By: Jetton H.B. No. 2817
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to establishing a program allowing certain students who
  are educationally disadvantaged, have a disability, or failed
  certain assessment instruments to use state money or money the
  state receives for the purpose from gifts and non-federal grants to
  pursue certain educational alternatives to public schools.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Chapter 29, Education Code, is amended by adding
  Subchapter J to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER J. EDUCATION SAVINGS ACCOUNT PROGRAM
         Sec. 29.351.  DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
               (1)  "Account" means an education savings account
  established under the program.
               (2)  "Child with a disability" means a child who is:
                     (A)  eligible to participate in a school
  district's special education program under Section 29.003; or
                     (B)  covered by Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of
  1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794).
               (3)  "Financial institution" means a bank, credit
  union, savings bank, or savings and loan association organized
  under the laws of this state, the laws of another state, or federal
  law that has its main office or a branch office in this state. The
  term does not include any institution the deposits of which are not
  insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or the
  National Credit Union Administration.
               (4)  "Parent" means a resident of this state who is a
  natural or adoptive parent, managing or possessory conservator,
  legal guardian, custodian, or other person with legal authority to
  act on behalf of a child.
               (5)  "Program" means the education savings account
  program established under this subchapter.
               (6)  "Program participant" means a child and a parent
  of a child enrolled in the program.
         Sec. 29.352.  ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM. The comptroller
  shall establish and administer an education savings account program
  to provide funding for certain education-related expenses of
  eligible children.
         Sec. 29.353.  ELIGIBLE CHILD. (a) A child is eligible to
  participate in the program if the child:
               (1)  is eligible to attend a public school under
  Section 25.001;
               (2)  either:
                     (A)  attended a public school during the preceding
  school year; or
                     (B)  is entering kindergarten or first grade; and
               (3)  meets one or more of the following criteria:
                     (A)  failed to perform satisfactorily on an
  assessment instrument administered under Section 39.023(a) or an
  end-of-course assessment instrument administered under Section
  39.023(c) during the preceding school year;
                     (B)  is a child with a disability; or
                     (C)  is educationally disadvantaged.
         (b)  A child who establishes eligibility under this section
  may participate in the program until the earliest of the following
  dates:
               (1)  the date on which the child no longer meets the
  eligibility requirements under Subsection (a);
               (2)  the date on which the child graduates from high
  school;
               (3)  the date on which the child enrolls in a public
  school, including an open-enrollment charter school; or
               (4)  the date on which the child is declared ineligible
  for the program by the comptroller under this subchapter.
         Sec. 29.354.  APPLICATION FOR PROGRAM. (a) A parent of an
  eligible child may apply on behalf of the child for participation in
  the program for the following school year.
         (b)  The comptroller shall by rule create an application form
  for the program and make the form readily available to interested
  parents through various sources, including the comptroller's
  Internet website.
         (c)  The comptroller shall provide to each parent who submits
  an application form a publication that describes the operation of
  the program, including:
               (1)  expenses allowed under the program under Section
  29.356;
               (2)  expense reporting requirements; and
               (3)  a description of the responsibilities of program
  participants and the duties of the comptroller and the agency under
  this subchapter.
         (d)  The agency shall:
               (1)  review each application to ensure that the child
  is eligible to participate in the program; and
               (2)  approve or reject each application.
         Sec. 29.355.  PARTICIPATION IN PROGRAM. (a) To receive
  funding under the program, a parent of an eligible child must agree
  to:
               (1)  spend funds received through the program only for
  expenses allowed under Section 29.356;
               (2)  notify the comptroller if the child enrolls in a
  public school, not later than the 30th day after the date of
  enrollment; and
               (3)  inform the comptroller if the child graduates from
  high school.
         (b)  The parent of a child participating in the program is
  the trustee of the child's account.
         (c)  The comptroller shall provide annually to each program
  participant the publication provided under Section 29.354(c).
         Sec. 29.356.  ELIGIBLE EDUCATION-RELATED EXPENSES. (a)
  Funds received under the program may be used only for the following
  expenses incurred by a program participant:
               (1)  tuition and fees at a private school accredited by
  an organization that is recognized by the Texas Private School
  Accreditation Commission or the Texas Education Agency;
               (2)  the purchase of textbooks or other instructional
  materials or uniforms required by an educational course or program
  in which the child is enrolled;
               (3)  costs related to academic assessments;
               (4)  costs related to activities that directly add
  value to classroom instruction and curriculum, including an
  academic field trip, performance, contest, demonstration, or
  display, but not including an athletic or other nonacademic
  activity;
               (5)  fees for transportation provided by a
  fee-for-service transportation provider for the child to travel to
  and from a provider of educational services or a vendor of
  educational products; and
               (6)  fees for educational therapies or services, but
  only for fees that are not covered by any federal, state, or local
  government benefits such as Medicaid or the Children's Health
  Insurance Program (CHIP) or by any private insurance that the child
  is enrolled in at the time of receiving the therapies or services.
         (b)  Money received under the program may not be used to pay
  any person who is a member of the program participant's household.
         (c)  A finding that a program participant used money
  distributed under the program to pay for an expense not allowed
  under Subsection (a) does not affect the validity of any payment
  made by the participant for an expense that is allowed under that
  subsection.
         Sec. 29.357.  AUTONOMY OF PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS, PRIVATE
  SCHOOLS, AND VENDORS. (a) In this section, "education service
  provider" means a private school or other provider of
  education-related products or services described by Section
  29.356(a) that receives money distributed under the program for
  providing the product or service.
         (b)  An education service provider is not a recipient of
  federal financial assistance because the provider received money
  distributed under the program for providing an education-related
  product or service.
         (c)  A rule adopted or action taken related to the program by
  an individual, governmental entity, court of law, or program
  administrator may not:
               (1)  limit the independence or autonomy of a program
  participant or education service provider;
               (2)  consider the actions of a program participant or
  education service provider to be the actions of an agent of state
  government;
               (3)  limit:
                     (A)  the ability of an education service provider
  to determine the methods used to educate the provider's students or
  to exercise the provider's religious or institutional values; or
                     (B)  a program participant's ability to determine
  the participant's educational content or to exercise the
  participant's religious values;
               (4)  obligate a program participant or education
  service provider to act contrary to the participant's or provider's
  religious or institutional values, as applicable;
               (5)  impose any regulation on a program participant or
  education service provider beyond those regulations necessary to
  enforce the requirements of the program; or
               (6)  require as a condition of receiving money
  distributed under the program that:
                     (A)  an education service provider modify the
  provider's creed, practices, admissions policies, curriculum,
  performance standards, employment policies, or assessments; or
                     (B)  a program participant modify the
  participant's creed, practices, curriculum, performance standards,
  or assessments.
         (d)  In a proceeding challenging a rule adopted by a state
  agency or officer under this subchapter, the agency or officer has
  the burden of proof to establish by clear and convincing evidence
  that the rule:
               (1)  is necessary to implement or enforce the program
  as provided by this subchapter;
               (2)  does not violate this section;
               (3)  does not impose an undue burden on a program
  participant or education service provider; and
               (4)  is the least restrictive means of accomplishing
  the purpose of the program while recognizing the independence of an
  education service provider to meet the educational needs of
  students in accordance with the provider's religious or
  institutional values.
         Sec. 29.358.  AMOUNT OF PAYMENT; FINANCING. (a) A parent of
  an eligible child shall receive each year that the child
  participates in the program a payment to the child's account out of
  the general revenue fund from undedicated state tax revenues and
  gifts and grants received under Section 29.360. The amount of each
  year's payment is equal to 90 percent of the amount to which the
  school district in which the child resides would be entitled to
  receive for the child under Chapter 48 if the child were enrolled in
  the district.
         (b)  For each year a child participates in the program, the
  school district in which the child resides is entitled to receive an
  amount equal to 10 percent of the amount to which the district would
  be entitled to receive for the child under Chapter 48 if the child
  were enrolled in the district.
         (c)  Any funds remaining in a child's account at the end of a
  fiscal year are carried forward to the next fiscal year unless
  another provision of this subchapter mandates the closure of the
  account.
         (d)  A payment under the program may not be financed using
  federal funds or money appropriated from the available school fund.
         Sec. 29.359.  ADMINISTRATION OF ACCOUNTS. (a) The
  comptroller may contract with one or more financial institutions to
  establish and manage an account for each child participating in the
  program.
         (b)  The comptroller shall make quarterly payments to each
  program participant's account in equal amounts on or before the
  15th day of August, November, February, and May.
         (c)  The comptroller may deduct an amount from each quarterly
  payment to a program participant's account to cover the
  comptroller's cost of administering the program. The amount
  deducted may not exceed three percent of the payment.
         (d)  Within the first month following the end of each fiscal
  year, the comptroller shall reconcile payments made to and from all
  accounts under the program.
         (e)  On the date on which a child ceases to participate in the
  program for any reason, the child's account is closed and any
  remaining funds are returned to the state for deposit in the general
  revenue fund.
         Sec. 29.360.  GIFTS AND GRANTS. The comptroller may accept
  gifts and grants, but not federal grants, for the purpose of making
  payments to program participants under the program and defraying
  the administrative costs of operating the program.
         Sec. 29.361.  RULES. The comptroller shall adopt rules as
  necessary to implement this subchapter.
         SECTION 2.  This Act applies beginning with the 2024-2025
  school year.
         SECTION 3.  As soon as practicable after the effective date
  of this Act, the comptroller of public accounts shall adopt rules
  necessary to implement the education savings account program under
  Subchapter J, Chapter 29, Education Code, as added by this Act.
         SECTION 4.  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, 2023.