By:  McCoulskey                                       H.B. No. 2465
       73R1881 CAS-D
                                 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
    1-1                                AN ACT
    1-2  relating to accelerated educational programs for students in
    1-3  at-risk situations.
    1-4        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-5        SECTION 1.  Sections 11.205(c) and (d), Education Code, are
    1-6  amended to read as follows:
    1-7        (c)  The agency shall require each district to designate one
    1-8  or more employees to serve as an at-risk-coordinator.  The number
    1-9  of coordinators required shall correspond to the size of the
   1-10  district.  Each at-risk-coordinator shall collect and disseminate
   1-11  data regarding dropouts in the district and shall coordinate the
   1-12  program in the district for students who are in situations that
   1-13  indicate a <at> high risk of dropping out of school.  In
   1-14  determining whether a student is in a high-risk situation <at high
   1-15  risk of dropping out of school>, in addition to the student's
   1-16  academic performance a school district shall consider whether the
   1-17  student is adjudged delinquent, abuses drugs or alcohol, is a
   1-18  student of limited  English proficiency, receives accelerated
   1-19  <compensatory or remedial> instruction, is sexually, physically, or
   1-20  psychologically abused, is pregnant or is a parent, is a slow
   1-21  learner, enrolls late in the school year, stops attending school
   1-22  before the end of the school year, is homeless, is an
   1-23  underachiever, is unmotivated, or exhibits other characteristics
   1-24  that indicate that the student is at high risk of dropping out of
    2-1  school.  At-risk-coordinators should have access to existing
    2-2  Central Education Agency training programs relating to students in
    2-3  high-risk situations <who are considered "at risk" of dropping out
    2-4  of school>.  Where practical, local school districts may develop
    2-5  their own training programs to meet this need.  Each school year a
    2-6  district's at-risk-coordinators shall prepare a dropout reduction
    2-7  plan for the district that identifies the number of students in the
    2-8  district who dropped out in the preceding regular school term, the
    2-9  number of students in grades 1 through 12 who are in situations
   2-10  that indicate a high <at> risk of dropping out, the district's
   2-11  dropout rate goal for that school year, and the dropout reduction
   2-12  programs, resources, and strategies to be used during the school
   2-13  year.  The plan must be reviewed and approved by the district's
   2-14  board of trustees and shall be available to the public.  Districts
   2-15  are not required to prepare a dropout reduction plan if fewer than
   2-16  five percent of their students are identified as being in at-risk
   2-17  situations <"at risk" of dropping out of school> unless the
   2-18  district had 100 or more students drop out of school in the
   2-19  preceding school year.
   2-20        (d)  The agency shall include <Not later than January 31 of
   2-21  each odd-numbered year the agency shall submit a report to the
   2-22  governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of
   2-23  representatives that includes:>
   2-24              <(1)  the current dropout rate of students in grade
   2-25  levels seven through 12 in the aggregate and by grade level;>
   2-26              <(2)  projected cross-sectional and longitudinal
   2-27  dropout rates for each of those grades for the next five years,
    3-1  assuming no action is taken by the state to reduce the rate; and>
    3-2              <(3)>  a systematic plan for reducing <the> projected
    3-3  cross-sectional and longitudinal dropout rates to not more than
    3-4  five percent as part of the agency's strategic plan required by
    3-5  Article 6252-31, Revised Statutes, as added by Section 1, Chapter
    3-6  384, Acts of the 72nd Legislature, Regular Session, 1991.
    3-7        SECTION 2.  Section 11.27(b), Education Code, is amended to
    3-8  read as follows:
    3-9        (b)  Innovative programs that may be approved under this
   3-10  section include, but are not limited to, programs relating to:
   3-11              (1)  school year restructuring;
   3-12              (2)  alternative learning environments;
   3-13              (3)  parental literacy;
   3-14              (4)  decentralization of organizational decisions;
   3-15              (5)  instructional technology;
   3-16              (6)  student and parental choice among public schools;
   3-17              (7)  child care;
   3-18              (8)  early childhood education;
   3-19              (9)  an extended school day;
   3-20              (10)  teacher and administrator development;
   3-21              (11)  continuous progress education;
   3-22              (12)  student-teacher ratios below 22:1 in elementary
   3-23  grades;
   3-24              (13)  use of elementary school guidance counselors,
   3-25  social workers, and other personnel in successful dropout
   3-26  prevention programs;
   3-27              (14)  career development for students;
    4-1              (15)  bilingual training;
    4-2              (16)  the generation of more effective parental
    4-3  involvement with the schools;
    4-4              (17)  school-age latch-key children;
    4-5              (18)  volunteer efforts with the private sector;
    4-6              (19)  coordination of school activities with community
    4-7  health and human services programs and other community resources;
    4-8              (20)  magnet schools;
    4-9              (21)  interdisciplinary curriculum;
   4-10              (22)  peer tutoring;
   4-11              (23)  counseling of families of <at-risk> students in
   4-12  situations indicating a high risk that the students will drop out
   4-13  of school; and
   4-14              (24)  comprehensive coordination with health and human
   4-15  service delivery systems.
   4-16        SECTION 3.  The heading of Section 16.152, Education Code, is
   4-17  amended to read as follows:
   4-18        Sec. 16.152.  ACCELERATED <COMPENSATORY> EDUCATION ALLOTMENT.
   4-19        SECTION 4.  Sections 16.152(a), (c), (d), (e), (f), and (k),
   4-20  Education Code, are amended to read as follows:
   4-21        (a)  For each student who is educationally disadvantaged or
   4-22  who is a nonhandicapped student residing in a residential placement
   4-23  facility in a district in which the student's parent or legal
   4-24  guardian does not reside, a district is entitled to an annual
   4-25  allotment equal to the adjusted basic allotment multiplied by 0.2,
   4-26  and by 2.41 for each full-time equivalent student who is in an
   4-27  accelerated instruction <a remedial> and support program under
    5-1  Section 21.557 of this code because the student is pregnant.
    5-2        (c)  Funds allocated under this section, other than an
    5-3  indirect cost allotment established under State Board of Education
    5-4  rule, which shall not exceed 15 percent, must be used in providing
    5-5  accelerated instruction <remedial and compensatory education>
    5-6  programs under Section 21.557 of this code, and the district must
    5-7  account for the expenditure of state funds by program and by
    5-8  campus.  Funds allocated under this section, other than the
    5-9  indirect cost allotment, shall only be expended to improve and
   5-10  enhance programs and services funded under the regular education
   5-11  program.
   5-12        (d)  The Central Education Agency shall evaluate the
   5-13  effectiveness of accelerated instruction <remedial> and support
   5-14  programs provided under Section 21.557 of this code for students in
   5-15  situations that indicate a high <at> risk of dropping out of
   5-16  school.
   5-17        (e)  A school district in which the actual dropout rate in
   5-18  any school year exceeds the state's dropout rate goal for that year
   5-19  under Subsection (a) of Section 11.205 of this code shall, for the
   5-20  school year immediately following that school year, allocate a
   5-21  percentage of the district's allotment under this section to
   5-22  accelerated instruction <remedial> and support programs under
   5-23  Section 21.557 of this code for students in situations that
   5-24  indicate a high <at> risk of dropping out of school.  The
   5-25  percentage allocated to those programs must be at least equal to
   5-26  the state's actual dropout rate for the preceding year.  The
   5-27  programs must be programs authorized by the State Board of
    6-1  Education.  The Central Education Agency shall provide to the
    6-2  district technical assistance in reducing the district's dropout
    6-3  rate.  At the request of a district, the commissioner of education
    6-4  may exempt the district from the requirements of this section if
    6-5  the commissioner finds that special circumstances in the district
    6-6  merit the exemption.
    6-7        (f)  The commissioner of education may:
    6-8              (1)  retain a portion of the total amount allotted
    6-9  under Subsection (a) of this section that the commissioner
   6-10  considers appropriate to finance pilot programs under Section
   6-11  11.191 of this code and to finance intensive accelerated <remedial>
   6-12  instruction programs and study guides provided under Sections
   6-13  21.552(b) and (c) of this code; and
   6-14              (2)  reduce each district's allotment proportionately.
   6-15        (k)  The commissioner of education shall coordinate the funds
   6-16  withheld under Subsection (j) of this section and any other funds
   6-17  available for the program and shall distribute those funds.  To
   6-18  receive funds for the program, a school district must apply to the
   6-19  commissioner.  The commissioner shall give a preference to the
   6-20  districts that apply that have the highest concentration of
   6-21  <at-risk> students in situations indicating a high risk that the
   6-22  students will drop out of school.  For each school year that a
   6-23  school district receives funds under this section, the district
   6-24  shall allocate an amount of local funds for school guidance and
   6-25  counseling programs that is equal to or greater than the amount of
   6-26  local funds that the school district allocated for that purpose
   6-27  during the preceding school year.
    7-1        SECTION 5.  Sections 21.557 and 21.558, Education Code, are
    7-2  amended to read as follows:
    7-3        Sec. 21.557.  ACCELERATED <COMPENSATORY AND REMEDIAL>
    7-4  INSTRUCTION.  (a)  Each school district shall utilize the student
    7-5  performance data resulting from the basic skills assessment
    7-6  instruments and achievement tests administered pursuant to this
    7-7  subchapter to design and implement appropriate accelerated
    7-8  <compensatory or remedial> instructional services for students in
    7-9  the district's schools.
   7-10        (b)  Each district shall provide accelerated <remedial>
   7-11  instruction to a student enrolled in the district who has taken the
   7-12  secondary exit level assessment instrument and has not performed
   7-13  satisfactorily on each section.  The accelerated <remedial>
   7-14  instruction must satisfy standards adopted by the State Board of
   7-15  Education.
   7-16        (c)  Each school district shall provide an accelerated
   7-17  instruction <a remedial> and support program for any student:
   7-18              (1)  whose achievement test score is below a standard
   7-19  established by the State Board of Education; or
   7-20              (2)  who is in a situation indicating a high <at> risk
   7-21  of dropping out of school.
   7-22        (d)  Each district shall submit an annual report to the
   7-23  commissioner of education which describes how the instructional
   7-24  services are provided by campus.
   7-25        (e)  An accelerated instruction <A remedial> and support
   7-26  program for students in at-risk situations <at risk of dropping out
   7-27  of school> must include an evaluative mechanism that documents the
    8-1  effectiveness of the program in reducing the dropout rate and in
    8-2  increasing achievement in the categories of students listed in
    8-3  Subsection (f) of this section.
    8-4        (f)  For the purposes of this section, "student in an at-risk
    8-5  situation <at risk of dropping out of school>" includes:
    8-6              (1)  each student in grade levels seven through 12 who
    8-7  is under 21 years of age and who:
    8-8                    (A)  was not advanced from one grade level to the
    8-9  next two or more school years;
   8-10                    (B)  has mathematics or reading skills that are
   8-11  two or more years below grade level;
   8-12                    (C)  did not maintain an average equivalent to 70
   8-13  on a scale of 100 in two or more courses during a semester, or is
   8-14  not maintaining such an average in two or more courses in the
   8-15  current semester, and is not expected to graduate within four years
   8-16  of the date the student begins ninth grade; or
   8-17                    (D)  did not perform satisfactorily on an
   8-18  assessment instrument administered under this subchapter in the
   8-19  seventh, ninth, or twelfth grade;
   8-20              (2)  each student in prekindergarten through grade
   8-21  level six who:
   8-22                    (A)  did not perform satisfactorily on a
   8-23  readiness test or assessment instrument administered at the
   8-24  beginning of the school year; or
   8-25                    (B)  did not perform satisfactorily on an
   8-26  assessment instrument administered under this subchapter in the
   8-27  third or fifth grade;
    9-1              (3)  each student, regardless of grade level, who:
    9-2                    (A)  is homeless;
    9-3                    (B)  is pregnant or is a parent;
    9-4                    (C)  is a student of limited English proficiency,
    9-5  as defined by Section 21.452 of this code;
    9-6                    (D)  is sexually, physically, or psychologically
    9-7  abused;
    9-8                    (E)  engages in conduct described by Section
    9-9  51.03(a), Family Code; or
   9-10                    (F)  is otherwise in an at-risk situation
   9-11  identified <as at risk> under rules adopted by the State Board of
   9-12  Education; and
   9-13              (4) <(3)>  each <nonhandicapped> student who has no
   9-14  physical or mental disability and who resides in a residential
   9-15  placement facility in a district in which the student's parent or
   9-16  legal guardian does not reside, including a detention facility,
   9-17  substance abuse treatment facility, emergency shelter, psychiatric
   9-18  hospital, halfway house, or foster family group home.
   9-19        (g)  The State Board of Education shall adopt rules under
   9-20  which a school district may use a  private or public
   9-21  community-based dropout recovery education program to provide
   9-22  alternative education programs for students in at-risk situations
   9-23  <at risk of dropping out of school>.  The rules shall include
   9-24  provisions for students in these programs relating to grades and
   9-25  course credit, modifications of instructional time requirements,
   9-26  and methods of evaluating subject mastery.  The Central Education
   9-27  Agency shall develop guidelines and procedures necessary to assist
   10-1  school districts in implementing these rules.
   10-2        (h)  The <Effective September 1, 1991, the> State Board of
   10-3  Education shall adopt rules that enable school districts to enroll
   10-4  persons who have dropped out of school but are entitled to attend
   10-5  the district's school under Section 21.031(b) of this code in
   10-6  alternative education programs operated under Subsection (g) of
   10-7  this section.  The rules shall include provisions for including the
   10-8  attendance in the program of those persons in the computation of
   10-9  the district's average daily attendance for funding purposes.
  10-10        (i)  Each school district shall maintain on file and
  10-11  expeditiously make available on the request of a member of the
  10-12  general public a copy of the report describing the district's
  10-13  overall accelerated instruction <compensatory education> program
  10-14  for educationally disadvantaged students.  The report must include
  10-15  sufficient detail to describe the overall accelerated instruction
  10-16  <compensatory education> program offered on each campus and the
  10-17  activities and services provided on each campus from each funding
  10-18  source.  <The commissioner of education shall develop model report
  10-19  formats that districts may use for the report.  The model formats
  10-20  must be designed to be easily understood by a member of the general
  10-21  public and may not be overly burdensome for districts to prepare.
  10-22  The commissioner shall submit the model formats to the Legislative
  10-23  Education Board for comment and may not distribute the formats
  10-24  until the commissioner has received and considered those comments.>
  10-25  Each school district shall prepare and periodically update the
  10-26  description of the district's accelerated instruction <compensatory
  10-27  education> program to accurately reflect the programs and services
   11-1  currently provided to educationally disadvantaged students.
   11-2        Sec. 21.558.  Cost.  The cost of preparing, administering, or
   11-3  grading the assessment instruments shall be paid from the
   11-4  accelerated education allotment <compensatory aid> provided by
   11-5  Section 16.152 of this code, and each district shall bear the cost
   11-6  on the basis of the number of students in the district to whom the
   11-7  instruments are administered.  If a district does not receive an
   11-8  accelerated education allotment <allocation of compensatory aid>,
   11-9  the commissioner of education shall subtract the cost from the
  11-10  district's other foundation school fund allocations.
  11-11        SECTION 6.  Section 21.753(b), Education Code, is amended to
  11-12  read as follows:
  11-13        (b)  The criteria in the accreditation rules must include
  11-14  consideration of:
  11-15              (1)  goals and objectives of the district;
  11-16              (2)  compliance with statutory requirements and
  11-17  requirements imposed by rule of the State Board of Education under
  11-18  statutory authority;
  11-19              (3)  adequate performance under the indicators adopted
  11-20  under Section 21.7531 of this code;
  11-21              (4)  the relation between the academic excellence
  11-22  indicators adopted by the board under Section 21.7531 of this code
  11-23  and the campus performance objectives established under Section
  11-24  21.7532 of this code, including the manner in which the campus
  11-25  performance objectives were established and the progress of the
  11-26  campus in meeting the objectives;
  11-27              (5)  the quality of learning on each of the district's
   12-1  campuses based on indicators including scores on achievement tests;
   12-2              (6)  the quality of the district's appraisal of teacher
   12-3  performance and of administrator performance;
   12-4              (7)  the effectiveness of district principals as
   12-5  instructional leaders;
   12-6              (8)  the effectiveness of the district's campuses on
   12-7  the basis of the most current criteria identified by research on
   12-8  effective schools;
   12-9              (9)  the fulfillment of curriculum requirements;
  12-10              (10)  the effectiveness of the district's programs in
  12-11  special education based on the Central Education Agency's most
  12-12  recent compliance review of the district and programs for special
  12-13  populations;
  12-14              (11)  the effectiveness of teacher in-service training;
  12-15              (12)  the effective use of technology to enhance
  12-16  student achievement;
  12-17              (13)  the effectiveness of the district's accelerated
  12-18  instruction <remedial> and support programs under Section 21.557 of
  12-19  this code for students in at-risk situations <at risk of dropping
  12-20  out of school>;
  12-21              (14)  the effectiveness of the district's dropout
  12-22  prevention and recovery programs;
  12-23              (15)  efficient allocation of available resources;
  12-24              (16)  the presence and quality of comprehensive and
  12-25  developmental guidance and counseling programs on campuses; and
  12-26              (17)  the quality and effectiveness of the district's
  12-27  vocational education program.
   13-1        SECTION 7.  Section 21.908(c), Education Code, is amended to
   13-2  read as follows:
   13-3        (c)  A district's liaison officers and attendance officers,
   13-4  the local juvenile board and its advisory council, and local law
   13-5  enforcement officers shall cooperate to provide services to
   13-6  students in situations indicating a high risk that the students
   13-7  will drop <at risk of dropping> out of school.
   13-8        SECTION 8.  This Act applies beginning with the 1993-1994
   13-9  school year.
  13-10        SECTION 9.  The importance of this legislation and the
  13-11  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
  13-12  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
  13-13  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
  13-14  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
  13-15  and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
  13-16  passage, and it is so enacted.