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        |  | AN ACT | 
      
        |  | relating to an established schedule of payments from the foundation | 
      
        |  | school fund of the yearly entitlement of certain open-enrollment | 
      
        |  | charter schools. | 
      
        |  | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | 
      
        |  | SECTION 1.  Subchapter E, Chapter 42, Education Code, is | 
      
        |  | amended by adding Section 42.2591 to read as follows: | 
      
        |  | Sec. 42.2591.  FOUNDATION SCHOOL FUND TRANSFERS TO CERTAIN | 
      
        |  | CHARTER SCHOOLS.  (a)  On the request of an open-enrollment charter | 
      
        |  | school, the commissioner shall compare the student enrollment of | 
      
        |  | the open-enrollment charter school for the current school year to | 
      
        |  | the student enrollment of the school during the preceding school | 
      
        |  | year.  If the number of students enrolled at the open-enrollment | 
      
        |  | charter school for the current school year has increased by 10 | 
      
        |  | percent or more from the number of students enrolled during the | 
      
        |  | preceding school year, the open-enrollment charter school may | 
      
        |  | request that payments from the foundation school fund to the school | 
      
        |  | for the following school year and each subsequent school year, | 
      
        |  | subject to Subsection (b), be made according to the schedule | 
      
        |  | provided under Subsection (c). | 
      
        |  | (b)  An open-enrollment charter school that qualifies to | 
      
        |  | receive funding as provided by this section is entitled to receive | 
      
        |  | funding in that manner for three school years.  On the expiration of | 
      
        |  | that period, the commissioner shall determine the eligibility of | 
      
        |  | the open-enrollment charter school to continue receiving payments | 
      
        |  | from the foundation school fund under this section for an | 
      
        |  | additional three school years.  Subsequently, the open-enrollment | 
      
        |  | charter school must reestablish eligibility in the manner provided | 
      
        |  | by this subsection every three school years. | 
      
        |  | (c)  Payments from the foundation school fund to an | 
      
        |  | open-enrollment charter school under this section shall be made as | 
      
        |  | follows: | 
      
        |  | (1)  22 percent of the yearly entitlement of the school | 
      
        |  | shall be paid in an installment to be made on or before the 25th day | 
      
        |  | of September of a fiscal year; | 
      
        |  | (2)  18 percent of the yearly entitlement of the school | 
      
        |  | shall be paid in an installment to be made on or before the 25th day | 
      
        |  | of October; | 
      
        |  | (3)  9.5 percent of the yearly entitlement of the | 
      
        |  | school shall be paid in an installment to be made on or before the | 
      
        |  | 25th day of November; | 
      
        |  | (4)  four percent of the yearly entitlement of the | 
      
        |  | school shall be paid in an installment to be made on or before the | 
      
        |  | 25th day of December; | 
      
        |  | (5)  four percent of the yearly entitlement of the | 
      
        |  | school shall be paid in an installment to be made on or before the | 
      
        |  | 25th day of January; | 
      
        |  | (6)  four percent of the yearly entitlement of the | 
      
        |  | school shall be paid in an installment to be made on or before the | 
      
        |  | 25th day of February; | 
      
        |  | (7)  four percent of the yearly entitlement of the | 
      
        |  | school shall be paid in an installment to be made on or before the | 
      
        |  | 25th day of March; | 
      
        |  | (8)  7.5 percent of the yearly entitlement of the | 
      
        |  | school shall be paid in an installment to be made on or before the | 
      
        |  | 25th day of April; | 
      
        |  | (9)  five percent of the yearly entitlement of the | 
      
        |  | school shall be paid in an installment to be made on or before the | 
      
        |  | 25th day of May; | 
      
        |  | (10)  seven percent of the yearly entitlement of the | 
      
        |  | school shall be paid in an installment to be made on or before the | 
      
        |  | 25th day of June; | 
      
        |  | (11)  seven percent of the yearly entitlement of the | 
      
        |  | school shall be paid in an installment to be made on or before the | 
      
        |  | 25th day of July; and | 
      
        |  | (12)  eight percent of the yearly entitlement of the | 
      
        |  | school shall be paid in an installment to be made on or before the | 
      
        |  | 25th day of August. | 
      
        |  | (d)  The amount of any installment required by this section | 
      
        |  | may be modified to provide an open-enrollment charter school with | 
      
        |  | the proper amount to which the school may be entitled by law and to | 
      
        |  | correct errors in the allocation or distribution of funds. | 
      
        |  | (e)  Previously unpaid additional funds from prior fiscal | 
      
        |  | years owed to an open-enrollment charter school shall be paid to the | 
      
        |  | school together with the September payment of the current fiscal | 
      
        |  | year entitlement. | 
      
        |  | SECTION 2.  (a)  Section 42.2591, Education Code, as added by | 
      
        |  | this Act, applies only to a payment from the foundation school fund | 
      
        |  | that is made on or after September 1, 2015.  A payment to an | 
      
        |  | open-enrollment charter school from the foundation school fund that | 
      
        |  | is made before September 1, 2015, is governed by the law in effect | 
      
        |  | on the date the payment was made, and the former law is continued in | 
      
        |  | effect for that purpose. | 
      
        |  | (b)  The commissioner of education shall determine the | 
      
        |  | eligibility of an open-enrollment charter school to receive | 
      
        |  | payments under Section 42.2591, Education Code, as added by this | 
      
        |  | Act, for the 2015-2016 school year based on the growth in the | 
      
        |  | school's enrollment between the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 school | 
      
        |  | years. | 
      
        |  | 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, 2015. | 
      
        |  | 
      
        |  | 
      
        |  | ______________________________ | ______________________________ | 
      
        |  | President of the Senate | Speaker of the House | 
      
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        |  | I certify that H.B. No. 2251 was passed by the House on May | 
      
        |  | 15, 2015, by the following vote:  Yeas 138, Nays 1, 2 present, not | 
      
        |  | voting. | 
      
        |  |  | 
      
        |  | ______________________________ | 
      
        |  | Chief Clerk of the House | 
      
        |  | 
      
        |  | 
      
        |  | I certify that H.B. No. 2251 was passed by the Senate on May | 
      
        |  | 26, 2015, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0. | 
      
        |  |  | 
      
        |  | ______________________________ | 
      
        |  | Secretary of the Senate | 
      
        |  | APPROVED:  _____________________ | 
      
        |  | Date | 
      
        |  |  | 
      
        |  | _____________________ | 
      
        |  | Governor |