By: Luna S.B. No. 476
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1-1 relating to inclusion of special education students in certain
1-2 public education decisions.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Subsection (d), Section 8.051, Education Code, is
1-5 amended to read as follows:
1-6 (d) Each regional education service center shall maintain
1-7 core services for purchase by school districts and campuses. The
1-8 core services are:
1-9 (1) training and assistance in teaching each subject
1-10 area assessed under Section 39.023;
1-11 (2) training and assistance in providing each program
1-12 that qualifies for a funding allotment under Section 42.151,
1-13 42.152, 42.153, or 42.156;
1-14 (3) assistance specifically designed for a school
1-15 district rated academically unacceptable under Section 39.072(a) or
1-16 a campus whose performance is considered unacceptable based on the
1-17 indicators adopted under Section 39.051;
1-18 (4) training and assistance to teachers,
1-19 administrators, members of district boards of trustees, and members
1-20 of site-based decision-making committees; [and]
1-21 (5) assistance specifically designed for a school
1-22 district that is considered out of compliance with state or federal
1-23 special education requirements, based on the agency's most recent
1-24 compliance review of the district's special education programs; and
2-1 (6) assistance in complying with state laws and rules.
2-2 SECTION 2. Subsection (a), Section 11.252, Education Code,
2-3 is amended to read as follows:
2-4 (a) Each school district shall have a district improvement
2-5 plan that is developed, evaluated, and revised annually, in
2-6 accordance with district policy, by the superintendent with the
2-7 assistance of the district-level committee established under
2-8 Section 11.251. The purpose of the district improvement plan is to
2-9 guide district and campus staff in the improvement of student
2-10 performance for all student groups in order to attain state
2-11 standards in respect to the academic excellence indicators adopted
2-12 under Section 39.051. The district improvement plan must include
2-13 provisions for:
2-14 (1) a comprehensive needs assessment addressing
2-15 district student performance on the academic excellence indicators,
2-16 and other appropriate measures of performance, that are
2-17 disaggregated by all student groups served by the district,
2-18 including categories of ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sex, and
2-19 populations served by special programs, including students in
2-20 special education programs under Subchapter A, Chapter 29;
2-21 (2) measurable district performance objectives for all
2-22 appropriate academic excellence indicators for all student
2-23 populations, including students in special education programs under
2-24 Subchapter A, Chapter 29 [appropriate objectives for special needs
2-25 populations], and other measures of student performance that may be
2-26 identified through the comprehensive needs assessment;
3-1 (3) strategies for improvement of student performance
3-2 that include:
3-3 (A) instructional methods for addressing the
3-4 needs of student groups not achieving their full potential;
3-5 (B) methods for addressing the needs of students
3-6 for special programs, such as suicide prevention, conflict
3-7 resolution, violence prevention, or dyslexia treatment programs;
3-8 (C) dropout reduction;
3-9 (D) integration of technology in instructional
3-10 and administrative programs;
3-11 (E) discipline management;
3-12 (F) staff development for professional staff of
3-13 the district;
3-14 (G) career education to assist students in
3-15 developing the knowledge, skills, and competencies necessary for a
3-16 broad range of career opportunities; and
3-17 (H) accelerated education;
3-18 (4) resources needed to implement identified
3-19 strategies;
3-20 (5) staff responsible for ensuring the accomplishment
3-21 of each strategy;
3-22 (6) timelines for ongoing monitoring of the
3-23 implementation of each improvement strategy; and
3-24 (7) formative evaluation criteria for determining
3-25 periodically whether strategies are resulting in intended
3-26 improvement of student performance.
4-1 SECTION 3. Subsections (c) and (d), Section 11.253,
4-2 Education Code, are amended to read as follows:
4-3 (c) Each school year, the principal of each school campus,
4-4 with the assistance of the campus-level committee, shall develop,
4-5 review, and revise the campus improvement plan for the purpose of
4-6 improving student performance for all student populations,
4-7 including students in special education programs under Subchapter
4-8 A, Chapter 29, with respect to the academic excellence indicators
4-9 adopted under Section 39.051 and any other appropriate performance
4-10 measures for special needs populations.
4-11 (d) Each campus improvement plan must:
4-12 (1) assess the academic achievement for each student
4-13 in the school using the academic excellence indicator system as
4-14 described by Section 39.051;
4-15 (2) set the campus performance objectives based on the
4-16 academic excellence indicator system, including objectives for
4-17 special needs populations, including students in special education
4-18 programs under Subchapter A, Chapter 29;
4-19 (3) identify how the campus goals will be met for each
4-20 student;
4-21 (4) determine the resources needed to implement the
4-22 plan;
4-23 (5) identify staff needed to implement the plan;
4-24 (6) set timelines for reaching the goals; and
4-25 (7) measure progress toward the performance objectives
4-26 periodically to ensure that the plan is resulting in academic
5-1 improvement.
5-2 SECTION 4. This Act applies beginning with the 1999-2000
5-3 school year.
5-4 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
5-5 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
5-6 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
5-7 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
5-8 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
5-9 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
5-10 passage, and it is so enacted.