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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to determining a child's eligibility for a school |
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district's special education program on the basis of a visual |
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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) in a variety of lighting conditions and in a |
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variety of settings, including in the student's home, school, and |
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community 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 a multidisciplinary team, in evaluating data on which the |
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determination of the child's eligibility is based. |
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(c-2) The scope of any reevaluation by a school district of |
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a student who has been determined, after the full individual and |
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initial evaluation, to be eligible for the district's special |
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education program on the basis of a visual impairment shall be |
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determined, in accordance with 34 C.F.R. Sections 300.122 and |
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300.303 through 300.311, by a multidisciplinary team that includes, |
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as provided by commissioner rule, a person described by Subsection |
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(c-1)(1)(A). |
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SECTION 2. (a) Not later than January 1, 2014, 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 2014-2015 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, 2013. |