82R5999 VOO-D

By: Madden H.B. No. 2843

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the provision of additional opportunities for instruction through the state virtual school network.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 30A.103, Education Code, is amended by adding Subsections (a-1) and (b-1) to read as follows:

(a-1) The commissioner shall study and implement strategies that provide quality electronic courses to students with special needs.

(b-1) In establishing criteria under Subsection (a), the board shall consider measurable data showing past student success in an electronic course.

SECTION 2. Section 30A.104, Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 30A.104. COURSE ELIGIBILITY IN GENERAL. 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; and

(4) be designed to permit a student to complete the course at the student's own pace.

SECTION 3. Section 30A.107, Education Code, is amended by amending Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:

(b) A student who is enrolled in a school district or open-enrollment charter school in this state as a full-time student may take one or more electronic courses through the state virtual school network. The commissioner may not limit the number of electronic courses a student to whom this subsection applies may take through the state virtual school network.

(b-1) The commissioner may not limit the number of students who may enroll in the state virtual school network.

(c) A student who resides in this state but who is not enrolled in a school district or open-enrollment charter school in this state as a full-time student may, subject to Section 30A.155, enroll in electronic courses through the state virtual school network. A student to whom this subsection applies:

(1) [may not in any semester enroll in more than two electronic courses offered through the state virtual school network;

[(2) is not considered to be a public school student;

[(3)] must obtain access to a course provided through the network through the school district or open-enrollment charter school attendance zone in which the student resides;

(2) [(4)] is not entitled to enroll in a course offered by a school district or open-enrollment charter school other than an electronic course provided through the network; and

(3) [(5)] is not entitled to any right, privilege, activities, or services available to a student enrolled in a public school, other than the right to receive the appropriate unit of credit for completing an electronic course.

SECTION 4. Section 30A.155(c), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(c) The amount of a fee charged a student under Subsection (a), (a-1), or (b) for each electronic course in which the student enrolls through the state virtual school network may not exceed the lesser of:

(1) the cost of providing the course; or

(2) $350 [$400].

SECTION 5. Section 42.151, Education Code, is amended by amending Subsections (e) and (h) and adding Subsection (e-1) to read as follows:

(e) The State Board of Education by rule shall prescribe the qualifications an instructional arrangement must meet in order to be funded as a particular instructional arrangement under this section. In prescribing the qualifications that a mainstream instructional arrangement must meet, the board shall establish requirements that students with disabilities and their teachers receive the direct, indirect, and support services that are necessary to enrich the regular classroom and enable student success. In prescribing the qualifications that a homebound instructional arrangement must meet, the board shall require that students enroll in a number of state virtual school network courses under Chapter 30A the board determines appropriate.

(e-1) The State Board of Education by rule shall require students for whom a district receives an allocation for special transportation services under Section 42.155(g) to enroll in a number of state virtual school network courses under Chapter 30A the board determines appropriate.

(h) Funds allocated under this section, other than an indirect cost allotment established under State Board of Education rule, must be used in the special education program under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, and for funding the enrollment in state virtual school network courses under Chapter 30A of:

(1) students in homebound instructional arrangements; and

(2) students using special transportation services under Section 42.155(g).

SECTION 6. Section 42.152, Education Code, is amended by adding Subsection (a-1) and amending Subsection (c) to read as follows:

(a-1) The commissioner by rule shall require pregnant students for which a school district receives an allotment under Subsection (a) to enroll in state virtual school network courses under Chapter 30A to satisfy a requirement for instruction under Section 29.081.

(c) Funds allocated under this section shall be used to fund supplemental programs and services designed to eliminate any disparity in performance on assessment instruments administered under Subchapter B, Chapter 39, or disparity in the rates of high school completion between students at risk of dropping out of school, as defined by Section 29.081, and all other students. Specifically, the funds, other than an indirect cost allotment established under State Board of Education rule, which may not exceed 45 percent, may be used to meet the costs of providing a compensatory, intensive, or accelerated instruction program under Section 29.081 or an alternative education program established under Section 37.008 or to support a program eligible under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as provided by Pub. L. No. 103-382 [and its subsequent amendments], and by federal regulations implementing that Act, at a campus at which at least 40 percent of the students are educationally disadvantaged. In meeting the costs of providing a compensatory, intensive, or accelerated instruction program under Section 29.081, a district's compensatory education allotment shall be used for costs supplementary to the regular education program, such as costs for program and student evaluation, instructional materials and equipment and other supplies required for quality instruction, supplemental staff expenses, salary for teachers of at-risk students, smaller class size, and individualized instruction. A home-rule school district or an open-enrollment charter school must use funds allocated under Subsection (a) for a purpose authorized in this subsection but is not otherwise subject to Subchapter C, Chapter 29. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section:

(1) to ensure that a sufficient amount of the funds allotted under this section are available to supplement instructional programs and services, no more than 18 percent of the funds allotted under this section may be used to fund disciplinary alternative education programs established under Section 37.008;

(2) the commissioner may waive the limitations of Subdivision (1) upon an annual petition, by a district's board and a district's site-based decision making committee, presenting the reason for the need to spend supplemental compensatory education funds on disciplinary alternative education programs under Section 37.008, provided that:

(A) the district in its petition reports the number of students in each grade level, by demographic subgroup, not making satisfactory progress under the state's assessment system; and

(B) the commissioner makes the waiver request information available annually to the public on the agency's website; [and]

(3) for purposes of this subsection, a program specifically designed to serve students at risk of dropping out of school, as defined by Section 29.081, is considered to be a program supplemental to the regular education program, and a district may use its compensatory education allotment for such a program; and

(4) the enrollment of pregnant students in state virtual school network courses under Chapter 30A is considered to be a program supplemental to the regular education program, and a district may use its compensatory education allotment for such courses.

SECTION 7. The commissioner of education may adopt rules necessary to implement this Act.

SECTION 8. This Act applies beginning with the 2011-2012 school year.

SECTION 9. This Act takes effect immediately if it 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 for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2011.