By: Taylor of Galveston  S.B. No. 1660
         (In the Senate - Filed March 9, 2017; March 22, 2017, read
  first time and referred to Committee on Education; May 3, 2017,
  reported adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the
  following vote:  Yeas 11, Nays 0; May 3, 2017, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
 
  COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1660 By:  Taylor of Galveston
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to the minimum amount of student instruction required to
  be provided by school districts and calculation of average daily
  attendance for public school students.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         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].
         SECTION 2.  Section 25.082(a), Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (a)  A school day shall be at least seven hours each day,
  including intermissions and recesses, except as otherwise provided
  for a school or program described by Section 42.005(j).
         SECTION 3.  Section 42.005, Education Code, is amended by
  amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (a-1), (a-2), and
  (i) through (n) 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.
         (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)  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.
         (n)  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. 
         SECTION 4.  This Act applies beginning with the 2017-2018
  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, 2017.
 
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