1-1     By:  Bivins                                            S.B. No. 646
 1-2           (In the Senate - Filed February 12, 2001; February 13, 2001,
 1-3     read first time and referred to Committee on Education;
 1-4     March 26, 2001, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
 1-5     Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 7, Nays 0; March 26, 2001,
 1-6     sent to printer.)
 1-7     COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 646                   By:  Bivins
 1-8                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-9                                   AN ACT
1-10     relating to dropout and completion rates in public schools.
1-11           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-12           SECTION 1.  Subsection (b), Section 39.051, Education Code,
1-13     as amended by Chapters 396, 397, and 1422, Acts of the 76th
1-14     Legislature, Regular Session, 1999, is reenacted and amended to
1-15     read as follows:
1-16           (b)  Performance on the indicators adopted under this section
1-17     shall be compared to state-established standards.  The degree of
1-18     change from one school year to the next in performance on each
1-19     indicator adopted under this section shall also be considered.  The
1-20     indicators must be based on information that is disaggregated with
1-21     respect to race, ethnicity, sex, and socioeconomic status and must
1-22     include:
1-23                 (1)  the results of assessment instruments required
1-24     under Sections 39.023(a), (c), and (l), aggregated by grade level
1-25     and subject area;
1-26                 (2)  dropout rates, including dropout rates and
1-27     district completion rates for grade levels 9 through 12;
1-28                 (3)  student attendance rates;
1-29                 (4)  the percentage of graduating students who attain
1-30     scores on the secondary exit-level assessment instruments required
1-31     under Subchapter B that are equivalent to a passing score on the
1-32     test instrument required under Section 51.306;
1-33                 (5)  the percentage of graduating students who meet the
1-34     course requirements established for the recommended high school
1-35     program by State Board of Education rule;
1-36                 (6)  the results of the Scholastic Assessment Test
1-37     (SAT), the American College Test, articulated postsecondary degree
1-38     programs described by Section 61.852, and certified workforce
1-39     training programs described by Chapter 311, Labor Code;
1-40                 (7)  the number of students, aggregated by grade level,
1-41     provided accelerated instruction under Section 28.0211(c), the
1-42     results of assessments administered under that section, the number
1-43     of students promoted through the grade placement committee process
1-44     under Section 28.0211, the subject of the assessment instrument on
1-45     which each student failed to perform satisfactorily, and the
1-46     performance of those students in the school year following that
1-47     promotion on the assessment instruments required under Section
1-48     39.023;
1-49                 (8)  for students who have failed to perform
1-50     satisfactorily on an assessment instrument required under Section
1-51     39.023(a) or (c), the numerical progress of those students on
1-52     subsequent assessment instruments required under those sections,
1-53     aggregated by grade level and subject area;
1-54                 (9)  the percentage of students exempted, by exemption
1-55     category, from the assessment program generally applicable under
1-56     this subchapter; and
1-57                 (10)  any other indicator the State Board of Education
1-58     adopts.
1-59           SECTION 2.  Subchapter C, Chapter 39, Education Code, is
1-60     amended by adding Section 39.055 to read as follows:
1-61           Sec. 39.055.  ANNUAL AUDIT OF DROPOUT RECORDS; REPORT.
1-62     (a)  The board of trustees of each school district shall have the
1-63     district's dropout records audited annually at district expense by
1-64     a public accountant or certified public accountant who:
 2-1                 (1)  is certified or registered, as appropriate, and
 2-2     licensed under Chapter 901, Occupations Code;
 2-3                 (2)  has successfully completed training provided by
 2-4     the agency in auditing school dropout records; and
 2-5                 (3)  is not an employee of the district.
 2-6           (b)  The audit of dropout records must be completed following
 2-7     the end of each school year.
 2-8           (c)  The audit of dropout records must meet at least the
 2-9     minimum requirements and be in the format prescribed by the
2-10     commissioner, subject to review and comment by the state auditor.
2-11           (d)  A copy of the report of the audit of dropout records,
2-12     approved by the district's board of trustees, shall be filed by the
2-13     district with the agency not later than the 90th day after the last
2-14     day permissible for resubmission of information required under
2-15     Section 42.006.  If the board of trustees declines or refuses to
2-16     approve the report, the board shall file with the agency a copy of
2-17     the report with the board's statement giving detailed reasons for
2-18     not approving the report.
2-19           (e)  The agency shall review reports of audits of dropout
2-20     records.  The commissioner shall notify the board of trustees of a
2-21     school district of any objections the commissioner has to the
2-22     report, violations of sound accounting practices or law and rule
2-23     requirements revealed by the report, or commissioner
2-24     recommendations concerning the report.  If the report reflects that
2-25     penal laws have been violated, the commissioner shall notify the
2-26     county attorney, district attorney, or criminal district attorney,
2-27     as appropriate, and the attorney general.  The commissioner is
2-28     entitled to access to all district records the commissioner
2-29     considers necessary and appropriate for the review, analysis, and
2-30     approval of the reports.
2-31           SECTION 3.  Subsection (a), Section 39.182, Education Code,
2-32     is amended to read as follows:
2-33           (a)  The agency shall prepare and deliver to the governor,
2-34     the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of
2-35     representatives, each member of the legislature, the Legislative
2-36     Budget Board, and the clerks of the standing committees of the
2-37     senate and house of representatives with primary jurisdiction over
2-38     the public school system a comprehensive report covering the
2-39     preceding two school years and containing:
2-40                 (1)  an evaluation of the achievements of the state
2-41     educational program in relation to the statutory goals for the
2-42     public education system under Section 4.002;
2-43                 (2)  an evaluation of the status of education in the
2-44     state as reflected by the academic excellence indicators adopted
2-45     under Section 39.051;
2-46                 (3)  a summary compilation of overall student
2-47     performance on academic skills assessment instruments required by
2-48     Section 39.023, aggregated by grade level, subject area, campus,
2-49     and district, with appropriate interpretations and analysis and
2-50     disaggregated by race, ethnicity, sex, and socioeconomic status;
2-51                 (4)  an evaluation of the correlation between student
2-52     grades and student performance on academic skills assessment
2-53     instruments required by Section 39.023;
2-54                 (5)  a statement of the dropout rate of students in
2-55     grade levels 7 through 12, expressed in the aggregate and by grade
2-56     level, and a statement of the completion rates of students for
2-57     grade levels 9 through 12;
2-58                 (6)  a statement of the projected cross-sectional and
2-59     longitudinal dropout rates for grade levels 7 through 12 for the
2-60     next five years, assuming no state action is taken to reduce the
2-61     dropout rate;
2-62                 (7)  a description of a systematic plan for reducing
2-63     the projected cross-sectional and longitudinal dropout rates to
2-64     five percent or less for the 1997-1998 school year;
2-65                 (8)  a summary of the information required by Section
2-66     29.083 regarding grade level retention of students;
2-67                 (9)  a list of each school district or campus that does
2-68     not satisfy performance standards, with an explanation of the
2-69     actions taken by the commissioner to improve student performance in
 3-1     the district or campus and an evaluation of the results of those
 3-2     actions;
 3-3                 (10)  an evaluation of the status of the curriculum
 3-4     taught in public schools, with recommendations for legislative
 3-5     changes necessary to improve or modify the curriculum required by
 3-6     Section 28.002;
 3-7                 (11)  a description of all funds received by and each
 3-8     activity and expenditure of the agency;
 3-9                 (12)  a summary and analysis of the compliance of
3-10     school districts with administrative cost ratios set by the
3-11     commissioner under Section 42.201, including any improvements and
3-12     cost savings achieved by school districts;
3-13                 (13)  a summary of the effect of deregulation,
3-14     including exemptions and waivers granted under Section 7.056 or
3-15     39.112;
3-16                 (14)  a statement of the total number and length of
3-17     reports that school districts and school district employees must
3-18     submit to the agency, identifying which reports are required by
3-19     federal statute or rule, state statute, or agency rule, and a
3-20     summary of the agency's efforts to reduce overall reporting
3-21     requirements;
3-22                 (15)  a list of each school district that is not in
3-23     compliance with state special education requirements, including:
3-24                       (A)  the period for which the district has not
3-25     been in compliance;
3-26                       (B)  the manner in which the agency considered
3-27     the district's failure to comply in determining the district's
3-28     accreditation status; and
3-29                       (C)  an explanation of the actions taken by the
3-30     commissioner to ensure compliance and an evaluation of the results
3-31     of those actions; and
3-32                 (16)  any additional information considered important
3-33     by the commissioner or the State Board of Education.
3-34           SECTION 4.  Each school district shall have its dropout
3-35     records audited as required by Section 39.055, Education Code, as
3-36     added by this Act, beginning with dropout records for the 2001-2002
3-37     school year.
3-38           SECTION 5.  Not later than February 1, 2002, the Texas
3-39     Education Agency shall:
3-40                 (1)  develop a training program for public accountants
3-41     and certified public accountants in auditing public school dropout
3-42     records under Section 39.055, Education Code, as added by this Act;
3-43     and
3-44                 (2)  make the training program readily available to
3-45     public accountants and certified public accountants throughout this
3-46     state.
3-47           SECTION 6.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
3-48                                  * * * * *