By Armbrister S.B. No. 526
77R3239 CAS-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the age at which a child may be admitted to public
1-3 school.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Sections 25.001(a) and (b), Education Code, are
1-6 amended to read as follows:
1-7 (a) A person who was [is] at least five years of age on May
1-8 31 of the preceding school year and is under 21 years of age on the
1-9 first day of September of the [any] school year is entitled to the
1-10 benefits of the available school fund for that school year. Any
1-11 other person enrolled in a prekindergarten class under Section
1-12 29.153 is entitled to the benefits of the available school fund.
1-13 (b) The board of trustees of a school district or its
1-14 designee shall admit into the public schools of the district free
1-15 of tuition a person who is entitled to the benefits of the
1-16 available school fund under Subsection (a) for [over five and
1-17 younger than 21 years of age on the first day of September of] the
1-18 school year in which admission is sought if:
1-19 (1) the person and either parent of the person reside
1-20 in the school district;
1-21 (2) the person does not reside in the school district
1-22 but a parent of the person resides in the school district and that
1-23 parent is a joint managing conservator or the sole managing
1-24 conservator or possessory conservator of the person;
2-1 (3) the person and the person's guardian or other
2-2 person having lawful control of the person under a court order
2-3 reside within the school district;
2-4 (4) the person has established a separate residence
2-5 under Subsection (d);
2-6 (5) the person is homeless, as defined by 42 U.S.C.
2-7 Section 11302, regardless of the residence of the person, of either
2-8 parent of the person, or of the person's guardian or other person
2-9 having lawful control of the person;
2-10 (6) the person is a foreign exchange student placed
2-11 with a host family that resides in the school district by a
2-12 nationally recognized foreign exchange program, unless the school
2-13 district has applied for and been granted a waiver by the
2-14 commissioner under Subsection (e);
2-15 (7) the person resides at a residential facility
2-16 located in the district; or
2-17 (8) the person resides in the school district and is
2-18 18 years of age or older or the person's disabilities of minority
2-19 have been removed.
2-20 SECTION 2. Section 25.036(a), Education Code, is amended to
2-21 read as follows:
2-22 (a) Any child, other than a high school graduate, who is
2-23 entitled to the benefits of the available school fund under Section
2-24 25.001(a) [younger than 21 years of age and eligible for enrollment
2-25 on September 1 of any school year] may transfer annually from the
2-26 child's school district of residence to another district in this
2-27 state if both the receiving district and the applicant parent or
3-1 guardian or person having lawful control of the child jointly
3-2 approve and timely agree in writing to the transfer.
3-3 SECTION 3. Section 29.151, Education Code, is amended to read
3-4 as follows:
3-5 Sec. 29.151. FREE KINDERGARTEN. The board of trustees of
3-6 each school district shall establish and maintain one or more
3-7 kindergartens for the training of children residing in the district
3-8 who were [are] at least five years of age on May 31 [September 1]
3-9 of the preceding school year.
3-10 SECTION 4. Sections 42.003(a) and (c), Education Code, are
3-11 amended to read as follows:
3-12 (a) A student is entitled to the benefits of the Foundation
3-13 School Program if the student is entitled to the benefits of the
3-14 available school fund under Section 25.001(a) [5 years of age or
3-15 older and under 21 years of age on September 1 of the school year]
3-16 and has not graduated from high school.
3-17 (c) A child may be enrolled in the first grade if the child
3-18 was [is] at least six years of age on May 31 [at the beginning] of
3-19 the preceding school year [of the district] or has been enrolled in
3-20 the first grade or has completed kindergarten in the public schools
3-21 in another state before transferring to a public school in this
3-22 state.
3-23 SECTION 5. This Act applies beginning with the 2001-2002
3-24 school year.
3-25 SECTION 6. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
3-26 a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
3-27 provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
4-1 Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
4-2 Act takes effect September 1, 2001.