By Oliveira H.B. No. 3653
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to compensatory education and accelerated instruction in
1-3 public schools.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 29.081, Education Code, is amended by
1-6 amending Subsections (c) and (d) and adding Subsections (g) and (h)
1-7 to read as follows:
1-8 (c) Each school district shall evaluate and document the
1-9 effectiveness of the accelerated instruction in reducing any
1-10 disparity between students at risk of dropping out of school and
1-11 all other district students in:
1-12 (1) performance on assessment instruments administered
1-13 under Subchapter B, Chapter 39; and
1-14 (2) the rates of high school completion or receipt of
1-15 a high school equivalency certificate [the dropout rate and in
1-16 increasing achievement in the categories of students listed under
1-17 Subsection (d)].
1-18 (d) For purposes of this section, "student at risk of
1-19 dropping out of school" includes[:]
1-20 [(1)] each student [in grade levels 7 through 12] who
1-21 is under 21 years of age, is not eligible for a district's special
1-22 education program under Section 29.003, and [who]:
1-23 (1) [(A)] was not advanced from one grade level to the
1-24 next for two or more school years;
2-1 (2) [(B)] has mathematics or reading skills that are
2-2 two or more years below grade level;
2-3 (3) [(C)] did not maintain an average equivalent to 70
2-4 on a scale of 100 in two or more courses in the foundation
2-5 curriculum as prescribed under Section 28.002 during a semester in
2-6 the preceding school year[,] or does [is] not maintain
2-7 [maintaining] such an average in two or more courses in the
2-8 foundation curriculum during a semester in the current school year
2-9 [semester, and is not expected to graduate within four years of the
2-10 date the student begins ninth grade];
2-11 (4) [(D)] did not perform satisfactorily on an
2-12 assessment instrument administered to the student under Section
2-13 39.023(a), (b), or (c) during a school year and, during the two
2-14 following school years, did not achieve a score equal to at least
2-15 105 percent of the score considered to be satisfactory performance
2-16 on one of those assessment instruments [under Subchapter B, Chapter
2-17 39];
2-18 (5) [or (E)] is pregnant or is a parent;
2-19 (6) is a [(2) each] student in prekindergarten,
2-20 kindergarten, or [through] grade one, two, or three [6] who[:]
2-21 [(A)] did not perform satisfactorily on a
2-22 readiness test or assessment instrument administered during [at the
2-23 beginning of] the school year;
2-24 (7) [(B) did not perform satisfactorily on an
2-25 assessment instrument administered under Subchapter B, Chapter 39;]
2-26 [(C)] is a student of limited English
2-27 proficiency, as defined by Section 29.052;
3-1 (8) is a [(D) is sexually, physically, or
3-2 psychologically abused; or]
3-3 [(E) engages in conduct described by Section
3-4 51.03(a), Family Code; and]
3-5 [(3) each] student who, in the preceding school year
3-6 resided or in the current school year [is not disabled and who]
3-7 resides, in a residential placement facility [in a district in
3-8 which the student's parent or legal guardian does not reside],
3-9 including a detention facility, substance abuse treatment facility,
3-10 emergency shelter, psychiatric hospital, halfway house, or foster
3-11 family group home;
3-12 (9) was, in the preceding school year, or is, in the
3-13 current school year, removed to an alternative education program
3-14 under Section 37.006 or expelled under Section 37.007;
3-15 (10) is currently released on parole or under
3-16 supervision, placed under community supervision or on probation,
3-17 placed on deferred adjudication, or released under another type of
3-18 conditional release;
3-19 (11) has been reported in the Public Education
3-20 Information Management System (PEIMS) as being a dropout or as
3-21 having failed during the preceding school year or failing during
3-22 the current school year to attend a class for at least 90 percent
3-23 of the days the class is offered without an exemption under Section
3-24 25.086 or an excuse accepted under Section 25.087;
3-25 (12) is in the custody or care of the Department of
3-26 Protective and Regulatory Services or, during the current school
3-27 year, is referred to that department by a school or law enforcement
4-1 official or a juvenile court officer; or
4-2 (13) is homeless, as defined by 42 U.S.C. Section
4-3 11302 and its subsequent amendments.
4-4 (g) A student eligible for a special education program under
4-5 Section 29.003 is entitled to receive services and participate in a
4-6 program under this section as determined by the committee
4-7 established under Section 29.005.
4-8 (h) In addition to the criteria provided under this section,
4-9 the board of trustees of a school district may adopt criteria for
4-10 identifying students eligible for programs or services under this
4-11 section. Not more than 10 percent of the number of students
4-12 identified during the preceding school year under Subsection (d) as
4-13 students at risk of dropping out of school may be identified as
4-14 eligible for programs or services under this section using the
4-15 criteria adopted under this subsection. A student identified using
4-16 the criteria adopted under this subsection is not considered to be
4-17 educationally disadvantaged or a student at risk of dropping out of
4-18 school for purposes of Section 39.051(b), 39.053(d), 39.182(a), or
4-19 42.152(a).
4-20 SECTION 2. Section 39.051(b), Education Code, is amended to
4-21 read as follows:
4-22 (b) Performance on the indicators adopted under this section
4-23 shall be compared to state-established standards. The degree of
4-24 change from one school year to the next in performance on each
4-25 indicator adopted under this section shall also be considered. The
4-26 indicators must be based on information that is disaggregated with
4-27 respect to race, ethnicity, sex, [and] socioeconomic status, and
5-1 identification as a student at risk of dropping out of school as
5-2 determined under Section 29.081(d) and must include:
5-3 (1) the results of assessment instruments required
5-4 under Sections 39.023(a) and (c), aggregated by grade level and
5-5 subject area;
5-6 (2) dropout rates;
5-7 (3) student attendance rates;
5-8 (4) the percentage of graduating students who attain
5-9 scores on the secondary exit-level assessment instruments required
5-10 under Subchapter B that are equivalent to a passing score on the
5-11 test instrument required under Section 51.306;
5-12 (5) the percentage of graduating students who meet the
5-13 course requirements established for the recommended high school
5-14 program by State Board of Education rule;
5-15 (6) the results of the Scholastic Assessment Test
5-16 (SAT) and the American College Test;
5-17 (7) the percentage of students taking end-of-course
5-18 assessment instruments adopted under Section 39.023(d);
5-19 (8) the percentage of students exempted, by exemption
5-20 category, from the assessment program generally applicable under
5-21 this subchapter; and
5-22 (9) any other indicator the State Board of Education
5-23 adopts.
5-24 SECTION 3. Section 39.053(d), Education Code, is amended to
5-25 read as follows:
5-26 (d) The report may include the following information:
5-27 (1) student information, including total enrollment,
6-1 enrollment by ethnicity or socioeconomic[, economic] status, the
6-2 number of students identified as students at risk of dropping out
6-3 of school as determined under Section 29.081(d), and grade
6-4 groupings and retention rates;
6-5 (2) financial information, including revenues and
6-6 expenditures;
6-7 (3) staff information, including number and type of
6-8 staff by sex, ethnicity, years of experience, and highest degree
6-9 held, teacher and administrator salaries, and teacher turnover;
6-10 (4) program information, including student enrollment
6-11 by program, teachers by program, and instructional operating
6-12 expenditures by program; and
6-13 (5) the number of students placed in an alternative
6-14 education program under Chapter 37.
6-15 SECTION 4. Section 39.182(a), Education Code, is amended to
6-16 read as follows:
6-17 (a) The agency shall prepare and deliver to the governor,
6-18 the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of
6-19 representatives, each member of the legislature, the Legislative
6-20 Budget Board, and the clerks of the standing committees of the
6-21 senate and house of representatives with primary jurisdiction over
6-22 the public school system a comprehensive report covering the
6-23 preceding two school years and containing:
6-24 (1) an evaluation of the achievements of the state
6-25 educational program in relation to the statutory goals for the
6-26 public education system under Section 4.002;
6-27 (2) an evaluation of the status of education in the
7-1 state as reflected by the academic excellence indicators adopted
7-2 under Section 39.051;
7-3 (3) a summary compilation of overall student
7-4 performance on academic skills assessment instruments required by
7-5 Section 39.023, aggregated by grade level, subject area, campus,
7-6 and district, with appropriate interpretations and analysis and
7-7 disaggregated by race, ethnicity, sex, [and] socioeconomic status,
7-8 and identification as a student at risk of dropping out of school
7-9 as determined under Section 29.081(d);
7-10 (4) an evaluation of the correlation between student
7-11 grades and student performance on academic skills assessment
7-12 instruments required by Section 39.023;
7-13 (5) a statement of the dropout rate of students in
7-14 grade levels 7 through 12, expressed in the aggregate and by grade
7-15 level;
7-16 (6) a statement of the projected cross-sectional and
7-17 longitudinal dropout rates for grade levels 7 through 12 for the
7-18 next five years, assuming no state action is taken to reduce the
7-19 dropout rate;
7-20 (7) a description of a systematic plan for reducing
7-21 the projected cross-sectional and longitudinal dropout rates to
7-22 five percent or less for the 1997-1998 school year;
7-23 (8) a summary of the information required by Section
7-24 29.083 regarding grade level retention of students;
7-25 (9) a list of each school district or campus that does
7-26 not satisfy performance standards, with an explanation of the
7-27 actions taken by the commissioner to improve student performance in
8-1 the district or campus and an evaluation of the results of those
8-2 actions;
8-3 (10) an evaluation of the status of the curriculum
8-4 taught in public schools, with recommendations for legislative
8-5 changes necessary to improve or modify the curriculum required by
8-6 Section 28.002;
8-7 (11) a description of all funds received by and each
8-8 activity and expenditure of the agency;
8-9 (12) a summary and analysis of the compliance of
8-10 school districts with administrative cost ratios set by the
8-11 commissioner under Section 42.201, including any improvements and
8-12 cost savings achieved by school districts;
8-13 (13) a summary of the effect of deregulation,
8-14 including exemptions and waivers granted under Section 7.056 or
8-15 39.112;
8-16 (14) a statement of the total number and length of
8-17 reports that school districts and school district employees must
8-18 submit to the agency, identifying which reports are required by
8-19 federal statute or rule, state statute, or agency rule, and a
8-20 summary of the agency's efforts to reduce overall reporting
8-21 requirements; and
8-22 (15) any additional information considered important
8-23 by the commissioner or the State Board of Education.
8-24 SECTION 5. Section 42.152(b), Education Code, is amended to
8-25 read as follows:
8-26 (b) For purposes of this section, the number of
8-27 educationally disadvantaged students is determined by averaging the
9-1 best six months' enrollment in the national school lunch program of
9-2 free or reduced-price lunches for the preceding school year, except
9-3 that in a district that does not participate in the program or in
9-4 which one or more schools do not participate in the program, the
9-5 district may, in the manner established by commissioner rule,
9-6 determine the number of educationally disadvantaged students based
9-7 on the number of district students eligible for participation in
9-8 the program.
9-9 SECTION 6. Section 42.152(c), Education Code, is amended to
9-10 read as follows:
9-11 (c) Funds allocated under this section may be used only to
9-12 fund supplemental programs and services designed to eliminate
9-13 disparity between students at risk of dropping out of school, as
9-14 defined by Section 29.081(d), and all other district students in
9-15 performance on assessment instruments administered under Subchapter
9-16 B, Chapter 39, or in the rates of high school completion or receipt
9-17 of a high school equivalency certificate. Specifically, the funds,
9-18 other than an indirect cost allotment established under State Board
9-19 of Education rule, which may not exceed 15 percent, may be used
9-20 only to provide [in providing] compensatory education and
9-21 accelerated instruction programs under Section 29.081, operate
9-22 alternative education programs under Section 37.008, or support
9-23 programs eligible for funding under Title I of the Elementary and
9-24 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. Section 6301 et seq.)
9-25 and its subsequent amendments and may only be spent to improve and
9-26 enhance programs and services funded under the regular education
9-27 program. A district's compensatory education allotment may be used
10-1 for costs supplementary to the regular program, such as costs for
10-2 program and student evaluation, instructional materials and
10-3 equipment and other supplies required for quality instruction,
10-4 supplemental staff expenses, salary for teachers of at-risk
10-5 students, smaller class size, and individualized instruction. A
10-6 home-rule school district or an open-enrollment charter school must
10-7 use funds allocated under Subsection (a) to provide compensatory
10-8 education services but is not otherwise subject to Subchapter C,
10-9 Chapter 29.
10-10 SECTION 7. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this
10-11 section, this Act applies beginning with the 1999-2000 school year.
10-12 (b) Section 39.051(b), Education Code, as amended by this
10-13 Act, applies beginning with the 2000-2001 school year.
10-14 SECTION 8. The importance of this legislation and the
10-15 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
10-16 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
10-17 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
10-18 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
10-19 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
10-20 passage, and it is so enacted.