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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to student access to public school instructional materials |
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and technology. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 26.006, Education Code, is amended by |
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amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsections (d) and (e) to read |
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as follows: |
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(c) A student's parent is entitled to request that the |
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school district or open-enrollment charter school the student |
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attends allow the student to take home any instructional materials |
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used by the student. Subject to the availability of the |
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instructional materials, the district or school shall honor the |
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request. A student who takes home instructional materials must |
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return the instructional materials to school at the beginning of |
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the next school day if requested to do so by the student's teacher. |
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A school district or open-enrollment charter school must provide |
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the instructional materials to the student in printed book format |
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if the student does not have reliable access to technology at the |
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student's home. In this subsection, "instructional material" has |
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the meaning assigned by Section 31.002. |
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(d) A school district or open-enrollment charter school |
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must document each parental request made under Subsection (c) to |
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allow a student to take home instructional material used by the |
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student that the district or school denies. The documentation must |
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include the reasons for denying the request. Not later than the |
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30th day after the date the district or school receives the request, |
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the district or school must report to the agency that the request |
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has been denied. |
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(e) Not later than September 1 of each year, the agency |
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shall submit an annual report to the legislature that includes the |
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number of parental requests made under Subsection (c) to allow a |
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student to take home instructional material used by the student |
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that each school district and open-enrollment charter school denied |
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and the reasons for the denial. |
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SECTION 2. Section 26.006, Education Code, as amended by |
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this Act, applies beginning with the 2017-2018 school year. |
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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, 2017. |