Sec. 48.118.  RURAL PATHWAY EXCELLENCE PARTNERSHIP (R-PEP) ALLOTMENT AND OUTCOMES BONUS.  (a)  For each full-time equivalent student in average daily attendance in grades 9 through 12 in a college or career pathway offered through a partnership under the Rural Pathway Excellence Partnership (R-PEP) program under Section 29.912, a school district is entitled to an allotment equal to the basic allotment, or, if applicable, the sum of the basic allotment and the allotment under Section 48.101 to which the district is entitled, multiplied by:
(1)  1.15 if the student is educationally disadvantaged; or
(2)  1.11 if the student is not educationally disadvantaged.
(b)  Each year, the commissioner shall determine for each school district the minimum number of annual graduates of a college or career pathway described by Subsection (a) in each cohort described by Section 48.110(b) who would have to obtain not later than five years after high school graduation a postsecondary credential of value, as determined by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board based on analyses of wages and costs associated with the credential, including a degree, certificate, or other credential from credit and noncredit programs that equip students for continued learning and greater earnings in the state economy, in order for the district to qualify for an outcomes bonus under Subsection (c).
(c)  In addition to the allotment under Subsection (a), for each annual graduate in a cohort described by Subsection (b) who obtains a postsecondary credential of value in excess of the minimum number of students determined for the applicable district cohort under Subsection (b), a school district is entitled to an annual outcomes bonus of:
(1)  if the annual graduate is educationally disadvantaged, $1,500;
(2)  if the annual graduate is not educationally disadvantaged, $750; and
(3)  if the annual graduate is enrolled in a special education program under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, $1,500, regardless of whether the annual graduate is educationally disadvantaged.
(d)  A school district is entitled to an outcomes bonus under each subdivision in Subsection (c) for which an annual graduate qualifies.
(e)  A school district may receive funding for a student under this section and any other section for which the student qualifies. At least 80 percent of funds allocated under this section must be spent as provided in the budget adopted by the board of the coordinating entity.
(f)  The total amount of state funding for allotments and outcomes bonuses under this section may not exceed $5 million per year.  If the total amount of allotments and outcomes bonuses to which school districts are entitled under this section exceeds the amount permitted under this subsection, the agency shall allocate state funding to districts under this section in the following order:
(1)  allotments under Subsection (a) for which school districts participating in partnerships prioritized under Section 29.912(h) are eligible;
(2)  allotments under Subsection (a) for which school districts that entered into a memorandum of understanding or letter of commitment regarding a multidistrict pathway partnership, as defined by commissioner rule, before May 1, 2023, are eligible;
(3)  allotments under Subsection (a) for which school districts that have entered into a performance agreement under Section 29.912 with a coordinating entity that is an institution of higher education, as defined by Section 61.003, are eligible;
(4)  allotments under Subsection (a) for which school districts with the highest percentage of students who are educationally disadvantaged, in descending order, are eligible; and
(5)  outcomes bonuses under Subsection (c) for which school districts with the highest percentage of students who are educationally disadvantaged, in descending order, are eligible.
Added by Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 325 (H.B. 2209), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2023.