By: Dutton H.B. No. 3683
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to authorizing a dropout recovery competency-based
  educational pilot program provided through a campus or campus
  program charter or open-enrollment charter school.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Chapter 12, Education Code, is amended by adding
  Subchapter F to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER F. DROPOUT RECOVERY COMPETENCY-BASED EDUCATIONAL
  PILOT PROGRAM
         Sec. 12.201.  DEFINITION. In this subchapter
  , "program"
  means a dropout recovery competency-based educational pilot
  program authorized under this subchapter.
         Sec. 12.202.  PROGRAM AUTHORIZATION. (a) For the purpose of
  offering during the 2020-2021 school year a dropout recovery
  competency-based educational pilot program to serve eligible
  students described by Section 12.203, the commissioner, subject to
  Subsection (b), may:
               (1)  on the basis of an application submitted, grant a
  charter to an eligible entity for an open-enrollment charter school
  under Subchapter D to provide the program;
               (2)  authorize an open-enrollment charter school that
  has been granted a charter under Subchapter D to provide the
  program; or
               (3)  authorize a campus or campus program that has been
  granted a charter under Subchapter C to provide the program.
         (b)  To qualify for authorization under this subchapter, a
  program must:
               (1)  serve students in grades 9 through 12 and have an
  enrollment of which at least 50 percent of the students are 17 years
  of age or older as of September 1 of the school year as reported for
  the fall semester Public Education Information Management System
  (PEIMS) submission; and
               (2)  meet the eligibility requirements for and register
  under alternative education accountability procedures adopted by
  the commissioner.
         Sec. 12.203.  ELIGIBLE STUDENT. A student is eligible to
  enroll in a program offered under this subchapter if the student is
  at least 14 years of age and under 26 years of age on September 1 of
  the school year and meets one or more of the following criteria:
               (1)  the student was reported through the Public
  Education Information Management System (PEIMS) or another state to
  have dropped out of school, including a student who has previously
  dropped out of school;
               (2)  the student is a student at risk of dropping out of
  school under the circumstances described by Section 29.081(d)(1),
  (2), (3), (5), or (10);
               (3)  the student has been previously placed in a
  disciplinary alternative education program under Section 37.006
  during the previous or current school year based on the Public
  Education Information Management System (PEIMS) submissions or
  other supporting documentation;
               (4)  the student has been expelled under Section 37.007
  during the previous four school years or the current school year;
               (5)  the student is currently on parole, probation,
  deferred prosecution, deferred adjudication, or other conditional
  release;
               (6)  the student is currently in the custody or care of
  the Department of Family and Protective Services or has been
  referred to the department during the previous or current school
  year by a school official, officer of a juvenile court, or law
  enforcement official;
               (7)  the student has been previously or is currently
  homeless as defined by 42 U.S.C. Section 11302 or within the meaning
  of the term "homeless children and youths" under 42 U.S.C. Section
  11434a, as applicable;
               (8)  the student resided at any time or currently
  resides in a residential care facility, including a detention
  facility, substance abuse treatment facility, emergency shelter,
  psychiatric hospital, halfway house, cottage home operation,
  specialized child-care home, or general residential operation;
               (9)  the student is employed and working for pay at
  least 15 hours or more each week to provide individual support or to
  support the student's family;
               (10)  the student is ordered by a court to attend a high
  school equivalency certificate program but has not yet earned the
  certificate or a high school diploma;
               (11)  the student has previously been placed on a
  personal graduation plan under Section 28.0212 or an intensive
  program of instruction under Section 28.0213; or
               (12)  the student or the parent of or person standing in
  parental relation to the student certifies to the school that the
  student would benefit from the program to otherwise avoid dropping
  out of school due to extenuating family circumstances or
  responsibilities, including to provide medical or caregiving
  services to a family member or to provide individual support or to
  support the student's family.
         Sec. 12.204.  ELIGIBILITY FOR DIPLOMA. (a) A student
  enrolled in a program under this subchapter may earn high school
  course credits and receive a high school diploma if the student
  successfully completes the curriculum requirements described under
  Section 28.025.
         (b)  The commissioner by rule shall establish the
  requirements to demonstrate satisfactory completion of the
  program, including:
               (1)  successful completion of coursework to satisfy
  curriculum requirements under the program; and
               (2)  successful performance on an examination under
  Section 28.023 to demonstrate mastery of the curriculum.
         Sec. 12.205.  OPERATION OF PROGRAM. (a) An open-enrollment
  charter school or campus or campus program authorized to operate a
  program under this subchapter shall create an educational calendar
  and class schedule for the program's operation that provides for
  flexibility in class scheduling and student attendance. The
  commissioner shall approve reasonable exceptions to accommodate
  program scheduling and achieve the program's purpose.
         (b)  An open-enrollment charter school or a campus or campus
  program authorized to operate a program under this subchapter shall
  have an audit of the operations of the program, including the
  financial operations, conducted at the authorized entity's
  expense. The audit must be conducted by an independent certified
  public accountant.
         (c)  For purposes of conducting an audit under this section,
  the commissioner by rule shall establish requirements for verifying
  course credits earned by program students.
         Sec. 12.206.  ACCOUNTABILITY. A program under this
  subchapter shall be evaluated under Section 39.0548 and as provided
  by commissioner rule.
         Sec. 12.207.  FUNDING. (a) An open-enrollment charter
  school or campus or campus program authorized to operate a program
  under this subchapter is entitled to receive full state funding as
  provided by Section 12.106, provided that, for purposes of this
  subchapter, the commissioner shall by rule determine a method to
  calculate average daily attendance based on:
               (1)  a student's successful completion of a number of
  courses as determined by commissioner rule; and
               (2)  a student's hours of contact time with the school.
         (b)  The method under Subsection (a) must provide for a
  proportionate reduction in funding if a student fails to
  successfully complete the number of courses determined under
  Subsection (a)(1).
         (c)  An open-enrollment charter school or a campus or campus
  program authorized to operate a program under this subchapter may
  receive additional funds appropriated by the legislature for:
               (1)  an intensive program of instruction to the same
  extent as a program under Section 28.0213; or
               (2)  accelerated instruction to the same extent as a
  program under Section 28.0217.
         Sec. 12.208.  PROGRAM REPORTING SYSTEM. (a) The
  commissioner by rule shall develop:
               (1)  a system for each open-enrollment charter school
  and a campus or campus program authorized to operate a program under
  this subchapter to report information relating to the program as
  directed by the commissioner; and
               (2)  to the extent practicable, a monthly funding
  schedule.
         (b)  Before developing the system and schedule under
  Subsection (a) and in an effort to best serve the interests and
  needs of eligible students under this subchapter, the commissioner
  shall solicit input from approved charter schools that currently
  operate dropout recovery programs.
         Sec. 12.209.  RULES; WAIVERS. (a) The commissioner shall
  adopt rules necessary to implement and administer this subchapter.
         (b)  The commissioner may waive any requirement under this
  code to facilitate the purposes of this subchapter.
         Sec. 12.210.  REPORT. Not later than December 1, 2021, the
  commissioner shall submit a report to the legislature that:
               (1)  evaluates the implementation of this subchapter;
  and
               (2)  makes recommendations regarding any legislative
  or other action.
         Sec. 12.211.  EXPIRATION. This subchapter expires December
  1, 2021.
         SECTION 2.  This Act applies beginning with the 2020-2021
  school year.
         SECTION 3.  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, 2019.