Proposed Revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 89, Adaptations for Special Populations, Subchapter B, Adult Basic and Secondary Education
(First Reading and Filing Authorization)
November 16, 2012
COMMITTEE ON INSTRUCTION: ACTION
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION: ACTION
SUMMARY: This item presents for first reading and filing authorization proposed revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 89, Adaptations for Special Populations, Subchapter B, Adult Basic and Secondary Education. The proposed revisions would update the rules to reflect statutory changes that provide for competitive procurement of service providers under the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) program required by the Texas Education Code (TEC), §29.2535, as added by Senate Bill 1, 82nd Texas Legislature, 2011.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: TEC, §7.102(c)(16), 29.253, and 29.2535.
EFFECTIVE DATE: The proposed effective date of the proposed revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 89, Subchapter B, would be 20 days after filing as adopted with the Texas Register. Under the TEC, §7.102(f), the State Board of Education (SBOE) must approve the rule action at second reading and final adoption by a vote of two-thirds of its members to specify an effective date earlier than the beginning of the 2013-2014 school year. The earlier effective date would allow the new provisions to take effect prior to the start of the federal program year, which is July 1, 2013.
PREVIOUS BOARD ACTION: A discussion item regarding the proposed revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 89, Subchapter B, was presented to the Committee on Instruction during the July 2012 meeting.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND SIGNIFICANT ISSUES: Senate Bill (SB) 1, 82nd Texas Legislature, First Called Session, 2011, added the TEC, §29.2535, requiring the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to adopt rules to provide for a competitive procurement process to award contracts to service providers of adult education programs. As required by the TEC, §29.2535, the commissioner of education has exercised rulemaking authority to adopt new 19 TAC §89.1301, Service Provider Contracts for Adult Education Programs, which became effective September 20, 2012.
The proposed revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 89, Subchapter B, presented in Attachment II, would update the rules to reflect statutory changes that provide for a competitive procurement of the service provider contracts under the AEFLA and other technical edits, as follows.
Section 89.21, Definitions, would be amended to make a technical edit in paragraph (2) to remove the hyphen in the phrase "federally approved." A technical edit would also be made in paragraph (4) to correct punctuation.
Section 89.29, Allocation of Funds Prior to School Year 2010-2011, would be repealed as it applies only to the timeframe prior to the 2010-2011 school year.
Section 89.30, Allocation of Funds Beginning with School Year 2010-2011, would be amended to add an ending date to the funding allocation process outlined in the section. A new subsection (f) would be added to provide a reference to the commissioner's authority for future allocations. The section title would also be changed to "Allocation of Funds Beginning with School Year 2010-2011 and Ending After School Year 2012-2013."
Section 89.31, Payment of Funds, would be amended in subsection (a) to add an ending date for use of the current formula for allocations and the payment of funds.
Section 89.33, Tuition and Fees, would be amended consistent with commissioner's rule to clarify that tuition and fees for adult education instructional programs may not be charged without specific statutory authorization. The language also specifies that any such generated funds must be used for the adult education instructional program.
Section 89.34, Other Provisions, would be amended to update subsection (b) to reflect current practice and to make language consistent with that found in the commissioner's rule.
Section 89.35, Revocation and Recovery of Funds, would be amended to make a technical correction in subsection (a)(5) to add the word "Agency" to the reference to the TEA.
FISCAL IMPACT: The TEA has determined that there are no additional costs to persons or entities required to comply with the proposed revisions. In addition, there is no direct adverse economic impact for small businesses and microbusinesses; therefore, no regulatory flexibility analysis, specified in Texas Government Code, §2006.002, is required.
PUBLIC AND STUDENT BENEFIT: The proposed revisions would update the rules to reflect statutory changes and ensure that state and federal funding is awarded to the most qualified adult education service providers.
PROCEDURAL AND REPORTING IMPLICATIONS: Beginning in school year 2013-2014, the allocation of state and federal education funds will be awarded through a competitive procurement process as provided by commissioner's rule.
LOCALLY MAINTAINED PAPERWORK REQUIREMENTS: The proposed revisions would have no new locally maintained paperwork requirements for current service providers. Any new service providers would be required to maintain student and program records.
PUBLIC COMMENTS: The official public comment period will begin when the revisions are published as proposed in the Texas Register.
ALTERNATIVES: None.
OTHER COMMENTS AND RELATED ISSUES: A request for a public hearing on the proposal submitted under the Administrative Procedure Act must be received by the commissioner of education not more than 14 calendar days after notice of the proposal has been published in the Texas Register.
COMMISSIONER'S RECOMMENDATION: I recommend that the State Board of Education:
Approve for first reading and filing authorization the proposed revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 89, Adaptations for Special Populations, Subchapter B, Adult Basic and Secondary Education.
Respectfully submitted,
Michael L. Williams
Commissioner of Education
Staff Members Responsible:
Anita Givens, Associate Commissioner
Standards and Programs
Jan Lindsey, Assistant Division Director
Federal and State Education Policy
Gina S. Day, Program Director
Federal and State Education Policy
Attachments:
I. Statutory Citations (PDF, 222KB)
II. Text of Proposed Revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 89, Adaptations for Special Populations, Subchapter B, Adult Basic and Secondary Education (PDF, 34KB)