HBA-PDH H.B. 709 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 709 By: Krusee Public Education 4/20/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, a child may only attend a public school in the district where the child resides unless the cost of private school tuition is available to the child. H.B. 709 creates a pilot voucher program targeted for students who failed the Texas Academic Assessment Skills (TAAS) test. The bill provides specific criteria for qualifying for the voucher, that a child may keep the voucher until graduation unless the student re-enrolls in a public school or if the child no longer resides in a district which meets the specified criteria, and that a school district is limited to 5,000 vouchers and must conduct a lottery if there are applications in excess of limit. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking authority is expressly delegated to the comptroller in SECTION 1 (Section 29.361, Education Code) of this bill. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Chapter 29, Education Code, by adding Subchapter J, as follows: SUBCHAPTER J. PUBLIC EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM Sec. 29.351. DEFINITIONS. Defines "parent," "private school," and "scholarship." Sec. 29.352. ELIGIBLE CHILD. (a) Provides that a child is eligible for a public education scholarship to pay for private school tuition if the child: (1)is educationally disadvantaged; (2)is eligible to attend school under Section 25.001 (Admission), Education Code, in a school district that has at least 60,000 students in average daily attendance and the majority of the district's territory is within the boundaries of a municipality with a population of at least one million; (3) was enrolled in a public school district the previous school year or is enrolling in prekindergarten, kindergarten, or first grade for the first time; and (4)failed to perform satisfactorily on the most recent assessment instrument administered to the child under Section 39.023(a), (b), or (c) (Adoption and Administration of Instruments), Education Code, unless such an assessment instrument has not been administered to the child. (b) Entitles a child after establishing eligibility under Subsection (a) and attending private school using a scholarship, to continue receiving the scholarship until the date a child graduates from high school or the child's 21st birthday, whichever is earlier, unless the child enrolls in a public school district after using the scholarship or moves out of the district where eligibility for the scholarship was established. Sec. 29.353. LIMITATION ON NUMBER OF SCHOLARSHIPS. Provides that not more than 5,000 children in a school district may receive scholarships at the same time. Requires the Texas Education Agency (agency) to award the scholarships based on a lottery administered by the agency if more than 5,000 children seek a scholarship. Sec. 29.354. PARENTAL NOTIFICATION. Requires a school district described by Section 29.352 (a) (2) to notify in writing each eligible child's parent of the child's eligibility for a scholarship by a date established by the commissioner of education (commissioner). Authorizes a parent to apply for a scholarship on behalf of the parent's child by notifying the school district by a date established by the commissioner. Sec. 29.355. AMOUNT OF SCHOLARSHIP; FINANCING. (a) Provides that a child's scholarship 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) Entitles an eligible child attending a private school to receive 100 percent of the child's scholarship unless the tuition charged is less than the amount of the scholarship. Entitles the school district the child would otherwise attend to any surplus if the tuition charged is less than the scholarship. (c) Provides that an eligible child who attends a private school using a scholarship is included in determining the average daily attendance under Section 42.005 (Average Daily Attendance), Education Code, of the school district in which the student would otherwise attend school. (d) Provides that a child's scholarship is payable from the school district to the private school on behalf of the child. Provides that the scholarship is the entitlement of the child, under 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. 29.356. ACCREDITATION. Provides that a private school accepting students with scholarships must be accredited by a private organization recognized by the commissioner. Authorizes a newly established private school to receive scholarship funds without accreditation if the school applies for accreditation before accepting students under the program. Authorizes the commissioner to waive these requirements for good cause. Sec. 29.357. ADMISSIONS. (a) Prohibits a private school from refusing to enroll a child with a scholarship on the basis of the child's residence, race, national origin, ethnic background, religion, or academic achievement. (b) Authorizes a private school to refuse to enroll a child with a scholarship if the child has been expelled from a school district or has a criminal record. (c) Prohibits a private school from considering the athletic ability of a child with a scholarship in the admission process. (d) Provides that a private school having more applicants with scholarships than available positions must fill the positions by lottery. Provides that 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) Authorizes a private school to 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. 29.358. TUITION; ADDITIONAL CHARGES AND FEES. Prohibits a private school from charging an eligible child attending the school with a scholarship more tuition than the scholarship awarded, an amount that exceeds the standard tuition rate at the school, or assess any additional cost for providing an educational program or service to a child other than that authorized under Section 11.158 (Authority to Charge Fees), Education Code. Sec. 29.359. ACCOUNTABILITY. (a) Requires a private school to administer to each student with a scholarship who is enrolled in the school the assessment instruments required under Section 39.023(a), (b), or (c) (Adoption and Administration of Instruments), Education Code, or other comparable assessment instruments approved by the commissioner, in the same manner as those instruments are administered to public school students. (b) Requires a private school to report to the commissioner concerning the school's performance on the academic excellence indicators under Section 39.051 (Academic Excellence Indicators), Education Code, for students with scholarships who are enrolled in the school. Requires the commissioner to publish the school's performance information and make it available to parents for review. Sec. 29.360. CERTIFICATION TO COMPTROLLER. Requires a private school to certify to the comptroller that the school has complied with the conditions imposed by Section 29.357, Education Code, in order to receive scholarship funds. Sec. 29.361. DUTIES OF COMPTROLLER. Requires the comptroller to adopt rules, procedures, and forms for the payment of scholarships to private schools on behalf of students attending those schools with scholarships. SECTION 2.Makes application of this Act prospective beginning with the 1999-2000 school year. SECTION 3. Emergency clause. Effective date: upon passage.