1-1     By:  Raymond (Senate Sponsor - Ellis)                 H.B. No. 1640

 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House May 5, 1997;

 1-3     May 6, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on

 1-4     Education; May 16, 1997, reported adversely, with favorable

 1-5     Committee Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 8, Nays 0;

 1-6     May 16, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-7     COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 1640                    By:  West

 1-8                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-9                                   AN ACT

1-10     relating to assessment of adult education programs and program

1-11     participants.

1-12           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

1-13           SECTION 1.  Section 29.252, Education Code, is amended to

1-14     read as follows:

1-15           Sec. 29.252.  STATE ROLE IN ADULT AND COMMUNITY EDUCATION.

1-16     (a)  The agency shall:

1-17                 (1)  provide adequate staffing to develop, administer,

1-18     and support a comprehensive statewide adult education program and

1-19     coordinate related federal and state programs for education and

1-20     training of adults;

1-21                 (2)  develop, implement, and regulate a comprehensive

1-22     statewide program for community level education services to meet

1-23     the special needs of adults;

1-24                 (3)  develop the mechanism and guidelines for

1-25     coordination of comprehensive adult education and related skill

1-26     training services for adults with other agencies, both public and

1-27     private, in planning, developing, and implementing related

1-28     programs, including community education programs;

1-29                 (4)  administer all state and federal funds for adult

1-30     education and related skill training in this state, except in

1-31     programs for which another entity is specifically authorized to do

1-32     so under other law;

1-33                 (5)  prescribe and administer standards and accrediting

1-34     policies for adult education;

1-35                 (6)  prescribe and administer rules for teacher

1-36     certification for adult education; [and]

1-37                 (7)  accept and administer grants, gifts, services, and

1-38     funds from available sources for use in adult education; and

1-39                 (8)  adopt or develop and administer a standardized

1-40     assessment mechanism for assessing all adult education program

1-41     participates who need literacy instruction, adult basic education,

1-42     or secondary education leading to an adult high school diploma or

1-43     the equivalent.

1-44           (b)  The assessment mechanism prescribed under Subsection

1-45     (a)(8) must include an initial basic skills screening instrument

1-46     and must provide comprehensive information concerning baseline

1-47     student skills before and student progress after participation in

1-48     an adult education program.

1-49           SECTION 2.  (a)  Not later than September 15, 1997, the Texas

1-50     Education Agency shall complete development of the initial basic

1-51     skills screening instrument component of the standardized

1-52     assessment mechanism prescribed under Section 29.252, Education

1-53     Code, as amended by this Act.  Not later than January 1, 1998, the

1-54     Texas Education Agency shall implement the initial basic skills

1-55     screening instrument component.

1-56           (b)  Not later than July 1, 1998, the Texas Education Agency

1-57     shall complete development of the baseline student skills

1-58     assessment component of the standardized assessment mechanism

1-59     prescribed under Section 29.252, Education Code, as amended by this

1-60     Act.  Not later than September 1, 1998, the Texas Education Agency

1-61     shall implement the baseline student skills assessment component.

1-62           (c)  Not later than August 1, 1999, the Texas Education

1-63     Agency shall complete development of the student progress

1-64     assessment component of the standardized assessment mechanism under

 2-1     Section 29.252, Education Code, as amended by this Act.  Not later

 2-2     than September 1, 1999, the Texas Education Agency shall implement

 2-3     the student progress assessment component.

 2-4           SECTION 3.  Not later than September 1, 1998, the Texas

 2-5     Education Agency shall develop a comprehensive management

 2-6     information system to measure the progress of and results achieved

 2-7     by adult education programs by collecting individual student data

 2-8     concerning students in adult education programs, including

 2-9     assessment data.  The management information system must be

2-10     compatible with any related system used by the Texas Workforce

2-11     Commission.

2-12           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-13     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-14     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

2-15     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

2-16     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,

2-17     and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its

2-18     passage, and it is so enacted.

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