S.B. No. 496

AN ACT

relating to Foundation School Program funding for certain students.

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

SECTION 1. Section 29.0822, Education Code, is amended by amending Subsections (a), (b), and (d) and adding Subsection (d-1) to read as follows:

(a) Notwithstanding Section 25.081 or 25.082, a school district may [apply to the commissioner to] provide a flexible school day program for [students who]:

(1) students who have dropped out of school or are at risk of dropping out of school as defined by Section 29.081;

(2) students who attend a campus that is implementing an innovative redesign of the campus or an early college high school under a plan approved by the commissioner; [or]

(3) students who, as a result of attendance requirements under Section 25.092, will be denied credit for one or more classes in which the students have been enrolled; or

(4) a campus or campuses that would benefit from the program.

(b) To enable a school district to provide a program under this section that meets the needs of students described by Subsection (a), a school district [that meets application requirements] may:

(1) provide flexibility in the number of hours each day a student attends;

(2) provide flexibility in the number of days each week a student attends; or

(3) allow a student to enroll in less than or more than a full course load.

(d) The commissioner may adopt rules for the administration of this section[, including rules establishing application requirements]. Subject to Subsection (d-1), the [The] commissioner shall calculate average daily attendance for students served under this section. The commissioner shall allow accumulations of hours of instruction for students whose schedule would not otherwise allow full state funding. Funding under this subsection shall be determined based on the number of instructional days in the school district calendar and a seven-hour school day, but attendance may be cumulated over a school year, including any summer or vacation session. The attendance of students who accumulate less than the number of attendance hours required under this subsection shall be proportionately reduced for funding purposes. The commissioner may:

(1) set maximum funding amounts for an individual course under this section; and

(2) limit funding for the attendance of a student described by Subsection (a)(3) in a course under this section to funding only for the attendance necessary for the student to earn class credit that, as a result of attendance requirements under Section 25.092, the student would not otherwise be able to receive without retaking the class.

(d-1) In calculating average daily attendance for students served under this section, the commissioner shall ensure that funding for attendance in a course in a program under this section is based on the same instructional hour requirements of the regular program rather than a full-time equivalent student basis that requires six hours of student contact time to qualify for a full day of attendance.

SECTION 2. Section 42.005(a), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) In this chapter, average daily attendance is:

(1) the quotient of the sum of attendance for each day of the minimum number of days of instruction as described under Section 25.081(a) divided by the minimum number of days of instruction;

(2) for a district that operates under a flexible year program under Section 29.0821, the quotient of the sum of attendance for each actual day of instruction as permitted by Section 29.0821(b)(1) divided by the number of actual days of instruction as permitted by Section 29.0821(b)(1); or

(3) for a district that operates under a flexible school day program under Section 29.0822, the average daily attendance as calculated by the commissioner in accordance with Sections [Section] 29.0822(d) and (d-1).

SECTION 3. Section 42.152, Education Code, is amended by adding Subsections (c-3) and (c-4) to read as follows:

(c-3) Notwithstanding Subsection (c), funds allocated under this section may be used to:

(1) provide child-care services or assistance with child-care expenses for students at risk of dropping out of school, as defined by Section 29.081(d)(5); or

(2) pay the costs associated with services provided through a life skills program in accordance with Sections 29.085(b)(1) and (3)-(7).

(c-4) Not later than January 1, 2016, the commissioner shall amend rules regarding the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) to include pregnancy as a reason a student withdraws from or otherwise no longer attends public school.

SECTION 4. This Act applies beginning with the 2015-2016 school year.

SECTION 5. 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

I hereby certify that S.B. No. 496 passed the Senate on May 5, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0; and that the Senate concurred in House amendments on May 29, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 1.

______________________________ Secretary of the Senate

I hereby certify that S.B. No. 496 passed the House, with amendments, on May 27, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 139, Nays 7, one present not voting.

______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House

Approved:

______________________________

Date

______________________________

Governor