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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to determining a student's eligibility for a school |
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district's special education program on the basis of the student's |
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visual impairment. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 30.002, Education Code, is amended by |
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adding Subsections (c-1) and (c-2) to read as follows: |
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(c-1) To implement Subsection (c)(1) and to determine a |
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child's eligibility for a school district's special education |
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program on the basis of a visual impairment, the full individual and |
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initial evaluation of the student required by Section 29.004 must, |
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in accordance with commissioner rule: |
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(1) include an orientation and mobility evaluation |
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conducted: |
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(A) by a person who is appropriately certified as |
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an orientation and mobility specialist, as determined under |
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commissioner rule; and |
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(B) during the day and at night in a variety of |
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settings, including in the student's home, school, and community |
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and in settings unfamiliar to the student; and |
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(2) provide for a person who is appropriately |
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certified as an orientation and mobility specialist to participate, |
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as part of the multidisciplinary team, in evaluating data on which |
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the determination of the child's eligibility is based. |
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(c-2) Any reevaluation by a school district of a student who |
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has been determined, after the full individual and initial |
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evaluation, to be eligible for the district's special education |
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program on the basis of a visual impairment must, in accordance with |
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commissioner rule, include an orientation and mobility evaluation |
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conducted by a person described by Subsection (c-1)(1)(A). |
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SECTION 2. (a) Not later than January 1, 2010, the |
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commissioner of education shall adopt rules necessary to implement |
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Sections 30.002(c-1) and (c-2), Education Code, as added by this |
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Act. |
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(b) Not later than the beginning of the 2010-2011 school |
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year, Sections 30.002(c-1) and (c-2), Education Code, as added by |
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this Act, shall be implemented. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |