89R5187 GP-F

By: Bucy H.B. No. 1813

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to a parental right to information concerning a public school special education program and certain requirements for persons serving as special education representatives and hearing officers at impartial due process hearings.

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

SECTION 1. Section 26.0081, Education Code, is amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:

(a) The agency shall produce and provide to school districts sufficient copies of a comprehensive, easily understood document that explains the process by which an individualized education program is developed for a student in a special education program and the rights and responsibilities of a parent concerning the process. The document must include information:

(1) necessary for a parent [needs] to effectively participate in an admission, review, and dismissal committee meeting for the parent's child;

(2) regarding the right to representation by an attorney or other representative in a special education due process hearing under Section 29.0162;

(3) regarding how to access the Internet website listing individuals eligible to serve as a representative under Section 29.0165(g); and

(4) regarding how to file a consumer complaint related to the service provided by an individual who is eligible to serve as a non-attorney representative under Section 29.0162(a)(2) or 29.0165 and accepts payment for services from a parent.

(a-1) The agency shall include the information described by Subsections (a)(2) through (4) in the notice of procedural safeguards provided to a parent or legal guardian under 20 U.S.C. Section 1415(b).

SECTION 2. Sections 29.0162(b) and (d), Education Code, are amended to read as follows:

(b) The commissioner by rule shall adopt additional qualifications and requirements for a representative for purposes of Subsection (a)(2). The rules must:

(1) prohibit an individual from being a representative under Subsection (a)(2) opposing a school district:

(A) if the individual has been determined to have engaged in a false, misleading, or deceptive act or practice actionable under Subchapter E, Chapter 17, Business & Commerce Code; or

(B) if:

(i) [(A)] the individual has prior employment experience with the district; and

(ii) [(B)] the district raises an objection to the individual serving as a representative;

(2) include requirements that the representative have knowledge of:

(A) special education due process rules, hearings, and procedure; and

(B) federal and state special education laws;

(3) require, if the representative receives monetary compensation from a person for representation in an impartial due process hearing, that the representative agree to abide by a [voluntary] code of ethics and professional conduct during the period of representation; [and]

(4) require, if the representative receives monetary compensation from a person for representation in an impartial due process hearing, that the representative enter into a written agreement for representation with the person who is the subject of the special education due process hearing that includes a process for resolving any disputes between the representative and the person; and

(5) require, if the representative is not a parent of or person with a familial relationship with the student being represented in an impartial due process hearing, that the representative complete a special education law training course in accordance with Section 29.0165 before the hearing.

(d) The agency is not required to license or in any way other than as provided by Subsection (b) or Section 29.0165 regulate representatives described by Subsection (a)(2) in a special education impartial due process hearing.

SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 29, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 29.0165 to read as follows:

Sec. 29.0165. SPECIAL EDUCATION LAW TRAINING COURSE. (a) The agency shall collaborate with regional education service centers to develop and offer a training course on special education law for persons serving as non-attorney representatives for students or as hearing officers for impartial due process hearings. The course:

(1) must include information on:

(A) state and federal laws, rules, and regulations related to special education;

(B) state and federal rules and procedures that apply to due process hearings, including 34 C.F.R. Sections 300.507 through 300.515 and 300.532;

(C) the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g); and

(D) accepted standards for ethics; and

(2) may include a final exam, as approved by the agency.

(b) As soon as practicable after the conclusion of each legislative session, the agency shall collaborate with regional education service centers to develop and offer a biennial update training course to persons who have completed the training under Subsection (a).

(c) The agency shall offer to individuals who have demonstrated a financial need options to take the training courses described by Subsections (a) and (b) for free or at a discounted price.

(d) A person may accept payment from a student's parent to serve as a non-attorney representative for a student in an impartial due process hearing brought under 20 U.S.C. Section 1415 only if the person has:

(1) completed the training described by Subsection (a) or another training course developed or adopted by the agency;

(2) if applicable, completed the most recent biennial update training described by Subsection (b) or another update training course developed or adopted by the agency not later than one year after the update training is offered;

(3) not engaged in a false, misleading, or deceptive act or practice actionable under Subchapter E, Chapter 17, Business & Commerce Code; and

(4) presented proof of the person's eligibility to serve as a non-attorney representative under this subsection to the student's parent.

(e) A school district employee may request a non-attorney representative to attest to the employee's eligibility to serve as a non-attorney representative under Subsection (d).

(f) The agency may use any federal funds received under Part B, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (20 U.S.C. Section 1411 et seq.), to administer this section.

(g) The agency shall post on the agency's Internet website a list of:

(1) individuals who:

(A) are eligible to serve as a representative under Section 29.0162(a)(2) or Subsection (d) of this section; and

(B) request to be included on the list; and

(2) training courses developed or adopted for purposes of Subsection (d).

(h) Each school district shall post on the school district's Internet website the list of training courses described by Subsection (g)(2).

SECTION 4. (a) As soon as practicable after the effective date of this Act:

(1) the commissioner of education, in collaboration with regional education service centers, as appropriate, shall adopt rules necessary to implement the changes in law made by this Act; and

(2) the Texas Education Agency, in collaboration with regional education service centers, shall develop the special education law training course required by Section 29.0165, Education Code, as added by this Act.

(b) The commissioner of education shall adopt rules to implement the training requirements under Section 29.0162(b)(5), Education Code, and Section 29.0165, Education Code, as added by this Act, not later than one year after the agency has developed the special education law training course as required by Subsection (a)(2) of this section.

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, 2025.