Bill Text: TX HB30 | 2021 | 87th Legislature 2nd Special Session | Introduced

Texas House Bill 30 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: Relating to virtual instruction and off-campus electronic instruction at a public school, certain requirements for certification as a teacher for virtual instruction only, and the allotment for special-purpose school districts under the Foundation School Program.

Sponsorship: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 36-5)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-08-23 - Referred to Public Education [HB30 Detail]

Download: Texas-2021-HB30-Introduced.html

	87S20135 MLH-D

	By: Bell of Kaufman	H.B. No. 30



	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to virtual instruction and off-campus electronic
	instruction at a public school, certain requirements for
	certification as a teacher for virtual instruction only, and the
	allotment for special-purpose school districts under the
	Foundation School Program.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1. Section 21.051, Education Code, is amended by
	adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:
	(g) Rules proposed by the board under Section 21.044(a) or
	this section may allow a candidate to satisfy certification
	requirements for virtual instruction only through an internship
	that provides the candidate employment as a teacher for courses
	offered through a local remote learning program under Section
	29.9091 or the state virtual school network under Chapter 30A. This
	subsection expires September 1, 2027.
	SECTION 2. Section 25.092, Education Code, is amended by
	adding Subsection (a-4) to read as follows:
	(a-4) A school district or open-enrollment charter school
	may adopt a policy to exempt students from the requirements of this
	section for one or more courses identified in the policy that are
	offered under a local remote learning program under Section
	29.9091. This subsection expires September 1, 2027.
	SECTION 3. Subchapter Z, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
	amended by adding Section 29.9091 to read as follows:
	Sec. 29.9091. LOCAL REMOTE LEARNING PROGRAM. (a) A school
	district or open-enrollment charter school assigned an overall
	performance rating of C or higher under Section 39.054 for the
	preceding school year or the most recent school year in which a
	performance rating was assigned may operate a local remote learning
	program to offer virtual courses outside the state virtual school
	network under Chapter 30A to eligible students.
	(b) A school district or open-enrollment charter school
	that operates a full-time local remote learning program must
	include in the program:
	(1) at least one grade level in which an assessment
	instrument is required to be administered under Section 39.023(a),
	including each subject for which an assessment instrument is
	required; or
	(2) a complete high school program, including each
	course for which an end-of-course assessment instrument is required
	to be administered under Section 39.023(c).
	(c) A virtual course offered under a local remote learning
	program:
	(1) may be provided through synchronous instruction,
	asynchronous instruction, or a combination of synchronous and
	asynchronous instruction; and
	(2) may be provided in combination with in-person
	instruction as appropriate to meet the needs of individual
	students.
	(d) A student is eligible to enroll in a virtual course
	offered under a local remote learning program if the student:
	(1) is enrolled in a school district or
	open-enrollment charter school;
	(2) has reasonable access to in-person services for
	the course at a district or school facility; and
	(3) meets any additional criteria, including minimum
	academic standards, established by the school district or
	open-enrollment charter school in which the student is enrolled.
	(e) A school district or open-enrollment charter school
	that operates a local remote learning program:
	(1) shall periodically assess the performance of
	students enrolled in virtual courses under the program; and
	(2) subject to Subsection (f), may remove a student
	from virtual courses under the program and return the student to
	in-person instruction if the district or school determines that the
	student does not meet the criteria described by Subsection (d).
	(f) A school district or open-enrollment charter school may
	remove a student from virtual courses under Subsection (e)(2) only
	if the district or school establishes a process to ensure that each
	student and the student's parents have sufficient notice and
	opportunity to provide input before the student is removed from
	those courses.
	(g) A school district or open-enrollment charter school may
	contract with another school district or open-enrollment charter
	school to allow a student enrolled in the sending district or school
	to enroll in virtual courses offered under the local remote
	learning program of the receiving district or school. A student
	enrolled in virtual courses under an agreement described by this
	subsection is considered enrolled in the sending district or school
	for purposes of average daily attendance and accountability under
	Chapters 39 and 39A.
	(h) An assessment instrument administered under Section
	39.023 or 39.025 to a student enrolled in a virtual course offered
	under a local remote learning program shall be administered to the
	student in the same manner in which the assessment instrument is
	administered to other school district or open-enrollment charter
	school students.
	(i) If a school district or open-enrollment charter school
	offers virtual courses under a local remote learning program for
	students receiving special education services, the courses must
	meet the needs of a participating student in a manner consistent
	with Subchapter A of this chapter and with federal law, including
	the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Section
	1400 et seq.) and Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C.
	Section 794).
	(j) A teacher may not provide instruction for a virtual
	course offered under a full-time local remote learning program
	unless the teacher has completed a professional development course
	on virtual instruction.
	(k) A school district or open-enrollment charter school may
	not require a teacher to provide both virtual instruction and
	in-person instruction for a course during the same class period.
	(l) A student enrolled in a virtual course offered under a
	local remote learning program may participate in an extracurricular
	activity sponsored or sanctioned by the school district or
	open-enrollment charter school in which the student is enrolled or
	by the University Interscholastic League in the same manner as
	other district or school students.
	(m) A student enrolled in a virtual course offered under a
	local remote learning program shall be counted toward the school
	district's or open-enrollment charter school's average daily
	attendance in the same manner as other district or school students.
	The commissioner shall adopt rules providing for a method of taking
	attendance, once each school day, for students enrolled in a
	virtual course offered under a local remote learning program.
	(n) Chapter 30A does not apply to a virtual course offered
	under a local remote learning program.
	(o) This section does not prohibit a student enrolled in a
	school district or open-enrollment charter school that operates a
	local remote learning program from enrolling in courses offered
	through the state virtual school network under Chapter 30A.
	(p) In evaluating under Chapter 39 the performance of a
	school district or open-enrollment charter school that operates a
	full-time local remote learning program, the commissioner shall
	evaluate the performance of students enrolled in the program
	separately from other district or school students.
	(q) A school district or open-enrollment charter school
	that operates a local remote learning program may not enroll in the
	program a number of students that exceeds 10 percent of the total
	number of students enrolled in the district or school during the
	2021-2022 school year. The commissioner may waive this subsection
	on application by a school district or open-enrollment charter
	school.
	(r) This section expires September 1, 2027.
	SECTION 4. Section 39.301, Education Code, is amended by
	adding Subsection (c-1) to read as follows:
	(c-1) In addition to the indicators described by Subsection
	(c), the indicators for reporting purposes must include, for each
	school district and campus, the performance of students who spend
	at least half of the students' instructional time in virtual
	courses offered under a local remote learning program under Section
	29.9091. This subsection expires September 1, 2027.
	SECTION 5. Section 48.005, Education Code, is amended by
	amending Subsection (h) and adding Subsections (m-1) and (m-2) to
	read as follows:
	(h) Subject to rules adopted by the commissioner under
	Section 48.007(b), time that a student participates in an
	off-campus instructional program approved under Section 48.007(a)
	or a course or program provided under Section 48.007(c) shall be
	counted as part of the minimum number of instructional hours
	required for a student to be considered a full-time student in
	average daily attendance for purposes of this section.
	(m-1) This subsection applies only to a dropout recovery
	school or program operating under Section 12.1141(c) or 39.0548
	that is provided as a local remote learning program under Section
	29.9091. For a dropout recovery school or program to which this
	subsection applies, the commissioner shall establish an
	asynchronous progression funding method for determining average
	daily attendance based on full and partial semester course
	completion.
	(m-2) Subsection (m-1) and this subsection expire September
	1, 2027.
	SECTION 6. The heading to Section 48.007, Education Code,
	is amended to read as follows:
	Sec. 48.007. OFF-CAMPUS COURSES OR PROGRAMS COUNTED
	[~~APPROVED~~] FOR PURPOSES OF AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE.
	SECTION 7. Section 48.007, Education Code, is amended by
	amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (c), (d), (e), and
	(f) to read as follows:
	(b) The commissioner shall adopt by rule verification and
	reporting procedures to report student participation [~~concerning~~
	~~time spent by students participating~~] in instructional programs
	approved under Subsection (a) or courses or programs provided under
	Subsection (c).
	(c) A school district or open-enrollment charter school may
	provide one or more off-campus electronic courses, an off-campus
	electronic program, or an instructional program that combines
	in-person instruction and off-campus electronic instruction to
	students enrolled in the district or school who have reasonable
	access to in-person services at a district or school facility.
	Off-campus electronic instruction for a course or program provided
	under this subsection may be provided synchronously or
	asynchronously. A student enrolled in a course or program provided
	under this subsection shall be counted toward the district's or
	school's average daily attendance in the same manner as other
	district or school students. In adopting rules under Subsection
	(b), the commissioner shall provide for a method of taking
	attendance, once each school day, for students enrolled in a course
	or program provided under this subsection.
	(d) A school district or open-enrollment charter school
	that operated during the 2020-2021 school year a full-time virtual
	program outside the state virtual network under Chapter 30A may:
	(1) continue to operate the virtual program on a
	full-time basis;
	(2) apply the same enrollment and transfer criteria
	used during the 2020-2021 school year; and
	(3) offer the program to students in any grade level or
	combination of grade levels from kindergarten through grade 12 as
	long as the program includes at least one grade level for which an
	assessment instrument is administered under Section 39.023.
	(e) A full-time virtual program described by Subsection (d)
	may not exceed the program's enrollment level for the 2020-2021
	school year during any subsequent school year.
	(f) Subsections (d) and (e) and this subsection expire
	September 1, 2027.
	SECTION 8. Section 48.053, Education Code, is amended by
	adding Subsections (b-1) and (b-2) to read as follows:
	(b-1) This subsection applies only to a special-purpose
	district described by Subsection (a) that existed before September
	1, 2019. For a district to which this subsection applies, the
	commissioner shall establish an asynchronous progression funding
	method that may be used to determine the amount of the district's
	entitlement under Subsection (b) based on full and partial semester
	course completion.
	(b-2) Subsection (b-1) and this subsection expire September
	1, 2027.
	SECTION 9. This Act applies beginning with the 2021-2022
	school year.
	SECTION 10. 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 on the 91st day after the last day of
	the legislative session.