By Giddings H.B. No. 3253
77R8602 KEL-F
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the collection of certain student information by a
1-3 school district or open-enrollment charter school.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Subchapter Z, Chapter 25, Education Code, is
1-6 amended by adding Section 25.902 to read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 25.902. COLLECTION OF CERTAIN STUDENT INFORMATION FOR
1-8 HIGHER EDUCATION AND DIRECTORY PURPOSES. (a) Each school district
1-9 and charter school shall, in accordance with the Family Educational
1-10 Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g), collect
1-11 the following information with respect to each student in grade
1-12 levels 10 through 12:
1-13 (1) the student's name and address;
1-14 (2) the student's ranking in the preceding school year
1-15 by quartile and decile in the student's class;
1-16 (3) to the extent determined appropriate by the
1-17 commissioner and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the
1-18 student's participation in the minimum, recommended, and advanced
1-19 high school graduation programs under Section 28.025; and
1-20 (4) any other student information determined
1-21 appropriate by the commissioner and the Texas Higher Education
1-22 Coordinating Board.
1-23 (b) Each school district and open-enrollment charter school
1-24 shall report the information collected under this section to the
2-1 agency in a format and on a schedule determined by the
2-2 commissioner. The commissioner shall require each school district
2-3 and open-enrollment charter school to report whether a student's
2-4 parent objected as permitted by federal law to the release of any
2-5 of the information collected under this section.
2-6 (c) The agency shall on request release the information
2-7 collected under this section regarding students whose parents did
2-8 not object to its release to any institution of higher education as
2-9 defined by Section 61.003 that admits students to an undergraduate
2-10 degree program. The agency may charge a fee to recover the costs
2-11 of compiling and releasing the information.
2-12 (d) Each institution of higher education that receives
2-13 information under this section shall maintain the information as
2-14 confidential and may not use, copy, or release any of the
2-15 information for a purpose other than to contact students regarding
2-16 application or admission to the institution. Each institution of
2-17 higher education shall return or destroy the information obtained
2-18 under this section not later than the second anniversary of the
2-19 date the student is to graduate from high school. On a
2-20 determination by the commissioner that an institution of higher
2-21 education failed to comply with the confidentiality requirements of
2-22 this section, the commissioner may not release information to that
2-23 institution for a period determined by the commissioner, not to
2-24 exceed five years.
2-25 (e) A school district or open-enrollment charter school may
2-26 designate student information collected under this section as
2-27 directory information that is not for public release. Subject to
3-1 district or school policy, the school district or charter school
3-2 may use the directory information in connection with any school
3-3 activity, including:
3-4 (1) a student directory;
3-5 (2) a student yearbook; and
3-6 (3) for a school district, a school district
3-7 publication.
3-8 (f) A school district or open-enrollment charter school is
3-9 not required to release under Chapter 552, Government Code, any
3-10 information collected under this section if:
3-11 (1) access to the information is limited to students,
3-12 parents, employees, volunteers, institutions of higher education,
3-13 and organizations officially recognized by the State Board of
3-14 Education;
3-15 (2) there is not a fee for access to the information
3-16 other than the cost of a school-related publication; and
3-17 (3) all persons receiving the information agree not to
3-18 disclose the information to any person other than a person
3-19 described by Subdivision (1).
3-20 (g) The commissioner may make rules as necessary to
3-21 implement this section. To the extent feasible, the commissioner
3-22 shall use the Public Education Information Management System
3-23 (PEIMS) for purposes of collecting information under this section.
3-24 SECTION 2. The commissioner of education shall implement
3-25 Section 25.902, Education Code, as added by this Act, as soon as
3-26 practicable after the effective date of this Act.
3-27 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect beginning with the 2001-2002
4-1 school year.