SECTION 1. Section 25.081,
Education Code, is amended by amending Subsections (a), (b), (c), and (e)
and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
(a) Except as authorized
under Subsection (b) of this section, Section 25.084, or Section 29.0821,
for each school year each school district must operate so that the district provides for at
least, at the choice of the district:
(1) 75,600 minutes of instruction, including intermissions
and recesses, for students; or
(2) 180 days of instruction for students.
(a-1) In accordance with rules adopted by the commissioner,
each school district shall notify the commissioner whether the district
will comply with Subsection (a) on the basis of minutes of instruction or
days of instruction.
(b) The commissioner may
approve the instruction of students
for fewer than the number of minutes or
days required under Subsection (a) if disaster, flood, extreme
weather conditions, fuel curtailment, or another calamity causes the
closing of schools.
(c) If the commissioner does
not approve reduced instruction
time under Subsection (b), a school district may add additional minutes to
the end of the district's normal school hours or additional days to the district's normal school calendar
as necessary to compensate for minutes or
days of instruction
lost due to school closures caused by disaster, flood, extreme weather
conditions, fuel curtailment, or another calamity.
(e)
For purposes of this code, a reference to a day of instruction means a
calendar day in which a student is scheduled for and receives at least the
minimum number of instructional minutes required for the student to be
considered full-time for the purpose of calculating average daily
attendance under Section 42.005 [420 minutes of instruction].
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SECTION 1. Section 25.081,
Education Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 25.081. OPERATION OF
SCHOOLS.
(a) Except as authorized
under Subsection (b) of this section, Section 25.084, or Section 29.0821,
for each school year each school district must operate [so that the district provides]
for at least 75,600 minutes, including
time allocated for [of]
instruction, [including] intermissions, and recesses[,]
for students.
(b) The commissioner may
approve the operation of schools [instruction of students] for
fewer than the number of minutes required under Subsection (a) if disaster,
flood, extreme weather conditions, fuel curtailment, or another calamity
causes the closing of schools.
(c) If the commissioner does
not approve reduced operation [instruction] time under
Subsection (b), a school district may add additional minutes to the end of
the district's normal school hours as necessary to compensate for minutes [of instruction] lost due to
school closures caused by disaster, flood, extreme weather conditions, fuel
curtailment, or another calamity.
(d)
The commissioner may adopt rules to implement this section, including
rules:
(1) for the
application, on the basis of the minimum minutes of operation [instruction]
required by Subsection (a), of any provision of this title that refers to a
minimum number of days of instruction under this section;
(2) to determine the minutes of operation that are equivalent
to a day of instruction;
(3) defining instructional time, which may include time
allocated for recess and for serving breakfast or lunch to students; and
(4) establishing the minimum number of minutes of instruction
required for a full-day and a half-day program to meet the time
requirements under Subsection (a).
(e)
A school district or education program is exempt from the minimum
minutes of operation requirement if the district's or program's average
daily attendance is calculated under Section 42.005(j). The commissioner
may establish the alternative minimum minutes of operation required for a
district or program that is subject to Section 42.005(j). The
commissioner's determination under this subsection is final and may not be
appealed [For purposes of this code, a reference to a day of
instruction means 420 minutes of instruction].
(f) The commissioner may proportionally reduce the amount of
funding a district receives under Chapter 41, 42, or 46 and the average
daily attendance calculation for the district if the district operates on a
calendar that provides fewer minutes of operation than required under Subsection
(a).
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SECTION 3. Section 42.005,
Education Code, is amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding
Subsections (a-1), (a-2), (g-1), and (i) through (o) 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 or the minimum number of minutes of
instruction, including intermissions and recesses, as described
under Section 25.081(a) divided by the minimum number of days of
instruction or the minimum number of
minutes of instruction, including intermissions and recesses;
(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 29.0822(d) and (d-1).
(a-1) If a district or charter school provides more than 180
days or 75,600 minutes of instruction to students, the commissioner may
adjust the determination of average daily attendance under Subsection (a)
to reflect the increased instructional time.
(a-2) A district or charter school is eligible to earn full
average daily attendance under Subsection (a) if the school or district
provides at least 240 minutes of instructional time to students each day.
(g-1) The commissioner shall adopt rules to calculate average
daily attendance for students participating in a blended learning program
in which classroom instruction is supplemented with applied workforce
learning opportunities, including participation of students in internships,
externships, and apprenticeships.
(i) A district or a charter school operating under Subchapter B, D, or E, Chapter 12,
that operates a prekindergarten program is eligible to receive one-half of average daily attendance under
Subsection (a) if the district's or
charter school's prekindergarten program provides at least 32,400
minutes of instructional time to students.
(j) A district or charter school is eligible to earn full
average daily attendance under Subsection (a) if the district or school
provides at least 43,200 minutes of instructional time to students enrolled
in:
(1) a dropout recovery school or program operating under
Section 12.1141(c) or Section 39.0548;
(2) an alternative education program operating under Section
37.008 or 37.011;
(3) a school program located at a day treatment facility,
residential treatment facility, psychiatric hospital, or medical hospital;
(4) a school program offered at a correctional facility; or
(5) a charter school operating under Subchapter B, D, or E,
Chapter 12.
(k) A charter school operating under a charter granted under
Subchapter B, D, or E, Chapter 12, before September 1, 2015, is eligible to
earn full average daily attendance under Subsection (a), as that subsection
existed immediately before September 1, 2015, for:
(1) all campuses of the charter school operating before
September 1, 2015; and
(2) any campus or site expansion approved on or after September
1, 2015.
(l) A district or charter school may operate two programs and
be eligible for full average daily attendance for both programs, if the
programs operated by the district or charter school satisfy all applicable
state and federal requirements.
(m) In accordance with rules adopted by the commissioner, each
charter school operating under Subchapter B, D, or E, Chapter 12, shall
notify the commissioner whether the charter school will provide instruction
to students on the basis of minutes of instruction or days of instruction,
as provided by Section 25.081(a).
(n) The commissioner shall adopt rules necessary to implement
this section, including rules that:
(1) establish the minimum number of minutes of instructional
time per day that results in 180 days of instruction or 75,600 minutes of
instruction for students, as applicable;
(2) establish any requirements necessary to allow a district or
charter school to be eligible for one-half of average daily attendance
under Subsection (a), which may differ based on the instructional program
offered by the district or charter school; and
(3) proportionally reduce the amount of funding a district or
open-enrollment charter school receives under this chapter, Chapter 41, or
Chapter 46 and the average daily attendance for the district or charter
school if the district or open-enrollment charter school operates on a
calendar that provides fewer than the required minimum days or minutes of
instruction to students.
(o) In this section, "instructional time" means the
time allocated by a district or charter school toward instructing students
in the required curriculum described by Section 28.002 and includes time
allocated for recess, intermissions, and serving breakfast and lunch to
students.
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SECTION 8. Section 42.005,
Education Code, is amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding
Subsections (i), (j), (k), (l), and (m) 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 29.0822(d) and (d-1); or
(4) for a district that operates a half-day program, one-half
of the average daily attendance calculated under Subdivision (1).
(i) A district that
operates a half-day
prekindergarten program is eligible to receive the half-day average daily attendance calculation under
Subsection (a)(4) if the district's prekindergarten program provides
at least 32,400 minutes of instruction to students.
(j) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the commissioner may
calculate the average daily attendance of a district using an alternative
minimum amount of minutes of operation for:
(1) a dropout recovery school or program; and
(2) a school program offered at a residential or correctional
facility.
(k) The commissioner may determine the qualifications to be
considered a dropout recovery school for the purposes of Subsection (j).
The qualifications selected by the commissioner may differ from the
qualifications required for a dropout recovery school under Sections 12.137
and 39.0548.
(l) On application from an open-enrollment charter school or a charter
school operating under Subchapter E, Chapter 12, the commissioner shall
calculate the average daily attendance for the school using an alternative
minimum amount of minutes of operation if:
(1) during the 2014-2015 school year, the school was eligible
to earn a full average daily attendance calculation under the applicable
law governing the school during that school year; and
(2) the school provides at least the same amount of instruction
to students as the school provided during the 2014-2015 school year and is
no longer eligible to earn the full average daily attendance during the
current school year.
(m) To assist school districts in implementing this section as
amended by H.B. 2442, Acts of the 85th Legislature, Regular Session, 2017,
or similar legislation, the commissioner may waive a requirement of this
section or adopt rules to implement this section. This subsection expires
September 1, 2018.
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