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A look at education bills that passed (2005)
The following are the primary education-related bills that passed during the regular session:
HB 25 Delisi / Van de Putte
Relating to transition assistance within the public school system for school-age dependents of military personnel.
Designed to provide assistance to transferring students of military families; requires prompt transfer of records, allows a non-resident student to enroll in a district if the student's grandparents live there and provide substantial child care, and allows a high school student who enters a Texas public school for the first time after January 1 of a school year, or who returns to a Texas public school after at least a 4-year absence, and who meets other eligibility requirements, to graduate without taking the exit-level TAKS by passing a nationally recognized norm referenced test adopted by the commissioner.
HB 126 Berman / Eltife
Relating to the penalty for tampering with a governmental record required for enrollment in a public school.
Reduces the penalty (currently a class A misdemeanor) for tampering with a government record to a Class C misdemeanor if the record is an enrollment record used to establish school district residency; intended to prompt local officials to enforce the law more readily.
HB 283 Hope / Zaffirini
Relating to the transfer of public school students who are the victims of bullying.
Includes a provision allowing a student who does not reside in a district to enroll in that district if the student's grandparent resides there and provides substantial after-school care for the student. Defines bullying as written or verbal expression or conduct that the school board determines will have the effect of physically harming a student, damaging property or placing a student in fear of harm to him/herself or his/her property, or is severe enough to create an intimidating, threatening or abusive educational environment. Requires a school district to transfer a bullying victim, upon parental request, to a different classroom or campus. Requires that the student code of conduct prohibit bullying, harassment and "hit lists" and ensure that employees enforce the prohibitions; the code must also provide methods for managing bullying and disciplining students. A special education student may not be disciplined for such conduct until an ARD meeting has been held to review the conduct.
HB 308 Hope / Staples
Relating to discipline in public schools and the assignment of certain public school students involved in a sexual assault.
Provides that a student who is the victim of aggravated sexual assault or sexual assault by another student at the same campus must, upon parental request, be transferred to a different campus than the offender or a neighboring school district; or if the victim chooses not to transfer, the board must transfer the offender to a different campus, or an AEP or JJAEP if there is only one campus in the district at that grade level.
HB 383 Dutton / Hinojosa
Relating to the right of certain persons to discipline a child.
Provides that only a parent, grandparent, step-parent with disciplinary duties and guardians with disciplinary duties may use corporal punishment for the reasonable discipline of a child.
HB 407 Uresti / Madla
Relating to coverage for school district employees under certain health benefit plans.
Provides that a school employee who is married to another school employee has the choice of deciding whether to be treated under the district's health insurance plan as the primary employee or a dependent.
HB 492 Woolley / Shapleigh
Relating to personal finance education as a requirement for graduation from public high school.
Requires that the TEKS include instruction in personal financial literacy in one or more courses required for graduation no later than the 2008-09 school year; specifically requires that personal finance be taught in any economics course beginning with the 2006-07 school year.
HB 603 Eissler / Lindsay
Relating to the expulsion of a public school student for using, exhibiting, or possessing a weapon.
Addresses the rare but highly publicized circumstances where a student may have unintentionally brought a prohibited item to school. TCTA worked with the bill sponsors to help clarify current law without weakening the student discipline provisions of Chapter 37. Additionally, the provisions of Chapter 37 were strengthened by the passage of the bill after Sen. Shapiro added some language to the bill from another bill she filed at the request of TCTA.
As finally passed, the bill provides that a district code of conduct must specify whether consideration is given to intent, the student’s disciplinary history, or disability that may impair the student’s ability to appreciate the wrongfulness of an act as a factor in determining whether to remove, suspend or expel a student. The bill also clarifies that Chapter 37 does not specify a minimum term of a disciplinary removal or expulsion, as these decisions are determined by local codes of conduct and school officials.
The provisions added by Shapiro, at the request of TCTA, provide that a student may not be returned to the class of a teacher who removed the student for assaulting the teacher, causing bodily injury, without the teacher’s consent. The teacher may not be coerced to consent, and the decision may not be overturned by a disciplinary review committee as for other removals.
The other provisions sought by TCTA and added from the Shapiro bill provide that the principal or the principal’s designee must give notice to every educator who has responsibility for or who directs and supervises the student of any misconduct for which the student may be removed to a disciplinary alternative education program (DAEP) or expelled. This same information is required to be provided for students that enroll in a new school district before the expiration of a removal to a DAEP. This information must be kept confidential by the educators or they would be subject to certification sanction by the State Board for Educator Certification, although the information may be shared with the students’ parents or guardians as could any other educational record under state or federal law.
HB 984 Reyna / Duncan
Relating to the care of elementary and secondary school students with diabetes.
Requires that each student with diabetes must have a diabetes management and treatment plan developed by the parent and the student's doctor, which must identify the services the student may receive at school and evaluate the student's ability to self-manage. The principal and nurse (if one is assigned to the campus) will develop an individualized health plan (IHP) in collaboration with the parent, doctor and one or more of the student's teachers. At each school that has a student with diabetes, the principal must seek out school employees (other than health care professionals) to serve as unlicensed diabetes care assistants under the supervision of the principal, and attempt to ensure that the school has at least one unlicensed assistant if the school has a full-time nurse and at least three unlicensed assistants if there is no full-time nurse. The assistants will be trained by a health care professional prior to the beginning of the school (or as soon as possible after the enrollment or new diagnosis of a student with diabetes); the training will cover recognizing symptoms, understanding proper actions to take, understanding the details of the IHP, performing finger-sticks and checking urine ketone levels, administering glucagon and insulin, recognizing complications requiring emergency care and understanding recommended schedules and food intake. Parents must sign an agreement before the assistant is allowed to assist the student; the agreement includes a statement that the parent understands that an unlicensed assistant is not liable for civil damages. If a nurse is not assigned to a campus, either the assistants at the campus must have access to a physician or other licensed individual with expertise in diabetes or the principal must have access to the student's doctor. Schools must allow students to self-check and self-medicate in accordance with the student's IHP.
HB 1058 Pickett / Zaffirini
Relating to high school diplomas for certain veterans.
Revises current law to allow districts to issue a high school diploma to a person who was scheduled to graduate between 1940 and 1975 and who left high school to serve in World War II, the Korean War or the Vietnam War. Current law only provided the option to veterans serving in WWII.
HB 1111 King, Phil / Brimer
Relating to admission to open-enrollment charter schools that specialize in performing arts.
Provides that charter schools specializing in performing arts may have an admission policy that requires a student to demonstrate artistic ability. Such schools may require auditions for acceptance.
HB 1116 Solomons / Nelson
Relating to the governmental entities subject to the sunset review process.
Extends the Sunset review date for the Texas Education Agency to 2007 (the agency underwent Sunset review this session, but the legislation died in the crossfire of a voucher battle); provides that the administrative functions of the State Board for Educator Certification will be handled by Texas Education Agency staff and the position of SBEC executive director is repealed, but the SBEC board remains in place
HB 1687 Dutton / West, Royce
Relating to fees charged by a juvenile justice alternative education program.
Prohibits a juvenile justice alternative education program from requiring a student or the parent or guardian of a student to pay any fee, including an entrance fee or supply fee, for participating in the program.
HB 2109 Berman / Shapiro
Relating to the Early High School Graduation Scholarship Program.
Re-establishes the eligibility of students already enrolled in the Early High School Graduation Scholarship Program when the Legislature changed the criteria of the program last session to require that the student have completed the Recommended High School Program or Distinguished Achievement Program. Those students lost eligibility for the program; HB 2109 restores their eligibility.
HB 2808 Morrison / West, Royce
Relating to the duties of the P-16 Council.
Makes the P-16 Council solely responsible for ensuring that state long-range plans and educational programs complement the entire system of public education (P-16) by eliminating the participation of the State Board of Education. Requires the Council to make recommendations regarding the alignment of secondary and postsecondary education curricula and testing; to advise the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and SBOE regarding the coordination of postsecondary career and technology activities, including teacher education programs; to review existing dual credit and concurrent enrollment programs; and to study the feasibility of offering a Recommended High School Program that would provide graduating students with at least 12 hours of college credit.
HB 3169 Crownover / Duncan
Relating to the credit purchase option program administered by the Teachers Retirement System.
Eliminates "air time", the purchase of service credit in the retirement system that is not based on any type of actual service. An employee who has entered into an agreement by January 1, 2006, to purchase the credit is allowed to complete the agreement and receive the credit. (An identical provision is included in SB 1691, the TRS omnibus bill.)
HB 3297 Bohac / Staples
Relating to the inclusion of certain public school accountability information in a student's grade report card.
Requires that the first written notice of student performance must include the most recent campus performance rating along with definitions and explanations. By the 10th day of school each year, a district with a website must post campus report cards and district performance reports.
HB 3468 Isett
Relating to an intensive English language instruction pilot program.
Creates a 2-year pilot program for intensive reading and language intervention for campuses that have failed to improve student performance in reading that apply for the program. The campus will develop the program, and the campus principal will select students to participate, and will measure the students' progress before and after entering the pilot program.
HB 3469 Hochberg / Barrientos
Relating to the creation of the Texas Clean School Bus program.
Creates the Clean School Bus Program to attempt to reduce diesel exhaust emissions. Grants may be awarded for projects including retrofitting existing buses, purchasing emission-reducing equipment, and other technologies.
HB 3563 King, Phil / Staples
Relating to the use of anabolic steroids by public school students.
Requires the UIL to adopt rules prohibiting students from participating in UIL activities unless the student agrees not to use anabolic steroids and the parent signs a statement acknowledging that state law prohibits using or possessing steroids. The UIL must develop an education program regarding the health effects of steroid use. During the 2005-06 school year, the league will conduct a survey on the extent of illegal steroid use by high school athletes. The UIL must develop a plan for steroid testing of athletes, and will provide to the next legislature the plan and the survey results. If the legislature, after review of the survey results, determines that the educational program has been ineffective, the UIL may be required to implement the testing program.
SB 11 Staples / Delisi
Relating to security in public schools.
Requires school districts to adopt a multihazard emergency operations plan providing for employee training in responding to an emergency, mandatory school drills, measures to ensure coordination with local emergency personnel in the event of an emergency, and implementation of a security audit. Districts must conduct such an audit at least once every three years under procedures established by the Texas School Safety Center or similar entity. New school facilities or renovations should be done in consideration of security criteria developed by the school safety center.
SB 23 Zaffirini / Kolkhorst
Relating to subsidized child-care services and early childhood care and education program coordination.
Allows the commissioner to provide incentives to early childhood care and education providers that provide coordinated services under existing law. Provides continued and enhanced collaboration between child-care and early childhood education services. Creates the School Readiness Certification System in conjunction with the P-16 Council to use in certifying the effectiveness of pre-k, Head Start, Early Head Start, government-subsidized and other programs in preparing children for kindergarten. Use of the system by an early childhood provider is voluntary.
SB 42 Nelson / Delisi
Relating to health education in public schools and to the improvement of children's health through daily physical activity in public schools.
Provides that required health classes include an emphasis on the importance of proper nutrition and exercise. Extends current law allowing the SBOE to require daily physical activity in elementary schools to now include middle schools (with exceptions to be allowed for students participating in school or private league athletics), beginning with the 2006-07 school year. Includes the "cupcake amendment" referred to as "Lauren's Law", to ensure that parents and grandparents can bring any food product to school for the student's birthday or other school-designated function. Requires the creation of a School Health Advisory Committee at the Department of Agriculture.
SB 143 Wentworth / McClendon
Relating to the extension of certain deadlines for public school educators serving on active duty in the military.
Extends deadlines for certified educators to complete required continuing education or other requirements pertaining to certificate renewal, if the educator is serving on active military duty.
SB 151 Zaffirini / Morrison
Relating to students enrolled in courses for which students may receive both high school and higher education academic credit.
Creates a pilot program beginning in the fall of 2006 in which participating junior colleges would waive tuition and fees and provide free textbooks (paid for by the school district) for educationally disadvantaged students who are enrolled in concurrent credit (high school and college credit) courses. The pilot program would only be implemented if the state can reimburse the colleges for the tuition/fees by the savings resulting from the reduction in the number of courses taken by undergraduate students. Also creates the Texas Academy of International Studies at Texas A&M International University in Laredo designed to help high school juniors and seniors complete high school graduation requirements while attending for academic credit a public institution of higher education.
SB 256 Williams / Brown, Fred
Relating to the release of certain student information by a school district.
Requires school districts to provide to the parent of each student at the beginning of each school year or on enrollment of the student information regarding the provisions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) regarding the release of directory information. The parent shall receive notice of the right to object to the release of directory information or to allow only limited release for stated purposes, such as yearbooks. Districts shall also provide the parent with a form to allow the parent to object to release of directory information or one or more specific categories of directory information. Directory information consented to by a parent for a limited school-sponsored purpose only remains otherwise confidential.
SB 387 Wentworth / Eissler
Relating to school district employment policies.
A TCTA-initiated bill that requires school districts to allow employees an opportunity to apply for an open position by posting notice of job vacancies for at least 10 school days in the following places: on a bulletin board at a place convenient to the public in the district's central administrative office; in the central administrative office at each campus in the district; and on the district's Internet Web site if the district has a Web site. SB 387 also allows the district to fill the position without such notice if the position affects the safety and security of students or if the district must fill a vacant teaching position during the school year. It provides that school district employment policies may include a provision that allows each current district employee an opportunity to participate in a process for transferring to another school in a district or position with the district.
SB 483 Staples / Branch
Relating to allowing designated public school libraries to participate in group purchasing agreements with the TexShare Library Consortium.
Expands eligibility to participate in a library book purchasing consortium to designated public school libraries.
SB 493 Van de Putte / Hamilton
Relating to reducing paperwork required of school districts and school district employees.
Requires the commissioner, at least once each even-numbered year, to review and if practicable reduce written reports and other paperwork required of a district by the Texas Education Agency, and to adopt a policy limiting written reports and other paperwork that the agency can require of teachers and principals. Allows the commissioner to authorize special accreditation investigations in response to repeated complaints about excessive paperwork.
SB 658 Madla / Reyna
Relating to the scheduling of certain University Interscholastic League competitions.
Prohibits UIL competitions on Monday through Thursday of the primary TAKS week assessments; or if the testing is completed before Thursday, then participation is prohibited Monday through the last day of testing. Exceptions can be made in unusual circumstances. The prohibition does not apply to retesting dates. The new law applies beginning with the 2006-07 school year.
SB 776 Van de Putte / Noriega
Relating to persons eligible to administer or take a high school equivalency examination.
Adds those students 16 years of age or older and enrolled in the adjutant general's department's Seaborne Challenge Corps to the persons eligible to take a high school equivalency examination.
SB 851 Shapleigh / Woolley
Relating to a financial literacy pilot program in public schools.
Creates a financial literacy pilot program in public schools which must include information, such as, avoiding and eliminating credit card debt, understanding the rights and responsibilities of renting or buying a home and beginning a savings program. TEA will collaborate with the Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner and the State Securities Board to develop the curriculum and instructional materials for the program and using an application and selection process, will select not more than 25 school districts to participate in the program.
SB 1146 Shapiro / Morrison
Relating to an early college education program to provide at-risk and other students accelerated high school graduation and college credit.
Creates an early college education program to provide at-risk and other students accelerated high school graduation and college credit. The program must provide for a course of study that enables a participating student to combine high school courses and college-level courses during grade levels 9 through 12. It also allows a participating student to complete high school, receive a high school diploma and either an associate degree or at least 60 semester credit hours toward a baccalaureate degree. The commissioner is given rule-making authority over this subsection and may provide rules for giving preference in receiving program benefits to a student who is in the first generation of the student's family to attend college.
SB 1395 Shapiro / Grusendorf
Relating to the establishment of high school diploma programs by Job Corps programs under the United States Department of Labor.
Permits Job Corps training programs to establish a high school diploma program to operate public secondary schools at Job Corps facilities. Job Corps diploma programs may offer a secondary school curriculum, a high school diploma program, and a General Educational Development program.
SB 1448 Averitt / Eiland
Relating to portability of certain health benefit coverage provided to school district employees.
A TCTA-initiated bill ensuring that any group health plan provided by a school district that does not participate in the state plan, TRS-ActiveCare, will provide for portability of insurance coverage. This ensures that the plan could not refuse coverage for a pre-existing condition if the employee has had insurance under another qualifying plan for at least 12 months and applies for coverage under the district plan no more than 63 days after coverage is terminated under the former coverage. This legislation offers protection to teachers transferring from one school district to another.
SB 1691 Duncan / Eiland
Relating to certain retired school employees and the powers and duties of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas.
TRS omnibus bill including several changes to existing retirement benefits.
