Extension of Texas State Plan for
Adult Education and Family Literacy
Texas Education Code – Appendix K
TEXAS EDUCATION CODE
CHAPTER 29. EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS
SUBCHAPTER H. ADULT AND COMMUNITY EDUCATION PROGRAMS
§ 29.251. Definitions
In this subchapter:
(1) "Adult education" means services and instruction provided
below the college level for adults by public local education agencies,
public nonprofit agencies, or community-based organizations.
(2) "Adult" means any individual who is over the age of
compulsory school attendance prescribed by Section 25.085.
(3) "Community-based organization" has the meaning assigned
by 20 U.S.C. Section 1201a, including any future amendments.
(4) "Community education" means the process by which the
citizens in a school district, using the resources and facilities of
the district, organize to support each other and to solve their mutual
educational problems and meet their mutual lifelong needs. Community
education may include:
(A) educational programs, including programs for occupational and
technological skills training, retraining of displaced workers, cultural
awareness, parenting skills education and parental involvement in
school programs, and multilevel adult education and personal growth;
(B) community involvement programs, including programs
for community economic development, school volunteers, partnerships
between schools and businesses, coordination with community agencies,
school-age child care, family and workplace literacy, and community
use of facilities; and
(C) programs for youth enrolled in schools, including programs
for dropout prevention and recovery programs, drug-free school programs,
school-age parenting programs, and academic enhancement.
Added by
Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 260, § 1, eff. May 30, 1995.
§ 29.252. State Role in Adult and Community Education
(a) The agency shall:
(1) provide adequate staffing to develop, administer, and support
a comprehensive statewide adult education program and coordinate
related federal and state programs for education and training of
adults;
(2) develop, implement, and regulate a comprehensive statewide
program for community level education services to meet the special
needs of adults;
(3) develop the mechanism and guidelines for coordination of comprehensive
adult education and related skill training services for adults with
other agencies, both public and private, in planning, developing,
and implementing related programs, including community education
programs;
(4) administer all state and federal funds for adult education and
related skill training in this state, except in programs for which
another entity is specifically authorized to do so under other law;
(5) prescribe and administer standards and accrediting policies for
adult education;
(6) prescribe and administer rules for teacher certification for adult
education;
(7) accept and administer grants, gifts, services, and funds from available
sources for use in adult education; and
(8) adopt or develop and administer a standardized assessment mechanism
for assessing all adult education program participants who need literacy
instruction, adult basic education, or secondary education leading to
an adult high school diploma or the equivalent.
(b) The assessment mechanism prescribed under Subsection (a)(8) must
include an initial basic skills screening instrument and must provide
comprehensive information concerning baseline student skills before
and student progress after participation in an adult education program.
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 260, § 1, eff. May 30, 1995.
Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 761, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
§ 29.253. Provision of Adult Education Programs
Adult education programs shall be provided by public school districts,
public junior colleges, public universities, public nonprofit agencies,
and community-based organizations approved in accordance with state
statutes and rules adopted by the State Board of Education. The programs
must be designed to meet the education and training needs of adults
to the extent possible within available public and private resources.
Bilingual education may be the method of instruction for students
who do not function satisfactorily in English whenever it is appropriate
for their optimum development.
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 260, § 1, eff. May 30, 1995.
§ 29.254. Adult Education Advisory Committee
The State Board of Education may establish an adult education advisory
committee composed of not more than 21 members representing public and
private education, business, labor, minority groups, and the public to
advise the board on needs, priorities, and standards of adult education
programs conducted in accordance with this subchapter.
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 260, § 1, eff. May 30, 1995.
§ 29.255. Funding
(a) Funds shall be appropriated to implement statewide adult basic
education, adult bilingual education, high school equivalency, and
high school credit programs to eliminate illiteracy in this state and
to implement and support a statewide program to meet the total range
of adult needs for adult education, related skill training, and pilot
programs to demonstrate the effectiveness of the community education
concept. The agency shall ensure that public local education agencies,
public nonprofit agencies, and community-based organizations have direct
and equitable access to those funds. An additional sum of money may
be appropriated to the Texas Department of Commerce for the purpose
of skill training in direct support of industrial expansion and start-up,
and those locations, industries, and occupations designated by the
Texas Department of Commerce, when such training is also in support
of the basic purposes of this subchapter. To fulfill the basic purposes
of this subchapter, an additional sum of money may be appropriated
for skill training that is conducted to support the expansion of civilian
employment opportunities on United States military reservations.
(b) TThe agency, in conjunction with the Texas Department of Commerce,
may adopt rules to administer skill training programs for which the
agency is responsible, and the Texas Department of Commerce may adopt
rules to administer skill training programs for which it is responsible.
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 260, § 1, eff. May 30, 1995.
§ 29.256. Reimbursement for Community Education Services
(a) A school district whose governing board elects to provide community
education for all age groups may on application and according to rules
adopted by the agency be reimbursed for those costs from state funds
to the extent authorized by this section.
(b) Only a district that has in the preceding or current year achieved
a level of community education services prescribed by the agency is eligible
for reimbursement under this section. The agency's rules must contain
specific provisions for eligibility and program operation.
(c) The cost to the state shall be paid from the foundation school fund.
(d) The legislature in the General Appropriations Act shall set a limit
on the amount of funds that may be expended under this section each year.
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 260, § 1, eff. May 30, 1995.
Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1071, § 4, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
§ 29.257. Community Education Development Projects
(a) The legislature may appropriate money from the foundation school
fund to the agency for developing and implementing community education
projects. The agency shall actively seek gifts, grants, or other donations
for purposes related to community education development projects, unless
the acceptance is prohibited by other law. Money received under this
subsection shall be deposited in the account established under Subsection
(b) and may be appropriated only for the purpose for which the money
was given.
(b) The community education development account is created as a dedicated
account in the foundation school fund in the state treasury. The account
shall consist of community education related gifts, grants, and donations
and shall be administered by the agency.
(c) Subject to legislative appropriation and except as provided by Subsection
(g), a school district to which the agency awards money for a community
education development project is entitled to receive money for a period
of three years. After that period, a project must be funded wholly from
local sources. State funding under this section may not exceed:
(1) $50,000 for the first year of a project;
(2) $35,000 for the second year of a project; or
(3) $20,000 for the third year of a project.
(d) The State Board of Education by rule shall establish procedures
for distributing community education development money to school districts.
The procedures must include a statewide competitive process by which
the agency, in accordance with procedures adopted by board rule, evaluates
applications for community education development money and awards money
to the districts whose projects the agency determines have the greatest
merit. A school district may seek review of an agency determination regarding
the award of money only in accordance with an administrative review process
adopted by board rule. A school district may not seek judicial review
of an agency determination.
(e) An application for funding under this section must include:
(1) a resolution adopted by the board of trustees of the school district
adopting a particular community education development project plan;
(2) in accordance with rules adopted by the State Board of Education,
a description of:
(A) the objectives of the proposed project, including, if appropriate,
quantitative targets for the objectives; and
(B) the particular means by which the objectives are to be achieved;
(3) the estimated funding requirements and the data or analysis used
to prepare the estimate;
(4) a statement outlining the manner in which the proposed project achieves
goals for community education and complies with the requirements of this
section;
(5) a statement of the manner in which the project is to be funded after
the third year;
(6) a provision for a survey of community education needs in the district
that:
(A) incorporates the objectives of community education;
(B) is completed and analyzed by the district in the first year of the
project; and
(C) adheres to statistical techniques recognized as valid by professional
statisticians;
(7) a provision for the maximum efficient use of existing school facilities
in the first year of the project;
(8) a provision for the establishment of an advisory committee of at
least 15 members who:
(A) are selected without regard to race or sex;
(B) are selected to reflect persons from the local business community,
governmental agencies, public and private nonprofit educational interests,
parents, and the general public; and
(C) serve without compensation; and
(9) a designation of a district community education administrator whose
primary responsibility is the implementation and supervision of the community
education program.
(f) The agency shall monitor each project awarded money under this section
in accordance with rules adopted by the State Board of Education. The
agency shall evaluate whether the project has satisfactorily carried
out the district's objectives as set out in the community education project
plan. The board by rule may provide a process for amending the plan.
(g) A school district is not entitled to funding for any year of a project
for which:
(1) the district did not apply for funding; or
(2) the agency suspends the funding based on the agency's determination
that the district has failed to satisfactorily implement the project's
objectives.
(h) The State Board of Education by rule shall provide for an administrative
process for the suspension of funding under Subsection (g)(2). The rules
must be consistent with Chapter 2001, Government Code.
(i) The State Board of Education may adopt rules necessary to implement
and enforce this section, including rules relating to financial audits
of school districts that receive money under this section. Rules adopted
under this section by the State Board of Education may not permit the
board or the agency to waive any provision of this section.
(j) The agency may not use more than five percent of the funds appropriated
for the projects under this section for the agency's administration of
this section.
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 260, § 1, eff. May 30, 1995.
Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1071, § 5, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
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