Bill Text: TX SB139 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Relating to a notice of educational rights for certain student evaluations.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Passed) 2019-06-14 - Effective immediately [SB139 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-SB139-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Relating to a notice of educational rights for certain student evaluations.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Passed) 2019-06-14 - Effective immediately [SB139 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-SB139-Introduced.html
| 86R1646 KJE-D | ||
| By: Rodríguez | S.B. No. 139 | |
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| relating to a notice of educational rights and recovery by school | ||
| districts and open-enrollment charter schools of costs for certain | ||
| student evaluations. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 29, Education Code, is | ||
| amended by adding Section 29.023 to read as follows: | ||
| Sec. 29.023. NOTICE OF RIGHTS; COST RECOVERY PROGRAM. (a) | ||
| The agency shall develop a notice for distribution as provided by | ||
| Subsection (c) and posting on the agency's Internet website that | ||
| indicates: | ||
| (1) the change made from 2016 to 2017 in reporting | ||
| requirements for school districts and open-enrollment charter | ||
| schools regarding the special education representation indicator | ||
| adopted in the Performance-Based Monitoring Analysis System | ||
| Manual; and | ||
| (2) in plain language, the rights of a child under both | ||
| federal and state law and the general process available to initiate | ||
| a referral of a child for a full individual and initial evaluation | ||
| under Section 29.004 to determine the child's eligibility for | ||
| special education services. | ||
| (b) A school district or open-enrollment charter school | ||
| shall include in the notice developed by the agency under | ||
| Subsection (a) information indicating where the local processes and | ||
| procedures for initiating a referral for special education services | ||
| eligibility evaluation may be found. | ||
| (c) By a date established by the commissioner, each school | ||
| district or open-enrollment charter school shall provide the notice | ||
| to the parent of each child who attends school in the district or at | ||
| the school at any time during the 2019-2020 school year. A school | ||
| district or open-enrollment charter school shall also make the | ||
| notice available on request to any person. The notice must be | ||
| available in English and Spanish, and a school district or | ||
| open-enrollment charter school shall make a good faith effort to | ||
| provide the notice in the parent's native language if the parent's | ||
| native language is a language other than English or Spanish. | ||
| (d) The notice is in addition to requirements imposed by | ||
| Section 26.0081. | ||
| (e) Beginning with the 2019-2020 school year, from federal | ||
| funds available for this purpose, the agency shall establish a | ||
| reimbursement fund from which school districts and open-enrollment | ||
| charter schools may apply and receive cost reimbursement if the | ||
| district or school experiences a significant increase from the | ||
| preceding school year in the number of full individual and initial | ||
| evaluations conducted under Section 29.004. A decision by the | ||
| commissioner to provide reimbursement from the fund is final and | ||
| may not be appealed. | ||
| (f) The commissioner may adopt rules necessary to implement | ||
| this section. | ||
| (g) This section expires September 1, 2023. | ||
| SECTION 2. 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, 2019. | ||
