78R11146 SLO-D
By: Grusendorf, Wilson, Krusee, Lewis H.B. No. 2465
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2465:
By: Madden C.S.H.B. No. 2465
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to an education freedom pilot program for certain children
in certain school districts.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 29, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter J to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER J. EDUCATION FREEDOM PROGRAM
Sec. 29.351. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Eligible district" means a school district in
which, during the 2001-2002 school year:
(A) a majority of the students were educationally
disadvantaged; and
(B) the enrollment was greater than 40,000.
(2) "Parent" includes a guardian or custodian.
(3) "Private school" means a nongovernmental
educational establishment that exists for the general education of
elementary and secondary students. The term does not include a
school that provides education in a home setting by the parent or
that limits enrollment to relatives of the school's staff.
(4) "Program" means the education freedom program
described by this subchapter.
Sec. 29.352. PROGRAM. (a) An eligible child under Section
29.353 or 29.363, as applicable, may, at the option of the child's
parent:
(1) attend any public school in the child's district of
residence under Subchapter G;
(2) subject to the limitations of Section 29.203,
attend a public school in another district under Subchapter G; or
(3) use a scholarship as provided by Section 29.354 to
pay the costs of attending a private school.
(b) Section 42.157 does not apply to a child who attends a
public school in another district under Subsection (a)(2).
Sec. 29.353. ELIGIBLE CHILD. (a) A child is eligible to
participate in the program if the child:
(1) resides in an eligible district;
(2) attended a public school for the majority of the
preceding semester; and
(3) resides in a household that had, in the household's
most recently filed federal income tax return, an annual household
income not exceeding 200 percent of the qualifying income for a
reduced price lunch under the national school lunch program
established under 42 U.S.C. Section 1751 et seq. and its subsequent
amendments.
(b) A child who establishes eligibility under Subsection
(a) is entitled to continue participating until the earlier of the
date on which the child graduates from high school or the child's
21st birthday.
Sec. 29.354. FINANCING; SCHOLARSHIP. (a) For purposes of
this section, an eligible child who attends a private school under
this subchapter is considered in determining the average daily
attendance under Section 42.005 of the district in which the child
resides at the time the child first becomes eligible for
participation in the program.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), a child's
scholarship is an amount equal to the average funding per child for
maintenance and operations, during the preceding school year in the
district in which the child resides at the time the child first
becomes eligible for participation in the program, from all sources
other than:
(1) the available school fund;
(2) federal funds;
(3) funds for special education programs under
Subchapter A; and
(4) funding to which the district is entitled under
Subsection (f)(1)(B).
(c) The amount of the scholarship of a child who is eligible
under Section 29.003(b) for special education services includes
funding to which the school district is entitled under Section
42.151 for the child.
(d) The comptroller shall adopt rules regarding the
calculation and distribution of payments for both public and
private schools.
(e) On application by the parent of an eligible child, the
comptroller shall issue a scholarship certificate to the parent.
The parent shall promptly endorse and present the certificate to
the private school chosen by the parent.
(f) The private school the child attends must endorse and
present the child's scholarship certificate to the comptroller to
receive payment. On presentation of the certificate, the
comptroller shall distribute:
(1) to the district in which the child resides at the
time the child first becomes eligible for participation in the
program:
(A) the available school fund share attributable
to the child, notwithstanding Section 43.001; and
(B) 10 percent of the amount of the scholarship;
and
(2) to the private school the lesser of:
(A) 90 percent of the amount of the scholarship;
or
(B) the school's average annual cost per student.
(g) For costs of administering the program, the comptroller
may retain a portion of the scholarship from the share of the
district in which a child resides at the time the child first
becomes eligible for participation in the program.
(h) The comptroller shall direct the distribution of funds
to the private school the child attends on a monthly pro rata basis
after education services have been provided. The comptroller may
require that the private school submit evidence of the child's
attendance at the private school before the comptroller directs
funds to the private school. The payment shall be made not later
than the 30th day after the date on which the comptroller receives
from the private school a request for payment.
(i) The comptroller shall direct the distribution of funds
to the district in which the child resides at the time the child
first becomes eligible for participation in the program on an
annual basis.
(j) The child's scholarship is the entitlement of the child,
under the supervision of the child's parent, and not that of any
school. Solely as a means of administrative convenience, the
comptroller shall pay the private school the child attends on
presentation of the scholarship certificate by the school.
(k) A private school may not share a child's scholarship
with or refund or rebate a child's scholarship to the parent or
child in any manner.
Sec. 29.355. ACCREDITATION. To participate in the program,
a private school must be accredited by or have filed an application
for accreditation by an accrediting association recognized by the
commissioner to accredit nongovernmental schools in this state.
Sec. 29.356. ADMISSIONS. (a) A private school chosen by an
eligible child's parent under Section 29.352 may not deny admission
by discriminating on the basis of the child's race, national
origin, or ethnicity and must comply with the requirements of:
(1) 42 U.S.C. Section 2000d et seq. and its subsequent
amendments with respect to nondiscrimination on the basis of race,
color, or national origin; and
(2) Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C.
Section 794) and its subsequent amendments with respect to
nondiscrimination on the basis of disability.
(b) A private school that has more qualified scholarship
applicants for attendance under this subchapter than available
positions must fill the available scholarship positions by a random
selection process. However, to achieve continuity in education, a
school may give preference among scholarship applicants to
previously enrolled students and to other children residing in the
same household as previously enrolled students.
(c) A private school that accepts a child using a
scholarship is entitled to a copy of the child's complete academic
transcript, including past results on assessment instruments
administered under Section 39.023, from each school the child
previously attended. A public school releasing an academic
transcript under this subsection shall comply with any applicable
provision of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974
(20 U.S.C. Section 1232g) and its subsequent amendments.
(d) The comptroller is not responsible for responding to or
investigating any complaint or dispute arising under this section.
Sec. 29.357. ACCOUNTABILITY. Each private school that
accepts a scholarship under this subchapter shall annually
administer in the spring either the appropriate assessment
instrument required under Section 39.023 or a norm-referenced
assessment instrument approved under Section 39.026 and shall make
the aggregated results of the assessment instrument available to
the public. Individual student results shall be made available,
with appropriate safeguards for student privacy, to researchers as
required under Section 29.366.
Sec. 29.358. PERFORMANCE STANDARDS. (a) Not later than
September 1, 2005, the commissioner in conjunction with the
comptroller and the Charles A. Dana Center at The University of
Texas at Austin shall create a rating system under which a student
who attends a private school under this subchapter is rated based on
the student's yearly academic progress. The student's parent must
be notified of the student's rating under the system.
(b) If a student or group of students who attend a private
school under this subchapter receives a rating of academically
unacceptable for a period of one year, the school must notify the
parent of the student or of each student in the group.
(c) If a student or group of students who attend a private
school under this subchapter receives a rating of academically
unacceptable for two consecutive years, the commissioner may revoke
the scholarship of the student or group of students.
(d) The rating system applies beginning with the 2005-2006
school year.
Sec. 29.359. TRANSPORTATION. A participating school
district shall offer each child attending a private school under
this subchapter transportation free of charge to and from the
public school the child would otherwise attend to the extent
provided under Section 42.155 for an eligible child.
Sec. 29.360. ADDITIONAL TUITION PROHIBITED. A parent or a
child using a scholarship under this subchapter may not be required
to pay tuition in addition to the child's scholarship.
Sec. 29.361. PRIVATE SCHOOL AUTONOMY. (a) A private school
that accepts a scholarship under this subchapter is not an agent or
arm of the state or federal government.
(b) Except as provided by this subchapter, the agency, the
State Board of Education, the commissioner, the comptroller, or any
other state agency may not in any way regulate the educational
program of a private school that accepts a scholarship under this
subchapter.
(c) The purpose of this subchapter is to allow maximum
freedom to the private sector to respond to the educational needs of
the children of this state without governmental control, and this
subchapter shall be liberally construed to achieve that purpose.
Sec. 29.362. LIMITATION ON NUMBER OF PARTICIPATING
CHILDREN. Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter,
the number of children in a school district who may participate in
the program during a school year is limited to the lesser of:
(1) five percent of the number of eligible children;
or
(2) the number of children for whom the total amount of
scholarships in the amount determined under Section 29.354 is equal
to three percent of the district's total maintenance and operations
revenue for the preceding school year.
Sec. 29.363. ELIGIBLE CHILD AND ELIGIBLE DISTRICT BEGINNING
WITH 2005-2006 SCHOOL YEAR. (a) Notwithstanding Section 29.351,
beginning with the 2005-2006 school year, "eligible district"
includes any school district whose board of trustees adopts a
resolution to participate in the program.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 29.353, beginning with the
2005-2006 school year, a child who resides in an eligible district
as defined by Subsection (a) is eligible to participate in the
program if the child attended a public school for the majority of
the preceding semester.
(c) A child who establishes eligibility under Subsection
(b) is entitled to continue participating until the earlier of the
date on which the child graduates from high school or the child's
21st birthday.
Sec. 29.364. RULES. The comptroller shall adopt rules
necessary only for the administration of the program. A rule
adopted under this section is binding on any other state or local
governmental entity as necessary in order to administer the
program.
Sec. 29.365. SCHOOLS OF CHOICE RESOURCE CENTERS. (a) The
comptroller shall select one or more independently funded nonprofit
organizations to coordinate, provide staff for, and administer
schools of choice resource centers in each eligible district to:
(1) assist parents in learning how to be better
education consumers;
(2) provide information on education alternatives in
the area; and
(3) assist parents, schools, and school districts in
implementing and responding to the program.
(b) This section expires December 31, 2008.
Sec. 29.366. EVALUATION OF PROGRAM. (a) The comptroller in
conjunction with the Charles A. Dana Center at The University of
Texas at Austin shall:
(1) evaluate the program to assess the extent of
participation by eligible children who reside in eligible
districts; and
(2) contract with one or more qualified researchers
who have previous experience evaluating school choice programs to
conduct a study of the program with funds other than state funds.
(b) The study described by Subsection (a)(2) must assess:
(1) each participating student's performance on annual
assessment instruments before and after entering the program;
(2) the level of a participating student's
satisfaction with the program;
(3) the level of parent satisfaction with the program;
(4) the overall impact of the program on public school
students and on the districts and schools from which the
participating students transferred; and
(5) the impact of the program on public and private
school capacity, availability, and quality of service.
(c) The researchers who conduct the study shall apply
appropriate analytical and behavioral science methodologies to
ensure public confidence in the study.
(d) The researchers who conduct the study shall provide the
legislature with a final copy of the evaluation of the program.
(e) The comptroller may accept grants to assist in
implementing this section.
(f) This section expires June 1, 2010.
SECTION 2. Section 29.202(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A student is eligible to receive a public education
grant or to attend another public school in the district in which
the student resides under this subchapter if the student is
assigned to attend a public school campus:
(1) at which 50 percent or more of the students did not
perform satisfactorily on an assessment instrument administered
under Section 39.023(a) or (c) in any two of the preceding three
years; [or]
(2) that was, at any time in the preceding three years,
identified as low-performing by the commissioner under Subchapter
D, Chapter 39; or
(3) that is in a district whose students may use an
education scholarship under Subchapter J, Chapter 29, and the
student is an eligible child under Section 29.353 or 29.363.
SECTION 3. (a) The comptroller shall make the education
freedom program as provided by Subchapter J, Chapter 29, Education
Code, as added by this Act, available for participation not later
than January 1, 2004.
(b) As soon as practicable the comptroller shall adopt rules
necessary for the administration of the program.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2003.