HBA-PDH H.B. 1046 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1046 By: Sadler Public Education 4/20/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE H.B. 1046 amends the Education Code to include certain reading instruments and accelerated reading instruction programs among the provisions to which an open-enrollment charter school is subject, and provides that certain students enrolled in a school district must attend certain accelerated reading instruction programs to which they are assigned, unless exempted. This bill also requires the superintendent of each school district to report, in writing, to a student's parent or guardian regarding the student's results on a reading instrument. Additionally, this bill prohibits the promotion of a student to the fourth, sixth, or ninth grade if the student does not perform satisfactorily on specific assessment instruments, and sets forth the method by which a student may retake the assessment instrument or appeal a student's retention. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking authority is expressly delegated to the commissioner of education in SECTION 4 (Section 28.0211, Education Code) of this bill. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 12.104(b), Education Code, to include reading instruments and accelerated reading instruction programs under Section 28.006, Education Code, and satisfactory performance on assessment instruments and to accelerated instruction under Section 28.0211, Education Code, among the provisions to which an open-enrollment charter school is subject. Redesignates existing Paragraphs (D) - (I) to (F) - (K). SECTION 2. Amends Section 25.085 (d), Education Code, to provide that a student enrolled in a school district must attend an accelerated reading instruction program to which the student is assigned under Section 28.006(g), Education Code, and an accelerated instruction program to which the student is assigned under Section 28.0211, Education Code, unless exempted under Section 25.086 (Exemptions), Education Code. SECTION 3. Amends Section 28.006, Education Code, by amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsections (g) - (i), as follows: (d) Requires the superintendent of each school district to report, in writing, to a student's parent or guardian regarding the student's results on a reading instrument. Creates this subdivision from existing text. Makes nonsubstantive changes. (g) Requires a school district to notify the parent or guardian of a student in kindergarten or first or second grade who is determined based on reading instrument results to be below grade level in reading development or comprehension, to implement an accelerated reading instruction program that provides research-based reading instruction to those students. Requires the school district to determine the form, content, and timing of the program. (h) Requires each school district to provide the accelerated reading instruction required in Subsection (g) to students in kindergarten during the 1999-2000 school year, to students in kindergarten and first grade during the 2000-2001 school year, and to students in kindergarten, first, and second grades beginning with the 2001-2002 school year. (i) Provides that Subsection (h) and this subsection expire January 1, 2002. SECTION 4. Amends Subchapter B, Chapter 28, Education Code, by adding Section 28.0211, as follows: Sec. 28.0211. SATISFACTORY PERFORMANCE ON ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENTS REQUIRED; ACCELERATED INSTRUCTION. (a) Prohibits the promotion of a student to the fourth, sixth, or ninth grade if the student does not perform satisfactorily on specific assessment instruments, except as provided in Subsection (e). (b) Requires a school district to provide a student at least two additional opportunities to take the assessment instrument if the student initially fails to perform satisfactorily on an assessment instrument. (c) Requires a school district to provide accelerated instruction in the applicable subject area, including research-based reading instruction for a student who fails to perform satisfactorily on a reading assessment instrument if a student in the school district fails to perform satisfactorily on an assessment instrument. Requires the establishment of a grade placement committee (committee) to prescribe the accelerated instruction the district is required to provide to a student if the student fails to perform satisfactorily on a reading assessment instrument for a second time and will be administered the assessment instrument for a third time. Requires the committee to be composed of the principal, the student's parent or guardian, and the teacher of the subject of an assessment instrument on which the student failed to perform satisfactorily. Prohibits an accelerated instructional group from having a ratio of more than 20 students for each teacher. (d) Requires the district to notify the student's parent or guardian of a student's failure to perform satisfactorily on an assessment instrument, the accelerated instruction program to which the student is assigned, and the possibility that a student may be retained at the same grade level for the next school year. (e) Provides that a student failing at least three times to perform satisfactorily on an assessment instrument is required to be retained at the same grade level for the next school year. Authorizes a student's parent or guardian to appeal a student's retention by submitting a written request to the committee. Requires the school district to give the parent or guardian written notice of the opportunity to appeal. Authorizes the committee to decide in favor of a student's promotion only if the committee concludes, using standards adopted by the board of trustees, that if promoted and given accelerated instruction, a student is likely to perform at the appropriate grade level. Prohibits a student from being promoted on the basis of the committee's decision unless that decision is unanimous. Requires the commissioner of education (commissioner) to establish, by rule, a timeline for making the placement determination. Provides that this subsection does not create a property interest in promotion. Provides that the decision of the committee is final and may not be appealed. (f) Requires a school district to provide a student with accelerated instruction the following school year as prescribed by an educational plan developed for the student by the student's committee if the student has failed to perform satisfactorily on an assessment instrument after three attempts. Requires the district to provide accelerated instruction regardless of whether the student has been promoted or retained. Provides that an educational plan must be designed to enable a student to perform at the appropriate grade level by the conclusion of the school year. Requires a student to be monitored throughout the school year to ensure that a student is progressing in accordance with the plan. Requires the district to administer to a student the assessment instrument for the grade level in which a student is placed at the time the district regularly administers the assessment instruments for that school year. (g) Provides that this section does not preclude the retention at a grade level, in accordance with state law or school district policy, of a student who performs satisfactorily on an assessment instrument. (h) Requires the commissioner to adopt rules as necessary to implement this section, including rules concerning when school districts are required to administer assessment instruments and which administration of the assessment instrument will be used for purposes of Section 39.051 (Academic Excellence Indicators), Education Code. (i) Provides that this section applies to the assessment instrument administered to students in the third grade beginning with the 2002-2003 school year, to students in the fifth grade beginning with the 2004-2005 school year, and to students in the eighth grade beginning with the 2007-2008 school year. (j) Provides that Subsection (i) and this subsection expire January 1, 2008. SECTION 5. Amends Section 39.024(b), Education Code, by adding Section 28.0211, if applicable, to the purposes for which a school district is required to offer an intensive program of instruction for students who did not perform satisfactorily on an assessment instrument administered under this subchapter. SECTION 6. Amends Section 39.051(b), Education Code, to include the number of students, aggregated by grade level, promoted through the committee process under Section 28.0211, Education Code, the subject of the assessment instrument on which each student failed to perform satisfactorily, and the performance of those students in the school year following that promotion on the assessment instruments required under Section 39.023 (Adoption and Administration of Instruments), Education Code, among the list of factors used as performance indicators. Redesignates existing Subdivisions (7) - (9) to (8) - (10). SECTION 7.Amends Section 39.052(b), Education Code, to make a conforming change. SECTION 8.Amends Section 39.072 (b) and (c), Education Code, to make conforming changes. SECTION 9.Amends Section 39.073(a), Education Code, to make conforming changes. SECTION 10.Amends Section 39.074(e), Education Code, to make conforming changes. SECTION 11.Effective date: September 1, 1999. SECTION 12.Emergency clause.