79R5328 PAM-F
By: Riddle H.B. No. 3042
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a public education voucher program for elementary and
secondary students.
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 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. PROGRAM; REQUIREMENTS. (a) An eligible child
under Section 29.353 is entitled to receive an elementary and
secondary education voucher that any private or public school may
accept for payment of tuition and fees required to attend the
school.
(b) A parent may apply for a voucher on behalf of the
parent's child by submitting an application to the commissioner.
The application must include sufficient information to determine a
child's eligibility for a voucher.
Sec. 29.353. ELIGIBLE CHILD. (a) A child is eligible to
participate in the program:
(1) if:
(A) the child is eligible to attend public school
in this state; and
(B) the child legally resides in this state; and
(2) if:
(A) the child attended a public school full time
during the final semester of the preceding school year; or
(B) the child received a voucher during the
preceding school year.
(b) The parent of an eligible child who receives a voucher:
(1) is not required to reapply for the voucher if the
child continues to be eligible for the voucher; and
(2) must provide written notice to the commissioner
not later than September 15 of each school year confirming that the
child will continue to participate in the program.
Sec. 29.354. ADMISSIONS. (a) A private school may reject
an application for admission of a child who is not academically
qualified for admission to the school, as determined by the school,
but the school may not reject an application on the basis of the
child's race, national origin, or ethnicity.
(b) A private school that has more academically qualified
applicants with vouchers than available positions must fill the
positions on a first-come, first-served basis.
Sec. 29.355. PARENTAL NOTIFICATION. At the end of each
school year, each school district shall notify in writing the
parent of each eligible child of the child's eligibility for the
program.
Sec. 29.356. AMOUNT OF VOUCHER; FINANCING. (a) Each
voucher must be:
(1) in the amount of $5,500, to be adjusted yearly
using the average of the Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers
published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States
Department of Labor for Dallas and Houston for the preceding year;
and
(2) financed by legislative appropriation.
(b) On presentation of the voucher as payment to a school
that accepts the voucher, a parent of an eligible child may:
(1) designate an amount equal to part or all of the
voucher to pay part or all of the child's tuition and other fees
charged by the school; and
(2) supplement the voucher to pay any remaining
balance for tuition or other fees.
(c) On acceptance of a voucher as payment, a school is
entitled to receive the lesser of:
(1) the amount designated by the parent of the
eligible child under Subsection (b)(1);
(2) the amount of tuition and other fees charged by the
school; or
(3) the amount of the voucher, as determined under
Subsection (a)(1).
(d) On receipt of a voucher as payment, a school must submit
to the commissioner:
(1) the voucher;
(2) evidence of the child's enrollment at the school
for payment on a monthly, pro rata basis; and
(3) a statement of the school's regular charges for
tuition and other fees, including any fees for textbooks.
Sec. 29.357. VOUCHER ACCOUNT. (a) If a parent designates
less money for payment of tuition than the total voucher amount, or
a school's tuition and other fees are less than the total voucher
amount, the difference between the value of the voucher and the
amount of the tuition and fees shall be deposited in an account in
the child's name that shall be maintained by the comptroller.
(b) The voucher account balance, including interest but
excluding administrative fees, may be used to:
(1) pay tuition at an elementary or secondary school
if the school's tuition is greater than the value of the voucher; or
(2) pay tuition or fees at a college or university.
(c) If a child using a voucher has not obtained a high school
diploma before the child's 21st birthday, any remaining balance in
the child's voucher account must be deposited to the credit of the
foundation school fund.
(d) If a child using a voucher and holding a high school
diploma has not obtained a bachelor's degree before the child's 25th
birthday, any remaining balance in the child's voucher account
shall be deposited to the credit of the foundation school fund.
Sec. 29.358. ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS; LIABILITY FOR
REPAYMENT. (a) The parent of each child receiving a voucher shall
ensure that the child is tested annually by means of a nationally
recognized, norm-referenced assessment instrument adopted under
Section 39.026.
(b) The certified test results must be submitted to the
commissioner. If a parent fails to designate the commissioner as
a recipient of the results, the parent shall repay any money
expended for the child under this program, and the child is
ineligible for a voucher under this subchapter until the test
results are submitted to the commissioner.
Sec. 29.359. DUTIES OF COMPTROLLER. The comptroller shall
adopt rules, procedures, and forms for the payment of vouchers to
schools on behalf of students attending those schools with
vouchers.
Sec. 29.360. RULES. The commissioner may adopt rules as
necessary to implement this subchapter.
SECTION 2. The commissioner of education shall implement
the public education voucher 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 September 1, 2005.