By Cain                                               S.B. No. 1211
         76R6760 CAS-D                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to school district compliance with special education laws.
 1-3           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-4           SECTION 1.  Section 29.010, Education Code, is amended by
 1-5     amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (e) to read
 1-6     as follows:
 1-7           (a)  The agency shall adopt and implement a comprehensive
 1-8     system for monitoring [monitor] school district compliance with
 1-9     federal and state laws relating to special education.  The
1-10     monitoring system must provide for ongoing analysis of district
1-11     special education data and of complaints filed with the agency
1-12     concerning special education services and for inspections of [by
1-13     inspecting] each school district at the district's facilities.  The
1-14     agency shall use the information obtained through analysis of
1-15     district data and from the complaints management system to [may]
1-16     determine the appropriate schedule for and extent of the
1-17     inspection.
1-18           (b)  To complete the inspection, the agency must obtain
1-19     information from parents and teachers of students in special
1-20     education programs in the district.
1-21           (e)  The agency shall develop a system for expedited
1-22     investigation and resolution of complaints concerning a district's
1-23     failure to provide  special education or related services to a
1-24     student eligible to participate in the district's special education
 2-1     program.
 2-2           SECTION 2.  Section 39.053, Education Code, is amended to
 2-3     read as follows:
 2-4           Sec. 39.053.  PERORMANCE REPORT.  (a)  Each board of trustees
 2-5     shall publish an annual report describing the educational
 2-6     performance of the district and of each campus in the district that
 2-7     includes uniform student performance and descriptive information as
 2-8     determined under rules adopted by the commissioner.  The annual
 2-9     report must also include:
2-10                 (1)  campus performance objectives established under
2-11     Section 11.253 and the progress of each campus toward those
2-12     objectives, which shall  be available to the public;
2-13                 (2)[.  The annual report must also include] the
2-14     performance rating for the district as provided under Section
2-15     39.072(a) and the performance rating of each campus in the district
2-16     as provided under Section 39.072(c); and
2-17                 (3)  the most recent compliance monitoring report of
2-18     the district's special education program, including the progress of
2-19     the district toward implementing any resulting corrective action,
2-20     which shall be available to the public.
2-21           (b)  Supplemental information to be included in the reports
2-22     shall be determined by the board of trustees.  Performance
2-23     information in the annual reports on the indicators established
2-24     under Section 39.051 and descriptive information required by this
2-25     section shall be provided by the agency.
2-26           (c) [(b)]  The board of trustees shall hold a hearing for
2-27     public discussion of the report.  The board of trustees shall give
 3-1     notice of the hearing to property owners in the district and
 3-2     parents, guardians, conservators, and other persons having lawful
 3-3     control of a district student.  The notification must include
 3-4     notice to a newspaper of general circulation in the district and
 3-5     notice to electronic media serving the district.  After the hearing
 3-6     the report shall be widely disseminated within the district in a
 3-7     manner to be determined under rules adopted by the commissioner.
 3-8           (d) [(c)]  The report must also include a comparison provided
 3-9     by the agency of:
3-10                 (1)  the performance of each campus to its previous
3-11     performance and to state-established standards;
3-12                 (2)  the performance of each district to its previous
3-13     performance and to state-established standards; and
3-14                 (3)  the performance of each campus or district to
3-15     comparable improvement.
3-16           (e) [(d)]  The report may include the following information:
3-17                 (1)  student information, including total enrollment,
3-18     enrollment by ethnicity, economic status, and grade groupings and
3-19     retention rates;
3-20                 (2)  financial information, including revenues and
3-21     expenditures;
3-22                 (3)  staff information, including number and type of
3-23     staff by sex, ethnicity, years of experience, and highest degree
3-24     held, teacher and administrator salaries, and teacher turnover;
3-25                 (4)  program information, including student enrollment
3-26     by program, teachers by program, and instructional operating
3-27     expenditures by program; and
 4-1                 (5)  the number of students placed in an alternative
 4-2     education program under Chapter 37.
 4-3           (f) [(e)]  The State Board of Education by rule shall
 4-4     authorize the combination of this report with other reports and
 4-5     financial statements and shall restrict the number and length of
 4-6     reports that school districts, school district employees, and
 4-7     school campuses are required to prepare.
 4-8           (g) [(f)]  The report must include a statement of the amount,
 4-9     if any, of the school district's unencumbered surplus fund balance
4-10     as of the last day of the preceding fiscal year and the percentage
4-11     of the preceding year's budget that the surplus represents.
4-12           SECTION 3.  Section 39.072(b), Education Code, is amended to
4-13     read as follows:
4-14           (b)  The academic excellence indicators adopted under
4-15     Sections 39.051(b)(1) through (6) and the effectiveness of the
4-16     district's special education program based on the agency's most
4-17     recent compliance review of the district shall be the main
4-18     considerations [consideration] of the agency in the rating of the
4-19     district under this section.  Additional criteria in the rules may
4-20     include consideration of:
4-21                 (1)  compliance with statutory requirements and
4-22     requirements imposed by rule of the State Board of Education under
4-23     specific statutory authority that relate to:
4-24                       (A)  reporting data through the Public Education
4-25     Information Management System (PEIMS);
4-26                       (B)  the high school graduation requirements
4-27     under Section 28.025; or
 5-1                       (C)  an item listed in Sections
 5-2     7.056(e)(3)(C)-(I) that applies to the district; and
 5-3                 (2)  the effectiveness of the district's [programs in
 5-4     special education based on the agency's most recent compliance
 5-5     review of the district and] programs for special populations.
 5-6           SECTION 4.  Sections 39.073(a) and (d), Education Code, are
 5-7     amended to read as follows:
 5-8           (a)  The agency shall annually review the performance of each
 5-9     district and campus on the indicators adopted under Sections
5-10     39.051(b)(1) through (6) and the effectiveness of the district's
5-11     special education program based on the agency's most recent
5-12     compliance review of the district and determine if a change in the
5-13     accreditation status of the district is warranted.
5-14           (d)  The commissioner shall notify a district that is rated
5-15     academically unacceptable that the performance of the district or a
5-16     campus in the district is below each standard under Subsection (b)
5-17     or that the effectiveness of the district's special education
5-18     program is unacceptable and shall require the district to notify
5-19     property owners and parents in the district of the lowered
5-20     accreditation rating and its implication.
5-21           SECTION 5.  Section 39.182(a), Education Code, is amended to
5-22     read as follows:
5-23           (a)  The agency shall prepare and deliver to the governor,
5-24     the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of
5-25     representatives, each member of the legislature, the Legislative
5-26     Budget Board, and the clerks of the standing committees of the
5-27     senate and house of representatives with primary jurisdiction over
 6-1     the public school system a comprehensive report covering the
 6-2     preceding two school years and containing:
 6-3                 (1)  an evaluation of the achievements of the state
 6-4     educational program in relation to the statutory goals for the
 6-5     public education system under Section 4.002;
 6-6                 (2)  an evaluation of the status of education in the
 6-7     state as reflected by the academic excellence indicators adopted
 6-8     under Section 39.051;
 6-9                 (3)  a summary compilation of overall student
6-10     performance on academic skills assessment instruments required by
6-11     Section 39.023, aggregated by grade level, subject area, campus,
6-12     and district, with appropriate interpretations and analysis and
6-13     disaggregated by race, ethnicity, sex, and socioeconomic status;
6-14                 (4)  an evaluation of the correlation between student
6-15     grades and student performance on academic skills assessment
6-16     instruments required by Section 39.023;
6-17                 (5)  a statement of the dropout rate of students in
6-18     grade levels 7 through 12, expressed in the aggregate and by grade
6-19     level;
6-20                 (6)  a statement of the projected cross-sectional and
6-21     longitudinal dropout rates for grade levels 7 through 12 for the
6-22     next five years, assuming no state action is taken to reduce the
6-23     dropout rate;
6-24                 (7)  a description of a systematic plan for reducing
6-25     the projected cross-sectional and longitudinal dropout rates to
6-26     five percent or less for the 1997-1998 school year;
6-27                 (8)  a summary of the information required by Section
 7-1     29.083 regarding grade level retention of students;
 7-2                 (9)  a list of each school district or campus that does
 7-3     not satisfy performance standards, with an explanation of the
 7-4     actions taken by the commissioner to improve student performance in
 7-5     the district or campus and an evaluation of the results of those
 7-6     actions;
 7-7                 (10)  an evaluation of the status of the curriculum
 7-8     taught in public schools, with recommendations for legislative
 7-9     changes necessary to improve or modify the curriculum required by
7-10     Section 28.002;
7-11                 (11)  a description of all funds received by and each
7-12     activity and expenditure of the agency;
7-13                 (12)  a summary and analysis of the compliance of
7-14     school districts with administrative cost ratios set by the
7-15     commissioner under Section 42.201, including any improvements and
7-16     cost savings achieved by school districts;
7-17                 (13)  a summary of the effect of deregulation,
7-18     including exemptions and waivers granted under Section 7.056 or
7-19     39.112;
7-20                 (14)  a statement of the total number and length of
7-21     reports that school districts and school district employees must
7-22     submit to the agency, identifying which reports are required by
7-23     federal statute or rule, state statute, or agency rule, and a
7-24     summary of the agency's efforts to reduce overall reporting
7-25     requirements;  [and]
7-26                 (15)  a list of each school district that is not in
7-27     compliance with state special education requirements, including:
 8-1                       (A)  the period for which the district has not
 8-2     been in compliance;
 8-3                       (B)  the manner in which the agency considered
 8-4     the district's failure to comply in determining the district's
 8-5     accreditation status; and
 8-6                       (C)  an explanation of the actions taken by the
 8-7     commissioner to ensure compliance and an evaluation of the results
 8-8     of those actions; and
 8-9                 (16)  any additional information considered important
8-10     by the commissioner or the State Board of Education.
8-11           SECTION 6.  (a)  Sections 2-4 of this Act apply beginning
8-12     with the 1999-2000 school year.
8-13           (b)  The report required under Section 39.182(a), Education
8-14     Code, must include the information required by Section
8-15     39.182(a)(15), Education Code, as amended by this Act, beginning
8-16     with the first report the Texas Education Agency would regularly
8-17     make under Section 39.182(a), Education Code, after the effective
8-18     date of this Act.
8-19           SECTION 7.  The importance of this legislation and the
8-20     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
8-21     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
8-22     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
8-23     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
8-24     and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
8-25     passage, and it is so enacted.