By Luna S.B. No. 476
76R5095 BDH-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to inclusion of special education students in certain
1-3 public education decisions.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 8.051(d), Education Code, is amended to
1-6 read as follows:
1-7 (d) Each regional education service center shall maintain
1-8 core services for purchase by school districts and campuses. The
1-9 core services are:
1-10 (1) training and assistance in teaching each subject
1-11 area assessed under Section 39.023;
1-12 (2) training and assistance in providing each program
1-13 that qualifies for a funding allotment under Section 42.151,
1-14 42.152, 42.153, or 42.156;
1-15 (3) assistance specifically designed for a school
1-16 district rated academically unacceptable under Section 39.072(a) or
1-17 a campus whose performance is considered unacceptable based on the
1-18 indicators adopted under Section 39.051;
1-19 (4) training and assistance to teachers,
1-20 administrators, members of district boards of trustees, and members
1-21 of site-based decision-making committees; [and]
1-22 (5) assistance specifically designed for a school
1-23 district that is considered out of compliance with state or federal
1-24 special education requirements, based on the agency's most recent
2-1 compliance review of the district's special education programs;
2-2 and
2-3 (6) assistance in complying with state laws and rules.
2-4 SECTION 2. Section 11.252(a), Education Code, is amended to
2-5 read as follows:
2-6 (a) Each school district shall have a district improvement
2-7 plan that is developed, evaluated, and revised annually, in
2-8 accordance with district policy, by the superintendent with the
2-9 assistance of the district-level committee established under
2-10 Section 11.251. The purpose of the district improvement plan is to
2-11 guide district and campus staff in the improvement of student
2-12 performance for all student groups in order to attain state
2-13 standards in respect to the academic excellence indicators adopted
2-14 under Section 39.051. The district improvement plan must include
2-15 provisions for:
2-16 (1) a comprehensive needs assessment addressing
2-17 district student performance on the academic excellence indicators,
2-18 and other appropriate measures of performance, that are
2-19 disaggregated by all student groups served by the district,
2-20 including categories of ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sex, and
2-21 populations served by special programs, including students in
2-22 special education programs under Subchapter A, Chapter 29;
2-23 (2) measurable district performance objectives for all
2-24 appropriate academic excellence indicators for all student
2-25 populations, including students in special education programs under
2-26 Subchapter A, Chapter 29 [appropriate objectives for special needs
2-27 populations], and other measures of student performance that may be
3-1 identified through the comprehensive needs assessment;
3-2 (3) strategies for improvement of student performance
3-3 that include:
3-4 (A) instructional methods for addressing the
3-5 needs of student groups not achieving their full potential;
3-6 (B) methods for addressing the needs of students
3-7 for special programs, such as suicide prevention, conflict
3-8 resolution, violence prevention, or dyslexia treatment programs;
3-9 (C) dropout reduction;
3-10 (D) integration of technology in instructional
3-11 and administrative programs;
3-12 (E) discipline management;
3-13 (F) staff development for professional staff of
3-14 the district;
3-15 (G) career education to assist students in
3-16 developing the knowledge, skills, and competencies necessary for a
3-17 broad range of career opportunities; and
3-18 (H) accelerated education;
3-19 (4) resources needed to implement identified
3-20 strategies;
3-21 (5) staff responsible for ensuring the accomplishment
3-22 of each strategy;
3-23 (6) timelines for ongoing monitoring of the
3-24 implementation of each improvement strategy; and
3-25 (7) formative evaluation criteria for determining
3-26 periodically whether strategies are resulting in intended
3-27 improvement of student performance.
4-1 SECTION 3. Sections 11.253(c) and (d), Education Code, are
4-2 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
4-27 improvement.
5-1 SECTION 4. This Act applies beginning with the 1999-2000
5-2 school year.
5-3 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
5-4 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
5-5 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
5-6 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
5-7 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
5-8 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
5-9 passage, and it is so enacted.