1-1     By:  Oliveira (Senate Sponsor - West)                 H.B. No. 3653
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House May 13, 1999;
 1-3     May 14, 1999, read first time and referred to Committee on
 1-4     Education; May 14, 1999, reported favorably by the following vote:
 1-5     Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 14, 1999, sent to printer.)
 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-7                                   AN ACT
 1-8     relating to compensatory education and accelerated instruction in
 1-9     public schools.
1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11           SECTION 1.  Section 29.081, Education Code, is amended by
1-12     amending Subsections (c) and (d) and adding Subsections (g) and (h)
1-13     to read as follows:
1-14           (c)  Each school district shall evaluate and document the
1-15     effectiveness of the accelerated instruction in reducing any
1-16     disparity between students at risk of dropping out of school and
1-17     all other district students in:
1-18                 (1)  performance on assessment instruments administered
1-19     under Subchapter B, Chapter 39; and
1-20                 (2)  the rates of high school completion or receipt of
1-21     a high school equivalency certificate [the dropout rate and in
1-22     increasing achievement in the categories of students listed under
1-23     Subsection (d)].
1-24           (d)  For purposes of this section, "student at risk of
1-25     dropping out of school" includes[:]
1-26                 [(1)]  each student [in grade levels 7 through 12] who
1-27     is under 21 years of age, is not eligible for a district's special
1-28     education program under Section 29.003, and [who]:
1-29                 (1) [(A)]  was not advanced from one grade level to the
1-30     next for two or more school years;
1-31                 (2) [(B)]  has mathematics or reading skills that are
1-32     two or more years below grade level;
1-33                 (3) [(C)]  did not maintain an average equivalent to 70
1-34     on a scale of 100 in two or more courses in the foundation
1-35     curriculum as prescribed under Section 28.002 during a semester in
1-36     the preceding school year[,] or does [is] not maintain
1-37     [maintaining] such an average in two or more courses in the
1-38     foundation curriculum during a semester in the current school year
1-39     [semester, and is not expected to graduate within four years of the
1-40     date the student begins ninth grade];
1-41                 (4) [(D)]  did not perform satisfactorily on an
1-42     assessment instrument administered to the student under Section
1-43     39.023(a), (b), or (c) during a school year and, during the two
1-44     following school years, did not achieve a score equal to at least
1-45     105 percent of the score considered to be satisfactory performance
1-46     on one of those assessment instruments [under Subchapter B, Chapter
1-47     39];
1-48                 (5)  [or (E)] is pregnant or is a parent;
1-49                 (6)  is a [(2) each] student in prekindergarten,
1-50     kindergarten, or [through] grade one, two, or three [6] who[:]
1-51                       [(A)]  did not perform satisfactorily on a
1-52     readiness test or assessment instrument administered during [at the
1-53     beginning of] the school year;
1-54                 (7) [(B)  did not perform satisfactorily on an
1-55     assessment instrument administered under Subchapter B, Chapter 39;]
1-56                       [(C)]  is a student of limited English
1-57     proficiency, as defined by Section 29.052;
1-58                 (8)  is a [(D) is sexually, physically, or
1-59     psychologically abused; or]
1-60                       [(E)  engages in conduct described by Section
1-61     51.03(a), Family Code; and]
1-62                 [(3)  each] student who, in the preceding school year
1-63     resided or in the current school year [is not disabled and who]
1-64     resides, in a residential placement facility [in a district in
 2-1     which the student's parent or legal guardian does not reside],
 2-2     including a detention facility, substance abuse treatment facility,
 2-3     emergency shelter, psychiatric hospital, halfway house, or foster
 2-4     family group home;
 2-5                 (9)  was, in the preceding school year, or is, in the
 2-6     current school year, removed to an alternative education program
 2-7     under Section 37.006 or expelled under Section 37.007;
 2-8                 (10)  is currently released on parole or under
 2-9     supervision, placed under community supervision or on probation,
2-10     placed on deferred adjudication, or released under another type of
2-11     conditional release;
2-12                 (11)  has been reported in the Public Education
2-13     Information Management System (PEIMS) as being a dropout or as
2-14     having failed during the preceding school year or failing during
2-15     the current school year to attend a class for at least 90 percent
2-16     of the days the class is offered without an exemption under Section
2-17     25.086 or an excuse accepted under Section 25.087;
2-18                 (12)  is in the custody or care of the Department of
2-19     Protective and Regulatory Services or, during the current school
2-20     year, is referred to that department by a school or law enforcement
2-21     official or a juvenile court officer; or
2-22                 (13)  is homeless, as defined by 42 U.S.C. Section
2-23     11302 and its subsequent amendments.
2-24           (g)  A student eligible for a special education program under
2-25     Section 29.003 is entitled to receive services and participate in a
2-26     program under this section as determined by the committee
2-27     established under Section 29.005.
2-28           (h)  In addition to the criteria provided under this section,
2-29     the board of trustees of a school district  may adopt criteria for
2-30     identifying students eligible for programs or services under this
2-31     section.  Not more than 10 percent of the number of students
2-32     identified during the preceding school year under Subsection (d) as
2-33     students at risk of dropping out of school may be identified as
2-34     eligible for programs or services under this section using the
2-35     criteria adopted under this subsection.  A student identified using
2-36     the criteria adopted under this subsection is not considered to be
2-37     educationally disadvantaged or a student at risk of dropping out of
2-38     school for purposes of Section 39.051(b), 39.053(d), 39.182(a), or
2-39     42.152(a).
2-40           SECTION 2.  Section 39.051(b), Education Code, is amended to
2-41     read as follows:
2-42           (b)  Performance on the indicators adopted under this section
2-43     shall be compared to state-established standards.  The degree of
2-44     change from one school year to the next in performance on each
2-45     indicator adopted under this section shall also be considered.  The
2-46     indicators must be based on information that is disaggregated with
2-47     respect to race, ethnicity, sex, [and] socioeconomic status, and
2-48     identification as a student at risk of dropping out of school as
2-49     determined under Section 29.081(d) and must include:
2-50                 (1)  the results of assessment instruments required
2-51     under Sections 39.023(a) and (c), aggregated by grade level and
2-52     subject area;
2-53                 (2)  dropout rates;
2-54                 (3)  student attendance rates;
2-55                 (4)  the percentage of graduating students who attain
2-56     scores on the secondary exit-level assessment instruments required
2-57     under Subchapter B that are equivalent to a passing score on the
2-58     test instrument required under Section 51.306;
2-59                 (5)  the percentage of graduating students who meet the
2-60     course requirements established for the recommended high school
2-61     program by State Board of Education rule;
2-62                 (6)  the results of the Scholastic Assessment Test
2-63     (SAT) and the American College Test;
2-64                 (7)  the percentage of students taking end-of-course
2-65     assessment instruments adopted under Section 39.023(d);
2-66                 (8)  the percentage of students exempted, by exemption
2-67     category, from the assessment program generally applicable under
2-68     this subchapter; and
2-69                 (9)  any other indicator the State Board of Education
 3-1     adopts.
 3-2           SECTION 3.  Section 39.053(d), Education Code, is amended to
 3-3     read as follows:
 3-4           (d)  The report may include the following information:
 3-5                 (1)  student information, including total enrollment,
 3-6     enrollment by ethnicity or socioeconomic[, economic] status, the
 3-7     number of students identified as students at risk of dropping out
 3-8     of school as determined under Section 29.081(d), and grade
 3-9     groupings and retention rates;
3-10                 (2)  financial information, including revenues and
3-11     expenditures;
3-12                 (3)  staff information, including number and type of
3-13     staff by sex, ethnicity, years of experience, and highest degree
3-14     held, teacher and administrator salaries, and teacher turnover;
3-15                 (4)  program information, including student enrollment
3-16     by program, teachers by program, and instructional operating
3-17     expenditures by program; and
3-18                 (5)  the number of students placed in an alternative
3-19     education program under Chapter 37.
3-20           SECTION 4.  Section 39.182(a), Education Code, is amended to
3-21     read as follows:
3-22           (a)  The agency shall prepare and deliver to the governor,
3-23     the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of
3-24     representatives, each member of the legislature, the Legislative
3-25     Budget Board, and the clerks of the standing committees of the
3-26     senate and house of representatives with primary jurisdiction over
3-27     the public school system a comprehensive report covering the
3-28     preceding two school years and containing:
3-29                 (1)  an evaluation of the achievements of the state
3-30     educational program in relation to the statutory goals for the
3-31     public education system under Section 4.002;
3-32                 (2)  an evaluation of the status of education in the
3-33     state as reflected by the academic excellence indicators adopted
3-34     under Section 39.051;
3-35                 (3)  a summary compilation of overall student
3-36     performance on academic skills assessment instruments required by
3-37     Section 39.023, aggregated by grade level, subject area, campus,
3-38     and district, with appropriate interpretations and analysis and
3-39     disaggregated by race, ethnicity, sex, [and] socioeconomic status,
3-40     and identification as a student at risk of dropping out of school
3-41     as determined under Section 29.081(d);
3-42                 (4)  an evaluation of the correlation between student
3-43     grades and student performance on academic skills assessment
3-44     instruments required by Section 39.023;
3-45                 (5)  a statement of the dropout rate of students in
3-46     grade levels 7 through 12, expressed in the aggregate and by grade
3-47     level;
3-48                 (6)  a statement of the projected cross-sectional and
3-49     longitudinal dropout rates for grade levels 7 through 12 for the
3-50     next five years, assuming no state action is taken to reduce the
3-51     dropout rate;
3-52                 (7)  a description of a systematic plan for reducing
3-53     the projected cross-sectional and longitudinal dropout rates to
3-54     five percent or less for the 1997-1998 school year;
3-55                 (8)  a summary of the information required by Section
3-56     29.083 regarding grade level retention of students;
3-57                 (9)  a list of each school district or campus that does
3-58     not satisfy performance standards, with an explanation of the
3-59     actions taken by the commissioner to improve student performance in
3-60     the district or campus and an evaluation of the results of those
3-61     actions;
3-62                 (10)  an evaluation of the status of the curriculum
3-63     taught in public schools, with recommendations for legislative
3-64     changes necessary to improve or modify the curriculum required by
3-65     Section 28.002;
3-66                 (11)  a description of all funds received by and each
3-67     activity and expenditure of the agency;
3-68                 (12)  a summary and analysis of the compliance of
3-69     school districts with administrative cost ratios set by the
 4-1     commissioner under Section 42.201, including any improvements and
 4-2     cost savings achieved by school districts;
 4-3                 (13)  a summary of the effect of deregulation,
 4-4     including exemptions and waivers granted under Section 7.056 or
 4-5     39.112;
 4-6                 (14)  a statement of the total number and length of
 4-7     reports that school districts and school district employees must
 4-8     submit to the agency, identifying which reports are required by
 4-9     federal statute or rule, state statute, or agency rule, and a
4-10     summary of the agency's efforts to reduce overall reporting
4-11     requirements; and
4-12                 (15)  any additional information considered important
4-13     by the commissioner or the State Board of Education.
4-14           SECTION 5.  Section 42.152(b), Education Code, is amended to
4-15     read as follows:
4-16           (b)  For purposes of this section, the number of
4-17     educationally disadvantaged students is determined by averaging the
4-18     best six months' enrollment in the national school lunch program of
4-19     free or reduced-price lunches for the preceding school year, except
4-20     that in a district that does not participate in the program or in
4-21     which one or more schools do not participate in the program, the
4-22     district may, in the manner established by commissioner rule,
4-23     determine the number of educationally disadvantaged students based
4-24     on the number of district students eligible for participation in
4-25     the program.
4-26           SECTION 6.  Section 42.152(c), Education Code, is amended to
4-27     read as follows:
4-28           (c)  Funds allocated under this section may be used only to
4-29     fund supplemental programs and services designed to eliminate
4-30     disparity between students at risk of dropping out of school, as
4-31     defined by Section 29.081(d), and all other district students in
4-32     performance on assessment instruments administered under Subchapter
4-33     B, Chapter 39, or in the rates of high school completion or receipt
4-34     of a high school equivalency certificate.  Specifically, the funds,
4-35     other than an indirect cost allotment established under State Board
4-36     of Education rule, which may not exceed 15 percent, may be used
4-37     only to provide [in providing] compensatory education and
4-38     accelerated instruction programs under Section 29.081, operate
4-39     alternative education programs under Section 37.008, or support
4-40     programs eligible for funding under Title I of the Elementary and
4-41     Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. Section 6301 et seq.)
4-42     and its subsequent amendments and may only be spent to improve and
4-43     enhance programs and services funded under the regular education
4-44     program.  A district's compensatory education allotment may be used
4-45     for costs supplementary to the regular program, such as costs for
4-46     program and student evaluation, instructional materials and
4-47     equipment and other supplies required for quality instruction,
4-48     supplemental staff expenses, salary for teachers of at-risk
4-49     students, smaller class size, and individualized instruction.  A
4-50     home-rule school district or an open-enrollment charter school must
4-51     use funds allocated under Subsection (a) to provide compensatory
4-52     education services but is not otherwise subject to Subchapter C,
4-53     Chapter 29.
4-54           SECTION 7.  (a)  Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this
4-55     section, this Act applies beginning with the 1999-2000 school year.
4-56           (b)  Section 39.051(b), Education Code, as amended by this
4-57     Act, applies beginning with the 2000-2001 school year.
4-58           SECTION 8.  The importance of this legislation and the
4-59     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-60     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-61     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-62     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
4-63     and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
4-64     passage, and it is so enacted.
4-65                                  * * * * *