By: Haley S.B. No. 660
73R1884 CAS-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to evaluating the performance of public schools.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Section 11.272, Education Code, is amended to
1-5 read as follows:
1-6 Sec. 11.272. Excellence Exemptions. (a) Except as provided
1-7 by Subsection (b) of this section, a school <campus or> district
1-8 that is rated exemplary under Section 21.753 of this code is exempt
1-9 from requirements and prohibitions imposed under this code,
1-10 including rules adopted under this code.
1-11 (b) A <school campus or> district is not exempt under this
1-12 section from a prohibition on conduct that constitutes a criminal
1-13 offense. A <school campus or> district is not exempt under this
1-14 section from requirements imposed by federal law or rule, including
1-15 requirements for special education or bilingual education programs.
1-16 Except as provided by Subsection (e) of this section, a <school
1-17 campus or> district is not exempt under this section from a
1-18 requirement or prohibition imposed by state law or rule relating
1-19 to:
1-20 (1) curriculum essential elements, excluding the
1-21 methodology used by a teacher and the time spent by a teacher or a
1-22 student on a particular task or subject;
1-23 (2) restrictions on extracurricular activities;
1-24 (3) health and safety;
2-1 (4) competitive bidding;
2-2 (5) textbook selection;
2-3 (6) elementary school class size limits;
2-4 (7) removal of a disruptive student from the
2-5 classroom;
2-6 (8) suspension or expulsion of a student;
2-7 (9) at risk programs;
2-8 (10) prekindergarten programs;
2-9 (11) minimum graduation requirements; or
2-10 (12) educational employee and educational support
2-11 employee rights and benefits. In this section, "educational
2-12 support employee" means a full-time or part-time school employee
2-13 not defined as a "teacher" by Section 21.201(1) of this code.
2-14 (c) The Central Education Agency shall monitor and evaluate
2-15 deregulation of a <school campus or> district under this section
2-16 and Section 11.273 of this code and report annually on the effect
2-17 of deregulation on student achievement to the State Board of
2-18 Education, the Legislative Education Board, the governor, the
2-19 lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of representatives,
2-20 and the legislature. The report must include a list of the
2-21 exemptions utilized and a review of the effectiveness of the
2-22 waivers and exemptions programs.
2-23 (d) The State Board of Education in considering exemptions
2-24 or waivers shall provide as much regulatory relief as is practical
2-25 and reasonable to <campuses or> districts that are considered high
2-26 performing<, beginning in the 1990-1991 school year>.
2-27 (e) The commissioner may exempt a <an exemplary> school
3-1 campus in an exemplary district from elementary class size limits
3-2 under this section if the school campus submits to the commissioner
3-3 a written plan showing steps that will be taken to ensure that the
3-4 exemption from the class size limits will not be harmful to the
3-5 academic achievement of the students on the school campus. The
3-6 commissioner shall review achievement levels annually. The
3-7 exemption remains in effect until the commissioner determines that
3-8 achievement levels of the campus have declined.
3-9 SECTION 2. Sections 21.753(c) and (d), Education Code, are
3-10 amended to read as follows:
3-11 (c) The Central Education Agency shall rate each campus in a
3-12 district on the basis of the campus's performance on the indicators
3-13 adopted under Section 21.7531 of this code <using the rating
3-14 categories provided for districts under Subsection (a) of this
3-15 section>.
3-16 (d) The accreditation rating of a school district <or
3-17 campus> under this section may not be lowered solely on the basis
3-18 of size.
3-19 SECTION 3. This Act applies beginning with the 1993-1994
3-20 school year.
3-21 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
3-22 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-23 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-24 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-25 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
3-26 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
3-27 passage, and it is so enacted.