78R4485 KKA-D
By: Shapleigh S.B. No. 699
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to establishment of a public education Internet portal.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. 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 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) provide the infrastructure necessary for the
portal;
(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) assist the agency in contracting with vendors for
services in connection with the portal;
(5) provide a method for maintaining the information
made available through the portal; and
(6) cooperate with the agency in linking the agency's
Internet site to the portal.
(b) 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 shall
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 shall 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.
(e) The agency shall seek proposals from vendors and school
districts for providing courses to students, school districts, and
parents.
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 shall adopt criteria to be used in
awarding scholarships under this section.
Sec. 32.156. ON-LINE TEXTBOOKS. (a) The agency shall
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 shall:
(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 shall 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 shall
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
administering 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. FUNDING. As provided by Section 57.046,
Utilities Code, and the General Appropriations Act, the agency
shall pay the costs of establishing and maintaining the portal
using amounts available to the agency from the telecommunications
infrastructure fund.
Sec. 32.161. 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 shall negotiate statewide
licenses or discounts with software vendors and other persons
offering applications that are suitable for use through the portal.
Sec. 32.162. OUTREACH AND TRAINING. (a) The agency shall
conduct outreach activities to provide information regarding the
portal to school districts, teachers, parents, and students.
(b) The agency shall provide training to school districts
and teachers in use of the portal. Training in use of the portal
shall be made available to parents and students by the agency or
school districts, as determined by commissioner rule.
SECTION 2. Section 57.046(a), Utilities Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The board shall use money in the public schools account
to fund the education Internet portal established under Subchapter
D, Chapter 32, Education Code. The board shall use any remaining
money in the public schools account to award grants and loans in
accordance with this subchapter to fund:
(1) equipment for public schools, including
computers, printers, computer labs, and video equipment; and
(2) intracampus and intercampus wiring to enable those
public schools to use the equipment.
SECTION 3. 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 4. 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.
SECTION 5. 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.