Bill Text: TX HB950 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Relating to a student's eligibility for special education services provided by a school district, including services for dyslexia and related disorders.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-03-02 - Referred to Public Education [HB950 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-HB950-Introduced.html

---

88R2984 ANG-F
By: Dutton H.B. No. 950

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a student's eligibility for special education services
provided by a school district, including services for dyslexia and
related disorders.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the Beckley Wilson Act.
SECTION 2. Section 7.028(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Section 21.006(k), 22.093(l),
22.096, 28.006, 29.001(5), 29.010(a), 33.006(h), [38.003,] or
39.003, the agency may monitor compliance with requirements
applicable to a process or program provided by a school district,
campus, program, or school granted charters under Chapter 12,
including the process described by Subchapter F, Chapter 11, or a
program described by Subchapter B, C, D, E, F, H, or I, Chapter 29,
or Subchapter A, Chapter 37, only as necessary to ensure:
(1) compliance with federal law and regulations;
(2) financial accountability, including compliance
with grant requirements;
(3) data integrity for purposes of:
(A) the Public Education Information Management
System (PEIMS); and
(B) accountability under Chapters 39 and 39A; and
(4) qualification for funding under Chapter 48.
SECTION 3. Section 7.102(c)(28), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(28) The board shall develop and update, as necessary,
guidance information for school districts on evidence-based
practices for intervention and instruction of students with
[approve a program for testing students for] dyslexia and related
disorders and incorporate in the information input from a
broad-based dialogue with educators and experts in the field of
reading and dyslexia and related disorders from across the state.
The guidance information may not address:
(A) the evaluation and identification of
students with dyslexia or a related disorder; or
(B) how intervention and instruction are to be
accessed by a student [as provided by Section 38.003].
SECTION 4. Section 11.252(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Each school district shall have a district improvement
plan that is developed, evaluated, and revised annually, in
accordance with district policy, by the superintendent with the
assistance of the district-level committee established under
Section 11.251. The purpose of the district improvement plan is to
guide district and campus staff in the improvement of student
performance for all student groups in order to attain state
standards in respect to the achievement indicators adopted under
Section 39.053(c). The district improvement plan must include
provisions for:
(1) a comprehensive needs assessment addressing
district student performance on the achievement indicators, and
other appropriate measures of performance, that are disaggregated
by all student groups served by the district, including categories
of ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sex, and populations served by
special programs, including students in special education programs
under Subchapter A, Chapter 29;
(2) measurable district performance objectives for
all appropriate achievement indicators for all student
populations, including students in special education programs
under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, and other measures of student
performance that may be identified through the comprehensive needs
assessment;
(3) strategies for improvement of student performance
that include:
(A) instructional methods for addressing the
needs of student groups not achieving their full potential;
(B) evidence-based practices that address the
needs of students for special programs, including:
(i) suicide prevention programs, in
accordance with Subchapter G, Chapter 38, which include a parental
or guardian notification procedure;
(ii) conflict resolution programs;
(iii) violence prevention programs; and
(iv) special education [dyslexia
treatment] programs;
(C) dropout reduction;
(D) integration of technology in instructional
and administrative programs;
(E) positive behavior interventions and support,
including interventions and support that integrate best practices
on grief-informed and trauma-informed care;
(F) staff development for professional staff of
the district;
(G) career education to assist students in
developing the knowledge, skills, and competencies necessary for a
broad range of career opportunities;
(H) accelerated education; and
(I) implementation of a comprehensive school
counseling program under Section 33.005;
(4) strategies for providing to elementary school,
middle school, junior high school, and high school students, those
students' teachers and school counselors, and those students'
parents information about:
(A) higher education admissions and financial
aid opportunities, including state financial aid opportunities
such as the TEXAS grant program and the Teach for Texas grant
program established under Chapter 56;
(B) the need for students to make informed
curriculum choices to be prepared for success beyond high school;
and
(C) sources of information on higher education
admissions and financial aid;
(5) resources needed to implement identified
strategies;
(6) staff responsible for ensuring the accomplishment
of each strategy;
(7) timelines for ongoing monitoring of the
implementation of each improvement strategy;
(8) formative evaluation criteria for determining
periodically whether strategies are resulting in intended
improvement of student performance;
(9) the policy under Section 38.0041 addressing sexual
abuse and other maltreatment of children; and
(10) the trauma-informed care policy required under
Section 38.036.
SECTION 5. Section 21.003, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
(b-1) A school district shall employ a person who may be a
therapist, practitioner, specialist, or interventionist to provide
services to students with dyslexia and related disorders. The
person hired under this subsection is not required to hold a
certificate or permit issued under Subchapter B in special
education but must:
(1) hold an appropriate license, including a license
issued under Chapter 403, Occupations Code;
(2) hold a certification issued by an appropriate
association or have received training from an appropriate training
provider, including an academic language practitioner or therapist
certified by the Academic Language Therapy Association; or
(3) if a person qualified under Subdivision (1) or (2)
is not available, meet the applicable training requirements for the
position adopted by the commissioner by rule.
SECTION 6. Section 21.4552(b-1), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b-1) The completion of a literacy achievement academy
under this section by an educator who teaches students with
dyslexia satisfies:
(1) the training requirement under Section 21.054(b);
and
(2) a training requirement adopted [by the State Board
of Education] pursuant to Section 29.0031 [38.003] related to the
screening or treatment of a student for dyslexia or a related
disorder.
SECTION 7. Section 28.006(g-2), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(g-2) In accordance with a notification program developed
by the commissioner by rule, a school district shall notify the
parent or guardian of each student determined, on the basis of a
screening under Section 29.0031 [38.003] or other basis, to be at
risk for [have] dyslexia or a related disorder, or determined, on
the basis of reading instrument results, to be at risk for dyslexia
or other reading difficulties, of the program maintained by the
Texas State Library and Archives Commission providing students with
reading disabilities the ability to borrow audiobooks free of
charge.
SECTION 8. Section 29.001, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 29.001. STATEWIDE PLAN. The agency shall develop, and
modify as necessary, a statewide design, consistent with federal
law, for the delivery of services to children with disabilities in
this state that includes rules for the administration and funding
of the special education program so that a free appropriate public
education is available to all of those children between the ages of
three and 21. The statewide design shall include the provision of
services primarily through school districts and shared services
arrangements, supplemented by regional education service centers.
The agency shall also develop and implement a statewide plan with
programmatic content that includes procedures designed to:
(1) ensure state compliance with requirements for
supplemental federal funding for all state-administered programs
involving the delivery of instructional or related services to
students with disabilities;
(2) facilitate interagency coordination when other
state agencies are involved in the delivery of instructional or
related services to students with disabilities;
(3) periodically assess statewide personnel needs in
all areas of specialization related to special education and pursue
strategies to meet those needs through a consortium of
representatives from regional education service centers, local
education agencies, and institutions of higher education and
through other available alternatives;
(4) ensure that regional education service centers
throughout the state maintain a regional support function, which
may include direct service delivery and a component designed to
facilitate the placement of students with disabilities who cannot
be appropriately served in their resident districts;
(5) allow the agency to effectively monitor and
periodically conduct site visits of all school districts to ensure
that rules adopted under this section and Section 29.0031 are
applied in a consistent and uniform manner, to ensure that
districts are complying with those rules, and to ensure that annual
statistical reports filed by the districts and not otherwise
available through the Public Education Information Management
System under Sections 48.008 and 48.009 are accurate and complete;
(6) ensure that appropriately trained personnel are
involved in the diagnostic and evaluative procedures operating in
all districts and that those personnel routinely serve on district
admissions, review, and dismissal committees;
(7) ensure that an individualized education program
for each student with a disability is properly developed,
implemented, and maintained in the least restrictive environment
that is appropriate to meet the student's educational needs;
(8) ensure that, when appropriate, each student with a
disability is provided an opportunity to participate in career and
technology and physical education classes, in addition to
participating in regular or special classes;
(9) ensure that each student with a disability is
provided necessary related services;
(10) ensure that an individual assigned to act as a
surrogate parent for a child with a disability, as provided by 20
U.S.C. Section 1415(b), is required to:
(A) complete a training program that complies
with minimum standards established by agency rule;
(B) visit the child and the child's school;
(C) consult with persons involved in the child's
education, including teachers, caseworkers, court-appointed
volunteers, guardians ad litem, attorneys ad litem, foster parents,
and caretakers;
(D) review the child's educational records;
(E) attend meetings of the child's admission,
review, and dismissal committee;
(F) exercise independent judgment in pursuing
the child's interests; and
(G) exercise the child's due process rights under
applicable state and federal law; [and]
(11) ensure that each district develops a process to
be used by a teacher who instructs a student with a disability in a
regular classroom setting:
(A) to request a review of the student's
individualized education program;
(B) to provide input in the development of the
student's individualized education program;
(C) that provides for a timely district response
to the teacher's request; and
(D) that provides for notification to the
student's parent or legal guardian of that response;
(12) ensure the integration of technology to
accommodate students with dyslexia and related disorders; and
(13) ensure that training opportunities, including
continuing education that satisfies the requirements of Section
21.054(b):
(A) are accessible to school districts by
developing a list of training opportunities regarding dyslexia and
related disorders that comply with the knowledge and practice
standards of an international organization on dyslexia; and
(B) assist an educator or dyslexia service
provider in understanding and recognizing dyslexia and providing
multisensory, structured instruction that is systematic, explicit,
and evidence-based to meet the educational needs of students with
dyslexia or a related disorder.
SECTION 9. Section 29.002, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 29.002. DEFINITIONS [DEFINITION]. In this
subchapter[, "special services" means]:
(1) "Special [special] education" means specially
designed instruction that is provided at no cost to the parent or
person standing in parental relation to meet the unique needs of a
student with a disability.[, which may be provided by professional
and supported by paraprofessional personnel in the regular
classroom or in an instructional arrangement described by Section
48.102; and]
(2) "Student with a disability" means a student
evaluated in accordance with Section 29.004 and the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Section 1400 et seq.) as
having:
(A) an intellectual disability, a hearing
impairment including deafness, a visual impairment including
blindness, a serious emotional disturbance, an orthopedic
impairment, autism, a traumatic brain injury, a speech or language
impairment, deaf-blindness, multiple disabilities, any other
health impairment, or a specific learning disability and who, as a
result of the disability, needs special education;
(B) noncategorical early childhood developmental
delays that prevent the student from being adequately or safely
educated in a public school without receiving special education; or
(C) dyslexia or a related disorder and who, as a
result of the dyslexia or the related disorder, needs special
education [related services, which are developmental, corrective,
supportive, or evaluative services, not instructional in nature,
that may be required for the student to benefit from special
education instruction and for implementation of a student's
individualized education program].
SECTION 10. Section 29.003(b), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) A student is eligible to participate in a school
district's special education program if the student:
(1) is not more than 21 years of age and is identified
as a student with [and has] a visual or hearing [auditory]
impairment [that prevents the student from being adequately or
safely educated in public school without the provision of special
services]; [or]
(2) is at least three years of age but not more than 21
years of age and has been identified as a student with a disability
other than a visual or hearing impairment; [and has one] or
(3) is at least three years of age but not more than
five years of age and the [following disabilities that prevents
the] student is a student evaluated as having noncategorical early
childhood developmental delays as described by Section
29.002(2)(B) [from being adequately or safely educated in public
school without the provision of special services:
[(A) physical disability;
[(B) intellectual or developmental disability;
[(C) emotional disturbance;
[(D) learning disability;
[(E) autism;
[(F) speech disability; or
[(G) traumatic brain injury].
SECTION 11. Subchapter A, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 29.0031 to read as follows:
Sec. 29.0031. DYSLEXIA AND RELATED DISORDERS. (a) A school
district shall:
(1) screen students for dyslexia and related
disorders;
(2) notify the parent of or person standing in
parental relation to each student who is determined to be at risk
for dyslexia or a related disorder that the student is at risk; and
(3) make a good faith effort to ensure that the notice
provided under Subdivision (2):
(A) is clear and easy to understand;
(B) is in the recipient's native language; and
(C) includes information about the student's
data and measurements that led to the determination that the
student is at risk for dyslexia or a related disorder.
(b) On determining that a student is at risk for dyslexia or
a related disorder, the school district shall implement a
multisensory, structured reading instruction program as an
intervention as part of the district's multitiered systems of
support under Section 26.0081 that, to the extent possible,
incorporates training provided to teachers under Section 21.4552.
The district shall determine the form, content, and timing of a
program provided under this subsection, subject to requirements for
the program established by the commissioner by rule. The program
adopted under this subsection may not be used to delay an evaluation
for special education services under Section 29.004.
(c) Only a person who meets the qualifications for
employment by a school district to provide services to students
with dyslexia and related disorders under Section 21.003(b-1) may
perform screenings for dyslexia and related disorders and implement
reading instruction programs as required by this section.
(d) The commissioner shall adopt rules as necessary to
implement this section. The rules must:
(1) require a universal screening for each student for
dyslexia and related disorders:
(A) at the end of the school year in
kindergarten; and
(B) before the end of the school year in first
grade;
(2) establish, in coordination with experts and
educators in the field of reading and dyslexia and related
disorders from across the state, the screening requirements under
Subsection (a);
(3) establish the requirements for reading
instruction programs provided under Subsection (b); and
(4) establish the personnel required to deliver
dyslexia intervention in accordance with Section 21.003(b-1).
SECTION 12. Section 30.001(b), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) The commissioner, with the approval of the State Board
of Education, shall develop and implement a plan for the
coordination of services to children with disabilities in each
region served by a regional education service center. The plan must
include procedures for:
(1) identifying existing public or private
educational and related services for children with disabilities in
each region;
(2) identifying and referring children with
disabilities who cannot be appropriately served by the school
district in which they reside to other appropriate programs;
(3) assisting school districts to individually or
cooperatively develop programs to identify and provide appropriate
services for children with disabilities;
(4) expanding and coordinating services provided by
regional education service centers for children with disabilities;
[and]
(5) providing for special education [services],
including special seats, books, instructional media, and other
supplemental supplies and services required for proper
instruction; and
(6) ensuring services provided for students with
dyslexia and related disorders align with guidance on
evidence-based practices developed by the State Board of Education
under Section 7.102(c)(28).
SECTION 13. Section 30.002(g), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(g) To facilitate implementation of this section, the
commissioner shall develop a system to distribute from the
foundation school fund to school districts or regional education
service centers a special supplemental allowance for each student
with a visual impairment and for each student with a serious visual
disability and another medically diagnosed disability of a
significantly limiting nature who is receiving special education
services through any approved program. The supplemental allowance
may be spent only for special education [services] uniquely
required by the nature of the student's disabilities and may not be
used in lieu of educational funds otherwise available under this
code or through state or local appropriations.
SECTION 14. Section 37.146(a), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) A complaint alleging the commission of a school offense
must, in addition to the requirements imposed by Article 45.019,
Code of Criminal Procedure:
(1) be sworn to by a person who has personal knowledge
of the underlying facts giving rise to probable cause to believe
that an offense has been committed; and
(2) be accompanied by a statement from a school
employee stating:
(A) whether the child is eligible for or receives
special education [services] under Subchapter A, Chapter 29; and
(B) the graduated sanctions, if required under
Section 37.144, that were imposed on the child before the complaint
was filed.
SECTION 15. Section 48.103, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsection (c-1) to
read as follows:
(b) A school district is entitled to an allotment under
Subsection (a) only for a student who:
(1) is receiving services for dyslexia or a related
disorder in accordance with:
(A) an individualized education program
developed for the student under Section 29.005; or
(B) a plan developed for the student under
Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794);
(2) is receiving instruction that:
(A) meets applicable dyslexia intervention
components [program criteria] established by the State Board of
Education or agency; and
(B) is provided by a person with specific
training in providing that instruction; or
(3) is permitted, on the basis of having dyslexia or a
related disorder, to use modifications in the classroom or
accommodations in the administration of assessment instruments
under Section 39.023.
(c) A school district shall:
(1) [may] receive funding for a student under this
section and Section 48.102 if the student satisfies the
requirements of both sections;
(2) allocate money received under Subdivision (1) to
the district's special education budget; and
(3) prioritize the use of money received under
Subdivision (1) for the employment and retention of district
employees who are specially trained to evaluate, identify, and
provide services for dyslexia and related disorders, including a
person described by Section 21.003(b-1).
(c-1) A school district may only use funding received under
this section to supplement the district's special education budget
and not to offset or deduct from the district's special education
budget.
SECTION 16. (a) A joint interim committee is established to
study methods for screening and testing students for dyslexia and
related disorders and the appropriate instruction for students with
dyslexia and related disorders.
(b) The committee shall assess:
(1) the method and efficiency with which programs for
dyslexia and related disorders are delivered to students;
(2) whether the screening process for dyslexia and
related disorders used by school districts correctly identifies
students with dyslexia or a related disorder and provides the
intervention and curriculum necessary for those students;
(3) whether the implementation of recommended
methodologies for students with dyslexia or a related disorder in
the elementary grades is successful and appropriate;
(4) methods to properly enforce and provide oversight
of programs for dyslexia and related disorders;
(5) parental rights related to screening and programs
for dyslexia and related disorders;
(6) methods to ensure federal funds received to
support special education instruction for students with dyslexia
and related disorders are used to provide students with the best
evidence-based multisensory systematic language therapy
intervention available; and
(7) the effectiveness of educator incentives for
programs for dyslexia and related disorders.
(c) The committee consists of the following eight members:
(1) four members of the house of representatives
appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives; and
(2) four members of the senate appointed by the
lieutenant governor.
(d) The speaker of the house of representatives and the
lieutenant governor shall each designate a co-chair from among the
committee members.
(e) The joint interim committee has all other powers and
duties provided to a special or select committee by the rules of the
senate and house of representatives by Subchapter B, Chapter 301,
Government Code, and by policies of the senate and house committees
on administration.
(f) Not later than December 1, 2024, the joint interim
committee shall report the committee's findings and
recommendations to the governor and the members of the legislature.
(g) The joint interim committee established under this
section is abolished and this section expires December 10, 2024.
SECTION 17. The following provisions of the Education Code
are repealed:
(1) Section 38.003;
(2) Section 38.0031; and
(3) Section 38.0032.
SECTION 18. (a) This Act applies beginning with the
2024-2025 school year.
(b) As soon as practicable after the effective date of this
Act, the commissioner of education shall adopt rules necessary to
implement this Act using a negotiated rulemaking process under
Chapter 2008, Government Code.
(c) As soon as practicable after the effective date of this
Act, each school district shall notify the parent or person
standing in parental relation to a student who has been identified
as having dyslexia or a related disorder and who received dyslexia
intervention and instructional support in accordance with Section
504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794), during the
2023-2024 school year of the parent's or person's rights to have the
student continue that support and to request a full individual
evaluation under Section 29.004, Education Code. The commissioner
of education shall develop and make available a model notice that a
school district shall use to provide the notice required by this
subsection.
(d) Not later than September 1, 2024, the Texas Education
Agency shall provide informal guidance to school districts on the
evaluation and identification of students with dyslexia or a
related disorder in accordance with this Act.
SECTION 19. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.