HB1657 - Relating to the establishment of an education savings account program for certain children.

  89R4088 KJE-F     By: Cunningham H.B. No. 1657       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to the establishment of an education savings account   program for certain children.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Chapter 29, Education Code, is amended by adding   Subchapter J to read as follows:   SUBCHAPTER J. EDUCATION SAVINGS ACCOUNT PROGRAM           Sec. 29.351.  DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:                 (1)     "Account" means an education savings account   established under the program.                 (2)  "Child with a disability" means a child who is:                       (A)     eligible to participate in a school   district's special education program under Section 29.003; or                       (B)     covered by Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of   1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794).                 (3)     "Financial institution" means a bank, credit   union, savings bank, or savings and loan association organized   under the laws of this state, the laws of another state, or federal   law that has its main office or a branch office in this state. The   term does not include any institution the deposits of which are not   insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or the   National Credit Union Administration.                 (4)     "Parent" means a resident of this state who is a   natural or adoptive parent, managing or possessory conservator,   legal guardian, custodian, or other person with legal authority to   act on behalf of a child.                 (5)     "Program" means the education savings account   program established under this subchapter.                 (6)     "Program participant" means a child and a parent   of a child enrolled in the program.           Sec.   29.352.     ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.   The comptroller   shall establish and administer an education savings account program   to provide funding for certain education-related expenses of   eligible children.           Sec.   29.353.     ELIGIBLE CHILD. (a) A child is eligible to   participate in the program if the child:                 (1)     is eligible to attend a public school under   Section 25.001;                 (2)  either:                       (A)     attended a public school during the preceding   school year; or                       (B)  is entering kindergarten or first grade; and                 (3)  meets one or more of the following criteria:                       (A)     failed to perform satisfactorily on an   assessment instrument administered under Section 39.023(a) or an   end-of-course assessment instrument administered under Section   39.023(c) during the school year preceding the school year for   which the child applies to enroll in the program;                       (B)  is a child with a disability; or                       (C)  is educationally disadvantaged.           (b)     A child who establishes eligibility under this section   may participate in the program until the earliest of the following   dates:                 (1)     the date on which the child no longer meets the   eligibility criteria under Subsection (a)(3);                 (2)     the date on which the child graduates from high   school;                 (3)     the date on which the child enrolls in a public   school, including an open-enrollment charter school; or                 (4)     the date on which the child is declared ineligible   for the program by the comptroller under this subchapter.           Sec.   29.354.     APPLICATION FOR PROGRAM. (a) A parent of an   eligible child may apply on behalf of the child for participation in   the program for the following school year.           (b)     The comptroller shall by rule create an application form   for the program and make the form readily available to interested   parents through various sources, including the comptroller's   Internet website.           (c)     The comptroller shall provide to each parent who submits   an application form a publication that describes the operation of   the program, including:                 (1)     expenses allowed under the program under Section   29.356;                 (2)  expense reporting requirements; and                 (3)     a description of the responsibilities of program   participants and the duties of the comptroller and the agency under   this subchapter.           (d)  The agency shall:                 (1)     review each application to ensure that the child   is eligible to participate in the program; and                 (2)  approve or reject each application.           Sec.   29.355.     PARTICIPATION IN PROGRAM. (a) To receive   funding under the program, a parent of an eligible child must agree   to:                 (1)     spend money received through the program only for   expenses allowed under Section 29.356;                 (2)     notify the comptroller if the child enrolls in a   public school, not later than the 30th day after the date of   enrollment; and                 (3)     inform the comptroller if the child graduates from   high school.           (b)     The parent of a child participating in the program is   the trustee of the child's account.           (c)     The comptroller shall provide annually to each program   participant the publication provided under Section 29.354(c).           Sec.   29.356.     ELIGIBLE EDUCATION-RELATED EXPENSES. (a)   Money received under the program may be used only for the following   expenses incurred by a program participant:                 (1)     tuition and fees at a private school accredited by   an organization that is recognized by the Texas Private School   Accreditation Commission or the agency;                 (2)     the purchase of textbooks or other instructional   materials or uniforms required by a private school, course, or   educational program in which the child is enrolled;                 (3)  costs related to academic assessments;                 (4)     costs related to an academic activity that adds   direct value to classroom instruction and curriculum, including an   academic field trip, performance, contest, demonstration, or   display;                 (5)     fees for transportation provided by a   fee-for-service transportation provider for the child to travel to   and from an education service provider or vendor of educational   products; and                 (6)     fees for educational therapies or services that   are not covered by any federal, state, or local government benefits   such as Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)   or by any private insurance that the child is enrolled in at the   time of receiving the therapies or services.           (b)     Money received under the program may not be used to pay   any person who is a member of the program participant's household.           (c)     A finding that a program participant used money   distributed under the program to pay for an expense not allowed   under Subsection (a) does not affect the validity of any payment   made by the participant for an education-related expense that is   allowed under that subsection.           Sec.   29.357.     AMOUNT OF PAYMENT; FINANCING. (a) A parent of   an eligible child shall receive each year that the child   participates in the program a payment to the child's account in an   amount that is equal to 90 percent of the amount to which the school   district in which the child resides would be entitled to receive for   the child under Chapter 48 if the child were enrolled in the   district.           (b)     For each year a child participates in the program, the   school district in which the child resides is entitled to receive an   amount equal to 10 percent of the amount to which the district would   be entitled to receive for the child under Chapter 48 if the child   were enrolled in the district.           (c)     Any money remaining in a child's account at the end of a   fiscal year is carried forward to the next fiscal year unless   another provision of this subchapter mandates the closure of the   account.           (d)     A payment under the program may not be financed using   federal funds or money appropriated from the available school fund.           Sec.   29.358.     ADMINISTRATION OF ACCOUNTS. (a) The   comptroller may contract with one or more financial institutions to   establish and manage an account for each child participating in the   program.           (b)     The comptroller shall make quarterly payments to each   program participant's account in equal amounts on or before the   15th day of August, November, February, and May.           (c)     The comptroller may deduct an amount from each quarterly   payment to a program participant's account to cover the   comptroller's cost of administering the program. The amount   deducted may not exceed three percent of the payment.           (d)     Within the first month following the end of each fiscal   year, the comptroller shall reconcile payments made to and from all   accounts under the program.           (e)     On the date on which a child ceases to participate in the   program for any reason, the child's account is closed and any   remaining money is returned to the state.           Sec.   29.359.     PROGRAM PARTICIPANT, PROVIDER, AND VENDOR   AUTONOMY. (a) An education service provider or vendor of   educational products that receives money distributed under the   program is not a recipient of federal financial assistance on the   basis of receiving that money.           (b)     A rule adopted or action taken related to the program by   an individual, governmental entity, court of law, or program   administrator may not:                 (1)     consider the actions of an education service   provider, vendor of educational products, or program participant to   be the actions of an agent of state government;            &# [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]