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  By: VanDeaver H.B. No. 320
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the establishment and funding of an education
  enhancement program for certain students with disabilities.
         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. ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
         Sec. 29.351.  DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
               (1)  "Child with a disability" means a child who is:
                     (A)  eligible to participate in a school
  district's special education program under Section 29.003; or
                     (B)  covered by Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of
  1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794).
               (2)  "Enhancement services" means a service provided to
  a program participant that is in addition to the special education
  services that a school district is required to provide a child with
  a disability under federal and state law.
               (3)  "Parent" means a resident who otherwise meets the
  definition of this term under Section 26.002.
               (4)  "Agency" means the Texas Education Agency.
               (5)  "Program participant" means a student with a
  disability and the parent(s) of a child enrolled in the program.
               (6)  "Private service provider" means an individual or
  entity approved by the commissioner of education to provide
  enhancement services to program participants and that follows all
  accountability standards outlined in this subchapter.
         Sec. 29.352.  ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM. (a) The agency
  shall establish a program, including procedures and criteria in
  accordance with this subchapter, for the allocation of funds
  appropriated under this subchapter to school districts for the
  provision of enhancement services to certain students with
  disabilities and their families to promote and improve overall
  academic performance.
               (b)  The commissioner shall notify program
  participants, school districts in which the program participant is
  enrolled, and approved private service providers that approval to
  participate in this program is for one year. Approval to
  participate as a program participant or a private service provider
  does not guarantee approval for subsequent years of participation
  within this program.
         Sec. 29.353.  PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS.
         (A)  A student with a disability is eligible for enhancement
  services from a private service provider if the child has a Section
  504 plan of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794)
  or an individual education plan, and has one or more of the
  following disabilities:
                     (A)  dyslexia
                     (B)  autism
                     (C)  speech disability; or
                     (D)  learning disability.
         (B)  A student or parent must apply to the agency through the
  school district in which their child is enrolled to participate in
  the program.
         (C)  A student must have attended public school in the
  participating school district in the previous year prior to
  receiving enhancement services created by Subchapter J. School
  districts shall notify all eligible students and parents of this
  program.
         Sec. 29.354.  ENHANCEMENT SERVICES.
         (A)  Funds provided by this program may be used only for the
  following services provided by approved private service providers
  under Section 29.357:
         (1)  costs of transportation for the student to receive
  educational support services;
         (2)  fees for services provided by a commissioner-approved
  private tutor or teaching service under Section 29.357;
         (3)  fees for educational therapies or support services
  provided by a practitioner or provider under Section 29.357;
         (4)  costs of assistive technology;
         (5)  in-home and community-based training;
         (6)  positive behavioral support strategies;
         (7)  parent and family training support;
         (8)  communication interventions; and
         (9)  social skills, supports, and strategies.
         (a-1)  Any services not listed in (A) do not qualify as
  enhancement services and are not eligible for funding under this
  subchapter.
         (B)  Enhancement services shall be chosen by the parent in
  consultation with the school principal's designee. The principal's
  designee shall advise the parent on the enhancement program. The
  parent shall choose the enhancement services and the private
  service provider the program participant uses under this
  subchapter.
         Sec. 29.355.  PROTECTION OF RIGHTS. (a) Students using
  funds through a school district to access enhancement services from
  an approved provider under Section 29.357 shall maintain rights
  awarded to the student under Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of
  1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794) and Individuals with Disabilities
  Education Act (20 U.S.C. Section 1400 et seq.), and the Americans
  with Disabilities Act.
         Sec. 29.356.  ALLOCATION OF PROGRAM FUNDS.
         (a)  This program shall be funded at $10 million per year
  from the state's general revenue fund.
         (b)  The commissioner shall award program funds to fund
  enhancement services for students that meet the eligibility
  criteria under Subsection 29.353. In awarding program funds to
  eligible students, the commissioner shall prioritize students that
  are economically disadvantaged. The selected students must reflect
  the diversity of this state.
         Sec. 29.357.  PRIVATE SERVICE PROVIDER REQUIREMENTS.
         (A)  To be a private service provider, an entity or
  individual:
               (1)  must be determined and approved by the
  commissioner;
               (2)  must provide the agency a current financial audit
  from a certified public accountant;
               (3)  must have operated for at least three or more
  consecutive years, one of which has been in Texas;
               (4)  must provide evidence of having successfully
  passed a criminal background check;
               (5)  must provide the agency a list of state and
  national certification licensure credentials the provider has
  achieved;
               (6)  must agree to comply with the state's curriculum
  standards under Section 28.002 (b-3) and (b-4);
               (7)  may document to the commissioner that it provides
  one or more of the enhancement services under 29.354 through an
  existing contract with a school district; and
               (8)  may not solicit program participants to use their
  private services with gifts, money, promotions, or any other kind
  of emollient.
               (a-1)  A parent, the principal's designee who consults
  with the parent of a program participant, or a private service
  provider may appeal to the agency for a specific private service
  provider to be approved. The commissioner shall develop rules to
  implement this process.
         (B)  A private service provider shall deliver enhancement
  services to a program participant on the basis of a written
  agreement between the private service provider and the school
  district in which the program participant is enrolled.
         (C)  (1) The private service provider must participate in a
  meeting with the parent and the principal's designee who consults
  with the parent of a program participant at least one time within a
  semester of participation in enhancement services to discuss
  progress and continued use of the private service provider's
  enhancement services.
               (2)  A parent, the principal's designee who consults
  with the parent of a program participant, or a private service
  provider may request more frequent meetings between these groups to
  discuss progress and continued use of the private service
  provider's enhancement services.
               (3)  At the conclusion of the school year, enhancement
  services cease. A parent must re-apply in a subsequent school year
  to receive enhancement services during a subsequent school year.
         Sec. 29.357.  ACCOUNTABILITY. (a) An approved private
  service provider shall adhere to the following accountability
  standards to receive and maintain eligibility:
         (1)  report to the participating school district at the end
  of each semester on the services the program participant has
  received or will receive in accordance with the contract as well as
  diagnostic or other evaluative information that the district
  requires in order to fulfill its obligations under this subchapter;
         (2)  conduct pre- and post- measurement evaluations of the
  program participant, and share this information with the program
  participant's parent and participating school district;
         (3)  maintain a written contract with the school district of
  the program participant to provide enhancement services;
         (4)  appropriately invoice the school district of the
  program participant to provide enhancement services.
         (b)  The commissioner shall annually review previously
  approved private service providers to determine if the private
  service provider shall remain an approved provider for enhancement
  services.
         Sec. 29.358.  PROGRAM REVIEW. (a) the agency with input
  from program participants, parents of program participants,
  private service providers, and participating school districts
  shall review the performance of this program as established by
  Subchapter J, and report to the legislature by December 31, 2020.
         Sec. 29.359.  STUDY. No later than September 1, 2018, the
  agency shall report its findings to the legislature from a parent
  survey and study of the special education services received from
  the local school districts where their child(ren) are enrolled to
  determine whether those services meet the requirements of IDEA, 504
  and ADA or if the provided services are insufficient to meet the
  needs of the child as stipulated in his or her individualized
  education plan or 504 plan. The agency will include in its report to
  the legislature a list of services that parents feel are needed but
  not being provided along with the reasons for a lack of services
  being provided.
         Sec. 29.360.  EXCUSED ABSENCES. (a) an appointment or
  meeting with an approved private service provider for enhancement
  services provided by the special education enhancement program
  established under Subchapter J shall be considered excused
  absences. Services under this subchapter must supplement, not
  supplant, educational services provided by the school district.
         Sec. 29.361.  RESPONSIBILITY OF OTHER AGENCIES. (a) The
  provision of services under this section does not supersede or
  limit the responsibility of other agencies to provide or pay for
  costs of enhancement services to enable any student with
  disabilities to receive a free appropriate public education in the
  least restrictive environment. Specifically, services provided
  under this section may not be used for a student with disabilities
  who is currently placed in a residential facility primarily for
  non-educational reasons.
         SECTION 2.  This Act applies beginning with the 2018-2019
  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, 2017.