By: Shapiro	S.B. No. 30
	(In the Senate - Filed June 2, 2011; June 3, 2011, read
	first time and referred to Committee on Education; June 6, 2011,
	reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 8, Nays 0;
	June 6, 2011, sent to printer.)

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to the state virtual school network.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Subchapter A, Chapter 30A, Education Code, is
	amended by adding Section 30A.007 to read as follows:
	Sec. 30A.007.  LOCAL POLICY ON ELECTRONIC COURSES. (a)  A
	school district or open-enrollment charter school shall adopt a
	policy that provides district or school students with the
	opportunity to enroll in electronic courses provided through the
	state virtual school network. The policy must be consistent with
	the requirements imposed by Section 26.0031.
	(b)  For purposes of a policy adopted under Subsection (a),
	the determination of whether or not an electronic course will meet
	the needs of a student with a disability shall be made by the
	student's admission, review, and dismissal committee in a manner
	consistent with state and 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).
	SECTION 2.  Subchapter C, Chapter 30A, Education Code, is
	amended by adding Section 30A.1021 to read as follows:
	Sec. 30A.1021.  PUBLIC ACCESS TO USER COMMENTS REGARDING
	ELECTRONIC COURSES. (a)  The administering authority shall
	provide students who have completed or withdrawn from electronic
	courses offered through the virtual school network and their
	parents with a mechanism for providing comments regarding the
	courses.
	(b)  The mechanism required by Subsection (a) must include a
	quantitative rating system and a list of verbal descriptors that a
	student or parent may select as appropriate.
	(c)  The administering authority shall provide public access
	to the comments submitted by students and parents under this
	section. The comments must be in a format that permits a person to
	sort the comments by teacher, electronic course, and provider
	school district or school.
	SECTION 3.  Section 30A.104, Education Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	Sec. 30A.104.  COURSE ELIGIBILITY IN GENERAL. (a)  A course
	offered through the state virtual school network must:
	(1)  be in a specific subject that is part of the
	required curriculum under Section 28.002(a);
	(2)  be aligned with the essential knowledge and skills
	identified under Section 28.002(c) for a grade level at or above
	grade level three; and
	(3)  be the equivalent in instructional rigor and scope
	to a course that is provided in a traditional classroom setting
	during:
	(A)  a semester of 90 instructional days; and
	(B)  a school day that meets the minimum length of
	a school day required under Section 25.082.
	(b)  For purposes of Subsection (a)(2), a course is
	considered in compliance with the requirement imposed under that
	subdivision if:
	(1)  the course contains at least 80 percent of the
	applicable essential knowledge and skills; and
	(2)  the provider school district or school provides
	written documentation that the remaining 20 percent of the
	applicable essential knowledge and skills will be provided by the
	teacher of the course.
	(c)  If the essential knowledge and skills with which an
	approved course is aligned in accordance with Subsection (a)(2) are
	modified, the provider school district or school must be provided
	the same time period to revise the course to achieve alignment with
	the modified essential knowledge and skills as is provided for the
	modification of a course provided in a traditional classroom
	setting.
	SECTION 4.  Section 30A.105, Education Code, is amended by
	adding Subsections (a-1) and (a-2) and amending Subsection (d) to
	read as follows:
	(a-1)  The administering authority shall publish the
	schedule established under Subsection (a)(1), including any
	deadlines specified in that schedule, and any guidelines applicable
	to the submission and approval process for electronic courses.
	(a-2)  The evaluation required by Subsection (a)(2) must
	include review of each electronic course component, including
	off-line material proposed to be used in the course.
	(d)  If the agency determines that the costs of evaluating
	and approving a submitted electronic course will not be paid by the
	agency due to a shortage of funds available for that purpose, the
	school district, open-enrollment charter school, or public or
	private institution of higher education that submitted the course
	for evaluation and approval may pay a fee equal to the amount of the
	costs in order to ensure that evaluation of the course occurs. The
	agency shall establish and publish a fee schedule for purposes of
	this subsection.
	SECTION 5.  Subchapter D, Chapter 30A, Education Code, is
	amended by adding Section 30A.153 to read as follows:
	Sec. 30A.153.  FOUNDATION SCHOOL PROGRAM FUNDING. (a)  A
	school district or open-enrollment charter school in which a
	student is enrolled is entitled to funding under Chapter 42 for the
	student's enrollment in an electronic course offered through the
	state virtual school network in the same manner that the district or
	school is entitled to funding for the student's enrollment in
	courses provided in a traditional classroom setting, provided that
	the student successfully completes the electronic course.
	(b)  The commissioner, after considering comments from
	school district and open-enrollment charter school
	representatives, shall adopt a standard agreement that governs
	payment of funds and other matters relating to a student's
	enrollment in an electronic course offered through the state
	virtual school network. The agreement may not require a school
	district or open-enrollment charter school to pay the provider the
	full amount until the student has successfully completed the
	electronic course.
	(c)  A school district or open-enrollment charter school
	shall use the standard agreement adopted under Subsection (b)
	unless:
	(1)  the district or school requests from the
	commissioner permission to modify the standard agreement; and
	(2)  the commissioner authorizes the modification.
	(d)  The commissioner shall adopt rules necessary to
	implement this section, including rules regarding attendance
	accounting.
	SECTION 6.  Subsection (a), Section 42.302, 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[, 42.159,] 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 7.  Section 42.159, Education Code, is repealed.
	SECTION 8.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2011, if this
	Act 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 to take effect on
	that date, this Act takes effect on the 91st day after the last day
	of the legislative session.
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