C.S.H.B. 2218 78(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


C.S.H.B. 2218
By: Grusendorf
Public Education
Committee Report (Substituted)



BACKGROUND

The traditional classroom instructional model is used by the majority of
public education systems in Texas.  Technological advances have made other
teaching methods - such as online content delivery - possible.  These
advances have the opportunity to address individual student learning
needs.  For example, changing family circumstances cause many children to
move frequently, disrupting the continuity of their learning.  Gifted and
talented students possess the ability to explore topics in great depth, as
long as there is compelling and interesting material at their fingertips.
Conversely, some students get lost in the shuffle of large class sizes and
would benefit from a program that tracks their progress more closely and
provides them with individualized instruction. Also, some children are
engaged in other productive endeavors that make it difficult for them to
attend class during regular school hours. 

Virtual courses and programs use technology to deliver a significant
portion of instruction through the Internet or in a virtual or remote
setting. Virtual courses and programs allow students to work at an
individualized pace that does not prohibit any student from working at a
different grade level in any subject. 

Current law, under S.B. 975 passed in 2001, provides for a pilot project
at the Texas Education Agency to allow school districts to offer and get
credit for electronic courses, however this law expires on September 1,
2003. 

PURPOSE

C.S.H.B. 2218 permits the operation of virtual programs and courses by
school districts under a pilot project in order to offer students greater
educational flexibility and repeals the 2003 expiration date of the pilot
project. 


RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any
additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or
institution. 

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 2218 amends the Education Code to include in the definition of an
electronic course one in which a student and a teacher are in different
locations for a majority of the student's instructional period. The bill
authorizes a school district to offer electronic courses through a
designated campus or a full-time program serving students throughout the
district. 

The bill requires each school district participating in the program to
create and maintain on the district's website an "informed choice" report.
The bill requires the Texas Education Agency to maintain a link to each
district report. This report must include descriptions relating to course
instruction and materials, essential knowledge and skills requirements,
student placement, attendance reporting, campus policies, extracurricular
activities, the teaching model, standardized assessment instruments, and
school year calendar. The bill authorizes the commissioner of education
(commissioner) to  collect from each participating school district a
reasonable fee for paying any administrative costs of the program and
grandfathers from the fee school districts already  participating in the
pilot. 

The bill entitles a school district to receive federal, state, and local
funding for a student enrolled in an electronic course in an amount equal
to the funding the district is otherwise entitled to receive for a student
enrolled in the district. The bill authorizes a school district to
calculate the average daily attendance of a student enrolled in the course
based on hours of contact with the student, the student's successful
completion of a course, or a method approved by the commissioner. 

The bill requires the commissioner to submit a report including methods
proposed by school districts for funding electronic courses and an
evaluation of these fiscal methods to the lieutenant governor and speaker
of the house no later than December 1, 2006. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2003.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 2218 modifies the original by amending and renumbering current
provisions in Chapter 29, Education Code relating to electronic courses
rather than adding a new section under Chapter 12.  C.S.H.B. 2218 modifies
the original by extending and clarifying the existing pilot project for
school district electronic courses and permits districts to offer the
courses in a campus or full-time program, rather than creating school
district authority to charter a virtual campus.