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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the minimum amount of student instruction required to |
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be provided by school districts and calculation of average daily |
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attendance for public school students. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 25.081, Education Code, is amended by |
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amending Subsections (a), (b), (c), and (e) and adding Subsection |
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(a-1) to read as follows: |
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(a) Except as authorized under Subsection (b) of this |
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section, Section 25.084, or Section 29.0821, for each school year |
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each school district must operate so that the district provides for |
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at least, at the choice of the district: |
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(1) 75,600 minutes of instruction, including |
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intermissions and recesses, for students; or |
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(2) 180 days of instruction for students. |
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(a-1) In accordance with rules adopted by the commissioner, |
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each school district shall notify the commissioner whether the |
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district will comply with Subsection (a) on the basis of minutes of |
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instruction or days of instruction. |
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(b) The commissioner may approve the instruction of |
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students for fewer than the number of minutes or days required under |
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Subsection (a) if disaster, flood, extreme weather conditions, fuel |
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curtailment, or another calamity causes the closing of schools. |
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(c) If the commissioner does not approve reduced |
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instruction time under Subsection (b), a school district may add |
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additional minutes to the end of the district's normal school hours |
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or additional days to the district's normal school calendar as |
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necessary to compensate for minutes or days of instruction lost due |
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to school closures caused by disaster, flood, extreme weather |
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conditions, fuel curtailment, or another calamity. |
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(e) For purposes of this code, a reference to a day of |
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instruction means a calendar day in which a student is scheduled for |
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and receives at least the minimum number of instructional minutes |
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required for the student to be considered full-time for the purpose |
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of calculating average daily attendance under Section 42.005 [420
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minutes of instruction]. |
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SECTION 2. Section 25.082(a), Education Code, is amended to |
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read as follows: |
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(a) A school day shall be at least seven hours each day, |
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including intermissions and recesses, except as otherwise provided |
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for a school or program described by Section 42.005(j). |
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SECTION 3. Section 42.005, Education Code, is amended by |
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amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (a-1), (a-2), (g-1), |
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and (i) through (o) to read as follows: |
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(a) In this chapter, average daily attendance is: |
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(1) the quotient of the sum of attendance for each day |
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of the minimum number of days of instruction or the minimum number |
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of minutes of instruction, including intermissions and recesses, as |
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described under Section 25.081(a) divided by the minimum number of |
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days of instruction or the minimum number of minutes of |
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instruction, including intermissions and recesses; |
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(2) for a district that operates under a flexible year |
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program under Section 29.0821, the quotient of the sum of |
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attendance for each actual day of instruction as permitted by |
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Section 29.0821(b)(1) divided by the number of actual days of |
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instruction as permitted by Section 29.0821(b)(1); or |
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(3) for a district that operates under a flexible |
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school day program under Section 29.0822, the average daily |
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attendance as calculated by the commissioner in accordance with |
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Sections 29.0822(d) and (d-1). |
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(a-1) If a district or charter school provides more than 180 |
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days or 75,600 minutes of instruction to students, the commissioner |
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may adjust the determination of average daily attendance under |
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Subsection (a) to reflect the increased instructional time. |
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(a-2) A district or charter school is eligible to earn full |
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average daily attendance under Subsection (a) if the school or |
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district provides at least 240 minutes of instructional time to |
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students each day. |
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(g-1) The commissioner shall adopt rules to calculate |
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average daily attendance for students participating in a blended |
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learning program in which classroom instruction is supplemented |
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with applied workforce learning opportunities, including |
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participation of students in internships, externships, and |
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apprenticeships. |
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(i) A district or a charter school operating under |
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Subchapter B, D, or E, Chapter 12, that operates a prekindergarten |
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program is eligible to receive one-half of average daily attendance |
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under Subsection (a) if the district's or charter school's |
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prekindergarten program provides at least 32,400 minutes of |
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instructional time to students. |
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(j) A district or charter school is eligible to earn full |
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average daily attendance under Subsection (a) if the district or |
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school provides at least 43,200 minutes of instructional time to |
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students enrolled in: |
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(1) a dropout recovery school or program operating |
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under Section 12.1141(c) or Section 39.0548; |
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(2) an alternative education program operating under |
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Section 37.008 or 37.011; |
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(3) a school program located at a day treatment |
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facility, residential treatment facility, psychiatric hospital, or |
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medical hospital; |
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(4) a school program offered at a correctional |
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facility; or |
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(5) a charter school operating under Subchapter B, D, |
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or E, Chapter 12. |
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(k) A charter school operating under a charter granted under |
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Subchapter B, D, or E, Chapter 12, before September 1, 2015, is |
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eligible to earn full average daily attendance under Subsection |
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(a), as that subsection existed immediately before September 1, |
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2015, for: |
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(1) all campuses of the charter school operating |
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before September 1, 2015; and |
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(2) any campus or site expansion approved on or after |
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September 1, 2015. |
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(l) A district or charter school may operate two programs |
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and be eligible for full average daily attendance for both |
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programs, if the programs operated by the district or charter |
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school satisfy all applicable state and federal requirements. |
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(m) In accordance with rules adopted by the commissioner, |
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each charter school operating under Subchapter B, D, or E, Chapter |
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12, shall notify the commissioner whether the charter school will |
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provide instruction to students on the basis of minutes of |
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instruction or days of instruction, as provided by Section |
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25.081(a). |
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(n) The commissioner shall adopt rules necessary to |
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implement this section, including rules that: |
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(1) establish the minimum number of minutes of |
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instructional time per day that results in 180 days of instruction |
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or 75,600 minutes of instruction for students, as applicable; |
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(2) establish any requirements necessary to allow a |
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district or charter school to be eligible for one-half of average |
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daily attendance under Subsection (a), which may differ based on |
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the instructional program offered by the district or charter |
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school; and |
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(3) proportionally reduce the amount of funding a |
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district or open-enrollment charter school receives under this |
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chapter, Chapter 41, or Chapter 46 and the average daily attendance |
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for the district or charter school if the district or |
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open-enrollment charter school operates on a calendar that provides |
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fewer than the required minimum days or minutes of instruction to |
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students. |
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(o) In this section, "instructional time" means the time |
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allocated by a district or charter school toward instructing |
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students in the required curriculum described by Section 28.002 and |
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includes time allocated for recess, intermissions, and serving |
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breakfast and lunch to students. |
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SECTION 4. This Act applies beginning with the 2017-2018 |
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school year. |
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SECTION 5. 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. |