Bill Text: TX HB1459 | 2011-2012 | 82nd Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the Texas Academy of Fine Arts, Culture, and Sciences at Sul Ross State University.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-03-02 - Referred to Higher Education [HB1459 Detail]
Download: Texas-2011-HB1459-Introduced.html
82R4931 JRJ-D | ||
By: Gallego | H.B. No. 1459 |
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relating to the Texas Academy of Fine Arts, Culture, and Sciences at | ||
Sul Ross State University. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 96, Education Code, is | ||
amended by adding Section 96.03 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 96.03. TEXAS ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS, CULTURE, AND | ||
SCIENCES. (a) In this section: | ||
(1) "Academy" means the Texas Academy of Fine Arts, | ||
Culture, and Sciences. | ||
(2) "Board" means the board of regents of the Texas | ||
State University System. | ||
(3) "University" means Sul Ross State University. | ||
(b) The Texas Academy of Fine Arts, Culture, and Sciences is | ||
a division of Sul Ross State University and is under the management | ||
and control of the board. The academy serves the following | ||
purposes: | ||
(1) to provide academically gifted and highly | ||
motivated junior and senior high school students with a challenging | ||
university-level curriculum that: | ||
(A) allows students to complete high school | ||
graduation requirements, including requirements adopted under | ||
Section 28.025 for the advanced high school program, while | ||
attending for academic credit a public institution of higher | ||
education; | ||
(B) fosters students' knowledge of the fine arts, | ||
culture, and sciences and teaches students to apply critical | ||
thinking and problem-solving skills to those subjects; | ||
(C) is presented through an interdisciplinary | ||
approach that introduces and develops appropriate intellectual | ||
concepts throughout the curriculum; and | ||
(D) offers students learning opportunities | ||
related to the fine arts, culture, and sciences through in-depth | ||
research and field-based studies; | ||
(2) to provide students with an awareness of career | ||
and professional development opportunities in the fine arts, | ||
culture, and sciences through seminars, workshops, collaboration | ||
with postsecondary students from other countries, summer academic | ||
internships, and similar methods; and | ||
(3) to provide students with social development | ||
activities that enrich the academic curriculum and student life, | ||
including, as determined appropriate by the academy, University | ||
Interscholastic League activities and other extracurricular | ||
activities generally offered by public high schools. | ||
(c) The academy is a residential, coeducational institution | ||
for selected Texas high school students with an interest and the | ||
potential to excel in the fine arts, culture, and sciences. The | ||
academy shall admit only high school juniors and seniors, except | ||
that the academy may admit a student with exceptional abilities who | ||
is not yet a high school junior. The board shall set aside adequate | ||
space on the university campus to operate the academy and implement | ||
the purposes of this section. The academy must operate on the same | ||
fall and spring semester basis as the university. Full-time | ||
students of the academy must enroll for both the fall and spring | ||
semesters. Faculty members of the university shall teach all | ||
academic classes at the academy. A student of the academy may be | ||
permitted to attend a college course offered by the university and | ||
receive college credit for that course. | ||
(d) Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, the | ||
university administration has the same powers and duties with | ||
respect to the academy that the administration has with respect to | ||
the university. The board shall consult with the university's | ||
department of education and members of the administration as the | ||
board considers necessary concerning the academy's administrative | ||
design and support, personnel and student issues, and faculty | ||
development. The board shall consult with appropriate deans and | ||
other members of the administration as the board considers | ||
necessary concerning the academy's curriculum development, program | ||
design, and general faculty issues. The board, in consultation | ||
with university administration, shall: | ||
(1) establish an internal management system for the | ||
academy and appoint an academy principal who serves at the will of | ||
the board and reports to the university provost; | ||
(2) provide for one or more academy counselors; | ||
(3) establish for the academy a site-based | ||
decision-making process similar to the process required by | ||
Subchapter F, Chapter 11, that provides for the participation of | ||
academy faculty, parents of academy students, and other members of | ||
the community; and | ||
(4) establish an admissions process for the academy. | ||
(e) The student-teacher ratio in all regular academic | ||
classes at the academy may not exceed 30 students for each classroom | ||
teacher, except that the student-teacher ratio may exceed that | ||
limit: | ||
(1) in a program provided for the purposes prescribed | ||
by Subsection (b)(2) or another special enrichment course or in a | ||
physical education course; or | ||
(2) if the board determines that a class with a higher | ||
student-teacher ratio would contribute to the educational | ||
development of the students in the class. | ||
(f) The academy shall provide the university-level | ||
curriculum in a manner that is appropriate for the social, | ||
psychological, emotional, and physical development of high school | ||
juniors and seniors. The administrative and counseling personnel | ||
of the academy shall provide continuous support to and supervision | ||
of students. | ||
(g) For each student enrolled in the academy, the academy is | ||
entitled to allotments from the foundation school fund under | ||
Chapter 42 as if the academy were a school district without a tier | ||
one local share for purposes of Section 42.253. If in any academic | ||
year the amount of the allotments under this subsection exceeds the | ||
amount of state funds paid to the academy in the first fiscal year | ||
of the academy's operation, the commissioner of education shall set | ||
aside from the total amount of funds to which school districts are | ||
entitled under Section 42.253(c) an amount equal to the excess | ||
amount and shall distribute that amount to the academy. After | ||
deducting the amount set aside and paid to the academy by the | ||
commissioner of education under this subsection, the commissioner | ||
of education shall reduce the amount to which each district is | ||
entitled under Section 42.253(c) in the manner described by Section | ||
42.253(h). A determination of the commissioner of education under | ||
this subsection is final and may not be appealed. | ||
(h) The board may use any available money, enter into | ||
contracts, and accept grants, including matching grants, federal | ||
grants, and grants from a corporation or other private contributor, | ||
in establishing and operating the academy. Money spent by the | ||
academy must further the purposes of the academy prescribed by | ||
Subsection (b). | ||
(i) The liability of the state under Chapters 101 and 104, | ||
Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is limited for the academy and | ||
employees assigned to the academy and acting on behalf of the | ||
academy to the same extent that the liability of a school district | ||
and an employee of the school district is limited under Sections | ||
22.0511, 22.0512, and 22.052 of this code and Section 101.051, | ||
Civil Practice and Remedies Code. An employee assigned to the | ||
academy is entitled to representation by the attorney general in a | ||
civil suit based on an action or omission of the employee in the | ||
course of the employee's employment, limits on liability, and | ||
indemnity under Chapters 104 and 108, Civil Practice and Remedies | ||
Code. | ||
(j) Except as otherwise provided by this section, the | ||
academy is not subject to the provisions of this code, or to the | ||
rules of the Texas Education Agency, regulating public schools. | ||
SECTION 2. Section 25.086(a), Education Code, is amended to | ||
read as follows: | ||
(a) A child is exempt from the requirements of compulsory | ||
school attendance if the child: | ||
(1) attends a private or parochial school that | ||
includes in its course a study of good citizenship; | ||
(2) is eligible to participate in a school district's | ||
special education program under Section 29.003 and cannot be | ||
appropriately served by the resident district; | ||
(3) has a physical or mental condition of a temporary | ||
and remediable nature that makes the child's attendance infeasible | ||
and holds a certificate from a qualified physician specifying the | ||
temporary condition, indicating the treatment prescribed to remedy | ||
the temporary condition, and covering the anticipated period of the | ||
child's absence from school for the purpose of receiving and | ||
recuperating from that remedial treatment; | ||
(4) is expelled in accordance with the requirements of | ||
law in a school district that does not participate in a mandatory | ||
juvenile justice alternative education program under Section | ||
37.011; | ||
(5) is at least 17 years of age and: | ||
(A) is attending a course of instruction to | ||
prepare for the high school equivalency examination, and: | ||
(i) has the permission of the child's parent | ||
or guardian to attend the course; | ||
(ii) is required by court order to attend | ||
the course; | ||
(iii) has established a residence separate | ||
and apart from the child's parent, guardian, or other person having | ||
lawful control of the child; or | ||
(iv) is homeless as defined by 42 U.S.C. | ||
Section 11302; or | ||
(B) has received a high school diploma or high | ||
school equivalency certificate; | ||
(6) is at least 16 years of age and is attending a | ||
course of instruction to prepare for the high school equivalency | ||
examination, if: | ||
(A) the child is recommended to take the course | ||
of instruction by a public agency that has supervision or custody of | ||
the child under a court order; or | ||
(B) the child is enrolled in a Job Corps training | ||
program under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. | ||
Section 2801 et seq.); | ||
(7) is at least 16 years of age and is enrolled in a | ||
high school diploma program under Chapter 18; | ||
(8) is enrolled in the Texas Academy of Mathematics | ||
and Science under Subchapter G, Chapter 105; | ||
(9) is enrolled in the Texas Academy of Leadership in | ||
the Humanities; | ||
(10) is enrolled in the Texas Academy of Mathematics | ||
and Science at The University of Texas at Brownsville; | ||
(11) is enrolled in the Texas Academy of International | ||
Studies; [ |
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(12) is enrolled in the Texas Academy of Fine Arts, | ||
Culture, and Sciences at Sul Ross State University; or | ||
(13) is specifically exempted under another law. | ||
SECTION 3. Section 28.024, Education Code, is amended to | ||
read as follows: | ||
Sec. 28.024. CREDIT FOR ENROLLMENT IN CERTAIN ACADEMIES. A | ||
school district shall grant to a student credit toward the academic | ||
course requirements for high school graduation, up to a maximum of | ||
two years of credit, for courses the student successfully completes | ||
at: | ||
(1) the Texas Academy of Leadership in the Humanities | ||
under Section 96.707; | ||
(2) the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science under | ||
Subchapter G, Chapter 105; | ||
(3) the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science under | ||
Section 78.10; [ |
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(4) the Texas Academy of International Studies under | ||
Section 87.505; or | ||
(5) the Texas Academy of Fine Arts, Culture, and | ||
Sciences under Section 96.03. | ||
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2016. |