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 (a) The administering authority shall provide students who have completed or withdrawn from electronic courses offered through the virtual school network and their parents with a mechanism for providing comments regarding the courses.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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