The text as introduced · 1,238 words
89R5187 GP-F
By: Bucy
H.B. No. 1813
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a parental right to information concerning a public
school special education program and certain requirements for
persons serving as special education representatives and hearing
officers at impartial due process hearings.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 26.0081, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as
follows:
(a) The agency shall produce and provide to school districts
sufficient copies of a comprehensive, easily understood document
that explains the process by which an individualized education
program is developed for a student in a special education program
and the rights and responsibilities of a parent concerning the
process. The document must include information :
(1) necessary for a parent [ needs ] to effectively
participate in an admission, review, and dismissal committee
meeting for the parent's child ;
(2) regarding the right to representation by an
attorney or other representative in a special education due process
hearing under Section 29.0162;
(3) regarding how to access the Internet website
listing individuals eligible to serve as a representative under
Section 29.0165(g); and
(4) regarding how to file a consumer complaint related
to the service provided by an individual who is eligible to serve as
a non-attorney representative under Section 29.0162(a)(2) or
29.0165 and accepts payment for services from a parent .
(a-1) The agency shall include the information described by
Subsections (a)(2) through (4) in the notice of procedural
safeguards provided to a parent or legal guardian under 20 U.S.C.
Section 1415(b).
SECTION 2. Sections 29.0162(b) and (d), Education Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(b) The commissioner by rule shall adopt additional
qualifications and requirements for a representative for purposes
of Subsection (a)(2). The rules must:
(1) prohibit an individual from being a representative
under Subsection (a)(2) opposing a school district :
(A) if the individual has been determined to have
engaged in a false, misleading, or deceptive act or practice
actionable under Subchapter E, Chapter 17, Business & Commerce
Code; or
(B) if:
(i) [ (A) ] the individual has prior
employment experience with the district; and
(ii) [ (B) ] the district raises an objection
to the individual serving as a representative;
(2) include requirements that the representative have
knowledge of:
(A) special education due process rules,
hearings, and procedure; and
(B) federal and state special education laws;
(3) require, if the representative receives monetary
compensation from a person for representation in an impartial due
process hearing, that the representative agree to abide by a
[ voluntary ] code of ethics and professional conduct during the
period of representation; [ and ]
(4) require, if the representative receives monetary
compensation from a person for representation in an impartial due
process hearing, that the representative enter into a written
agreement for representation with the person who is the subject of
the special education due process hearing that includes a process
for resolving any disputes between the representative and the
person ; and
(5) require, if the representative is not a parent of
or person with a familial relationship with the student being
represented in an impartial due process hearing, that the
representative complete a special education law training course in
accordance with Section 29.0165 before the hearing .
(d) The agency is not required to license or in any way other
than as provided by Subsection (b) or Section 29.0165 regulate
representatives described by Subsection (a)(2) in a special
education impartial due process hearing.
SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 29.0165 to read as follows:
Sec. 29.0165. SPECIAL EDUCATION LAW TRAINING COURSE. (a)
The agency shall collaborate with regional education service
centers to develop and offer a training course on special education
law for persons serving as non-attorney representatives for
students or as hearing officers for impartial due process hearings.
The course:
(1) must include information on:
(A) state and federal laws, rules, and
regulations related to special education;
(B) state and federal rules and procedures that
apply to due process hearings, including 34 C.F.R. Sections 300.507
through 300.515 and 300.532;
(C) the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g); and
(D) accepted standards for ethics; and
(2) may include a final exam, as approved by the
agency.
(b) As soon as practicable after the conclusion of each
legislative session, the agency shall collaborate with regional
education service centers to develop and offer a biennial update
training course to persons who have completed the training under
Subsection (a).
(c) The agency shall offer to individuals who have
demonstrated a financial need options to take the training courses
described by Subsections (a) and (b) for free or at a discounted
price.
(d) A person may accept payment from a student's parent to
serve as a non-attorney representative for a student in an
impartial due process hearing brought under 20 U.S.C. Section 1415
only if the person has:
(1) completed the training described by Subsection (a)
or another training course developed or adopted by the agency;
(2) if applicable, completed the most recent biennial
update training described by Subsection (b) or another update
training course developed or adopted by the agency not later than
one year after the update training is offered;
(3) not engaged in a false, misleading, or deceptive
act or practice actionable under Subchapter E, Chapter 17, Business &
Commerce Code; and
(4) presented proof of the person's eligibility to
serve as a non-attorney representative under this subsection to the
student's parent.
(e) A school district employee may request a non-attorney
representative to attest to the employee's eligibility to serve as
a non-attorney representative under Subsection (d).
(f) The agency may use any federal funds received under Part
B, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (20 U.S.C.
Section 1411 et seq.), to administer this section.
(g) The agency shall post on the agency's Internet website a
list of:
(1) individuals who:
(A) are eligible to serve as a representative
under Section 29.0162(a)(2) or Subsection (d) of this section; and
(B) request to be included on the list; and
(2) training courses developed or adopted for purposes
of Subsection (d).
(h) Each school district shall post on the school district's
Internet website the list of training courses described by
Subsection (g)(2).
SECTION 4. (a) As soon as practicable after the effective
date of this Act:
(1) the commissioner of education, in collaboration
with regional education service centers, as appropriate, shall
adopt rules necessary to implement the changes in law made by this
Act; and
(2) the Texas Education Agency, in collaboration with
regional education service centers, shall develop the special
education law training course required by Section 29.0165,
Education Code, as added by this Act.
(b) The commissioner of education shall adopt rules to
implement the training requirements under Section 29.0162(b)(5),
Education Code, and Section 29.0165, Education Code, as added by
this Act, not later than one year after the agency has developed the
special education law training course as required by Subsection
(a)(2) of this section.
SECTION 5. 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 September 1, 2025.
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