TITLE: Relating to reporting by school districts regarding special education legal proceedings in which a certain amount of legal fees has been incurred by the district.

SUMMARY: Relating to reporting by school districts regarding special education legal proceedings in which a certain amount of legal fees has been incurred by the district.

FULL TEXT:
AN ACT relating to reporting by school districts regarding special education legal proceedings in which a certain amount of legal fees has been incurred by the district. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Subchapter Z, Chapter 44, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 44.903 to read as follows: Sec. 44.903. REPORTING ON SPECIAL EDUCATION LAWSUITS. (a) This section applies only to a due process complaint against a school district alleging a violation of federal or state special education laws. (b) Each month, a school district shall post on the district's Internet website and submit to the agency a report regarding each ongoing legal proceeding to which this section applies for which the district's legal fees exceed $10,000, including: (1) the general subject matter of the proceeding; and (2) the total amount of legal fees incurred by the district for the proceeding as of the date on which the report is made. (c) A report required under Subsection (b) may not include personally identifiable student information and must comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g). (d) Each month, the agency shall compile and post on the agency's Internet website the information reported to the agency under Subsection (b) for the preceding month. The information must be both aggregated statewide and disaggregated by school district. (e) The commissioner may adopt rules as necessary to implement this section. SECTION 2. 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.