| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to creation of a public education voucher pilot program |
|
|
for certain children. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Chapter 29, Education Code, is amended by adding |
|
|
Subchapter J to read as follows: |
|
|
SUBCHAPTER J. PUBLIC EDUCATION VOUCHER PILOT PROGRAM |
|
|
Sec. 29.351. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter: |
|
|
(1) "Parent" includes a guardian or custodian. |
|
|
(2) "Private school" means a nongovernmental |
|
|
educational establishment that exists for the general education of |
|
|
elementary or secondary students. The term does not include a |
|
|
school that provides education in a home setting or by the parent or |
|
|
that limits enrollment to relatives of the school's staff. |
|
|
Sec. 29.352. ELIGIBLE CHILD. (a) A child is eligible for a |
|
|
voucher to be used to pay the costs of attending a private school if |
|
|
the child: |
|
|
(1) is educationally disadvantaged; |
|
|
(2) is eligible to attend school under Section 25.001 |
|
|
in a school district that is among the six largest districts in |
|
|
membership for the 2007-2008 school year, as determined by the |
|
|
commissioner; |
|
|
(3) was enrolled in a public school district during |
|
|
the preceding school year or is enrolling in prekindergarten, |
|
|
kindergarten, or first grade for the first time; and |
|
|
(4) either: |
|
|
(A) failed to perform satisfactorily on the most |
|
|
recent assessment instrument administered to the child under |
|
|
Section 39.023(a), (b), (c), or (l); or |
|
|
(B) is eligible under Subchapter G to attend |
|
|
another public school in the district in which the child resides or |
|
|
to receive a public education grant to use to attend a public school |
|
|
in another district, but has had an application to attend another |
|
|
school in the child's district or in another district rejected. |
|
|
(b) After a child establishes eligibility under Subsection |
|
|
(a) and attends a private school using a voucher, the child is |
|
|
entitled to continue receiving the voucher, regardless of whether |
|
|
the child continues to meet the requirements of Subsection (a), |
|
|
until the earlier of the date on which the child graduates from high |
|
|
school or the child's 21st birthday, unless the child: |
|
|
(1) enrolls in a public school district after using |
|
|
the voucher; or |
|
|
(2) changes residences and is no longer entitled under |
|
|
Section 25.001 to attend school in the school district under which |
|
|
the child's eligibility for a voucher was established. |
|
|
Sec. 29.353. PARENTAL NOTIFICATION. (a) Not later than a |
|
|
date established by the commissioner, a school district described |
|
|
by Section 29.352(a)(2) shall notify in writing the parent of each |
|
|
eligible child of the child's eligibility for a voucher. |
|
|
(b) A parent may apply for a voucher on behalf of the |
|
|
parent's child by notifying the school district by a date |
|
|
established by the commissioner. |
|
|
Sec. 29.354. AMOUNT OF VOUCHER; FINANCING. (a) A child's |
|
|
voucher is an amount equal to the total average per student funding |
|
|
amount in the school district the child would otherwise attend |
|
|
during the preceding school year for maintenance and operations, |
|
|
including state and local funding, but excluding money from the |
|
|
available school fund. |
|
|
(b) An eligible child who attends a private school in |
|
|
compliance with this subchapter is entitled to 100 percent of the |
|
|
child's voucher, unless the tuition charged by the school is less |
|
|
than the amount of the voucher. In that event, the school district |
|
|
the child would otherwise attend is entitled to the amount of the |
|
|
voucher remaining after payment of tuition. |
|
|
(c) An eligible child who attends a private school using a |
|
|
voucher is included in determining the average daily attendance |
|
|
under Section 42.005 of the school district in which the student |
|
|
would otherwise attend school. |
|
|
(d) A child's voucher is payable from the school district to |
|
|
the private school on behalf of the child. A child's voucher is the |
|
|
entitlement of the child, under the supervision of the child's |
|
|
parent, is not an entitlement of any school, and is paid to a school |
|
|
solely as a means of administrative convenience. |
|
|
Sec. 29.355. ACCREDITATION. (a) Except as otherwise |
|
|
provided by this section, a private school that accepts students |
|
|
with vouchers must be accredited by a private organization |
|
|
recognized by the commissioner. |
|
|
(b) A newly established private school may receive voucher |
|
|
funds without accreditation if the school applies for accreditation |
|
|
before accepting students under the program. |
|
|
(c) The commissioner may waive the requirements of this |
|
|
section for good cause. |
|
|
Sec. 29.356. ADMISSIONS. (a) A private school may not |
|
|
refuse to enroll a child with a voucher on the basis of the child's |
|
|
residence, race, national origin, ethnic background, religion, |
|
|
disability, or academic achievement. |
|
|
(b) A private school may refuse to enroll a child with a |
|
|
voucher if the child: |
|
|
(1) has been expelled from a public school; or |
|
|
(2) has a criminal record. |
|
|
(c) A private school may not consider the athletic ability |
|
|
of a child with a voucher in any admission process relating to the |
|
|
child. |
|
|
(d) Except as provided by Subsection (e), a private school |
|
|
that has more applicants with vouchers than available positions |
|
|
must fill the positions by lottery. A private school must declare |
|
|
the number of available positions and conduct the lottery for the |
|
|
next school year not later than July 1 of each year. |
|
|
(e) A private school may give preference to an enrolled |
|
|
student to achieve continuity and to siblings of an enrolled |
|
|
student or children residing in the same household as an enrolled |
|
|
student for the convenience of the parents of those children. |
|
|
Sec. 29.357. TUITION; ADDITIONAL CHARGES AND FEES. A |
|
|
private school may not: |
|
|
(1) charge an eligible child attending the school with |
|
|
a voucher tuition: |
|
|
(A) in addition to the voucher; or |
|
|
(B) in an amount greater than the standard |
|
|
tuition rate at the school; or |
|
|
(2) assess any additional charge, other than a fee |
|
|
that the board of trustees of a school district is authorized to |
|
|
charge under Section 11.158, for providing an educational program |
|
|
or service to the child. |
|
|
Sec. 29.358. ACCOUNTABILITY. (a) A private school shall |
|
|
administer to each student with a voucher who is enrolled in the |
|
|
school the assessment instruments required under Section |
|
|
39.023(a), (b), (c), or (l), or other comparable assessment |
|
|
instruments approved by the commissioner, in the same manner as |
|
|
those instruments are administered to public school students. |
|
|
(b) A private school shall report to the commissioner |
|
|
concerning the school's performance on the academic excellence |
|
|
indicators under Section 39.051 for students with vouchers who are |
|
|
enrolled in the school. The commissioner shall publish the school's |
|
|
performance information and make it available to parents for |
|
|
review. |
|
|
Sec. 29.359. CERTIFICATION TO COMPTROLLER. To receive |
|
|
voucher funds, a private school must certify to the comptroller |
|
|
that the school has complied with the conditions imposed by Section |
|
|
29.356. |
|
|
Sec. 29.360. DUTIES OF COMPTROLLER. The comptroller shall |
|
|
adopt rules, procedures, and forms for the payment of vouchers to |
|
|
private schools on behalf of students attending those schools with |
|
|
vouchers. |
|
|
Sec. 29.361. EVALUATION AND REPORT. The commissioner, in |
|
|
consultation with the school districts whose students are eligible |
|
|
to participate in the pilot program, shall evaluate the program |
|
|
established by this subchapter and report the evaluation, together |
|
|
with recommendations, to the legislature not later than December 1, |
|
|
2010. |
|
|
Sec. 29.362. EXPIRATION. This subchapter expires |
|
|
September 1, 2011, and vouchers may not be issued for the 2011-2012 |
|
|
or a later school year. |
|
|
SECTION 2. The commissioner of education and the |
|
|
comptroller shall implement the public education voucher pilot |
|
|
program as provided by Subchapter J, Chapter 29, Education Code, as |
|
|
added by this Act, beginning with the 2007-2008 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, 2007. |