Cunningham Voucher Bill Gives Families 90 Percent Of District Money

The text as introduced · 1,763 words

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;

(2) limit:

(A) an education service provider's ability to

determine the methods used to educate the provider's students or to

exercise the provider's religious or institutional values; or

(B) a program participant's ability to determine

the participant's educational content or to exercise the

participant's religious values;

(3) obligate an education service provider or program

participant to act contrary to the provider's or participant's

religious or institutional values, as applicable;

(4) impose any regulation on an education service

provider, vendor of educational products, or program participant

beyond those regulations necessary to enforce the requirements of

the program; or

(5) require as a condition of receiving money

distributed under the program:

(A) an education service provider to modify the

provider's creed, practices, admissions policies, curriculum,

performance standards, employment policies, or assessments; or

(B) a program participant to modify the

participant's creed, practices, curriculum, performance standards,

or assessments.

(c) In a proceeding challenging a rule adopted by a state

agency or officer under this subchapter, the agency or officer has

the burden of proof to establish by clear and convincing evidence

that the rule:

(1) is necessary to implement or enforce the program

as provided by this subchapter;

(2) does not violate this section;

(3) does not impose an undue burden on a program

participant or an education service provider or vendor of

educational products that receives money or seeks to receive money

distributed under the program; and

(4) is the least restrictive means of accomplishing

the purpose of the program while recognizing the independence of an

education service provider to meet the educational needs of

students in accordance with the provider's religious or

institutional values.

Sec. 29.360. GIFTS, GRANTS, AND DONATIONS. The comptroller

may solicit and accept gifts, grants, and donations, other than

federal grants, from any public or private source for the program.

Sec. 29.361. RULES. The comptroller shall adopt rules as

necessary to implement this subchapter.

SECTION 2. This Act applies beginning with the 2026-2027

school year.

SECTION 3. As soon as practicable after the effective date

of this Act, the comptroller of public accounts shall adopt rules

necessary to implement the education savings account program under

Subchapter J, Chapter 29, Education Code, as added by this Act.

SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.