By: Averitt S.B. No. 1446
Substitute the following for S.B. No. 1446:
By: Eissler C.S.S.B. No. 1446
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to public school admission and enrollment.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 5.001, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subdivision (5-a) to read as follows:
(5-a) "Home-schooled student" means a student who
predominantly receives instruction in a general elementary or
secondary education program that is provided by the parent, or a
person standing in parental authority, in or through the child's
home.
SECTION 2. Sections 25.001(b) and (d), Education Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(b) The board of trustees of a school district or its
designee shall admit into the public schools of the district free of
tuition a person who is over five and younger than 21 years of age on
the first day of September of the school year in which admission is
sought if:
(1) the person and either parent of the person reside
in the school district;
(2) the person does not reside in the school district
but a parent of the person resides in the school district and that
parent is a joint managing conservator or the sole managing
conservator or possessory conservator of the person;
(3) the person and the person's guardian or other
person having lawful control of the person under a court order
reside within the school district;
(4) the person has established a separate residence
under Subsection (d);
(5) the person is homeless, as defined by 42 U.S.C.
Section 11302, or is a homeless child or youth, as defined by 42
U.S.C. Section 11434a, regardless of the residence of the person,
of either parent of the person, or of the person's guardian or other
person having lawful control of the person;
(6) the person is a foreign exchange student placed
with a host family that resides in the school district by a
nationally recognized foreign exchange program, unless the school
district has applied for and been granted a waiver by the
commissioner under Subsection (e);
(7) the person resides at a residential facility
located in the district; or
(8) the person resides in the school district and is 18
years of age or older or the person's disabilities of minority have
been removed.
(d) For a person under the age of 18 years to establish a
residence for the purpose of attending the public schools separate
and apart from the person's parent, guardian, or other person
having lawful control of the person under a court order, it must be
established that the person's presence in the school district is
not for the primary purpose of participation in extracurricular
activities. The board of trustees shall determine whether an
applicant for admission is a resident of the school district for
purposes of attending the public schools and may adopt reasonable
guidelines for making a determination as necessary to protect the
best interests of students. The board of trustees is not required
to admit a person under this subsection if the school district is
able to confirm that the person is eligible under this section to
enroll in another school district and the person:
(1) has engaged in conduct or misbehavior within the
preceding year that has resulted in:
(A) removal to a disciplinary alternative
education program; or
(B) expulsion;
(2) has engaged in delinquent conduct or conduct in
need of supervision and is on probation or other conditional
release for that conduct; [or]
(3) has been convicted of a criminal offense and is on
community supervision [probation] or other conditional release; or
(4) has been subject to Subsection (h) on the basis of
information provided when the person previously enrolled in the
district and the person's parent, guardian, or other person having
lawful control of the person under a court order does not reside in
the district.
SECTION 3. Section 25.002(f), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(f) [Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, for a
child to be enrolled in a public school, the child must be enrolled
by the child's parent or by the child's guardian or other person
with legal control of the child under a court order.] A school
district shall record the name, address, and date of birth of the
person enrolling a child.
SECTION 4. Subchapter A, Chapter 25, Education Code, is
amended by adding Sections 25.006 and 25.007 to read as follows:
Sec. 25.006. PART-TIME ENROLLMENT OF HOME-SCHOOLED
STUDENT. (a) A home-schooled child entitled under Section 25.001
to attend public school in a school district may enroll in public
school in the district as a part-time student if the district and
the child's parent or guardian agree in writing to the child's
enrollment.
(b) A student enrolled under this section may participate in
an academic class on the same basis as a regularly enrolled student.
(c) A school district may not charge a student enrolled
under this section tuition but shall charge the student all
applicable fees charged a regularly enrolled student.
(d) An open-enrollment charter school or a college or
university charter school operating under Subchapter E, Chapter 12,
is not eligible to receive funding for a student enrolled under this
section.
Sec. 25.007. TUITION FOR STUDENTS HOLDING CERTAIN VISAS.
(a) If a student is required as a condition of obtaining or holding
a visa to reimburse the full, unsubsidized per capita cost of
providing the student's education for the period of the student's
attendance in a public school, a school district or open-enrollment
charter school may accept the reimbursement. A school district or
open-enrollment charter school may not deny admission to a student
for the failure to provide the reimbursement.
(b) The commissioner shall develop guidelines to be used by
school districts and open-enrollment charter schools in
determining the full, unsubsidized per capita cost of providing a
student's education. A school district or open-enrollment charter
school may not accept reimbursement in an amount greater than the
amount computed under the commissioner's guidelines unless the
commissioner approves the greater amount.
(c) The attendance of a student for whom a school district
or open-enrollment charter school accepts reimbursement under this
section is not counted for purposes of allocating state funds to the
district or school.
SECTION 5. Section 29.153(b), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) A child is eligible for enrollment in a prekindergarten
class under this section if the child is at least three years of age
and is:
(1) unable to speak and comprehend the English
language;
(2) educationally disadvantaged; or
(3) homeless, as defined by 42 U.S.C. Section 11302,
or is a homeless child or youth, as defined by 42 U.S.C. Section
11434a, regardless of the residence of the child, of either parent
of the child, or of the child's guardian or other person having
lawful control of the child.
SECTION 6. Subchapter Z, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
amended by adding Sections 29.911 and 29.912 to read as follows:
Sec. 29.911. USE OF SCHOOL FACILITY FOR HOME-SCHOOLED
STUDENTS. (a) A school district may establish a laboratory or
other facility for home-schooled students that is not located on a
regular school campus.
(b) A school district may permit a home-schooled student
entitled under Section 25.001 to attend public school in the
district to use:
(1) a laboratory or other facility established under
Subsection (a); or
(2) a laboratory or other facility located on a
regular school campus.
(c) A school district may not charge a home-schooled student
tuition for use of a laboratory or other facility under this section
but shall charge the student a fee comparable to any fee charged a
regularly enrolled student for use of a similar facility.
(d) A school district may permit a regularly enrolled
student to use a laboratory or other facility established under
Subsection (a).
Sec. 29.912. ONLINE COURSE FOR HOME-SCHOOLED STUDENTS. (a)
A school district may offer an online course to home-schooled
students for academic credit.
(b) A school district may permit a home-schooled student
entitled under Section 25.001 to attend public school in the
district to participate in an online course offered under
Subsection (a).
(c) A school district may not charge a home-schooled student
tuition for participating in a course offered under Subsection (a)
but shall charge the student a fee comparable to any fee charged a
regularly enrolled student for participating in the course.
(d) A school district may permit a regularly enrolled
student to participate in an online course offered under Subsection
(a).
SECTION 7. Section 31.001, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 31.001. FREE TEXTBOOKS. (a) Textbooks selected for
use in the public schools shall be furnished without cost to the
students attending those schools.
(b) For a course in which a home-schooled student is
enrolled as provided by Section 25.006, the student is entitled to
textbooks without cost as if the student were enrolled in the
district as a full-time student. This chapter applies to textbooks
furnished to home-schooled students under this subsection in the
same manner as it applies to textbooks furnished to students
attending public schools.
SECTION 8. Subchapter D, Chapter 33, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 33.088 to read as follows:
Sec. 33.088. PARTICIPATION IN EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
BY HOME-SCHOOLED STUDENTS. (a) A school district may permit a
home-schooled student entitled under Section 25.001 to attend
public school in the district to participate in a
district-sponsored extracurricular activity. If the district
charges regularly enrolled students a fee for participating in an
extracurricular activity, the district shall charge a
home-schooled student participating in that activity the same fee.
(b) Each home-schooled student entitled under Section
25.001 to attend public school is entitled to participate in an
extracurricular activity sponsored by the University
Interscholastic League on behalf of the school district the student
is entitled to attend under Section 25.001(b) if the board of
trustees of that district adopts a policy authorizing home-schooled
students to participate in league-sponsored activities.
(c) Subsection (b) does not exempt a home-schooled student
from satisfying, as provided by league rule, each eligibility
requirement for participating in a league-sponsored activity other
than class attendance requirements.
(d) In this subsection, "grade evaluation period" has the
meaning assigned by Section 33.081(c). For each grade evaluation
period of the school to which a home-schooled student is assigned
for participation in extracurricular activities, the student's
instructor must provide to the principal of the school, at the time
grades must be reported for students enrolled in the school, an
affidavit affirming that the student:
(1) is a full-time student; and
(2) has grades for that reporting period that satisfy
grade requirements under Section 33.081(c) for participation in
extracurricular activities.
SECTION 9. Subchapter B, Chapter 39, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 39.035 to read as follows:
Sec. 39.035. ASSESSMENT OF HOME-SCHOOLED STUDENTS. (a)
This section applies only to a home-schooled student enrolled in a
school district for two or fewer courses or two or fewer hours of
instruction as determined by commissioner rule. A home-schooled
student enrolled in a school district for more than two courses or
more than two hours of instruction shall be assessed as provided by
Section 39.023.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), a school district
may administer an assessment instrument required under Section
39.023 to a home-schooled student only in a subject in which the
student receives instruction from the district.
(c) The commissioner by rule shall provide for assessment of
home-schooled students under this section. The commissioner may
require administration of additional assessment instruments to
home-schooled students only to the extent required by federal law.
(d) Only the performance on an assessment instrument
required under Subsection (b) of a student assessed under this
section may be used for purposes of accountability ratings under
this chapter.
SECTION 10. Subchapter A, Chapter 42, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 42.0051 to read as follows:
Sec. 42.0051. INCLUSION OF HOME-SCHOOLED STUDENTS IN
AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE. (a) Subject to Subsection (c), the
average daily attendance of a school district includes each
home-schooled student:
(1) who is entitled under Section 25.001 to attend
public school in the district; and
(2) who:
(A) attends a district school as a part-time
student as provided by Section 25.006;
(B) participates in an online course offered by
the district under Section 29.912; or
(C) uses an off-campus laboratory or other
facility established by the district for home-schooled students as
provided by Section 29.911.
(b) For each day of the minimum school year under Section
25.081(a) that a home-schooled student receives services or
participates in a course as described by Subsection (a)(2), the
school district is entitled to include the student as a student in
the district's attendance for that day. The student's attendance
shall be included in proportion to the amount of time the student
receives services or participates in a course, as determined under
rules adopted by the commissioner.
(c) In any school year, not more than 1,000 full-time
equivalent home-schooled students in this state may be included in
average daily attendance under this section. To be eligible to
include a home-schooled student in average daily attendance, a
school district must apply to the commissioner within the time and
in the manner prescribed by commissioner rule. If, in any school
year, school districts apply to include more than 1,000 full-time
equivalent home-schooled students in average daily attendance, the
commissioner shall limit each district to a pro rata share,
determined by the district's enrollment of students other than
home-schooled students in comparison to the statewide enrollment of
students other than home-schooled students.
(d) The amount appropriated for inclusion of home-schooled
students in average daily attendance may not exceed $5 million in a
school year. If the amount to which school districts are entitled
under Subsection (a) for a school year exceeds $5 million, the
commissioner shall reduce each district's entitlement
proportionately.
SECTION 11. This Act applies beginning with the 2005-2006
school year.
SECTION 12. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of
this section, 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.
(b) Section 10 of this Act takes effect September 1, 2005.