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Amend SB 1152 (senate engrossment) as follows:
(1) Between SECTIONS 14 and 15 (page 11, between lines 24 and 25), insert a new appropriately numbered SECTION as follows:
SECTION ____. Chapter 32, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter D to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER D. EDUCATION INTERNET PORTAL
Sec. 32.151. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "portal"
means the education Internet portal required by this subchapter.
Sec. 32.152. EDUCATION INTERNET PORTAL; GENERAL PURPOSES.
(a) The agency, with assistance from the Department of Information
Resources and with participation by the Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board, interested school districts, and interested
persons in the private sector, shall establish and maintain an
education Internet portal for use by school districts, teachers,
parents, and students.
(b) The portal must serve as a single point of access to
educational resources. In addition to any other purpose specified
by this subchapter or any other educational purpose, the portal may
be used to:
(1) alleviate inequities in access to educational
resources by providing access to on-line courses;
(2) improve student academic performance by providing
access to tutorial materials, instructional materials that have
been shown to improve academic performance, and other interactive
materials, including materials that assess an individual student's
knowledge and prepare the student for the administration of a
standardized assessment instrument, including an assessment
instrument administered under Section 39.023;
(3) provide school districts with access to
administrative software and other electronic tools designed to
promote administrative efficiency and intra-district
communication;
(4) provide secure access to student assessment data;
or
(5) provide links to appropriate educational
resources and experts available through the Internet.
Sec. 32.153. ADMINISTRATION. (a) The agency has
responsibility for general administration and oversight of the
portal and for approving the content of all information made
available through the portal.
(b) The Department of Information Resources shall:
(1) host the portal through the project known as
TexasOnline;
(2) organize the portal in a manner that simplifies
portal use and administration;
(3) provide any necessary technical advice to the
agency, including advice relating to equipment required in
connection with the portal;
(4) provide a method for maintaining the information
made available through the portal; and
(5) cooperate with the agency in linking the agency's
Internet site to the portal.
(c) The Department of Information Resources may assist the
agency with technical advice regarding contracting with vendors for
services in connection with the portal.
(d) The joint advisory committee established under Section
61.077, or any successor to that committee with advisory
responsibility for coordination between secondary and
postsecondary education, shall serve in an advisory capacity to the
agency and the Department of Information Resources in connection
with functions relating to the portal.
Sec. 32.154. ON-LINE COURSES. (a) The agency may
coordinate the identification and development of on-line courses
made available through the portal. A course may not be made
available through the portal unless the course is reviewed by the
agency and approved by the commissioner.
(b) In coordinating, developing, and reviewing courses to
be made available through the portal, the agency shall give
priority to any course that is not readily available to students
throughout the state and for which there is a critical need.
(c) A course made available through the portal must be
aligned with state curriculum requirements under Section 28.002 and
the essential knowledge and skills identified under that section.
(d) The agency may develop quality assurance criteria to be
used by the agency in developing and reviewing courses made
available through the portal. The criteria must include components
relating to:
(1) course content;
(2) instructor qualifications;
(3) validity of assessment procedures;
(4) security features; and
(5) degree of interactivity.
Sec. 32.155. ON-LINE COURSE SCHOLARSHIPS. (a) Using funds
available for that purpose, the agency may award a scholarship for
the costs of an on-line course to a student who demonstrates that:
(1) the student has inequitable access to the course;
and
(2) access to the course would improve the likelihood
of the student's academic success.
(b) The commissioner may adopt criteria to be used in
awarding scholarships under this section. The criteria must limit
the availability of scholarships to students who:
(1) are enrolled in a public school on a full-time
basis; or
(2) were enrolled in a public school on a full-time
basis for at least three months during the preceding school year and
indicate an intent to enroll in a public school on a full-time basis
for at least three months during the school year for which the
scholarship is offered.
Sec. 32.156. ON-LINE TEXTBOOKS. (a) The agency may develop
and adopt strategies for making textbooks available through the
portal or through other means in an electronic format as an
alternative or supplement to traditional textbooks.
(b) In developing and adopting strategies under this
section, the agency shall seek to achieve a system under which a
student may, in addition to a traditional textbook, be provided
with secure Internet access to each textbook used by the student.
Sec. 32.157. SCHOOL DISTRICT ADMINISTRATIVE SOFTWARE AND
ELECTRONIC TOOLS. (a) The agency may:
(1) identify effective Internet-based administrative
software and other electronic tools that may be used by school
districts to improve district administrative functions; and
(2) pursue efforts to make that software and other
electronic tools available through the portal for use by school
districts on a voluntary basis.
(b) The agency may assist school districts in identifying
sources of funding that may be used by districts to pay any costs
associated with using administrative software and other electronic
tools available through the portal. To the extent that funds are
available to the agency, the agency may provide administrative
software and other electronic tools through the portal at no cost to
specific school districts selected by the agency based on
demonstrated need.
Sec. 32.158. STUDENT ASSESSMENT DATA. (a) The agency may
establish a secure, interoperable system to be implemented through
the portal under which school districts can readily access student
assessment data for use in developing strategies for improving
student performance.
(b) In establishing the system required by this section, the
agency shall seek to further the goal of providing school districts
with access to student performance information at the classroom
level.
Sec. 32.159. FEES. (a) The agency may charge school
districts, teachers, parents, students, and other persons a
reasonable fee for services or information provided through the
portal.
(b) The total amount of fees charged under this section may
not exceed the amount necessary to pay costs associated with the
development, administration, and maintenance of the portal.
(c) An individual fee charged to a person under this section
for a service or information may not exceed the amount that the
person would be required to pay to obtain the service or information
from a commercial source or through another means of access other
than the portal.
(d) To the extent possible, the agency shall make services
and information available through the portal at no cost to school
districts, teachers, parents, students, and other persons.
Sec. 32.160. VENDOR PARTICIPATION. (a) The agency may seek
proposals from private vendors for providing on-line courses or
other materials or services through the portal in accordance with
this subchapter. A vendor may not provide an on-line course or
other material or service through the portal without approval by
the agency.
(b) The agency may require a vendor, as a condition of
approval of the vendor's proposal, to:
(1) pay:
(A) all or part of the costs of providing the
on-line course or other material or service;
(B) an access fee to be used by the agency in
paying the general costs of maintaining the portal; or
(C) both the amounts described by Paragraphs (A)
and (B); and
(2) if applicable, provide on-line course
scholarships to students in accordance with criteria adopted by the
commissioner.
Sec. 32.161. FUNDING. (a) The agency may not use general
revenue funds to pay the costs of developing, administering, and
maintaining the portal. The agency may use amounts available to the
agency from:
(1) gifts, grants, or donations;
(2) vendor payments described by Section 32.160(b); or
(3) arrangements with nonprofit or private entities
approved by the agency.
(b) To the extent possible considering other statutory
requirements, the commissioner and agency shall encourage the use
of textbook funds and technology allotment funds under Section
31.021(b)(2) in a manner that facilitates the development and use
of the portal.
Sec. 32.162. STATEWIDE LICENSING AND CONTRACTING. As
appropriate to promote the availability through the portal of
services and information specified by this subchapter at no cost to
users or at a reasonable cost, the agency may negotiate statewide
licenses or discounts with software vendors and other persons
offering applications that are suitable for use through the portal.
Sec. 32.163. OUTREACH AND TRAINING. (a) The agency may
conduct outreach activities to provide information regarding the
portal to school districts, teachers, parents, and students.
(b) The agency may provide training to school districts and
teachers in use of the portal. Training in use of the portal may be
made available to parents and students by the agency or school
districts, as determined by commissioner rule.
(2) Between SECTIONS 17 and 18 (page 12, between lines 20
and 21), insert the following appropriately numbered SECTIONS:
SECTION ____. Not later than January 1, 2005, the Texas
Education Agency shall submit a report to the legislature that
contains recommendations for maximizing the benefits of providing
access to textbooks or other educational materials through the
Internet using the education Internet portal required by Subchapter
D, Chapter 32, Education Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION ____. The Texas Education Agency and the Department
of Information Resources shall coordinate agency and department
activities in implementing Subchapter D, Chapter 32, Education
Code, as added by this Act, with relevant ongoing activities
relating to modification of the Public Education Information
Management System (PEIMS) and other systems necessary to conform
state educational reporting processes with educational reporting
requirements imposed by federal law.
(3) Renumber the SECTIONS of the bill appropriately.