BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Research Center S.B. 2248
AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT
Currently, school districts are given little to no direction and authority from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) regarding the schooling experiences of foster children. Although previous legislation has been enacted relating to the school transitions of children of active duty military personnel, there is no legislation guiding TEA on how to ease the many burdens foster children face during their multiple transitions between schools and school districts.
As proposed, S.B. 2248 addresses the current lack of mechanisms to facilitate the transitions of students in foster care between schools and school districts, including the timely transfer of academic records and credits, by requiring TEA to take certain actions relating to public school students placed in foster care.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter A, Chapter 25, Education Code, by adding Section 25.007, as follows:
Sec. 25.007. TRANSITION ASSISTANCE FOR STUDENTS IN FOSTER CARE. (a) Provides that the legislature finds that students in foster care are faced with numerous transitions during their formative years, and students in foster care who move from one school to another during the high school years are faced with special challenges to learning and future achievement.
(b) Requires the Texas Education Agency (TEA), in recognition of the challenges faced by students in foster care, to assist the transition of foster care students from one school to another by:
(1) ensuring that school records for a student in foster care are transferred to the student's new school not later than the 14th day after the date the student begins enrollment at the school;
(2) developing systems to ease transition of a student in foster care during the first two weeks of enrollment at a new school;
(3) developing procedures for awarding credit for course work, including electives, completed by a student in foster care while enrolled at another school;
(4) promoting practices that facilitate access by a student in foster care to extracurricular programs, summer programs, credit transfer services, electronic courses provided under Chapter 30A (State Virtual School Network), and after-school tutoring programs at minimum or no cost;
(5) establishing procedures to lessen the adverse impact of the movement of a student in foster care to a new school after the end of the student's junior year of high school;
(6) encouraging or maintaining partnerships between the Department of Family and Protective Services, foster parents, and affected school districts;
(7) encouraging school districts and open-enrollment charter schools to provide services for a student in foster care in transition when applying for admission to postsecondary study and when seeking sources of funding for postsecondary study;
(8) requiring school districts, campuses, and open-enrollment charter schools to accept a referral for special education services made for a student in foster care by a school previously attended by the student; and
(9) providing other assistance as identified by TEA.
SECTION 2. Amends Section 30A.002(b), Education Code, to provide that a student is eligible to enroll full-time in courses provided through the state virtual school network if the student has been placed in foster care. Makes nonsubstantive changes.
SECTION 3. Provides that this Act applies beginning with the 2009-2010 school year.
SECTION 4. Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2009.