Floor Packet Page No. 50
          Amend CSSB 4 as follows:
          (1) In SECTION 1.18 of the bill, strike the introductory
language (house
          committee report, page 15, lines 7-9) and substitute
"Subsection (e), Section
          42.253, Education Code, is amended to read as follows:".
          (2) In SECTION 1.18 of the bill, strike added Section
42.253(e-1), Education
          Code (house committee report, page 16, lines 2-17).
          (3) In SECTION 1.19 of the bill, in amended Section
42.302(a), Education
          Code (house committee report, page 17, line 4), strike
"$24.75" and
          substitute "$24".
          (4) Strike SECTION 1.20 of the bill, amending Section
42.303, Education
          Code (house committee report, page 17, line 24, through
page 19, line 17).
          (5) In SECTION 1.32 of the bill, strike the introductory
language (house
          committee report, page 32, lines 1-3) and substitute
"Subsection (i), Section
          26.08, Tax Code, is amended to read as follows:".
          (6) In SECTION 1.32 of the bill, strike added Sections
26.08(j)-(n), Tax Code
          (house committee report, page 32, line 19, through page
34, line 18).
          (7) Following SECTION 1.34 of the bill (house committee
report, page 35,
          between lines 14 and 15), insert the following new
SECTIONS, appropriately
          numbered:
          SECTION 1.___. (a) A portion of the amounts appropriated
in Article III, H.B.
          No. 1, Acts of the 76th Legislature, Regular Session,
1999, to the Texas
          Education Agency is allocated as provided by this
subsection,
          notwithstanding the provisions of H.B. No. 1:
          (1) for each fiscal year of the biennium ending August
31, 2001, in addition to
          amounts allocated in H.B. No. 1 to Strategy A.2.1.:
Foundation School
          Program, $200 million is allocated to that strategy and
for the fiscal year
          ending August 31, 2001;
          (2) for each fiscal year of the biennium ending August
31, 2001, $200 million
          is allocated to Strategy B.1.1.: Instructional
Excellence, for kindergarten and
          prekindergarten grant programs authorized by Section
29.155, Education
          Code, as added by this Act;
          (3) for each fiscal year of the biennium ending August
31, 2001, $20 million is
          allocated to Strategy B.1.1.: Instructional Excellence,
for implementation of
          an educational component to Head Start, as authorized by
Section 29.156,
          Education Code, as added by this Act;
          (4) for each fiscal year of the biennium ending August
31, 2001, $42.5 million
          in each year of the biennium is allocated to Strategy
B.1.1.: Instructional
          Excellence, for the Basic Skills Programs for High School
Students, as
          authorized by Section 29.086, Education Code, as added by
this Act; and
          (4) for each fiscal year of the biennium ending August
31, 2001, $50 million in
          each year of the biennium is allocated to Strategy
B.1.1.: Instructional
          Excellence, for the Alternative Schools for Certain
Students in Grade Nine, as
          authorized by Section 29.087, Education Code, as added by
this Act.
          (c) For the biennium ending August 31, 2001, the
commissioner of education
          shall distribute amounts appropriated in Article III,
H.B. No. 1, Acts of the 76th
          Legislature, Regular Session, 1999, to the Texas
Education Agency, in
          Article III of that Act, for purposes of the
Instructional Facilities Allotment
          under Chapter 46, Education Code, as follows:
          (1) for the fiscal year ending August 31, 2000, the
commissioner shall use
          $100 million of the funds appropriated in Strategy
A.2.3.: Maximizing School
          Facilities, to assist school districts under the
provisions of Chapter 46,
          Education Code, to issue new debt for public school
facilities, and for the
          fiscal year ending August 31, 2001, the commissioner
shall use $200 million
          for that purpose; and
          (2) the commissioner shall use the remaining
appropriation in Strategy A.2.3.:
          Maximizing School Facilities, to meet the financial
obligation incurred by the
          state under Chapter 46, Education Code, in the biennium
ending August 31,
          1999.
          (c) In using the funds allocated under Subsection (b)(1)
of this section, the
          commmissioner of education shall give priority to school
districts to build
          classrooms and other instructional facilities necessary
to comply with Section
          25.112, Education Code, as amended by this Act.
          SECTION 1.___. It is the intent of the legislature that
not later than
          September 1, 2005, each school district in this state be
able to enroll not
          more than 11 students in a kindergarten, first, second,
third, or fourth grade
          class.
          (8) In SECTION 2.02 of the bill, in the introductory
language (house committee
          report, page 37, line 1), strike "Section 29.086" and
substitute "Sections
          29.086 and 29.087".
          (9) In SECTION 2.02 of the bill, immediately following
added Section 29.086,
          Education Code, insert the following:
          Sec. 29.087. ALTERNATIVE SCHOOLS FOR CERTAIN STUDENTS IN
          GRADE NINE. (a) A school district may apply to the
commissioner for funding
          of an alternative school for students in grade nine who
demonstrate learning
          difficulties and who are at risk of dropping out of
school, as defined by Section
          29.081. A program under this section may not exceed 210
instructional days.
          (b) An alternative school under this section must
emphasize basic skills in
          areas of the required curriculum under Section 28.002 and
must have a
          student/teacher ratio of not less than one teacher for
each 15 students in
          average daily attendance. An alternative school under
this section may be
          operated by a school district or a nonprofit entity
contracting with a school
          district to operate the school.
          (c) The commissioner shall award funds to districts in
accordance with a
          competitive grant process developed by the commissioner.
A grant may be
          made to a consortium of school districts. The criteria by
which the
          commissioner awards a grant must include the quality of
the proposed
          alternative school and the school district's demonstrated
need for the school.
          An approved alternative school must include criteria that
permit measurement
          of student progress, and the district shall:
          (1) annually evaluate the progress of students in the
school; and
          (2) submit the results of the evaluation to the
commissioner at the end of the
          school year.
          (d) The commissioner shall establish minimum levels of
student enrollment
          and standards of student progress required for continued
funding of an
          alternative school under this section. The commissioner
may eliminate
          funding for an alternative school in a subsequent school
year if the program
          fails to achieve sufficient levels of student progress.
          (e) The amount of a grant under this section must take
into account funds
          distributed to the school district under Chapter 42.
          (10) In SECTION 2.04 of the bill, in the introductory
language (house
          committee report, page 39, line 15, strike "Subsection
(d)" and substitute
          "Subsections (b)-(d)".
          (11) In SECTION 2.04 of the bill, preceding amended
Section 25.085(d),
          Education Code, insert the following:
          (b) Unless specifically exempted by Section 25.086, a
child who is at least
          five six years of age, or who is younger than five
six years of age but and
          has previously been enrolled in prekindergarten first
grade, and who has not
          yet reached the child's 18th birthday shall attend
school.
          (c) On enrollment in prekindergarten or kindergarten, a
child shall attend
          school.
          (12) Between SECTIONS 2.04 and 2.05 of the bill (house
committee report,
          page 40, between lines 1 and 2), insert the following new
SECTIONS,
          appropriately numbered:
          SECTION 2.___. Effective September 1, 2000, Section
25.112(a), Education
          Code, is amended to read as follows:
          (a) Except as otherwise authorized by this section, a
school district may not
          enroll more than 20 22 students in a kindergarten,
first, second, third, or
          fourth grade class. That limitation does not apply
during:
          (1) any 12-week period of the school year selected by the
district, in the case
          of a district whose average daily attendance is adjusted
under Section
          42.005(c); or
          (2) the last 12 weeks of any school year in the case of
any other district.
          SECTION 2.___. Effective September 1, 2001, Section
25.112(a), Education
          Code, is amended to read as follows:
          (a) Except as otherwise authorized by this section, a
school district may not
          enroll more than 18 22 students in a kindergarten,
first, second, third, or
          fourth grade class. That limitation does not apply
during:
          (1) any 12-week period of the school year selected by the
district, in the case
          of a district whose average daily attendance is adjusted
under Section
          42.005(c); or
          (2) the last 12 weeks of any school year in the case of
any other district.
          (13) Immediately following SECTION 2.14 of the bill
(house committee report,
          page 52, between lines 15 and 16), insert the following
new SECTION,
          appropriately numbered:
          SECTION 2.___. Section 42.003(c), Education Code, is
amended to read as
          follows:
          (c) A child may be enrolled in the first grade only if
the child is at least six
          years of age at the beginning of the school year of the
district and or has
          been enrolled in the first grade or has successfully
completed kindergarten
          in the public schools in another state before
transferring to a public school in
          this state. This subsection does not affect a student's
advancement under
          Section 28.023.
          (14) Renumber the SECTIONS of the bill accordingly.