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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the inclusion of professional staff who educate  | 
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students with disabilities on district-level and campus-level  | 
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planning and decision-making committees. | 
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       BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | 
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       SECTION 1.  Subsections (b) and (e), Section 11.251,  | 
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Education Code, are amended to read as follows: | 
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       (b)  The board shall adopt a policy to establish a district-  | 
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and campus-level planning and decision-making process that will  | 
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involve the professional staff of the district, parents, and  | 
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community members in establishing and reviewing the district's and  | 
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campuses' educational plans, goals, performance objectives, and  | 
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major classroom instructional programs.  The board shall establish  | 
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a procedure under which meetings are held regularly by district-  | 
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and campus-level planning and decision-making committees that  | 
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include representative professional staff, including, if  | 
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practicable, at least one representative with the primary  | 
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responsibility for educating students with disabilities, parents  | 
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of students enrolled in the district, business representatives, and  | 
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community members.  The committees shall include a business  | 
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representative without regard to whether the representative  | 
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resides in the district or whether the business the person  | 
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represents is located in the district.  The board, or the board's  | 
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designee, shall periodically meet with the district-level  | 
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committee to review the district-level committee's deliberations. | 
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       (e)  The board shall adopt a procedure, consistent with  | 
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Section 21.407(a), for the professional staff in the district to  | 
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nominate and elect the professional staff representatives who shall  | 
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meet with the board or the board designee as required under this  | 
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section.  At least two-thirds of the elected professional staff  | 
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representatives must be classroom teachers.  The remaining staff  | 
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representatives shall include both campus- and district-level  | 
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professional staff members.  If practicable, the committee  | 
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membership shall include at least one professional staff  | 
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representative with the primary responsibility for educating  | 
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students with disabilities.  Board policy must provide procedures  | 
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for: | 
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             (1)  the selection of parents to the district-level and  | 
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campus-level committees; and | 
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             (2)  the selection of community members and business  | 
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representatives to serve on the district-level committee in a  | 
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manner that provides for appropriate representation of the  | 
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community's diversity. | 
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       SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2009. | 
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