By: Anchia H.B. No. 3178

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the admission of foreign exchange students to the public high schools of the state.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 25.001, Education Code, is amended by amending Subsection (b) and by striking Subsection (e) 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, 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;

(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; or

(9) the person does not reside in the school district but the grandparent of the person:

(A) resides in the school district; and

(B) provides a substantial amount of after-school care for the person as determined by the board.

(c) The board of trustees of a school district or the board's designee may require evidence that a person is eligible to attend the public schools of the district at the time the board or its designee considers an application for admission of the person. The board of trustees or its designee shall establish minimum proof of residency acceptable to the district. The board of trustees or its designee may make reasonable inquiries to verify a person's eligibility for admission.

(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 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 probation or other conditional release.

(e) A school district may request that the commissioner waive the requirement that the district admit a foreign exchange student who meets the conditions of Subsection (b)(5). The commissioner shall respond to a district's request not later than the 60th day after the date of receipt of the request. The commissioner shall grant the request and issue a waiver effective for a period not to exceed three years if the commissioner determines that admission of a foreign exchange student would:

(1) create a financial or staffing hardship for the district;

(2) diminish the district's ability to provide high quality educational services for the district's domestic students; or

(3) require domestic students to compete with foreign exchange students for educational resources.

(f) (e) A child placed in foster care by an agency of the state or by a political subdivision shall be permitted to attend the public schools in the district in which the foster parents reside free of any charge to the foster parents or the agency. A durational residence requirement may not be used to prohibit that child from fully participating in any activity sponsored by the school district.

(g) (f) A student enrolled in high school in grade 9, 10, 11, or 12 who is placed in temporary foster care by the Texas Department of Human Services at a residence outside the attendance area for the school or outside the school district is entitled to complete high school at the school in which the student was enrolled at the time of placement without payment of tuition.

(h) (g) In addition to the penalty provided by Section 37.10, Penal Code, a person who knowingly falsifies information on a form required for enrollment of a student in a school district is liable to the district if the student is not eligible for enrollment in the district but is enrolled on the basis of the false information. The person is liable, for the period during which the ineligible student is enrolled, for the greater of:

(1) the maximum tuition fee the district may charge under Section 25.038; or

(2) the amount the district has budgeted for each student as maintenance and operating expenses.

(i) (h) A school district may include on an enrollment form notice of the penalties provided by Section 37.10, Penal Code, and of the liability provided by Subsection (h) for falsifying information on the form.

(j) (i) For the purposes of this subchapter, the board of trustees of a school district by policy may allow a person showing evidence of legal responsibility for a child other than an order of a court to substitute for a guardian or other person having lawful control of the child under an order of a court.

SECTION 2. 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, 2007.