, 2002. In its
1-21 application, the district:
1-22 (1) may request a waiver of a requirement,
2-1 restriction, or prohibition imposed by this code or rule of the
2-2 board or commissioner; and
2-3 (2) shall provide a detailed plan, including a budget,
2-4 student attendance verification methodology, accountability plan,
2-5 descriptions of populations of Texas public school students to be
2-6 served, length of time of the effectiveness of the waiver, and
2-7 descriptions of the course or courses to be offered.
2-8 (d) The commissioner shall implement the pilot project no
2-9 later than May 1, 2002. To allow maximum flexibility in funding
2-10 attendance, the commissioner may waive a requirement, restriction,
2-11 or prohibition relating to the calculation of daily attendance that
2-12 would prevent the implementation of the pilot.
2-13 (e) The commissioner may limit the number of districts
2-14 participating in the pilot, but shall include rural and urban
2-15 school districts with disproportionate numbers of at-risk youths or
2-16 with high dropout rates.
2-17 (f) The commissioner may consult the comptroller, Department
2-18 of Information Resources, or other state agency, board, or
2-19 commission for assistance regarding technical standards for
2-20 auditing and verifying attendance in the electronic courses.
2-21 (g) The commissioner shall report to the Legislature, no
2-22 later than December 1, 2002, on issues including:
2-23 (1) methods for funding electronic courses and the
2-24 fiscal costs or benefits of such methods;
2-25 (2) the laws or rules waived for districts
2-26 participating in the electronic courses pilot project and the laws
3-1 and rules requested to be waived by any district applying;
3-2 (3) methods for verifying electronic attendance, such
3-3 as biometric attendance;
3-4 (4) security of providing electronic courses and any
3-5 privacy issues encountered; and
3-6 (5) educational benefits of the electronic courses.
3-7 (h) Subsection (g) shall expire December 31, 2002.
3-8 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
3-9 a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
3-10 provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
3-11 Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
3-12 Act takes effect September 1, 2001.