Bill Analysis - 85th Legislature

SB 1481 and SB 1484 were amended to SB 810 which was originally a bill that pertained to the use of OER in higher education. The portion of the bill that pertains to K-12 digital learning does the following:

Change the name of the IMA to the Instructional Materials and Technology Allotment to communicate the intent and purpose behind the creation of the IMA.
Requires the SBOE to update the Long-Range Plan for Technology at least every five years.
Requires the SBOE to consider the technology needs of districts when planning the adoption process and proclamation schedule for instructional materials.
Updates statute language to align with industry usage by replacing “open source” with the more accurate and applicable “open education resource” to identify these educational resources.
It encourages school districts to consider Open Education Resources when they adopt new instructional materials.
Provides an OER repository for school districts to share OER materials

The goal is to incentivize the creation and sharing of high-quality OER

Provides a web portal for school districts that will provide valuable information about available instructional materials for purchase as well as free materials.

Within this portal, districts can compare products based on price, technical requirements, TEKS alignment, and editorial reviews.

HB 3526 - Renames the IMA / Tech Lending Grants / Web Portal for IM⭐⭐⭐

(Howard & Taylor) includes SB 1483 (Taylor, L. & Bohac) and SB 1484 (Taylor, L & Huberty)

Status: Signed by the Governor. Effective Immediately.

Renames the IMA to Technology and Instructional Materials Allotment. Two bills renamed the IMA. At this time we are not sure if the IMA will be the Technology and Instructional Materials Allotment (HB 3526) or the Instructional Materials and Technology Allotment (SB 810). Traditionally the last bill signed by the governor decides conflicting legislation HB 3526 was the last bill signed.
Reauthorizes the Technology Lending Grants

Allows the Commissioner of Education to appropriate up to $25 million from the IMA for these grants.
The goal of the program is to ensure all students, including economically disadvantaged students, can take advantage of technology outside the school as well as inside the school by providing them with the tools to learn in a digital environment. This should assist in closing the Homework Gap.
School districts would be required to have a technology plan in order to apply for the grant funds.

Provides an OER repository for school districts to share OER materials

Incentivize the creation and sharing of high-quality OER

Provides a web portal for school districts that will provide valuable information about available instructional materials for purchase as well as free materials.

Within this portal, districts can compare products based on price, technical requirements, TEKS alignment, and editorial reviews.

SB 1784 - Pertains to State Licensing of OER⭐⭐⭐

SB 1784 (Chairman Larry Taylor)

Status: Signed by the Governor. Effective Immediately.

Adds OER language and definition

Allows the state to distribute state acquired OER products using Creative Commons licenses (allowing them to distribute them for free).
This is primarily for the OER textbooks purchased by OpenStax (Rice) or other OER created for TEA.

Bills Related to Computer Science and Technology Applications

HB 728 - Computer Science - Math and Science Credit ⭐⭐⭐

Status: Signed by the Governor. Effective Immediately.

(Guerra & Hinojosa)

HB 728 (Representative Guerra) and SB 1336 (Senator Hinojosa)

This will enable students to take an advanced computer science course and get credit for either an advanced math or a science credit. The SBOE will make rules regarding which courses, etc.

HB 3593 - Cybersecurity - Technology Applications move into CTE⭐⭐⭐

(Bernal & Taylor, L.)

Status: Signed by the Governor. Effective Immediately.

HB 3593 would integrate cybersecurity and computer coding into the public education curriculum by:

Requiring the State Board of Education (SBOE) to approve courses in cybersecurity for credit for high school graduation;
Allowing a school district to offer a course without obtaining approval from the SBOE if the district partners with a public or private institution of higher education that offers an undergraduate degree program in cybersecurity to develop and provide the course;
Allowing computer coding to be substituted for a foreign language requirement;
Adding cybersecurity and computer coding to the STEM endorsement and the definition of a STEM course;
Providing a subsidy to teachers who pass a certification examination related to cybersecurity; and allowing new instructional facility allotment funds to be used to renovate an existing instructional facility to serve as a dedicated cybersecurity computer laboratory.
Provide weighted funding for five high school Technology Application courses chosen by the SBOE into the CTE curriculum

Bills Related to Professional Development

SB 1839 Professional Development⭐⭐⭐

(Hughes & Koop) includes HB 4064 (Bohac and Taylor, L)

Status: Signed by the Governor. Effective Immediately.

HB 4064 was amended to SB 1839. Much of SB 1839 deals with certification of teachers. The portion of the bill that deals with digital learning focuses on professional development for both preservice and inservice teachers.

Candidates for teaching certificates to be instructed, evaluated and if necessary remediated on their digital literacy.
That instruction is

Aligned with International Society for Technology in Education standards for Educators
Founded on evidence based strategies to determine the candidate’s abilities
Designed to include tools to help candidates improve where needed.

Empowers SBEC to create rules governing the creation of CPE courses for educators to learn more about digital learning.
Provides guidance as to what digital learning means and how it can empower teachers to bring a more robust, complete and up-to-date educational experience to Texas classroom.

Bills Related to Student Safety

HB 2087 - Student Data Privacy⭐⭐⭐

Status: Signed by the Governor. Effective 9/1/2017.

(Van Deaver & Taylor, L)

This bill gives schools much needed ability to use digital tools to individualize and customize learning and improve student educational outcomes – while maintaining strong privacy protections for student data.

Among other features, HB 2087/SB 1279 will:

Totally ban sale or rental of student data
Ban targeted advertising to students based upon their use of educational services
Ban building a profile of students for any purpose other than an educational purpose
Sharply limit disclosures of student information obtained by educational tech providers
Require educational tech providers to maintain reasonable security practices and procedures to protect student data, and
Require deletion of student data whenever a school or school district requests that the data be deleted.

SB 1398 - Cameras in Special Education Classrooms⭐⭐⭐

(Lucio & Thompson)

Status: Signed by the Governor. Effective Immediately

This bill is intended to make some adjustments to SB 507 that became law in 2015. This bill addresses the following:

A school district or an open-enrollment charter school is only required to place a camera in the special education self-contained classroom or classrooms that were requested by:

A parent of a child who is assigned in the classroom
A staff member who is assigned to work with one or more children receiving special education services in self-contained classrooms or other special education settings
A member of the board of trustees or governing body
A principal and assistant principal

A school district or open-enrollment charter school shall designate an administrator at the central office with the responsibility to coordinate the provision of the video equipment.
A written request must be submitted to the principal or the principal’s designee of the school or campus addressed in the request.

The principal or designee must provide a copy of the request to the district administrator put in charge of this process.

At least ten school days before the end of the school year, the school district must notify the parents of each student in regular attendance in the classroom or setting that operation of the video camera will not continue the following year unless a person who is eligible, makes a request for the next year.
If cameras were requested, then the video and audio equipment must be placed in a room that is attached to the classroom or setting that is used for time-out.
A contractor or employee who is involved in the installation, operation, or maintenance of the video equipment or the retention of video recordings who incidentally views a video recording is not in violation of the section that deals with confidentiality.
The district policy covering this program must include how someone can appeal an action by the district if they believe the district or school is in violation of the law.
A district or open-enrollment charter school must provide a response to a request no later than the seventh school business day after receipt of the request.

That authorizes the request
Or states the reason for denying the request

The equipment must be installed and in operation within 45 school business days after the receipt of the request.
A district is only required to retain the video recording for three months unless the video is being used in an investigation.

If the video recording is needed for an alleged incident, the recording must be kept until the incident has been resolved, up to an exhaustion of all appeals.

If for any reason the district discontinues the operation of a video camera during the school year, the parents of each of the students must be notified within five school days before the discontinuation of the video camera, and given an opportunity to request it to stay.
If a parents asks for a camera to be installed on the last day of school or in an ARD that takes place in the summer, the district must have the cameras installed by the 10th school day of the Fall semester or the 45th school business day after the request is made (whichever day is later).
Appeals by a school district, parent, staff member or an administrator may be made to TEA:

A school district may request an extension of time to install and operate the cameras
Parents can appeal to the agency if a district denied a request
Someone wants to question whether a video recording should be released to an individual

School business day means a day that campus or school administration offices are open.
A video recording is considered a governmental record
The video camera is only required to be in operation during the time students are present in the classroom or other special education setting

Bills Related to Virtual Learning

SB 587 Waive TxVSN rule for students in substitute care or children of military dependents ⭐⭐⭐

(Campbell & Van Deaver)

Status: Signed by the Governor. Effective Immediately.

Students who have been placed in substitute care by the state or who are dependents of military personnel who are deployed or stationed in the state, do not have to have attended a public school prior to entering full-time into courses in the TxVSN.

Instructional Technology Items of Interest in the Budget

$25 million for the discount matching provision provided by E-rate rules.

Districts may receive up to an extra 10% discount from the E-rate program if the state of Texas matches up to an extra 10% as well.
This extra discount is available for eligible special construction costs. It is expected these will be available for E-rate Funding Year 2017 and 2018.

$20 million ($10 million each year of the biennium) for the TEA commissioner to contract with an entity to create OER materials that coincide with the SBOE’s curriculum revision schedule.
The legislature included some language that expresses their intent on how the SBOE should approach the size of the proclamations. The language is below:

“It is the intent of the Legislature that for any state fiscal biennium, the State Board of Education issue proclamations for instructional materials in which the total projected cost of instructional materials under the proclamations does not exceed 75 percent of the total instructional materials allotment under Section 31.0211, Education Code, for the most recent biennium for which the allotment has been determined.”
“It is the intent of the Legislature that the State Board of Education consider the cost of all instructional materials and technology requirements when determining the disbursement of money to the available school fund and the amount of that disbursement that will be used, in accordance with Section 43.001(d), Education Code, to fund the instructional materials allotment under Section 31.0211, Education Code.
This budget also identified these funds for Instructional Materials and Technology.

The legislature appropriated $1,078,839,560 into the IMA, which is an increase of $19,469,992.
Decreased the amount budgeted for the TxVSN from $4,800,000 to $800,000. Their explanation is that the agency would bring the operations of the TxVSN into TEA.