84R10832 MK-D
	By: Bohac	H.B. No. 1796

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to public school choice, including school campus
	information, student transfers, the public education grant
	program, and the transportation allotment.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 8.051, Education Code, is amended by
	adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
	(e)  Each regional education service center shall
	consolidate and submit to the agency or the entity contracting with
	the agency under Section 25.0012(c) the school availability
	information required under Section 25.0012 for any school located
	in the area served by the center. Each school district and
	open-enrollment charter school shall provide the necessary
	information to the regional education service center once each
	year. The information shall be submitted by the center in the manner
	and format specified by the agency or contracting entity. Each
	regional education service center shall provide additional campus
	information and enrollment services as required by the
	commissioner.
	SECTION 2.  Subchapter A, Chapter 25, Education Code, is
	amended by adding Section 25.0012 to read as follows:
	Sec. 25.0012.  SCHOOL AVAILABILITY INFORMATION. (a)  The
	agency shall maintain an Internet website, separate from the
	agency's main Internet website, that includes the following
	information:
	(1)  each campus located within each school district
	and the area served by each campus, including any open-enrollment
	charter school located in the district;
	(2)  the number of students that may attend each
	campus;
	(3)  the number of students attending each campus;
	(4)  the number of available student positions at each
	campus, as determined by the district or school;
	(5)  intensive programs offered at each campus,
	including optional flexible school day and credit recovery
	programs;
	(6)  college and career readiness programs offered at
	each campus, including dual credit programs, international
	baccalaureate programs, advanced placement programs, magnet
	programs, and Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID)
	programs;
	(7)  expanded learning programs, including extended
	day programs, extended year programs, and 21st Century Community
	Learning Center programs;
	(8)  the performance ratings under Subchapter C,
	Chapter 39, for the three preceding school years of each campus,
	district, and open-enrollment charter school; and
	(9)  the financial accountability ratings under
	Subchapter D, Chapter 39, for the three preceding school years of
	each district and open-enrollment charter school.
	(b)  The Internet website required by Subsection (a) must
	enable the public to identify by zip code the school district
	campuses and open-enrollment charter schools located in a student's
	district of residence and contiguous districts and search by
	identified performance and program offerings, including the
	program offerings in Subsections (a)(5)-(7). For each campus
	identified, the Internet website shall display the information
	specified in Subsections (a)(2) and (3) and the process by which a
	student may enroll in a campus that is not the campus to which the
	student is assigned.
	(c)  The agency may contract for the services of one or more
	contractors to develop, implement, maintain, and publicize the
	Internet website required by Subsection (a). In awarding a contract
	under this subsection, the agency must consider an applicant's
	demonstrated competence and qualifications in maximizing Internet
	website accessibility and ease of use.
	(d)  The agency and each school district, open-enrollment
	charter school, and regional education service center shall
	prominently display and maintain on the main page of the entity's
	Internet website a link to the Internet website required by
	Subsection (a).
	(e)  Each school district, open-enrollment charter school,
	and regional education service center shall maintain on the
	entity's Internet website a description of the procedure for a
	student to transfer to another campus within the entity's
	jurisdiction. Each school district, open-enrollment charter
	school, and regional education service center shall display on the
	main page of the entity's Internet website a link to the information
	required by this subsection.
	(f)  In addition to any amount appropriated by the
	legislature, the agency may accept funds from any other public or
	private entity to carry out the requirements of this section. Funds
	accepted under this subsection may not be accepted on terms
	inconsistent with the requirements of this section.
	SECTION 3.  Section 25.033, Education Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	Sec. 25.033.  ASSIGNMENT OR TRANSFER ON PETITION OF PARENT.
	(a) The parent or person standing in parental relation to any
	student that resides in the school district may by petition in
	writing [either:
	[(1)] request the assignment or transfer of the student
	to a designated school or to a school to be designated by the board.
	Except as provided by this section and Sections 25.0341, 25.0342,
	and 25.0343, the board shall grant the request[; or
	[(2)     file objections to the assignment of the student
	to the school to which the student has been assigned].
	(b)  A school district may not be required to accept a
	transfer to a school facility if the projected student enrollment
	growth of the attendance zone of the facility will cause the
	facility to exceed available capacity within three years.
	(c)  Except as otherwise provided by this section, a school
	district that has more applicants for a transfer to a school
	facility than available positions must give priority to students at
	risk of dropping out of school as defined by Section 29.081 and must
	fill the available positions by lottery.
	(d)  The board of trustees of a school district may adopt a
	policy that establishes admissions criteria, including audition or
	performance criteria, for admission to a campus or program,
	including a magnet campus or program, that:
	(1)  offers specialized areas of study and focus for
	students; or
	(2)  limits admission to students of a single gender.
	(e)  Subject to Subsection (d)(2), in permitting transfers
	under this section, a school district may not discriminate on the
	basis of a student's national origin, ancestral language,
	ethnicity, gender, or socioeconomic status.
	(f)  Except as otherwise provided by this section, a student
	permitted to transfer to a campus under this section may continue to
	attend that campus and the campuses to which students from that
	campus are regularly assigned for higher grade levels until the
	student graduates from high school.
	(g)  The commissioner may adopt rules necessary to implement
	this section.
	SECTION 4.  Section 25.035, Education Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	Sec. 25.035.  TRANSFERS BETWEEN DISTRICTS OR COUNTIES. (a)
	The boards of trustees of two or more [adjoining] school districts
	or the boards of county school trustees of two or more [adjoining]
	counties may, by agreement [and in accordance with Sections 25.032,
	25.033, and 25.034], arrange for the transfer and assignment of any
	student from the jurisdiction of one board to that of another. In
	the case of the transfer and assignment of a student under this
	section, the participating governing boards shall also agree to the
	transfer of school funds or other payments proportionate to the
	transfer of attendance.
	(b)  The parent or person standing in parental relation to a
	student may by written petition request the assignment or transfer
	of the student to:
	(1)  a designated school in a district other than the
	student's district of residence; or
	(2)  a school designated by the board of trustees of a
	district other than the student's district of residence.
	(c)  The board of trustees of a school district may adopt a
	policy that provides for the exclusion or removal of a student
	requesting or receiving a transfer under this section who has a
	documented history of a criminal offense, juvenile court
	adjudication, failure to attend school, or discipline problem under
	Subchapter A, Chapter 37.
	SECTION 5.  Section 25.036, Education Code, is amended by
	amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c) to read as
	follows:
	(a)  Any child, other than a high school graduate, who is
	younger than 21 years of age and eligible for enrollment on
	September 1 of any school year may transfer [annually] from the
	child's school district of residence to another district in this
	state if both the receiving district and the applicant parent or
	[guardian or] person standing in parental relation to [having
	lawful control of] the child jointly approve and timely agree in
	writing to the transfer.
	(c)  A transfer made under this section is effective until
	the parent or person standing in parental relation to the child
	decides to transfer the child to a school in a different district or
	the child graduates from high school.
	SECTION 6.  Section 26.003, Education Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	Sec. 26.003.  RIGHTS CONCERNING ACADEMIC PROGRAMS. (a) A
	parent is entitled to:
	(1)  [petition the board of trustees designating the
	school in the district that the parent's child will attend, as
	provided by Section 25.033;
	[(2)]  reasonable access to the school principal, or to
	a designated administrator with the authority to reassign a
	student, to request a change in the class or teacher to which the
	parent's child has been assigned, if the reassignment or change
	would not affect the assignment or reassignment of another student;
	(2) [(3)]  request, with the expectation that the
	request will not be unreasonably denied:
	(A)  the addition of a specific academic class in
	the course of study of the parent's child in keeping with the
	required curriculum if sufficient interest is shown in the addition
	of the class to make it economically practical to offer the class;
	(B)  that the parent's child be permitted to
	attend a class for credit above the child's grade level, whether in
	the child's school or another school, unless the board or its
	designated representative expects that the child cannot perform
	satisfactorily in the class; or
	(C)  that the parent's child be permitted to
	graduate from high school earlier than the child would normally
	graduate, if the child completes each course required for
	graduation; and
	(3) [(4)]  have a child who graduates early as provided
	by Subdivision (2)(C) [(3)(C)] participate in graduation
	ceremonies at the time the child graduates.
	(b)  The decision of the board of trustees concerning a
	request described by Subsection (a)(1) or (2) [(a)(2) or (3)] is
	final and may not be appealed.
	SECTION 7.  Section 29.201, Education Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	Sec. 29.201.  PARENTAL CHOICE. Notwithstanding any other
	provision of this code, as provided by this subchapter an eligible
	student may attend a public school in the district in which the
	student resides or may use a public education grant to attend any
	public school in any other district chosen by the student's parent
	or any person standing in parental relation to the student until the
	student decides to attend a school in a different district or
	graduates from high school.
	SECTION 8.  Section 29.202(b), Education Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(b)  After a student has used a public education grant to
	attend a school in a district other than the district in which the
	student resides,[:
	[(1)]  the student does not become ineligible for the
	grant if the school on which the student's initial eligibility is
	based no longer meets the criteria under Subsection (a)[; and
	[(2)     the student becomes ineligible for the grant if
	the student is assigned to attend a school that does not meet the
	criteria under Subsection (a)].
	SECTION 9.  Sections 29.203(c) and (d), Education Code, are
	amended to read as follows:
	(c)  A school district is entitled to additional facilities
	assistance under Section 42.4101 if the district enrolls [agrees
	to:
	[(1)  accept] a number of students using public
	education grants that is at least one percent of the district's
	average daily attendance for the preceding school year[; and
	[(2)     provide services to each student until the
	student either voluntarily decides to attend a school in a
	different district or graduates from high school].
	(d)  [A school district chosen by a student's parent under
	Section 29.201 is entitled to accept or reject the application for
	the student to attend school in that district but may not use
	criteria that discriminate on the basis of a student's race,
	ethnicity, academic achievement, athletic abilities, language
	proficiency, sex, or socioeconomic status.] A school district that
	has more [acceptable] applicants for attendance under this
	subchapter than available positions must [give priority to students
	at risk of dropping out of school as defined by Section 29.081 and
	must] fill the available positions by lottery. However, to achieve
	continuity in education, a school district may give priority
	[preference over at-risk students to enrolled students and] to the
	siblings of enrolled students residing in the same household or
	other children residing in the same household as enrolled students
	for the convenience of parents, guardians, or custodians of those
	children.
	SECTION 10.  Section 42.155(b), Education Code, is amended
	by amending Subdivision (3) and adding Subdivision (4) to read as
	follows:
	(3)  "Linear density" means:
	(A)  for purposes of Subsection (c), the average
	number of regular eligible students transported daily, divided by
	the approved daily route miles traveled by the [respective]
	transportation system; and
	(B)  for purposes of Subsection (c-1), the average
	number of school choice eligible students transported daily,
	divided by the approved daily route miles traveled by the
	transportation system.
	(4)  "School choice eligible student" means a student
	who resides two or more miles from the student's campus of choice as
	provided by Subchapter B, Chapter 25, measured along the shortest
	route that may be traveled on public roads, and who is not
	classified as a student eligible for special education services.
	SECTION 11.  Section 42.155, Education Code, is amended by
	adding Subsection (c-1) and amending Subsection (d) to read as
	follows:
	(c-1)  This subsection applies only to a district that the
	commissioner determines offers students residing in the district a
	variety of choices in selecting a campus for attendance and
	provides transportation to an eligible student to the selected
	campus at no cost to the student. In determining under this
	subsection whether a district offers a variety of campus choices,
	the commissioner must consider the diversity of enrollment and
	curriculum criteria among campuses in the district, including
	criteria such as the gender of students enrolled at the campus, the
	subject matter or learning methods emphasized at the campus, and
	the degree to which athletic and other extracurricular activities
	are available at the campus. In addition to the regular
	transportation allotment under Subsection (c), a district is
	entitled to an allotment based on the daily cost per school choice
	eligible student of operating and maintaining the transportation
	system for school choice eligible students and the linear density
	of that system. In determining the cost, the commissioner shall
	give consideration to factors affecting the actual cost of
	providing those transportation services in the district. The
	average actual cost is to be computed by the commissioner and
	included for consideration by the legislature in the General
	Appropriations Act. The allotment per mile of approved route may
	not exceed the amount set by appropriation.
	(d)  A district or county may apply for and on approval of the
	commissioner receive an additional amount of up to 10 percent of its
	regular transportation allotment under Subsection (c) to be used
	for the transportation of children living within two miles of the
	school they attend who would be subject to hazardous traffic
	conditions if they walked to school. Each board of trustees shall
	provide to the commissioner the definition of hazardous conditions
	applicable to that district and shall identify the specific
	hazardous areas for which the allocation is requested. A hazardous
	condition exists where no walkway is provided and children must
	walk along or cross a freeway or expressway, an underpass, an
	overpass or a bridge, an uncontrolled major traffic artery, an
	industrial or commercial area, or another comparable condition.
	SECTION 12.  Sections 25.032, 25.034, 25.0341(f),
	25.0342(g), and 25.0343(c), Education Code, are repealed.
	SECTION 13.  (a)  Except as provided by Subsection (b) of
	this section, this Act applies beginning with the 2016-2017 school
	year.
	(b)  Sections 8.051(e) and 25.0012, Education Code, as added
	by this Act, apply beginning with the 2015-2016 school year.
	SECTION 14.  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, 2015.