By Hirschi, Hernandez H.B. No. 1150
74R3816 KKA-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the creation of a compact for shared responsibility in
1-3 public schools.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Subchapter Z, Chapter 21, Education Code, is
1-6 amended by adding Section 21.940 to read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 21.940. SHARED RESPONSIBILITY COMPACT. (a) The State
1-8 Board of Education shall develop a model compact for shared
1-9 responsibility that a school district may use to encourage parental
1-10 and student commitment to education. The model compact must
1-11 identify the respective responsibilities of a student, parent,
1-12 teacher, and school principal in the educational process.
1-13 (b) The model compact required by Subsection (a) must
1-14 include provisions stating that:
1-15 (1) the student agrees to:
1-16 (A) attend school daily without tardiness;
1-17 (B) be prepared for class with required
1-18 materials and assignments;
1-19 (C) exhibit respect for other persons;
1-20 (D) obey all school rules, including safety
1-21 rules;
1-22 (E) be open-minded and tolerant of other
1-23 persons;
1-24 (F) be curious and ask questions;
2-1 (G) set goals and work to fulfill them; and
2-2 (H) meet any other term included in the compact
2-3 by the board;
2-4 (2) the parent agrees to:
2-5 (A) recognize that personal involvement of the
2-6 parent in the student's education is a critical part of parental
2-7 responsibility;
2-8 (B) provide the young student with frequent
2-9 opportunities at home to talk, listen, read, and ask questions;
2-10 (C) teach the student to pay attention to
2-11 teachers and obey rules;
2-12 (D) ensure that the student attends school
2-13 regularly without tardiness and ready to learn;
2-14 (E) promptly report and explain student absences
2-15 and tardiness to school officials;
2-16 (F) participate in parent-teacher conferences to
2-17 discuss the student's educational progress and welfare;
2-18 (G) attend parent-teacher workshops to learn
2-19 ways to reinforce development of the student's study skills and
2-20 achievement of specific curriculum objectives at home;
2-21 (H) stay informed about school policies and
2-22 academic requirements of school programs;
2-23 (I) ensure that arrangements are made for the
2-24 student to have lunch each day;
2-25 (J) discuss report cards and school assignments
2-26 with the student;
2-27 (K) advise school personnel of any learning
3-1 problems or conditions that relate to the student's education;
3-2 (L) provide the parent's current home, work, and
3-3 emergency telephone numbers and other related information to school
3-4 personnel;
3-5 (M) be involved in the student's education by
3-6 reviewing the student's homework and showing an interest in the
3-7 student's special projects and extracurricular activities;
3-8 (N) encourage the student to do his or her best;
3-9 (O) help the student set goals and provide
3-10 continued encouragement to meet those goals; and
3-11 (P) meet any other term included in the compact
3-12 by the board;
3-13 (3) each teacher agrees to:
3-14 (A) assist the student in developing
3-15 problem-solving skills;
3-16 (B) teach the student to teach himself or
3-17 herself;
3-18 (C) know the student as an individual;
3-19 (D) notify the student's parent of an unexcused
3-20 absence;
3-21 (E) seek the parent's advice about addressing a
3-22 student's behavioral problem;
3-23 (F) provide individualized instruction suited to
3-24 the student's needs, as much as possible; and
3-25 (G) meet any other term included in the compact
3-26 by the board; and
3-27 (4) the school principal agrees to:
4-1 (A) provide opportunities for parents and
4-2 teachers to jointly develop strategies and activities to support
4-3 linguistic and cultural diversity in the school;
4-4 (B) provide parent-teacher workshops at which
4-5 the parent may learn ways to reinforce development of the student's
4-6 study skills and achievement of specific curriculum objectives at
4-7 home;
4-8 (C) exchange information with the parent about
4-9 school education programs and student progress in reaching
4-10 educational goals;
4-11 (D) schedule not less than one parent-teacher
4-12 conference each semester;
4-13 (E) explore the option of establishing joint
4-14 conferences between the parent, student, and teacher;
4-15 (F) implement programs to educate the parent
4-16 about learning activities and strategies for reinforcing a
4-17 student's education at home;
4-18 (G) establish drop-in hours during which a
4-19 parent may meet with the principal;
4-20 (H) regularly schedule parent-teacher
4-21 gatherings;
4-22 (I) establish a parent hotline to allow the
4-23 parent to receive information about school events;
4-24 (J) establish a parent advisory committee;
4-25 (K) designate an educational partnership
4-26 advocate to serve as a link between the parent and school;
4-27 (L) include the parent in site-based decision
5-1 making;
5-2 (M) provide a safe learning environment by
5-3 enforcing codes of conduct;
5-4 (N) provide a healthy learning environment with
5-5 clean, well-maintained facilities and a registered nurse on site;
5-6 (O) provide fair treatment so that a student is
5-7 not discriminated against on the basis of race, religion, sex, or
5-8 ethnicity; and
5-9 (P) meet any other term included in the compact
5-10 by the board.
5-11 (c) A district that chooses to use the model compact shall,
5-12 at the beginning of the school year:
5-13 (1) submit the proposed compact, signed by the
5-14 student's school principal and each of the student's teachers, to
5-15 each student enrolled in the district and a parent of each student;
5-16 and
5-17 (2) request that each student and parent sign the
5-18 compact and return it to the district.
5-19 (d) In this section, "parent" includes a guardian or other
5-20 person standing in parental relationship.
5-21 SECTION 2. The State Board of Education shall develop the
5-22 model compact required by Section 21.940, Education Code, as added
5-23 by this Act, not later than September 15, 1995.
5-24 SECTION 3. This Act applies beginning with the 1995-1996
5-25 school year.
5-26 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
5-27 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
6-1 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
6-2 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
6-3 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
6-4 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
6-5 passage, and it is so enacted.