| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to payment of tuition to attend public schools for |
|
|
students holding certain United States student visas. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 25, Education Code, is |
|
|
amended by adding Section 25.0031 to read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 25.0031. TUITION FOR STUDENTS HOLDING CERTAIN STUDENT |
|
|
VISAS. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, if a |
|
|
student is required, as a condition of obtaining or holding the |
|
|
appropriate United States student visa, to pay tuition to the |
|
|
school district or open-enrollment charter school that the student |
|
|
attends to cover the cost of the student's education provided by the |
|
|
district or charter school, the district or charter school shall |
|
|
accept tuition for the student in an amount equal to the full |
|
|
unsubsidized per capita cost of providing the student's education |
|
|
for the period of the student's attendance at school in the district |
|
|
or at the charter school. |
|
|
(b) The commissioner shall, for purposes of Subsection (a), |
|
|
develop guidelines for determining the amount of the full |
|
|
unsubsidized per capita cost of providing a student's education. A |
|
|
school district or open-enrollment charter school may not accept |
|
|
tuition in an amount greater than the amount computed under the |
|
|
commissioner's guidelines unless the commissioner approves a |
|
|
greater amount as a more accurate reflection of the cost of |
|
|
education to be provided by the district or charter school. |
|
|
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, the |
|
|
attendance of a student for whom a school district or |
|
|
open-enrollment charter school accepts tuition under this section |
|
|
is not counted for purposes of allocating state funds to the |
|
|
district or charter school. |
|
|
SECTION 2. This Act applies beginning with the 2013-2014 |
|
|
school year. |
|
|
SECTION 3. 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, 2013. |