H.B. No. 3526
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to instructional materials and technology for public
  schools.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 31.001, Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 31.001.  FREE INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS.  Instructional
  materials selected for use in the public schools shall be furnished
  without cost to the students attending those schools.  Except as
  provided by Section 31.104(d), a school district may not charge a
  student for instructional material or technological equipment
  purchased by the district with the district's technology and
  instructional materials allotment.
         SECTION 2.  Section 31.004(b), Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (b)  To determine whether each student has instructional
  materials that cover all elements of the essential knowledge and
  skills as required by Subsection (a), a school district or
  open-enrollment charter school may consider:
               (1)  instructional materials adopted by the State Board
  of Education;
               (2)  materials adopted or purchased by the commissioner
  under Section 31.0231 or Subchapter B-1;
               (3)  open-source instructional materials submitted by
  eligible institutions and adopted by the State Board of Education
  under Section 31.0241;
               (4)  open-source instructional materials made
  available by other public schools; [and]
               (5)  instructional materials developed or purchased by
  the school district or open-enrollment charter school; and
               (6)  open educational resources and other electronic
  instructional materials included in the repository under Section
  31.083.
         SECTION 3.  Section 31.005, Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 31.005.  FUNDING FOR OPEN-ENROLLMENT CHARTER SCHOOLS.  
  An open-enrollment charter school is entitled to the technology and
  instructional materials allotment under this chapter and is subject
  to this chapter as if the school were a school district.
         SECTION 4.  Section 31.021, Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 31.021.  STATE TECHNOLOGY AND INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
  FUND.  (a)  The state technology and instructional materials fund
  consists of:
               (1)  an amount set aside by the State Board of Education
  from the available school fund, in accordance with Section
  43.001(d); and
               (2)  all amounts lawfully paid into the fund from any
  other source.
         (c)  Money in the state technology and instructional
  materials fund shall be used to:
               (1)  fund the technology and instructional materials
  allotment, as provided by Section 31.0211;
               (2)  purchase special instructional materials for the
  education of blind and visually impaired students in public
  schools;
               (3)  pay the expenses associated with the instructional
  materials adoption and review process under this chapter;
               (4)  pay the expenses associated with the purchase or
  licensing of open-source instructional material;
               (5)  pay the expenses associated with the purchase of
  instructional material, including intrastate freight and shipping
  and the insurance expenses associated with intrastate freight and
  shipping;
               (6)  fund the technology lending grant program
  established under Section 32.301 [32.201]; [and]
               (7)  provide funding to the Texas School for the Blind
  and Visually Impaired, the Texas School for the Deaf, and the Texas
  Juvenile Justice Department; and
               (8)  pay the expenses associated with the instructional
  materials web portal developed under Section 31.081.
         (d)  Money transferred to the state technology and
  instructional materials fund remains in the fund until spent and
  does not lapse to the state at the end of the fiscal year.
         SECTION 5.  The heading to Section 31.0211, Education Code,
  is amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 31.0211.  TECHNOLOGY AND INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
  ALLOTMENT.
         SECTION 6.  Sections 31.0211(a) and (b), Education Code, are
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  A school district is entitled to an allotment each
  biennium from the state technology and instructional materials fund
  for each student enrolled in the district on a date during the last
  year of the preceding biennium specified by the commissioner.  The
  commissioner shall determine the amount of the allotment per
  student each biennium on the basis of the amount of money available
  in the state technology and instructional materials fund to fund
  the allotment.  An allotment under this section shall be
  transferred from the state technology and instructional materials
  fund to the credit of the district's technology and instructional
  materials account as provided by Section 31.0212.
         (b)  A juvenile justice alternative education program under
  Section 37.011 is entitled to an allotment from the state
  technology and instructional materials fund in an amount determined
  by the commissioner.  The program shall use the allotment to
  purchase items listed in Subsection (c) for students enrolled in
  the program.  The commissioner's determination under this
  subsection is final and may not be appealed.
         SECTION 7.  The heading to Section 31.0212, Education Code,
  is amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 31.0212.  TECHNOLOGY AND INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
  ACCOUNT.
         SECTION 8.  Sections 31.0212(a), (b), (d), and (e),
  Education Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The commissioner shall maintain a technology and [an]
  instructional materials account for each school district. In the
  first year of each biennium, the commissioner shall deposit in the
  account for each district the amount of the district's technology
  and instructional materials allotment under Section 31.0211.
         (b)  The commissioner shall pay the cost of instructional
  materials requisitioned by a school district under Section 31.103
  using funds from the district's technology and instructional
  materials account.
         (d)  Money deposited in a school district's technology and
  instructional materials account during each state fiscal biennium
  remains in the account and available for use by the district for the
  entire biennium.  At the end of each biennium, a district with
  unused money in the district's account may carry forward any
  remaining balance to the next biennium.
         (e)  The commissioner shall adopt rules as necessary to
  implement this section.  The rules must include a requirement that
  a school district provide the title and publication information for
  any instructional materials requisitioned or purchased by the
  district with the district's technology and instructional
  materials allotment.
         SECTION 9.  Section 31.0213, Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 31.0213.  CERTIFICATION OF USE OF TECHNOLOGY AND 
  INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS ALLOTMENT.  Each school district shall
  annually certify to the commissioner that the district's technology
  and instructional materials allotment has been used only for
  expenses allowed by Section 31.0211.
         SECTION 10.  Section 31.0214(a), Education Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (a)  Each year the commissioner shall adjust the technology
  and instructional materials allotment of school districts
  experiencing high enrollment growth.  The commissioner shall
  establish a procedure for determining high enrollment growth
  districts eligible to receive an adjustment under this section and
  the amount of the technology and instructional materials allotment
  those districts will receive.
         SECTION 11.  The heading to Section 31.0215, Education Code,
  is amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 31.0215.  TECHNOLOGY AND INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
  [MATERIAL] ALLOTMENT PURCHASES.
         SECTION 12.  Sections 31.0215(b) and (c), Education Code,
  are amended to read as follows:
         (b)  The commissioner may allow a school district or
  open-enrollment charter school to place an order for instructional
  materials before the beginning of a fiscal biennium and to receive
  instructional materials before payment.  The commissioner shall
  limit the cost of an order placed under this section to 80 percent
  of the estimated amount to which a school district or
  open-enrollment charter school is estimated to be entitled as
  provided by Subsection (a) and shall first credit any balance in a
  district or charter school technology and instructional materials
  account to pay for an order placed under this section.
         (c)  The commissioner shall make payments for orders placed
  under this section as funds become available to the technology and
  instructional materials fund and shall prioritize payment of orders
  placed under this section over reimbursement of purchases made
  directly by a school district or open-enrollment charter school.
         SECTION 13.  Section 31.0231(b), Education Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (b)  A school district may select material on the list
  adopted under Subsection (a) to be funded by the district's
  technology and instructional materials allotment under Section
  31.0211.
         SECTION 14.  Section 31.029(a), Education Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (a)  A school district shall purchase with the district's
  technology and instructional materials allotment or otherwise
  acquire instructional materials for use in bilingual education
  classes.
         SECTION 15.  Section 31.031(a), Education Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (a)  A school district may purchase with the district's
  technology and instructional materials allotment or otherwise
  acquire instructional materials for use in college preparatory
  courses under Section 28.014.
         SECTION 16.  Section 31.071(e), Education Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (e)  The costs of administering this subchapter and
  purchasing state-developed open-source instructional materials
  shall be paid from the state technology and instructional materials
  fund, as determined by the commissioner.
         SECTION 17.  Chapter 31, Education Code, is amended by
  adding Subchapter B-2 to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER B-2. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS WEB PORTAL
         Sec. 31.081.  INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS WEB PORTAL. (a)  The
  commissioner shall develop and maintain a web portal to assist
  school districts and open-enrollment charter schools in selecting
  instructional materials under Section 31.101.
         (b)  The web portal must include general information such as
  price, computer system requirements, and any other relevant
  specifications for each instructional material:
               (1)  on the instructional materials list, including the
  list adopted under Section 31.0231; or
               (2)  submitted by a publisher for inclusion in the web
  portal.
         (c)  The commissioner by rule shall establish the procedure
  by which a publisher may submit instructional materials for
  inclusion in the web portal.
         (d)  The commissioner shall use a competitive process to
  contract for the development of the web portal.
         (e)  The commissioner shall use money in the state technology
  and instructional materials fund to pay any expenses associated
  with the web portal.
         Sec. 31.082.  QUALITY OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS SUBMITTED
  BY PUBLISHER. (a)  The commissioner shall contract with a private
  entity to conduct an independent analysis of each instructional
  material submitted by a publisher for inclusion in the web portal
  developed under Section 31.081. The analysis must:
               (1)  evaluate the quality of the material; and
               (2)  determine the extent to which the material covers
  the essential knowledge and skills identified under Section 28.002
  for the subject and grade level for which the material is intended
  to be used, including an identification of:
                     (A)  each of the essential knowledge and skills
  for the subject and grade level or levels covered by the material;
  and
                     (B)  the percentage of the essential knowledge and
  skills for the subject and grade level or levels covered by the
  material.
         (b)  The commissioner shall include in the web portal
  developed under Section 31.081 the results of each analysis
  conducted under Subsection (a).
         Sec. 31.083.  INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS REPOSITORY. (a)  In
  this section, "open educational resource" means a teaching,
  learning, or research resource that is in the public domain or has
  been released under an intellectual property license that permits
  the free use and repurposing of the resource by any person. The
  term may include full course curricula, course materials, modules,
  textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools,
  materials, or techniques used to support access to knowledge.
         (b)  The commissioner shall include in the web portal
  developed under Section 31.081 a repository of open educational
  resources and other electronic instructional materials that school
  districts and open-enrollment charter schools may access at no
  cost, including state-developed open-source instructional
  materials purchased under Subchapter B-1.
         (c)  A publisher may submit instructional materials for
  inclusion in the repository.
         Sec. 31.084.  RULES. The commissioner may adopt rules as
  necessary to implement this subchapter.
         SECTION 18.  Section 31.101(f), Education Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (f)  The commissioner shall maintain an online requisition
  system for school districts to requisition instructional materials
  to be purchased with the district's technology and instructional
  materials allotment.
         SECTION 19.  Section 31.151(d), Education Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (d)  A penalty collected under this section shall be
  deposited to the credit of the state technology and instructional
  materials fund.
         SECTION 20.  Chapter 32, Education Code, is amended by
  adding Subchapter G to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER G.  TECHNOLOGY LENDING PROGRAM GRANTS
         Sec. 32.301.  ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM. (a) The
  commissioner may establish a grant program under which grants are
  awarded to school districts and open-enrollment charter schools to
  implement a technology lending program to provide students access
  to equipment necessary to access and use electronic instructional
  materials.
         (b)  A school district or an open-enrollment charter school
  may apply to the commissioner to participate in the grant program.  
  In awarding grants under this subchapter for each school year, the
  commissioner shall consider:
               (1)  the availability of existing equipment to students
  in the district or school;
               (2)  other funding available to the district or school;
  and
               (3)  the district's or school's technology plan.
         (c)  The commissioner may determine the terms of a grant
  awarded under this section, including limits on the grant amount
  and approved uses of grant funds.
         (d)  The commissioner may recover funds not used in
  accordance with the terms of a grant by withholding amounts from any
  state funds otherwise due to the school district or open-enrollment
  charter school.
         Sec. 32.302.  FUNDING. (a) The commissioner may use not
  more than $25 million from the state technology and instructional
  materials fund under Section 31.021 each state fiscal biennium or a
  different amount determined by appropriation to administer a grant
  program established under this subchapter.
         (b)  The cost of administering a grant program under this
  subchapter must be paid from funds described by Subsection (a).
         Sec. 32.303.  USE OF GRANT FUNDS. (a) A school district or
  open-enrollment charter school may use a grant awarded under
  Section 32.301 or other local funds to purchase, maintain, and
  insure equipment for a technology lending program.
         (b)  Equipment purchased by a school district or
  open-enrollment charter school with a grant awarded under Section
  32.301 is the property of the district or school.
         Sec. 32.304.  REVIEW OF PROGRAM. Not later than January 1,
  2019, the commissioner shall review the grant program established
  under this subchapter and submit a report to the governor, the
  lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of representatives,
  and the presiding officers of the standing committees in the senate
  and house primarily responsible for public education. This section
  expires September 1, 2019.
         SECTION 21.  Section 41.124(c), Education Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (c)  A school district that receives tuition for a student
  from a school district with a wealth per student that exceeds the
  equalized wealth level may not claim attendance for that student
  for purposes of Chapters 42 and 46 and the technology and
  instructional materials allotment under Section 31.0211.
         SECTION 22.  Section 43.001(d), Education Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (d)  Each biennium the State Board of Education shall set
  aside an amount equal to 50 percent of the distribution for that
  biennium from the permanent school fund to the available school
  fund as provided by Section 5(a), Article VII, Texas Constitution,
  to be placed, subject to the General Appropriations Act, in the
  state technology and instructional materials fund established
  under Section 31.021.
         SECTION 23.  Section 403.093(d), Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (d)  The comptroller shall transfer from the general revenue
  fund to the foundation school fund an amount of money necessary to
  fund the foundation school program as provided by Chapter 42,
  Education Code.  The comptroller shall make the transfers in
  installments as necessary to comply with Section 42.259, Education
  Code, and permit the Texas Education Agency, to the extent
  authorized by the General Appropriations Act, to make temporary
  transfers from the foundation school fund for payment of the
  technology and instructional materials allotment under Section
  31.0211, Education Code.  Unless an earlier date is necessary for
  purposes of temporary transfers for payment of the technology and
  instructional materials allotment, an installment must be made not
  earlier than two days before the date an installment to school
  districts is required by Section 42.259, Education Code, and must
  not exceed the amount necessary for that payment and any temporary
  transfers for payment of the technology and instructional materials
  allotment.
         SECTION 24.  Not later than September 1, 2018, the
  commissioner of education shall develop the web portal required
  under Subchapter B-2, Chapter 31, Education Code, as added by this
  Act.
         SECTION 25.  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.
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 3526 was passed by the House on May 9,
  2017, by the following vote:  Yeas 145, Nays 0, 2 present, not
  voting; that the House refused to concur in Senate amendments to
  H.B. No. 3526 on May 26, 2017, and requested the appointment of a
  conference committee to consider the differences between the two
  houses; and that the House adopted the conference committee report
  on H.B. No. 3526 on May 28, 2017, by the following vote:  Yeas 147,
  Nays 0, 2 present, not voting.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 3526 was passed by the Senate, with
  amendments, on May 23, 2017, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays
  0; at the request of the House, the Senate appointed a conference
  committee to consider the differences between the two houses; and
  that the Senate adopted the conference committee report on H.B. No.
  3526 on May 28, 2017, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0.
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate   
  APPROVED: __________________
                  Date       
   
           __________________
                Governor