79R875 ESH-D
By: Corte H.B. No. 12
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to creation of a public education voucher pilot program
for certain children.
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. PUBLIC EDUCATION VOUCHER PILOT PROGRAM
Sec. 29.351. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Parent" includes a guardian or custodian.
(2) "Private school" means a nongovernmental
educational establishment that exists for the general education of
elementary or secondary students. The term does not include a
school that provides education in a home setting or by the parent or
that limits enrollment to relatives of the school's staff.
Sec. 29.352. ELIGIBLE CHILD. (a) A child is eligible for a
voucher to be used to pay the costs of attending a private school if
the child:
(1) is educationally disadvantaged;
(2) is eligible to attend school under Section 25.001
in a school district that is among the six largest districts in
membership for the 2005-2006 school year, as determined by the
commissioner;
(3) was enrolled in a public school district during
the preceding school year or is enrolling in prekindergarten,
kindergarten, or first grade for the first time; and
(4) either:
(A) failed to perform satisfactorily on the most
recent assessment instrument administered to the child under
Section 39.023(a), (b), (c), or (l); or
(B) is eligible under Subchapter G to attend
another public school in the district in which the child resides or
to receive a public education grant to use to attend a public school
in another district, but has had an application to attend another
school in the child's district or in another district rejected.
(b) After a child establishes eligibility under Subsection
(a) and attends a private school using a voucher, the child is
entitled to continue receiving the voucher, regardless of whether
the child continues to meet the requirements of Subsection (a),
until the earlier of the date on which the child graduates from high
school or the child's 21st birthday, unless the child:
(1) enrolls in a public school district after using
the voucher; or
(2) changes residences and is no longer entitled under
Section 25.001 to attend school in the school district under which
the child's eligibility for a voucher was established.
Sec. 29.353. PARENTAL NOTIFICATION. (a) Not later than a
date established by the commissioner, a school district described
by Section 29.352(a)(2) shall notify in writing the parent of each
eligible child of the child's eligibility for a voucher.
(b) A parent may apply for a voucher on behalf of the
parent's child by notifying the school district by a date
established by the commissioner.
Sec. 29.354. AMOUNT OF VOUCHER; FINANCING. (a) A child's
voucher is an amount equal to the total average per student funding
amount in the school district the child would otherwise attend
during the preceding school year for maintenance and operations,
including state and local funding, but excluding money from the
available school fund.
(b) An eligible child who attends a private school in
compliance with this subchapter is entitled to 100 percent of the
child's voucher, unless the tuition charged by the school is less
than the amount of the voucher. In that event, the school district
the child would otherwise attend is entitled to the amount of the
voucher remaining after payment of tuition.
(c) An eligible child who attends a private school using a
voucher is included in determining the average daily attendance
under Section 42.005 of the school district in which the student
would otherwise attend school.
(d) A child's voucher is payable from the school district to
the private school on behalf of the child. A child's voucher is the
entitlement of the child, under the supervision of the child's
parent, is not an entitlement of any school, and is paid to a school
solely as a means of administrative convenience.
Sec. 29.355. ACCREDITATION. (a) Except as otherwise
provided by this section, a private school that accepts students
with vouchers must be accredited by a private organization
recognized by the commissioner.
(b) A newly established private school may receive voucher
funds without accreditation if the school applies for accreditation
before accepting students under the program.
(c) The commissioner may waive the requirements of this
section for good cause.
Sec. 29.356. ADMISSIONS. (a) A private school may not
refuse to enroll a child with a voucher on the basis of the child's
residence, race, national origin, ethnic background, religion,
disability, or academic achievement.
(b) A private school may refuse to enroll a child with a
voucher if the child:
(1) has been expelled from a public school; or
(2) has a criminal record.
(c) A private school may not consider the athletic ability
of a child with a voucher in any admission process relating to the
child.
(d) Except as provided by Subsection (e), a private school
that has more applicants with vouchers than available positions
must fill the positions by lottery. A private school must declare
the number of available positions and conduct the lottery for the
next school year not later than July 1 of each year.
(e) A private school may give preference to an enrolled
student to achieve continuity and to siblings of an enrolled
student or children residing in the same household as an enrolled
student for the convenience of the parents of those children.
Sec. 29.357. TUITION; ADDITIONAL CHARGES AND FEES. A
private school may not:
(1) charge an eligible child attending the school with
a voucher tuition:
(A) in addition to the voucher; or
(B) in an amount greater than the standard
tuition rate at the school; or
(2) assess any additional charge, other than a fee
that the board of trustees of a school district is authorized to
charge under Section 11.158, for providing an educational program
or service to the child.
Sec. 29.358. ACCOUNTABILITY. (a) A private school shall
administer to each student with a voucher who is enrolled in the
school the assessment instruments required under Section
39.023(a), (b), (c), or (l), or other comparable assessment
instruments approved by the commissioner, in the same manner as
those instruments are administered to public school students.
(b) A private school shall report to the commissioner
concerning the school's performance on the academic excellence
indicators under Section 39.051 for students with vouchers who are
enrolled in the school. The commissioner shall publish the school's
performance information and make it available to parents for
review.
Sec. 29.359. CERTIFICATION TO COMPTROLLER. To receive
voucher funds, a private school must certify to the comptroller
that the school has complied with the conditions imposed by Section
29.356.
Sec. 29.360. DUTIES OF COMPTROLLER. The comptroller shall
adopt rules, procedures, and forms for the payment of vouchers to
private schools on behalf of students attending those schools with
vouchers.
Sec. 29.361. EVALUATION AND REPORT. The commissioner, in
consultation with the school districts whose students are eligible
to participate in the pilot program, shall evaluate the program
established by this subchapter and report the evaluation, together
with recommendations, to the legislature not later than December 1,
2008.
Sec. 29.362. EXPIRATION. This subchapter expires
September 1, 2009, and vouchers may not be issued for the 2009-2010
or a later school year.
SECTION 2. The commissioner of education and the
comptroller shall implement the public education voucher pilot
program as provided by Subchapter J, Chapter 29, Education Code, as
added by this Act, beginning with the 2005-2006 school year.
SECTION 3. 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, 2005.