1-1 By: Luna S.B. No. 476
1-2 (In the Senate - Filed February 11, 1999; February 15, 1999,
1-3 read first time and referred to Committee on Education;
1-4 March 4, 1999, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 8,
1-5 Nays 0; March 4, 1999, sent to printer.)
1-6 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-7 AN ACT
1-8 relating to inclusion of special education students in certain
1-9 public education decisions.
1-10 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11 SECTION 1. Subsection (d), Section 8.051, Education Code, is
1-12 amended to read as follows:
1-13 (d) Each regional education service center shall maintain
1-14 core services for purchase by school districts and campuses. The
1-15 core services are:
1-16 (1) training and assistance in teaching each subject
1-17 area assessed under Section 39.023;
1-18 (2) training and assistance in providing each program
1-19 that qualifies for a funding allotment under Section 42.151,
1-20 42.152, 42.153, or 42.156;
1-21 (3) assistance specifically designed for a school
1-22 district rated academically unacceptable under Section 39.072(a) or
1-23 a campus whose performance is considered unacceptable based on the
1-24 indicators adopted under Section 39.051;
1-25 (4) training and assistance to teachers,
1-26 administrators, members of district boards of trustees, and members
1-27 of site-based decision-making committees; [and]
1-28 (5) assistance specifically designed for a school
1-29 district that is considered out of compliance with state or federal
1-30 special education requirements, based on the agency's most recent
1-31 compliance review of the district's special education programs; and
1-32 (6) assistance in complying with state laws and rules.
1-33 SECTION 2. Subsection (a), Section 11.252, Education Code,
1-34 is amended to read as follows:
1-35 (a) Each school district shall have a district improvement
1-36 plan that is developed, evaluated, and revised annually, in
1-37 accordance with district policy, by the superintendent with the
1-38 assistance of the district-level committee established under
1-39 Section 11.251. The purpose of the district improvement plan is to
1-40 guide district and campus staff in the improvement of student
1-41 performance for all student groups in order to attain state
1-42 standards in respect to the academic excellence indicators adopted
1-43 under Section 39.051. The district improvement plan must include
1-44 provisions for:
1-45 (1) a comprehensive needs assessment addressing
1-46 district student performance on the academic excellence indicators,
1-47 and other appropriate measures of performance, that are
1-48 disaggregated by all student groups served by the district,
1-49 including categories of ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sex, and
1-50 populations served by special programs, including students in
1-51 special education programs under Subchapter A, Chapter 29;
1-52 (2) measurable district performance objectives for all
1-53 appropriate academic excellence indicators for all student
1-54 populations, including students in special education programs under
1-55 Subchapter A, Chapter 29 [appropriate objectives for special needs
1-56 populations], and other measures of student performance that may be
1-57 identified through the comprehensive needs assessment;
1-58 (3) strategies for improvement of student performance
1-59 that include:
1-60 (A) instructional methods for addressing the
1-61 needs of student groups not achieving their full potential;
1-62 (B) methods for addressing the needs of students
1-63 for special programs, such as suicide prevention, conflict
1-64 resolution, violence prevention, or dyslexia treatment programs;
2-1 (C) dropout reduction;
2-2 (D) integration of technology in instructional
2-3 and administrative programs;
2-4 (E) discipline management;
2-5 (F) staff development for professional staff of
2-6 the district;
2-7 (G) career education to assist students in
2-8 developing the knowledge, skills, and competencies necessary for a
2-9 broad range of career opportunities; and
2-10 (H) accelerated education;
2-11 (4) resources needed to implement identified
2-12 strategies;
2-13 (5) staff responsible for ensuring the accomplishment
2-14 of each strategy;
2-15 (6) timelines for ongoing monitoring of the
2-16 implementation of each improvement strategy; and
2-17 (7) formative evaluation criteria for determining
2-18 periodically whether strategies are resulting in intended
2-19 improvement of student performance.
2-20 SECTION 3. Subsections (c) and (d), Section 11.253,
2-21 Education Code, are amended to read as follows:
2-22 (c) Each school year, the principal of each school campus,
2-23 with the assistance of the campus-level committee, shall develop,
2-24 review, and revise the campus improvement plan for the purpose of
2-25 improving student performance for all student populations,
2-26 including students in special education programs under Subchapter
2-27 A, Chapter 29, with respect to the academic excellence indicators
2-28 adopted under Section 39.051 and any other appropriate performance
2-29 measures for special needs populations.
2-30 (d) Each campus improvement plan must:
2-31 (1) assess the academic achievement for each student
2-32 in the school using the academic excellence indicator system as
2-33 described by Section 39.051;
2-34 (2) set the campus performance objectives based on the
2-35 academic excellence indicator system, including objectives for
2-36 special needs populations, including students in special education
2-37 programs under Subchapter A, Chapter 29;
2-38 (3) identify how the campus goals will be met for each
2-39 student;
2-40 (4) determine the resources needed to implement the
2-41 plan;
2-42 (5) identify staff needed to implement the plan;
2-43 (6) set timelines for reaching the goals; and
2-44 (7) measure progress toward the performance objectives
2-45 periodically to ensure that the plan is resulting in academic
2-46 improvement.
2-47 SECTION 4. This Act applies beginning with the 1999-2000
2-48 school year.
2-49 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
2-50 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-51 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-52 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-53 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
2-54 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
2-55 passage, and it is so enacted.
2-56 * * * * *