Bill Text: TX HB21 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Relating to the funding of primary and secondary education.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 16-8)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2017-05-27 - Senate appoints conferees-reported [HB21 Detail]

Download: Texas-2017-HB21-Introduced.html
 
 
  By: Huberty H.B. No. 21
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the public school finance system.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 11.158(a), Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (a)  The board of trustees of an independent school district
  may require payment of:
               (1)  a fee for materials used in any program in which
  the resultant product in excess of minimum requirements becomes, at
  the student's option, the personal property of the student, if the
  fee does not exceed the cost of materials;
               (2)  membership dues in student organizations or clubs
  and admission fees or charges for attending extracurricular
  activities, if membership or attendance is voluntary;
               (3)  a security deposit for the return of materials,
  supplies, or equipment;
               (4)  a fee for personal physical education and athletic
  equipment and apparel, although any student may provide the
  student's own equipment or apparel if it meets reasonable
  requirements and standards relating to health and safety
  established by the board;
               (5)  a fee for items of personal use or products that a
  student may purchase at the student's option, such as student
  publications, class rings, annuals, and graduation announcements;
               (6)  a fee specifically permitted by any other statute;
               (7)  a fee for an authorized voluntary student health
  and accident benefit plan;
               (8)  a reasonable fee, not to exceed the actual annual
  maintenance cost, for the use of musical instruments and uniforms
  owned or rented by the district;
               (9)  a fee for items of personal apparel that become the
  property of the student and that are used in extracurricular
  activities;
               (10)  a parking fee or a fee for an identification card;
               (11)  a fee for a driver training course, not to exceed
  the actual district cost per student in the program for the current
  school year;
               (12)  a fee for a course offered for credit that
  requires the use of facilities not available on the school premises
  or the employment of an educator who is not part of the school's
  regular staff, if participation in the course is at the student's
  option;
               (13)  a fee for a course offered during summer school,
  except that the board may charge a fee for a course required for
  graduation only if the course is also offered without a fee during
  the regular school year;
               (14)  a reasonable fee for transportation of a student
  who lives within two miles of the school the student attends to and
  from that school[, except that the board may not charge a fee for
  transportation for which the school district receives funds under
  Section 42.155(d)]; or
               (15)  a reasonable fee, not to exceed $50, for costs
  associated with an educational program offered outside of regular
  school hours through which a student who was absent from class
  receives instruction voluntarily for the purpose of making up the
  missed instruction and meeting the level of attendance required
  under Section 25.092[; or
               [(16)     if the district does not receive any funds under
  Section 42.155 and does not participate in a county transportation
  system for which an allotment is provided under Section 42.155(i),
  a reasonable fee for the transportation of a student to and from the
  school the student attends].
         SECTION 2.  Section 29.153(c), Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (c)  A prekindergarten class under this section shall be
  operated on a half-day basis. A district is not required to provide
  transportation for a prekindergarten class[, but transportation,
  if provided, is included for funding purposes as part of the regular
  transportation system].
         SECTION 3.  Sections 29.918(a) and (b), Education Code, are
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  Notwithstanding Section [39.234 or] 42.152, a school
  district or open-enrollment charter school with a high dropout
  rate, as determined by the commissioner, must submit a plan to the
  commissioner describing the manner in which the district or charter
  school intends to use the compensatory education allotment under
  Section 42.152 [and the high school allotment under Section 42.160]
  for developing and implementing research-based strategies for
  dropout prevention.  The district or charter school shall submit
  the plan not later than December 1 of each school year preceding the
  school year in which the district or charter school will receive the
  compensatory education allotment [or high school allotment] to
  which the plan applies.
         (b)  A school district or open-enrollment charter school to
  which this section applies may not spend or obligate more than 25
  percent of the district's or charter school's compensatory
  education allotment [or high school allotment] unless the
  commissioner approves the plan submitted under Subsection
  (a).  The commissioner shall complete an initial review of the
  district's or charter school's plan not later than March 1 of the
  school year preceding the school year in which the district or
  charter school will receive the compensatory education allotment
  [or high school allotment] to which the plan applies.
         SECTION 4.  Subchapter C, Chapter 30, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Section 30.0561 to read as follows:
         Sec. 30.0561.  TRANSPORTATION ALLOTMENT. The Texas School
  for the Deaf is entitled to a transportation allotment paid from the
  foundation school fund. The commissioner shall determine the
  appropriate allotment.
         SECTION 5.  Section 30.087(c), Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (c)  A school district may receive an allotment paid from the
  foundation school fund for transportation of students
  participating in a regional day school program, as determined by
  the commissioner [in the same manner as an allotment for the
  transportation of other special education students].
         SECTION 6.  Section 34.007, Education Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
         (c)  A county transportation system is not entitled to
  receive funding for transportation costs directly from the state.  
  Funding for a county transportation system is provided by each
  school district participating in the county transportation system
  in accordance with the terms of the interlocal contract under
  Chapter 791, Government Code, under which the county provides
  transportation services for the participating districts.
         SECTION 7.  Section 39.0233(a), Education Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (a)  The agency, in coordination with the Texas Higher
  Education Coordinating Board, shall adopt a series of questions to
  be included in an end-of-course assessment instrument administered
  under Section 39.023(c) to be used for purposes of Section 51.3062.  
  The questions adopted under this subsection must be developed in a
  manner consistent with any college readiness standards adopted
  under Section [Sections 39.233 and] 51.3062.
         SECTION 8.  Section 41.099(a), Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (a)  Sections [41.002(e),] 41.094, 41.097, and 41.098 apply
  only to a district that:
               (1)  executes an agreement to purchase all attendance
  credits necessary to reduce the district's wealth per student to
  the equalized wealth level;
               (2)  executes an agreement to purchase attendance
  credits and an agreement under Subchapter E to contract for the
  education of nonresident students who transfer to and are educated
  in the district but who are not charged tuition; or
               (3)  executes an agreement under Subchapter E to
  contract for the education of nonresident students:
                     (A)  to an extent that does not provide more than
  10 percent of the reduction in wealth per student required for the
  district to achieve a wealth per student that is equal to or less
  than the equalized wealth level; and
                     (B)  under which all revenue paid by the district
  to other districts, in excess of the reduction in state aid that
  results from counting the weighted average daily attendance of the
  students served in the contracting district, is required to be used
  for funding a consortium of at least three districts in a county
  with a population of less than 40,000 that is formed to support a
  technology initiative.
         SECTION 9.  Section 41.257, Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 41.257.  APPLICATION OF SMALL AND SPARSE ADJUSTMENTS
  [AND TRANSPORTATION ALLOTMENT]. The budget of the consolidated
  district must apply the benefit of the adjustment or allotment to
  the schools of the consolidating district to which Section 42.103
  or[,] 42.105[, or 42.155] would have applied in the event that the
  consolidated district still qualifies as a small or sparse
  district.
         SECTION 10.  Section 42.006(a-1), Education Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (a-1)  The commissioner by rule shall require each school
  district and open-enrollment charter school to report through the
  Public Education Information Management System information
  regarding the number of students enrolled in the district or school
  who are identified as having dyslexia or related disorders. The
  agency shall maintain the information provided in accordance with
  this subsection.
         SECTION 11.  Section 42.151(h), Education Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (h)  Funds allocated under this section, other than an
  indirect cost allotment established under State Board of Education
  rule or amounts made available for the transportation of special
  education students, must be used in the special education program
  under Subchapter A, Chapter 29.
         SECTION 12.  Section 42.154(c), Education Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (c)  Funds allocated under this section, other than an
  indirect cost allotment established under State Board of Education
  rule or amounts made available for the transportation of career and
  technology education students, must be used in providing career and
  technology education programs in grades nine through 12 or career
  and technology education programs for students with disabilities in
  grades seven through 12 under Sections 29.182, 29.183, and 29.184.
         SECTION 13.  Section 42.1541(a), Education Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (a)  For the 2017-2018 and subsequent school years, the [The]
  State Board of Education shall by rule revise [increase] the
  indirect cost allotments established under Sections 42.151(h),
  42.152(c), 42.153(b), and 42.154(c) [42.154(a-1) and (c)] and in
  effect for the 2016-2017 [2010-2011] school year to reflect any
  increase in the percentage of total maintenance and operations
  funding represented by the basic allotment [in proportion to the
  average percentage reduction in total state and local maintenance
  and operations revenue provided under this chapter for the
  2011-2012 school year] as a result of [S.B. Nos. 1 and 2,] Acts of
  the 85th [82nd] Legislature, Regular [1st Called] Session, 2017 
  [2011].
         SECTION 14.  Subchapter C, Chapter 42, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Section 42.1561 to read as follows:
         Sec. 42.1561.  ALLOTMENT FOR STUDENT WITH DYSLEXIA OR
  RELATED DISORDER. (a) Subject to Subsection (b), for each student
  that a school district serves who has been identified as having
  dyslexia or a related disorder, the district is entitled to an
  annual allotment equal to the district's adjusted basic allotment
  as determined under Section 42.102 or Section 42.103, as
  applicable, multiplied by 0.1 for each school year or a greater
  amount provided by appropriation.
         (b)  A school district is entitled to the allotment under
  Subsection (a) only for a student who:
               (1)  is receiving instruction that:
                     (A)  meets applicable dyslexia program criteria
  established by the agency; and
                     (B)  is provided by a person with specific
  training in providing that instruction; or
               (2)  has received the instruction described by
  Subdivision (1) and is permitted, on the basis of having dyslexia or
  a related disorder, to use modifications in the classroom and
  accommodations in the administration of assessment instruments
  under Section 39.023.
         (c)  Funds allotted under this section must be used in
  providing services to students with dyslexia or related disorders.
         (d)  A school district may receive funding for a student
  under this section and Section 42.151 if the student satisfies the
  requirements of both sections.
         (e)  Not more than five percent of a district's students in
  average daily attendance are eligible for funding under this
  section.
         SECTION 15.  Section 42.302(a), Education Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (a)  Each school district is guaranteed a specified amount
  per weighted student in state and local funds for each cent of tax
  effort over that required for the district's local fund assignment
  up to the maximum level specified in this subchapter.  The amount
  of state support, subject only to the maximum amount under Section
  42.303, is determined by the formula:
  GYA = (GL X WADA X DTR X 100) - LR
  where:
         "GYA" is the guaranteed yield amount of state funds to be
  allocated to the district;
         "GL" is the dollar amount guaranteed level of state and local
  funds per weighted student per cent of tax effort, which is an
  amount described by Subsection (a-1) or a greater amount for any
  year provided by appropriation;
         "WADA" is the number of students in weighted average daily
  attendance, which is calculated by dividing the sum of the school
  district's allotments under Subchapters B and C, less any allotment
  [to the district for transportation, any allotment] under Section
  42.158 [or 42.160,] and 50 percent of the adjustment under Section
  42.102, by the basic allotment for the applicable year;
         "DTR" is the district enrichment tax rate of the school
  district, which is determined by subtracting the amounts specified
  by Subsection (b) from the total amount of maintenance and
  operations taxes collected by the school district for the
  applicable school year and dividing the difference by the quotient
  of the district's taxable value of property as determined under
  Subchapter M, Chapter 403, Government Code, or, if applicable,
  under Section 42.2521, divided by 100; and
         "LR" is the local revenue, which is determined by multiplying
  "DTR" by the quotient of the district's taxable value of property as
  determined under Subchapter M, Chapter 403, Government Code, or, if
  applicable, under Section 42.2521, divided by 100.
         SECTION 16.  Chapter 42, Education Code, is amended by
  adding Subchapter H to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER H. FINANCIAL HARDSHIP TRANSITION PROGRAM
         Sec. 42.451.  FINANCIAL HARDSHIP GRANTS. (a) From amounts
  appropriated for this subchapter, the commissioner may administer a
  grant program that provides grants to eligible school districts
  that have suffered financial hardship.
         (b)  A district seeking a grant under this subchapter must
  apply to the commissioner in the manner and within the time
  prescribed by the commissioner. A district may only submit one
  application each year.
         (c)  In awarding grants under this subchapter, the
  commissioner shall give priority to districts experiencing
  financial hardship as provided by Section 42.453.
         (d)  Funding provided to a district under this subchapter is
  in addition to all other funding provided under Chapter 41 and this
  chapter.
         (e)  The commissioner may obtain additional information as
  needed from a district or other state or local agency to make
  determinations in awarding grants under this subchapter.
         Sec. 42.452.  ELIGIBILITY. (a) A school district is
  eligible to receive a grant under this subchapter if the
  commissioner determines that the amount of the district's state and
  local maintenance and operations revenue per student in weighted
  average daily attendance for the school year for which the district
  applies for a grant is less than the amount of the district's state
  and local maintenance and operations revenue per student in
  weighted average daily attendance for the 2016-2017 school year.
         (b)  For purposes of making the determinations required by
  Subsection (a), the commissioner shall:
               (1)  use the greater of a district's adopted
  maintenance and operations tax rate for the 2016 tax year or the tax
  year for which the district applies for a grant;
               (2)  if a district has a compressed tax rate, as defined
  by Section 42.101, of less than $1, include all additional tax
  effort available to the district in calculating its compressed tax
  rate under Section 42.101(a-1) for the 2016-2017 school year and
  the school year for which the district applies for a grant;
               (3)  exclude any decrease in property value
  attributable to a reduction in value under Chapter 313, Tax Code, or
  to any other reduction in value for which a district is held
  harmless; and
               (4)  for the school year for which the district applies
  for a grant, include any funds received by the district under
  Chapter 41 or this chapter that offset a loss in revenue, including:
                     (A)  a reduction in the total amount required to
  be paid by a district for attendance credits under Section 41.0931;
  or
                     (B)  an adjustment under Subchapter E.
         (c)  Based on the determinations made under Subsection (a),
  the commissioner shall calculate a district's loss of revenue per
  student in weighted average daily attendance and the percentage
  decline in funding between the 2016-2017 school year and the school
  year for which the district applies for a grant.
         Sec. 42.453.  PRIORITY FOR GRANTS. (a) The commissioner
  shall award grants by giving priority to school districts in the
  following order:
               (1)  first, to districts for which the loss of revenue
  is the result of the loss of state aid that would have been provided
  under former Section 42.2516, as that section existed on January 1,
  2017;
               (2)  second, to districts for which the loss of revenue
  is a result of the changes made by _.B. No. ___, Acts of the 85th
  Legislature, Regular Session, 2017; and
               (3)  third, to districts for which the loss of revenue
  is the result of other financial hardships described in the
  district's grant application.
         (b)  The commissioner shall rank each district's grant
  application according to the highest priority applicable to the
  district.
         (c)  In each priority category, the commissioner shall rank
  the application of the district with the greatest percentage
  decline in revenue first and the application of the district with
  the smallest percentage decline last.
         Sec. 42.454.  AWARD OF GRANTS; AMOUNT. (a)  The commissioner
  shall award grants to school districts based on the priority
  category provided under Section 42.453 and the district's ranking
  in the priority category.
         (b)  Subject to Sections 42.455 and 42.456, the commissioner
  shall award each district a grant in an amount equal to the
  difference between the district's state and local maintenance and
  operations revenue per student in weighted average daily attendance
  for the 2016-2017 school year and the school year for which the
  grant is awarded, multiplied by the number of students in weighted
  average daily attendance during the school year for which the grant
  is awarded.
         Sec. 42.455.  LIMITATION ON GRANT AMOUNT. A school district
  may not receive a grant that exceeds the lesser of:
               (1)  the amount determined under Section 42.454(b); or
               (2)  the amount that would increase the district's
  revenue per student in weighted average daily attendance to an
  amount that is equal to
  125 percent of the average state and local
  maintenance and operations revenue per student in weighted average
  daily attendance for the 2016-2017 school year.
         Sec. 42.456.  FUNDING LIMIT. (a) The amount appropriated
  for grants under this subchapter may not exceed $100 million in a
  school year. If the total amount of grants awarded for a school
  year exceeds the amount appropriated for purposes of this
  subchapter, the commissioner shall reduce each school district's
  grant proportionally.
         (b)  Notwithstanding Section 42.455, a district may not
  receive a grant under this subchapter for a school year in an amount
  that is greater than 10 percent of the total amount of funds
  available under this subchapter for that year.
         Sec. 42.457.  RULES. The commissioner may adopt rules as
  necessary to administer this subchapter, including rules
  establishing eligibility criteria for a school district to receive
  a grant.
         Sec. 42.458.  DETERMINATION FINAL. A determination by the
  commissioner under this subchapter is final and may not be
  appealed.
         Sec. 42.459.  EXPIRATION. This subchapter expires September
  1, 2019.
         SECTION 17.  The following provisions of the Education Code
  are repealed:
               (1)  Section 29.097(g);
               (2)  Section 29.098(e);
               (3)  Section 34.002(c);
               (4)  Section 39.233;
               (5)  Section 39.234;
               (6)  Sections 41.002(e), (f), and (g);
               (7)  Section 42.1541(c);
               (8)  Section 42.155;
               (9)  Section 42.160; and
               (10)  Section 42.2513.
         SECTION 18.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.
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