SRC-DPW S.B. 1561 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Senate Research Center S.B. 1561 76R7423 CAS-DBy: Barrientos Education 4/12/1999 As Filed DIGEST Currently, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) accountability standards and ratings use an annual, rather than a longitudinal; dropout rate because Texas law requires them to calculate the longitudinal rate of dropouts between grades seven and twelve. This provides a deceptively low longitudinal rate and prevents a longitudinal rate from measuring a high school campus. The TEA rating system requires an "exemplary"school to have a 1 percent dropout rate, translating to a longitudinal dropout rate of 5 percent. "Acceptable" schools have dropout rates of below 6 percent, translating into a longitudinal rate of over 30 percent. This bill would restore the repealed 5 percent longitudinal dropout rate goal, establish the 2004 - 2005 school year as the target year to reach the goal, define annual and longitudinal dropout rates as to allow high school campuses to be measured with longitudinal rates, and require the commissioner of education to increase the standards for rating a school's dropout rate in order to achieve the 5 percent goal. PURPOSE As proposed, S.B. 1561 sets a five percent dropout rate goal for the 2004 - 2005 school year, defines annual and longitudinal dropout rates, and requires the commissioner of education to increase the standards for rating a school's dropout rate in order to achieve the five percent goal. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY This bill does not grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 5.001, Education Code, to define "annual event dropout rate," "dropout," and "longitudinal dropout rate." Makes conforming changes. SECTION 2. Amends Section 39.051(c), Education Code, to require the commissioner of education (commissioner) to require a high school campus or a school district to incrementally decrease the annual event dropout rate each year so that the state standard beginning with the 2004 - 2005 school year is a longitudinal dropout rate of five percent or less. SECTION 3. Amends Section 39.182(a), Education Code, to require the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to deliver a report containing: a statement of the annual event dropout rate of students in grade levels 9 through 12, expressed in the aggregate and disaggregated by sex and by the number of students who have also been retained at a grade level; a statement of the projected cross-sectional and longitudinal dropout rate for certain grades based on the most recent annual event dropout rate; and a description of a measurable systematic plan for reducing certain dropout rates beginning with the 2004 2005 school year, rather than the 1997 - 1998 school year. SECTION 4. Amends Section 42.152, Education Code, by adding Subsections (s) and (t), to require the commissioner to withhold $250,000 or a greater amount as determined in the General Appropriations Act each fiscal year from funds appropriated for allotments under this section, and distribute $10,000 or a greater amount to each of the 20 high school campuses that achieved the greatest annual reduction in the longitudinal dropout rate for the preceding school year and $50,000 or a greater amount among other districts selected by the commissioner according to certain guidelines. Requires the commissioner to reduce each district's allotments in the manner described under Section 42.253, after deducting the amount withheld under Subsection (s) from the total amount appropriated for the allotment under Subsection (a). SECTION 5. Effective date: September 1, 1999. SECTION 6. Emergency clause.