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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to a notice of educational rights and recovery by school |
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districts and open-enrollment charter schools of costs for certain |
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student evaluations. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 29, Education Code, is |
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amended by adding Section 29.023 to read as follows: |
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Sec. 29.023. NOTICE OF RIGHTS; COST RECOVERY PROGRAM. (a) |
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The agency shall develop a notice for distribution as provided by |
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Subsection (c) and posting on the agency's Internet website that |
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indicates: |
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(1) the change made from 2016 to 2017 in reporting |
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requirements for school districts and open-enrollment charter |
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schools regarding the special education representation indicator |
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adopted in the Performance-Based Monitoring Analysis System |
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Manual; and |
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(2) in plain language, the rights of a child under both |
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federal and state law and the general process available to initiate |
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a referral of a child for a full individual and initial evaluation |
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under Section 29.004 to determine the child's eligibility for |
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special education services. |
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(b) A school district or open-enrollment charter school |
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shall include in the notice developed by the agency under |
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Subsection (a) information indicating where the local processes and |
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procedures for initiating a referral for special education services |
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eligibility evaluation may be found. |
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(c) By a date established by the commissioner, each school |
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district or open-enrollment charter school shall provide the notice |
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to the parent of each child who attends school in the district or at |
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the school at any time during the 2017-2018 school year. A school |
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district or open-enrollment charter school shall also make the |
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notice available on request to any person. The notice must be |
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available in English and Spanish, and a school district or |
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open-enrollment charter school shall make a good faith effort to |
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provide the notice in the parent's native language if the parent's |
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native language is a language other than English or Spanish. |
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(d) The notice is in addition to requirements imposed by |
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Section 26.0081. |
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(e) Beginning with the 2017-2018 school year, from federal |
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funds available for this purpose, the agency shall establish a |
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reimbursement fund from which school districts and open-enrollment |
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charter schools may apply and receive cost reimbursement if the |
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district or school experiences a significant increase from the |
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preceding school year in the number of full individual and initial |
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evaluations conducted under Section 29.004. A decision by the |
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commissioner to provide reimbursement from the fund is final and |
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may not be appealed. |
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(f) The commissioner may adopt rules necessary to implement |
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this section. |
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(g) This section expires September 1, 2021. |
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SECTION 2. 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. |