By: Middleton, Campbell S.B. No. 2497

(In the Senate - Filed March 10, 2023; March 23, 2023, read first time and referred to Committee on Education; May 1, 2023, reported adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 13, Nays 0; May 1, 2023, sent to printer.) Click here to see the committee vote

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 2497 By: Springer

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the bilingual education allotment under the public school finance system.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 29.054, Education Code, is amended by adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:

(e) Notwithstanding Section 29.066(c), the agency may require, for purposes of implementing Section 48.105, a school district that is granted an exception under this section to:

(1) include in the district's Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) report additional information specified by the agency and relating to the alternative language education methods used by the district; and

(2) classify the alternative language education method used by the district under the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) report as specified by the agency.

SECTION 2. Section 48.105, Education Code, is amended by adding Subsections (a-1) and (a-2) to read as follows:

(a-1) The agency shall review school districts that offer alternative language methods approved by the agency under Section 29.054(d) and approve districts to receive the allotment under Subsection (a-2) for that biennium in a manner that provides not more than $10 million total under the allotment to school districts in each biennium. In approving school districts to receive the allotment under this subsection, the agency shall, to the extent possible, approve eligible school districts from a cross section of this state.

(a-2) For each student in average daily attendance in an alternative language method approved by the agency under Section 29.054(d), and offered by a school district approved to receive the allotment under Subsection (a-1), the district is entitled to an annual allotment equal to the basic allotment multiplied by:

(1) 0.15 for an emergent bilingual student, as defined by Section 29.052, if the student is in an alternative language method using a dual language immersion/one-way or two-way program model; and

(2) 0.05 for a student not described by Subdivision (1), if the student is in an alternative language method using a dual language immersion/two-way program model.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.

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