By: Shapiro  S.B. No. 30
         (In the Senate - Filed June 2, 2011; June 3, 2011, read
  first time and referred to Committee on Education; June 6, 2011,
  reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 8, Nays 0;
  June 6, 2011, sent to printer.)
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to the state virtual school network.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter A, Chapter 30A, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Section 30A.007 to read as follows:
         Sec. 30A.007.  LOCAL POLICY ON ELECTRONIC COURSES. (a)  A
  school district or open-enrollment charter school shall adopt a
  policy that provides district or school students with the
  opportunity to enroll in electronic courses provided through the
  state virtual school network. The policy must be consistent with
  the requirements imposed by Section 26.0031.
         (b)  For purposes of a policy adopted under Subsection (a),
  the determination of whether or not an electronic course will meet
  the needs of a student with a disability shall be made by the
  student's admission, review, and dismissal committee in a manner
  consistent with state and federal law, including the Individuals
  with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Section 1400 et seq.)
  and Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section
  794).
         SECTION 2.  Subchapter C, Chapter 30A, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Section 30A.1021 to read as follows:
         Sec. 30A.1021.  PUBLIC ACCESS TO USER COMMENTS REGARDING
  ELECTRONIC COURSES. (a)  The administering authority shall
  provide students who have completed or withdrawn from electronic
  courses offered through the virtual school network and their
  parents with a mechanism for providing comments regarding the
  courses.
         (b)  The mechanism required by Subsection (a) must include a
  quantitative rating system and a list of verbal descriptors that a
  student or parent may select as appropriate.
         (c)  The administering authority shall provide public access
  to the comments submitted by students and parents under this
  section. The comments must be in a format that permits a person to
  sort the comments by teacher, electronic course, and provider
  school district or school.
         SECTION 3.  Section 30A.104, Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 30A.104.  COURSE ELIGIBILITY IN GENERAL. (a)  A course
  offered through the state virtual school network must:
               (1)  be in a specific subject that is part of the
  required curriculum under Section 28.002(a);
               (2)  be aligned with the essential knowledge and skills
  identified under Section 28.002(c) for a grade level at or above
  grade level three; and
               (3)  be the equivalent in instructional rigor and scope
  to a course that is provided in a traditional classroom setting
  during:
                     (A)  a semester of 90 instructional days; and
                     (B)  a school day that meets the minimum length of
  a school day required under Section 25.082.
         (b)  For purposes of Subsection (a)(2), a course is
  considered in compliance with the requirement imposed under that
  subdivision if:
               (1)  the course contains at least 80 percent of the
  applicable essential knowledge and skills; and
               (2)  the provider school district or school provides
  written documentation that the remaining 20 percent of the
  applicable essential knowledge and skills will be provided by the
  teacher of the course.
         (c)  If the essential knowledge and skills with which an
  approved course is aligned in accordance with Subsection (a)(2) are
  modified, the provider school district or school must be provided
  the same time period to revise the course to achieve alignment with
  the modified essential knowledge and skills as is provided for the
  modification of a course provided in a traditional classroom
  setting.
         SECTION 4.  Section 30A.105, Education Code, is amended by
  adding Subsections (a-1) and (a-2) and amending Subsection (d) to
  read as follows:
         (a-1)  The administering authority shall publish the
  schedule established under Subsection (a)(1), including any
  deadlines specified in that schedule, and any guidelines applicable
  to the submission and approval process for electronic courses.
         (a-2)  The evaluation required by Subsection (a)(2) must
  include review of each electronic course component, including
  off-line material proposed to be used in the course.
         (d)  If the agency determines that the costs of evaluating
  and approving a submitted electronic course will not be paid by the
  agency due to a shortage of funds available for that purpose, the
  school district, open-enrollment charter school, or public or
  private institution of higher education that submitted the course
  for evaluation and approval may pay a fee equal to the amount of the
  costs in order to ensure that evaluation of the course occurs. The
  agency shall establish and publish a fee schedule for purposes of
  this subsection.
         SECTION 5.  Subchapter D, Chapter 30A, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Section 30A.153 to read as follows:
         Sec. 30A.153.  FOUNDATION SCHOOL PROGRAM FUNDING. (a)  A
  school district or open-enrollment charter school in which a
  student is enrolled is entitled to funding under Chapter 42 for the
  student's enrollment in an electronic course offered through the
  state virtual school network in the same manner that the district or
  school is entitled to funding for the student's enrollment in
  courses provided in a traditional classroom setting, provided that
  the student successfully completes the electronic course.
         (b)  The commissioner, after considering comments from
  school district and open-enrollment charter school
  representatives, shall adopt a standard agreement that governs
  payment of funds and other matters relating to a student's
  enrollment in an electronic course offered through the state
  virtual school network. The agreement may not require a school
  district or open-enrollment charter school to pay the provider the
  full amount until the student has successfully completed the
  electronic course.
         (c)  A school district or open-enrollment charter school
  shall use the standard agreement adopted under Subsection (b)
  unless:
               (1)  the district or school requests from the
  commissioner permission to modify the standard agreement; and
               (2)  the commissioner authorizes the modification.
         (d)  The commissioner shall adopt rules necessary to
  implement this section, including rules regarding attendance
  accounting.
         SECTION 6.  Subsection (a), Section 42.302, Education Code,
  is amended to read as follows:
         (a)  Each school district is guaranteed a specified amount
  per weighted student in state and local funds for each cent of tax
  effort over that required for the district's local fund assignment
  up to the maximum level specified in this subchapter.  The amount
  of state support, subject only to the maximum amount under Section
  42.303, is determined by the formula:
  GYA = (GL X WADA X DTR X 100) - LR
  where:
         "GYA" is the guaranteed yield amount of state funds to be
  allocated to the district;
         "GL" is the dollar amount guaranteed level of state and local
  funds per weighted student per cent of tax effort, which is an
  amount described by Subsection (a-1) or a greater amount for any
  year provided by appropriation;
         "WADA" is the number of students in weighted average daily
  attendance, which is calculated by dividing the sum of the school
  district's allotments under Subchapters B and C, less any allotment
  to the district for transportation, any allotment under Section
  42.158[, 42.159,] or 42.160, and 50 percent of the adjustment under
  Section 42.102, by the basic allotment for the applicable year;
         "DTR" is the district enrichment tax rate of the school
  district, which is determined by subtracting the amounts specified
  by Subsection (b) from the total amount of maintenance and
  operations taxes collected by the school district for the
  applicable school year and dividing the difference by the quotient
  of the district's taxable value of property as determined under
  Subchapter M, Chapter 403, Government Code, or, if applicable,
  under Section 42.2521, divided by 100; and
         "LR" is the local revenue, which is determined by multiplying
  "DTR" by the quotient of the district's taxable value of property as
  determined under Subchapter M, Chapter 403, Government Code, or, if
  applicable, under Section 42.2521, divided by 100.
         SECTION 7.  Section 42.159, Education Code, is repealed.
         SECTION 8.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2011, if this
  Act 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 to take effect on
  that date, this Act takes effect on the 91st day after the last day
  of the legislative session.
 
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