Enrolled Bill Summary

Senate Bill 1647	Senate Author:  Parker
Effective:  9-1-23	House Sponsor:  Hefner

            Senate Bill 1647 amends the Education Code to revise statutory provisions authorizing a public school district to use a dropout recovery program for the purposes of providing alternative education programs for students at risk of dropping out of school. Among other provisions, the bill provides for the option of using a private or public community‑based education management organization for such purposes, provides for such programs to be offered remotely or through a hybrid of in‑person and remote instruction, and restricts the entities that may operate a dropout recovery education program. The bill also extends the authorization to use a dropout recovery program or organization to an open‑enrollment charter school. The bill requires a dropout recovery program to offer or provide referrals for mental health services to students enrolled in the program and prohibits the program from marketing directly to students enrolled in a traditional education program. The bill authorizes a district or charter school to operate one campus‑based dropout recovery education program for all students in the district or charter school and provides for an administrator or counselor to refer a student to a dropout recovery education program.

Senate Bill 1647 requires a district or charter school to annually post on its website a report on the percentage of students enrolled in each dropout recovery education program who attained certain measurable outcomes. The bill requires the commissioner of education to include a student who successfully completes a course offered through such a program in the computation of the district's or charter school's average daily attendance for funding purposes and provides for a student who completes a remote course offered through such a program to be included in that computation. The bill authorizes an entity that operates a program to administer an applicable statewide standardized test or end‑of‑course test.