Bill Text: TX SB15 | 2021 | 87th Legislature 2nd Special Session | Enrolled

Texas Senate Bill 15 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Relating to virtual and off-campus electronic instruction at a public school, the satisfaction of teacher certification requirements through an internship teaching certain virtual courses, and the allotment for certain special-purpose school districts under the Foundation School Program.

Sponsorship: Broadly Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Passed) 2021-09-09 - Effective immediately [SB15 Detail]

Download: Texas-2021-SB15-Enrolled.html



	S.B. No. 15




	AN ACT
	relating to virtual and off-campus electronic instruction at a
	public school, the satisfaction of teacher certification
	requirements through an internship teaching certain virtual
	courses, and the allotment for certain 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 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,
	2023.
	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, 2023.
	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:
	(1) include in the program:
	(A) 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
	(B) 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); and
	(2) offer the option for a student's parent or person
	standing in parental relation to select in-person instruction for
	the student.
	(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;
	(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); and
	(3) may not count a student for purposes of
	calculating the district's or school's average daily attendance if
	the student has 10 or more unexcused absences in the program in a
	six-month period.
	(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 parent or person standing in parental
	relation 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 district or school may not directly or indirectly
	coerce any teacher to agree to an assignment to teach a full-time
	local remote learning program.
	(l) 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.
	The commissioner may waive the requirements of this subsection for
	courses included in the enrichment curriculum under Section 28.002.
	(m) 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.
	(n) Except as otherwise provided under Subsection (e)(3), 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.
	(o) Chapter 30A does not apply to a virtual course offered
	under a local remote learning program.
	(p) 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.
	(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:
	(1) on application by a school district or
	open-enrollment charter school; or
	(2) in response to a public health emergency.
	(r) In calculating under Subsection (q) the number of
	students that may be enrolled in a local remote learning program, a
	school district or open-enrollment charter school shall count
	students who spend at least half of the student's instructional
	time during the 2021-2022 school year or 2022-2023 school year, as
	applicable, enrolled in virtual courses or receiving remote
	instruction, other than by enrollment in electronic courses offered
	through the state virtual school network under Chapter 30A,
	including students enrolled in virtual courses or who received
	remote instruction during the 2021-2022 school year or 2022-2023
	school year, as applicable, because the student was:
	(1) medically fragile;
	(2) placed in a virtual setting by an admission,
	review, and dismissal committee; or
	(3) receiving accommodations under Section 504,
	Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794).
	(s) This section expires September 1, 2023.
	SECTION 4. Subchapter C, Chapter 39, Education Code, is
	amended by adding Section 39.0549 to read as follows:
	Sec. 39.0549. EVALUATING VIRTUAL AND LOCAL REMOTE PROGRAMS.
	(a) In evaluating under Section 39.054 the performance of a school
	district or open-enrollment charter school that operates a
	full-time local remote learning program, the commissioner shall
	assign the program separate overall and domain performance ratings
	as if the program were a campus of the district or school. For
	purposes of assigning performance ratings under this subsection,
	students who spend at least half of the students' instructional
	time receiving virtual or remote instruction are considered
	enrolled in the program, including students:
	(1) enrolled in virtual courses offered under a local
	remote learning program under Section 29.9091; or
	(2) receiving remote instruction, regardless of
	whether the student is enrolled in a remote learning program
	offered under Section 29.9091 and including students receiving
	remote instruction who are:
	(A) medically fragile;
	(B) placed in a virtual setting by an admission,
	review, and dismissal committee; or
	(C) receiving accommodations under Section 504,
	Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794).
	(b) A performance rating under this section is not subject
	to Section 39.054(a-3) or 39.0546.
	(c) A performance rating assigned under this section may not
	be used for purposes of Section 39.0544 or for determining whether
	to impose any intervention or sanction authorized by Chapter 39A.
	(d) This section expires September 1, 2023.
	SECTION 5. Section 39.301, Education Code, is amended by
	adding Subsections (c-1) and (c-2) 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:
	(1) in virtual courses offered under a local remote
	learning program under Section 29.9091; or
	(2) receiving remote instruction, regardless of
	whether the student is enrolled in a remote learning program
	offered under Section 29.9091 and including students receiving
	remote instruction who are:
	(A) medically fragile;
	(B) placed in a virtual setting by an admission,
	review, and dismissal committee; or
	(C) receiving accommodations under Section 504,
	Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794).
	(c-2) Subsection (c-1) and this subsection expire September
	1, 2023.
	SECTION 6. Section 48.005, Education Code, is amended by
	adding Subsections (h-1), (m-1), and (m-2) to read as follows:
	(h-1) Subject to rules adopted by the commissioner under
	Section 48.007(b), time that a student participates in a course or
	program provided under Section 48.0071(b) 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. This subsection expires September 1,
	2023.
	(m-1) Except for students enrolled in programs or courses
	offered under Chapter 30A or Section 48.053, a school district or
	open-enrollment charter school may not count for purposes of
	calculating the district's or school's average daily attendance a
	student who received virtual or remote instruction for a majority
	of the instructional days during the preceding school year if the
	student:
	(1) did not achieve satisfactory performance or higher
	or the equivalent in the preceding school year on:
	(A) each assessment instrument administered to
	the student under Section 39.023 or 39.025; or
	(B) if the student was not administered an
	assessment instrument that was required to be administered to the
	student under Section 39.023 or 39.025 during the preceding school
	year, an assessment instrument designed to show grade-level
	proficiency in the essential knowledge and skills identified under
	Section 28.002 by the State Board of Education for the student's
	grade level;
	(2) had a number of unexcused absences that exceeds 10
	percent of the number of instructional days in the preceding school
	year; or
	(3) did not earn a grade of C or higher or the
	equivalent in each of the foundation curriculum courses taken
	virtually or remotely in the preceding school year.
	(m-2) Subsection (m-1) and this subsection expire September
	1, 2023.
	SECTION 7. Subchapter A, Chapter 48, Education Code, is
	amended by adding Section 48.0071 to read as follows:
	Sec. 48.0071. OFF-CAMPUS COURSES OR PROGRAMS COUNTED FOR
	PURPOSES OF AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE. (a) The commissioner shall
	adopt by rule verification and reporting procedures to report
	student participation in courses or programs provided under
	Subsection (b).
	(b) 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
	(a), 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.
	(c) 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 with at
	least 10 percent of the enrollment for the program including
	students who resided outside the geographic area served by the
	district or school 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.
	(d) This section expires September 1, 2023.
	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, 2023.
	SECTION 9. This Act applies beginning with the 2021-2022
	school year.
	SECTION 10. A school district or open-enrollment charter
	school that operates a full-time local remote learning program
	during the 2021-2022 school year that meets the requirements of
	Section 29.9091, Education Code, as added by this Act, is entitled
	to funding in the manner prescribed by this Act regardless of
	whether the district or school began operating the program before,
	on, or after the effective date of this Act.
	SECTION 11. 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.





	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House

	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 15 passed the Senate on
	August 11, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 27, Nays 2; and that
	the Senate concurred in House amendments on August 31, 2021, by the
	following vote: Yeas 29, Nays 2.


	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate

	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 15 passed the House, with
	amendments, on August 30, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 119,
	Nays 7, one present not voting.


	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House



	Approved:

	______________________________
	Date


	______________________________
	Governor