By Maxey H.B. No. 1690
77R6611 JSA-F
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the transfer of the administration of adult and
1-3 community education programs to the Texas Higher Education
1-4 Coordinating Board.
1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-6 SECTION 1. Subchapter H, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
1-7 redesignated as Subchapter X, Chapter 61, Education Code, and
1-8 amended to read as follows:
1-9 SUBCHAPTER X [H]. ADULT AND COMMUNITY EDUCATION PROGRAMS
1-10 Sec. 61.9501 [29.251]. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
1-11 (1) "Adult education" means services and instruction
1-12 provided below the college level for adults by public local
1-13 education agencies, public nonprofit agencies, or community-based
1-14 organizations.
1-15 (2) "Adult" means any individual who is over the age
1-16 of compulsory school attendance prescribed by Section 25.085.
1-17 (3) "Community-based organization" has the meaning
1-18 assigned by 20 U.S.C. Section 1201a, including any future
1-19 amendments.
1-20 (4) "Community education" means the process by which
1-21 the citizens in a school district, using the resources and
1-22 facilities of the district, organize to support each other and to
1-23 solve their mutual educational problems and meet their mutual
1-24 lifelong needs. Community education may include:
2-1 (A) educational programs, including programs for
2-2 occupational and technological skills training, retraining of
2-3 displaced workers, cultural awareness, parenting skills education
2-4 and parental involvement in school programs, and multilevel adult
2-5 education and personal growth;
2-6 (B) community involvement programs, including
2-7 programs for community economic development, school volunteers,
2-8 partnerships between schools and businesses, coordination with
2-9 community agencies, school-age child care, family and workplace
2-10 literacy, and community use of facilities; and
2-11 (C) programs for youth enrolled in schools,
2-12 including programs for dropout prevention and recovery programs,
2-13 drug-free school programs, school-age parenting programs, and
2-14 academic enhancement.
2-15 Sec. 61.9502 [29.252]. STATE ROLE IN ADULT AND COMMUNITY
2-16 EDUCATION. (a) The board [agency] shall:
2-17 (1) provide adequate staffing to develop, administer,
2-18 and support a comprehensive statewide adult education program and
2-19 coordinate related federal and state programs for education and
2-20 training of adults;
2-21 (2) develop, implement, and regulate a comprehensive
2-22 statewide program for community level education services to meet
2-23 the special needs of adults;
2-24 (3) develop the mechanism and guidelines for
2-25 coordination of comprehensive adult education and related skill
2-26 training services for adults with other agencies, both public and
2-27 private, in planning, developing, and implementing related
3-1 programs, including community education programs;
3-2 (4) administer all state and federal funds for adult
3-3 education and related skill training in this state, except in
3-4 programs for which another entity is specifically authorized to do
3-5 so under other law;
3-6 (5) prescribe and administer standards and accrediting
3-7 policies for adult education;
3-8 (6) prescribe and administer rules for teacher
3-9 certification for adult education;
3-10 (7) accept and administer grants, gifts, services, and
3-11 funds from available sources for use in adult education; and
3-12 (8) adopt or develop and administer a standardized
3-13 assessment mechanism for assessing all adult education program
3-14 participants who need literacy instruction, adult basic education,
3-15 or secondary education leading to an adult high school diploma or
3-16 the equivalent.
3-17 (b) The assessment mechanism prescribed under Subsection
3-18 (a)(8) must include an initial basic skills screening instrument
3-19 and must provide comprehensive information concerning baseline
3-20 student skills before and student progress after participation in
3-21 an adult education program.
3-22 Sec. 61.9503 [29.253]. PROVISION OF ADULT EDUCATION
3-23 PROGRAMS. Adult education programs shall be provided by public
3-24 school districts, public junior colleges, public universities,
3-25 public nonprofit agencies, and community-based organizations
3-26 approved in accordance with state statutes and rules adopted by the
3-27 board in consultation with the State Board of Education. The
4-1 programs must be designed to meet the education and training needs
4-2 of adults to the extent possible within available public and
4-3 private resources. Bilingual education may be the method of
4-4 instruction for students who do not function satisfactorily in
4-5 English whenever it is appropriate for their optimum development.
4-6 Sec. 61.9504 [29.254]. ADULT EDUCATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
4-7 The board [State Board of Education] may establish an adult
4-8 education advisory committee composed of not more than 21 members
4-9 representing public and private education, business, labor,
4-10 minority groups, and the public to advise the board on needs,
4-11 priorities, and standards of adult education programs conducted in
4-12 accordance with this subchapter.
4-13 Sec. 61.9505 [29.255]. FUNDING. (a) The legislature shall
4-14 appropriate money [Funds shall be appropriated] to implement
4-15 statewide adult basic education, adult bilingual education, high
4-16 school equivalency, and high school credit programs to eliminate
4-17 illiteracy in this state and to implement and support a statewide
4-18 program to meet the total range of adult needs for adult education,
4-19 related skill training, and pilot programs to demonstrate the
4-20 effectiveness of the community education concept. The board
4-21 [agency] shall ensure that public local education agencies, public
4-22 nonprofit agencies, and community-based organizations have direct
4-23 and equitable access to the appropriated money [those funds]. The
4-24 legislature may appropriate an [An] additional sum of money [may be
4-25 appropriated] to the board [Texas Department of Commerce] for the
4-26 purpose of skill training in direct support of industrial expansion
4-27 and start-up, and those locations, industries, and occupations
5-1 designated by the board [Texas Department of Commerce], when such
5-2 training is also in support of the basic purposes of this
5-3 subchapter. To fulfill the basic purposes of this subchapter, the
5-4 legislature may appropriate an additional sum of money [may be
5-5 appropriated] for skill training that is conducted to support the
5-6 expansion of civilian employment opportunities on United States
5-7 military reservations.
5-8 (b) The Texas Education Agency, after consultation [agency,
5-9 in conjunction] with the board [Texas Department of Commerce], may
5-10 adopt rules to administer skill training programs for which the
5-11 Texas Education Agency [agency] is responsible, and the board
5-12 [Texas Department of Commerce] may adopt rules to administer skill
5-13 training programs for which it is responsible.
5-14 Sec. 61.9506 [29.256]. REIMBURSEMENT FOR COMMUNITY EDUCATION
5-15 SERVICES. (a) A school district whose governing board elects to
5-16 provide community education for all age groups may on application
5-17 and according to rules adopted by the board [agency] be reimbursed
5-18 for those costs from state funds to the extent authorized by this
5-19 section.
5-20 (b) Only a school district that has in the preceding or
5-21 current year achieved a level of community education services
5-22 prescribed by the board [agency] is eligible for reimbursement
5-23 under this section. The board's [agency's] rules must contain
5-24 specific provisions for eligibility and program operation.
5-25 (c) The cost to the state shall be paid from the foundation
5-26 school fund.
5-27 (d) The legislature in the General Appropriations Act shall
6-1 set a limit on the amount of funds that may be expended under this
6-2 section each year.
6-3 Sec. 61.9507 [29.257]. COMMUNITY EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT
6-4 PROJECTS. (a) The legislature may appropriate money from the
6-5 foundation school fund to the board [agency] for developing and
6-6 implementing community education projects. The board [agency] shall
6-7 actively seek gifts, grants, or other donations for purposes
6-8 related to community education development projects, unless the
6-9 acceptance is prohibited by other law. Money received under this
6-10 subsection shall be deposited in the account established under
6-11 Subsection (b) and may be appropriated only for the purpose for
6-12 which the money was given.
6-13 (b) The community education development account is created
6-14 as a dedicated account in the foundation school fund in the state
6-15 treasury. The account shall consist of community education related
6-16 gifts, grants, and donations and shall be administered by the board
6-17 [agency].
6-18 (c) Subject to legislative appropriation and except as
6-19 provided by Subsection (g), a school district to which the board
6-20 [agency] awards money for a community education development project
6-21 is entitled to receive money for a period of three years. After
6-22 that period, a project must be funded wholly from local sources.
6-23 State funding under this section may not exceed:
6-24 (1) $50,000 for the first year of a project;
6-25 (2) $35,000 for the second year of a project; or
6-26 (3) $20,000 for the third year of a project.
6-27 (d) The board [State Board of Education] by rule shall
7-1 establish procedures for distributing community education
7-2 development money to school districts. The procedures must include
7-3 a statewide competitive process by which the board [agency], in
7-4 accordance with procedures adopted by board rule, evaluates
7-5 applications for community education development money and awards
7-6 money to the school districts whose projects the board [agency]
7-7 determines have the greatest merit. A school district may seek
7-8 review of a board [an agency] determination regarding the award of
7-9 money only in accordance with an administrative review process
7-10 adopted by board rule. A school district may not seek judicial
7-11 review of a board [an agency] determination.
7-12 (e) An application for funding under this section must
7-13 include:
7-14 (1) a resolution adopted by the board of trustees of
7-15 the school district adopting a particular community education
7-16 development project plan;
7-17 (2) in accordance with rules adopted by the board
7-18 [State Board of Education], a description of:
7-19 (A) the objectives of the proposed project,
7-20 including, if appropriate, quantitative targets for the objectives;
7-21 and
7-22 (B) the particular means by which the objectives
7-23 are to be achieved;
7-24 (3) the estimated funding requirements and the data or
7-25 analysis used to prepare the estimate;
7-26 (4) a statement outlining the manner in which the
7-27 proposed project achieves goals for community education and
8-1 complies with the requirements of this section;
8-2 (5) a statement of the manner in which the project is
8-3 to be funded after the third year;
8-4 (6) a provision for a survey of community education
8-5 needs in the school district that:
8-6 (A) incorporates the objectives of community
8-7 education;
8-8 (B) is completed and analyzed by the school
8-9 district in the first year of the project; and
8-10 (C) adheres to statistical techniques recognized
8-11 as valid by professional statisticians;
8-12 (7) a provision for the maximum efficient use of
8-13 existing school facilities in the first year of the project;
8-14 (8) a provision for the establishment of an advisory
8-15 committee of at least 15 members who:
8-16 (A) are selected without regard to race or sex;
8-17 (B) are selected to reflect persons from the
8-18 local business community, governmental agencies, public and private
8-19 nonprofit educational interests, parents, and the general public;
8-20 and
8-21 (C) serve without compensation; and
8-22 (9) a designation of a district community education
8-23 administrator whose primary responsibility is the implementation
8-24 and supervision of the community education program.
8-25 (f) The board [agency] shall monitor each project awarded
8-26 money under this section in accordance with rules adopted by the
8-27 board [State Board of Education]. The board [agency] shall
9-1 evaluate whether the project has satisfactorily carried out the
9-2 district's objectives as set out in the community education project
9-3 plan. The board by rule may provide a process for amending the
9-4 plan.
9-5 (g) A school district is not entitled to funding for any
9-6 year of a project for which:
9-7 (1) the school district did not apply for funding; or
9-8 (2) the board [agency] suspends the funding based on
9-9 the board's [agency's] determination that the school district has
9-10 failed to satisfactorily implement the project's objectives.
9-11 (h) The board [State Board of Education] by rule shall
9-12 provide for an administrative process for the suspension of funding
9-13 under Subsection (g)(2). The rules must be consistent with Chapter
9-14 2001, Government Code.
9-15 (i) The board [State Board of Education] may adopt rules
9-16 necessary to implement and enforce this section, including rules
9-17 relating to financial audits of school districts that receive money
9-18 under this section. Rules adopted under this section by the board
9-19 [State Board of Education] may not permit the board [or the agency]
9-20 to waive any provision of this section.
9-21 (j) The board [agency] may not use more than five percent of
9-22 the funds appropriated for the projects under this section for the
9-23 board's [agency's] administration of this section.
9-24 SECTION 2. (a) On December 1, 2001, adult education
9-25 programs administered by the Texas Education Agency shall be
9-26 transferred to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
9-27 (b) All money, records, property, and equipment in the
10-1 custody of the Texas Education Agency on November 30, 2001, for
10-2 adult education program administration shall be transferred to the
10-3 custody of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board on
10-4 December 1, 2001. A person employed by the Texas Education Agency
10-5 primarily in adult education program administration becomes an
10-6 employee of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board on
10-7 December 1, 2001.
10-8 (c) A reference in a law or rule to the Texas Education
10-9 Agency concerning adult education program administration means the
10-10 Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Until readopted,
10-11 amended, or repealed by the coordinating board, all rules adopted
10-12 by the Texas Education Agency to administer Subchapter H, Chapter
10-13 29, Education Code, that are in effect on November 30, 2001,
10-14 continue in effect as rules of the coordinating board for the
10-15 administration of Subchapter X, Chapter 61, Education Code, as
10-16 added by this Act.
10-17 (d) An appropriation made to the Texas Education Agency for
10-18 adult education program administration for the state fiscal
10-19 biennium ending August 31, 2003, is transferred to the Texas Higher
10-20 Education Coordinating Board on December 1, 2001.
10-21 SECTION 3. (a) The adult education program administration
10-22 transition advisory group is created to advise the Texas Higher
10-23 Education Coordinating Board on transition issues, including
10-24 ensuring continuity of services and complying with federal law
10-25 affecting adult education, in the transfer of administration of
10-26 adult education programs from the Texas Education Agency to the
10-27 Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
11-1 (b) The advisory group consists of 15 members, eight of whom
11-2 shall be appointed by the commissioner of higher education and
11-3 seven of whom shall be appointed by the commissioner of education.
11-4 (c) The advisory group may:
11-5 (1) appoint a full-time staff person to provide
11-6 clerical assistance as necessary to assist in implementing the
11-7 duties of the group; and
11-8 (2) adopt interim rules and procedures as necessary to
11-9 implement this section.
11-10 (d) The commissioner of higher education and the
11-11 commissioner of education shall appoint members to the advisory
11-12 group not later than October 1, 2001.
11-13 (e) The advisory group shall hold its initial meeting not
11-14 later than November 1, 2001.
11-15 (f) This section expires and the advisory group is abolished
11-16 December 1, 2003.
11-17 SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.