By Dutton H.B. No. 760
76R2453 ESH-F
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the establishment of basic skills academies in certain
1-3 school districts.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Chapter 29, Education Code, is amended by adding
1-6 Subchapter J to read as follows:
1-7 SUBCHAPTER J. BASIC SKILLS ACADEMIES
1-8 IN CERTAIN SCHOOL DISTRICTS
1-9 Sec. 29.351. APPLICABILITY OF SUBCHAPTER. This subchapter
1-10 applies only to a school district with an enrollment of at least
1-11 190,000 students on the last day of the preceding school year.
1-12 Sec. 29.352. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "basic skills"
1-13 means reading, writing, and mathematics.
1-14 Sec. 29.353. BASIC SKILLS ACADEMIES REQUIRED. (a) A school
1-15 district shall establish a basic skills academy at each elementary
1-16 school that:
1-17 (1) has 20 or more students identified as eligible for
1-18 special education under Subchapter A; or
1-19 (2) is identified as low performing under Subchapter
1-20 D, Chapter 39.
1-21 (b) The academic program of a basic skills academy must
1-22 focus on basic skills.
1-23 (c) A basic skills academy shall serve students in grades
1-24 three through six.
2-1 Sec. 29.354. DIAGNOSTIC TESTING FOR BASIC SKILLS
2-2 PROFICIENCY; PLACEMENT IN BASIC SKILLS ACADEMY. (a) A school that
2-3 is required to have a basic skills academy shall administer a
2-4 diagnostic test to each student in the third grade to determine the
2-5 student's proficiency in basic skills.
2-6 (b) The agency shall establish a level of basic skills at
2-7 which each student in the third, fourth, fifth, or sixth grade must
2-8 be proficient. The board of trustees of a school district may
2-9 establish a level of basic skills that is different but not lower
2-10 than the level established by the agency.
2-11 (c) A school district shall place each student who does not
2-12 meet the applicable level of proficiency in basic skills in the
2-13 basic skills academy.
2-14 Sec. 29.355. PERIODIC TESTING OF STUDENTS IN BASIC SKILLS
2-15 ACADEMY. (a) A school district shall periodically test each
2-16 student in a basic skills academy to determine the student's
2-17 proficiency in basic skills.
2-18 (b) A school district shall return each student who meets
2-19 the applicable level of proficiency in basic skills to the regular
2-20 academic program.
2-21 Sec. 29.356. IDENTIFICATION OF STUDENTS IN BASIC SKILLS
2-22 ACADEMY. For purposes of accountability under Chapter 39, a school
2-23 district shall identify to the agency each student placed in a
2-24 basic skills academy.
2-25 Sec. 29.357. FUNDING OF BASIC SKILLS ACADEMY. (a) A school
2-26 district is entitled to state funding for basic skills academies in
2-27 addition to funding to which the district is entitled under Chapter
3-1 42.
3-2 (b) For each school year, a school district is entitled to
3-3 $4,000 in additional state funding for each student in a basic
3-4 skills academy.
3-5 (c) Funding under this section shall be derived from amounts
3-6 appropriated out of the net proceeds of the state lottery under
3-7 Chapter 466, Government Code.
3-8 Sec. 29.358. CONTRACT AUTHORITY. The board of trustees of a
3-9 school district may contract under Section 11.157 for the provision
3-10 of educational services to students placed in a basic skills
3-11 academy.
3-12 Sec. 29.359. EXPIRATION. This subchapter expires September
3-13 1, 2003.
3-14 SECTION 2. Section 39.053, Education Code, is amended by
3-15 adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
3-16 (a-1) The annual report of a school district to which
3-17 Subchapter J, Chapter 29, applies must include the performance
3-18 rating of each basic skills academy as provided under Section
3-19 39.072(d). This subsection expires September 1, 2003.
3-20 SECTION 3. Section 39.072, Education Code, is amended by
3-21 adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
3-22 (d) The agency shall evaluate against state standards and
3-23 shall report the performance of each basic skills academy
3-24 established under Subchapter J, Chapter 29, on the basis of the
3-25 academy's performance on the indicators adopted under Sections
3-26 39.051(b)(1) through (3), (8), and (9). Notwithstanding Subsection
3-27 (c), the performance of a campus that has a basic skills academy is
4-1 not based on students placed in the basic skills academy. This
4-2 subsection expires September 1, 2003.
4-3 SECTION 4. Section 42.152, Education Code, is amended by
4-4 adding Subsection (c-1) to read as follows:
4-5 (c-1) For purposes of Subsection (c), a basic skills academy
4-6 established under Subchapter J, Chapter 29, is considered to be an
4-7 accelerated instruction program under Section 29.081. This
4-8 subsection expires September 1, 2003.
4-9 SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
4-10 SECTION 6. Each school district to which Subchapter J,
4-11 Chapter 29, Education Code, applies shall establish basic skills
4-12 academies as required by that subchapter not later than the
4-13 beginning of the 2000-2001 school year.
4-14 SECTION 7. The importance of this legislation and the
4-15 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-16 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-17 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-18 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.