SRC-MSY S.B. 699 78(R)   BILL ANALYSIS


Senate Research Center   S.B. 699
78R4485 KKA-DBy: Shapleigh
Education
3/17/2003
As Filed


DIGEST AND PURPOSE 

Under current Texas law, no single Internet resource exists to provide
students, school districts, teachers, parents, and others across the state
with educational tools and information.  As proposed, S.B. 699 requires
the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to establish and maintain an education
Internet portal that would provide, among other things, on-line classes,
academic texts, and administrative tools for use by students, parents, and
educators with the intent of providing a wider range of educational
resources to more students.  In addition, S.B. 699 provides funding for
the portal from the Texas Infrastructure Fund as well as from fees charged
to some of the portal's users. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

Rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the commissioner of education
in SECTION 1 (Section 32.162., Education Code) of this bill. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Chapter 32, Education Code, by adding Subchapter D, as
follows: 

SUBCHAPTER D.  EDUCATION INTERNET PORTAL

Sec.  32.151.  DEFINITION.  Defines "portal."

Sec.  32.152.  EDUCATION INTERNET PORTAL; GENERAL PURPOSES.  (a) Requires
the Texas Education Agency (TEA), with assistance from certain parties, to
establish and maintain an education Internet portal for use by school
districts, teachers, parents, and students. 

(b)  Requires the portal to serve as a single point of access to
educational resources, and lists certain uses that the portal may serve in
addition to other purposes specified by this subchapter or any other
educational purpose. 

Sec.  32.153.  ADMINISTRATION.  (a)  Grants TEA the responsibility for
general administration and oversight of the portal and for approving the
portal's content. 

(b)  Requires the Department of Information Resources (DIR) to take
certain actions necessary for the creation, implementation, and support of
the portal. 

(b)  [Bill as drafted contains two Subsections (b).]  Requires the joint
advisory committee established under Section 61.077, or any successor to
that committee with certain responsibilities, to serve in an advisory
capacity to TEA and DIR in connection with functions relating to the
portal. 

Sec.  32.154.  ON-LINE COURSES.  (a)  Requires the TEA to coordinate the
identification and development of on-line courses made available through
the portal, and prohibits a course  from being offered through the portal
without being reviewed by TEA and approved by the commissioner of
education (commissioner). 

(b)  Requires TEA to give priority to any course not readily available to
students throughout the state and for which there is a critical need when
coordinating, developing, and reviewing courses to be made available
through the portal. 

(c)  Requires a course made available through the portal to be aligned
with state curriculum requirements under Section 28.002 and the essential
knowledge and skills under that section. 

(d)  Requires TEA to develop quality assurance criteria to be used by TEA
in developing and reviewing courses made available through the portal, and
requires the criteria to include certain components. 

(e)  Requires TEA to seek proposals from vendors and school districts for
providing courses to students, school districts, and parents. 

Sec.  32.155.  ON-LINE COURSE SCHOLARSHIPS.  (a)  Authorizes TEA to award
a scholarship for the costs of an on-line course to a student who
demonstrates certain qualities, with funds available for that purpose. 

(b)  Requires the commissioner to adopt criteria to be used in awarding
scholarships under this section. 

Sec.  32.156.  ON-LINE TEXTBOOKS.  (a)  Requires TEA to develop and adopt
strategies for making textbooks available in an electronic format through
the portal or other means as an alternative or supplement to traditional
textbooks. 

(b)  Requires TEA to seek to achieve a system under which a student may be
provided with secure Internet access to each textbook used by the student,
in addition to a traditional textbook. 

Sec.  32.157.  SCHOOL DISTRICT ADMINISTRATIVE SOFTWARE AND ELECTRONIC
TOOLS.  (a)  Requires TEA to identify Internet-based administrative
software and other electronic tools that may be used by school districts
to improve district administrative functions and to make such tools
available through the portal for voluntary use by the school districts. 

(b)  Requires TEA to assist school districts in identifying sources of
funding that may be used by districts to pay any costs associated with
using the tools described under Subsection (a), and authorizes TEA to
provide such tools to school districts that demonstrate need at no cost,
to the extent that funds are available. 

Sec.  32.158.  STUDENT ASSESSMENT DATA.  (a)  Requires TEA to establish a
secure, interoperable system to be implemented through the portal under
which school districts can access student assessment data for use in
developing strategies for improving student performance. 

(b)  Requires TEA to seek to further the goal of providing school
districts with access to student performance information at the classroom
level when establishing the system required by this section. 

Sec.  32.159.  FEES.  (a)  Authorizes TEA to charge school districts,
teachers, parents, students, and other persons a reasonable fee for
services or information provided through the  portal. 

(b)  Prohibits the total amount of fees charged under this section from
exceeding the amount necessary to pay the costs of administering the
portal. 

(c)  Prohibits an individual fee charged to a person under this section
from exceeding 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)  Requires TEA to make services and information through the portal
available at no cost, to the extent possible. 

Sec.  32.160.  FUNDING.  Requires TEA to pay the costs of establishing and
maintaining the portal using amounts available to the agency from the
telecommunications infrastructure fund, as provided by Section 57.046,
Utilities Code, and the General Appropriations Act. 

Sec.  32.161.  STATEWIDE LICENSING AND CONTRACTING.  Requires TEA to
negotiate statewide licenses or discounts with software vendors and other
persons offering applications suitable for use through the portal, in
order to provide services through the portal at no cost or at a reasonable
cost. 

Sec.  32.162.  OUTREACH AND TRAINING.  (a)  Requires TEA to conduct
outreach activities to provide information regarding the portal to school
districts, teachers, parents, and students. 

(b)  Requires TEA to provide training to school districts and teachers in
use of the portal.  Requires training in use of the portal to be made
available to parents and students by the agency or school districts, as
determined by commissioner rule. 

SECTION 2.  Amends Section 57.046(a), Utilities Code, by requiring the
Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund Board to use money in the public
schools account to fund the portal established under Chapter 32D,
Education Code, as added by this Act, and to use any remaining funds to
award certain grants and loans. 

SECTION 3.  Requires TEA to submit a report to the legislature containing
recommendations for maximizing the benefits of providing access to
textbooks or other educational materials through the Internet using the
portal established under established under Chapter 32D, Education Code, as
added by this Act. 

SECTION 4.  Requires TEA and DIR to coordinate their activities in
implementing established under Chapter 32D, Education Code, as added by
this Act, including certain relevant ongoing activities relating to
systems necessary to conform state educational reporting processes with
educational reporting requirements imposed by federal law. 

SECTION 5.  Effective date:  upon passage or September 1, 2003.