By Barrientos S.B. No. 1072
77R7495 CAS-F
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to students who drop out of public school.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Section 5.001, Education Code, is amended to read
1-5 as follows:
1-6 Sec. 5.001. DEFINITIONS. In this title:
1-7 (1) "Agency" means the Texas Education Agency.
1-8 (2) "Classroom teacher" means an educator who is
1-9 employed by a school district and who, not less than an average of
1-10 four hours each day, teaches in an academic instructional setting
1-11 or a career and technology instructional setting. The term does
1-12 not include a teacher's aide or a full-time administrator.
1-13 (3) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of
1-14 education.
1-15 (4) "Dropout" means a student enrolled in a public
1-16 school in this state:
1-17 (A) who withdraws from school without earning a
1-18 high school diploma; and
1-19 (B) whose enrollment in another public school or
1-20 a private school in this country that grants high school diplomas
1-21 has not been verified and recorded by a school district in this
1-22 state or by the agency.
1-23 (5) [(4)] "Educationally disadvantaged" means eligible
1-24 to participate in the national free or reduced-price lunch program
2-1 established under 42 U.S.C. Section 1751 et seq.
2-2 (6) [(5)] "Educator" means a person who is required to
2-3 hold a certificate issued under Subchapter B, Chapter 21.
2-4 (7) "Longitudinal dropout rate" means a rate computed
2-5 as a percentage of:
2-6 (A) dropouts over a four-year period measured
2-7 against a cohort of students who entered the ninth grade at the
2-8 same time as the dropouts, if determining the longitudinal dropout
2-9 rate of a high school campus;
2-10 (B) seventh-grade and eighth-grade dropouts over
2-11 a two-year period measured against a cohort of students who entered
2-12 the seventh grade at the same time as the dropouts, if determining
2-13 the longitudinal dropout rate of a middle school or junior high
2-14 school campus, regardless of whether the campus also includes a
2-15 sixth-grade class;
2-16 (C) school district dropouts over a six-year
2-17 period measured against a cohort of district students who entered
2-18 the seventh grade at the same time as the dropouts, if determining
2-19 the longitudinal dropout rate of a district; and
2-20 (D) dropouts from all school districts in this
2-21 state over a six-year period measured against a cohort of students
2-22 who entered the seventh grade at the same time as the dropouts, if
2-23 determining the state longitudinal dropout rate.
2-24 (8) [(6)] "Open-enrollment charter school" means a
2-25 school that has been granted a charter under Subchapter D, Chapter
2-26 12.
2-27 (9) [(7)] "Regional education service centers" means a
3-1 system of regional and educational services established in Chapter
3-2 8.
3-3 (10) [(8)] "Residential facility" means:
3-4 (A) a facility operated by a state agency or
3-5 political subdivision, including a child placement agency, that
3-6 provides 24-hour custody or care of a person 22 years of age or
3-7 younger, if the person resides in the facility for detention,
3-8 treatment, foster care, or any noneducational purpose; and
3-9 (B) any person or entity that contracts with or
3-10 is funded, licensed, certified, or regulated by a state agency or
3-11 political subdivision to provide custody or care for a person under
3-12 Paragraph (A).
3-13 SECTION 2. Subchapter D, Chapter 11, Education Code, is
3-14 amended by adding Section 11.166 to read as follows:
3-15 Sec. 11.166. DROPOUT PREVENTION COMMITTEE. (a) The board of
3-16 trustees of an independent school district shall appoint a
3-17 committee to monitor and make recommendations to the board
3-18 concerning the district's dropout prevention efforts.
3-19 (b) In addition to other members as determined by the board
3-20 of trustees, the committee must be composed of:
3-21 (1) parents of district students;
3-22 (2) members of the business community in the district;
3-23 and
3-24 (3) at least one district employee from each high
3-25 school, middle school, and junior high school campus in the
3-26 district.
3-27 (c) The committee shall regularly and systematically monitor
4-1 district dropout prevention efforts at each district campus. The
4-2 board shall assign primary responsibility for monitoring the
4-3 dropout prevention efforts at a district high school, junior high
4-4 school, or middle school campus to the member of the committee
4-5 employed at that campus.
4-6 (d) The committee shall work in conjunction with the
4-7 district-level committee established under Section 11.251
4-8 concerning the dropout reduction portion of the district
4-9 improvement plan.
4-10 SECTION 3. Subchapter C, Chapter 39, Education Code, is
4-11 amended by adding Section 39.055 to read as follows:
4-12 Sec. 39.055. ANNUAL AUDIT OF DROPOUT RECORDS; REPORT.
4-13 (a) The board of trustees of each school district shall have the
4-14 district's dropout records audited annually at district expense by
4-15 a public accountant or certified public accountant who:
4-16 (1) is certified or registered, as appropriate, and
4-17 licensed under Chapter 901, Occupations Code; and
4-18 (2) is not an employee of the district.
4-19 (b) The audit of dropout records must be completed following
4-20 the end of each school year.
4-21 (c) The audit of dropout records must meet at least the
4-22 minimum requirements and be in the format prescribed by the
4-23 commissioner, subject to review and comment by the state auditor.
4-24 (d) A copy of the report of the audit of dropout records,
4-25 approved by the district's board of trustees, shall be filed by the
4-26 district with the agency not later than the 120th day after the end
4-27 of the school year for which the audit was made. If the board of
5-1 trustees declines or refuses to approve the report, the board shall
5-2 file with the agency a copy of the report with the board's
5-3 statement giving detailed reasons for not approving the report.
5-4 (e) The agency shall review reports of audits of dropout
5-5 records. The commissioner shall notify the board of trustees of a
5-6 school district of any objections the commissioner has to the
5-7 report, violations of sound accounting practices or law and rule
5-8 requirements revealed by the report, or commissioner
5-9 recommendations concerning the report. If the report reflects that
5-10 penal laws have been violated, the commissioner shall notify the
5-11 county attorney, district attorney, or criminal district attorney,
5-12 as appropriate, and the attorney general. The commissioner is
5-13 entitled to access to all district records the commissioner
5-14 considers necessary and appropriate for the review, analysis, and
5-15 approval of the reports.
5-16 SECTION 4. Section 39.073, Education Code, is amended by
5-17 adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:
5-18 (f) Beginning with the 2004-2005 school year, in addition to
5-19 other criteria that must be met, a campus may not be rated as
5-20 acceptable or higher unless the longitudinal dropout rate of the
5-21 campus for each category specified by this subsection is five
5-22 percent or less, and a school district may not be rated as
5-23 academically acceptable or higher unless the longitudinal dropout
5-24 rate of the district for each category specified by this subsection
5-25 is five percent or less. For purposes of this section, information
5-26 concerning dropout rates shall be disaggregated by race,
5-27 ethnicity, sex, socioeconomic status, and status as a student of
6-1 limited English proficiency as defined by Section 29.052.
6-2 SECTION 5. Section 39.182(a), Education Code, is amended to
6-3 read as follows:
6-4 (a) The agency shall prepare and deliver to the governor,
6-5 the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of
6-6 representatives, each member of the legislature, the Legislative
6-7 Budget Board, and the clerks of the standing committees of the
6-8 senate and house of representatives with primary jurisdiction over
6-9 the public school system a comprehensive report covering the
6-10 preceding two school years and containing:
6-11 (1) an evaluation of the achievements of the state
6-12 educational program in relation to the statutory goals for the
6-13 public education system under Section 4.002;
6-14 (2) an evaluation of the status of education in the
6-15 state as reflected by the academic excellence indicators adopted
6-16 under Section 39.051;
6-17 (3) a summary compilation of overall student
6-18 performance on academic skills assessment instruments required by
6-19 Section 39.023, aggregated by grade level, subject area, campus,
6-20 and district, with appropriate interpretations and analysis and
6-21 disaggregated by race, ethnicity, sex, and socioeconomic status;
6-22 (4) an evaluation of the correlation between student
6-23 grades and student performance on academic skills assessment
6-24 instruments required by Section 39.023;
6-25 (5) a statement of:
6-26 (A) the state longitudinal dropout rate of
6-27 students in grade levels 7 through 12, expressed in the aggregate
7-1 and by grade level and disaggregated by sex and by the number of
7-2 students who have also been retained at a grade level; and
7-3 (B) the longitudinal dropout rate of students in
7-4 grade levels 9 through 12 at high school campuses in this state,
7-5 expressed in the aggregate and by grade level and disaggregated by
7-6 sex and by the number of students who have also been retained at a
7-7 grade level;
7-8 (6) a statement of the projected state
7-9 [cross-sectional and] longitudinal dropout rates for grade levels 7
7-10 through 12 for the next five years based on the most recent state
7-11 longitudinal dropout rate, assuming no state action is taken to
7-12 reduce the dropout rate;
7-13 (7) a description of a measurable systematic plan for
7-14 reducing the projected state [cross-sectional and] longitudinal
7-15 dropout rate [rates] to five percent or less beginning with [for]
7-16 the 2004-2005 [1997-1998] school year;
7-17 (8) a summary of the information required by Section
7-18 29.083 regarding grade level retention of students;
7-19 (9) a list of each school district or campus that does
7-20 not satisfy performance standards, with an explanation of the
7-21 actions taken by the commissioner to improve student performance in
7-22 the district or campus and an evaluation of the results of those
7-23 actions;
7-24 (10) an evaluation of the status of the curriculum
7-25 taught in public schools, with recommendations for legislative
7-26 changes necessary to improve or modify the curriculum required by
7-27 Section 28.002;
8-1 (11) a description of all funds received by and each
8-2 activity and expenditure of the agency;
8-3 (12) a summary and analysis of the compliance of
8-4 school districts with administrative cost ratios set by the
8-5 commissioner under Section 42.201, including any improvements and
8-6 cost savings achieved by school districts;
8-7 (13) a summary of the effect of deregulation,
8-8 including exemptions and waivers granted under Section 7.056 or
8-9 39.112;
8-10 (14) a statement of the total number and length of
8-11 reports that school districts and school district employees must
8-12 submit to the agency, identifying which reports are required by
8-13 federal statute or rule, state statute, or agency rule, and a
8-14 summary of the agency's efforts to reduce overall reporting
8-15 requirements;
8-16 (15) a list of each school district that is not in
8-17 compliance with state special education requirements, including:
8-18 (A) the period for which the district has not
8-19 been in compliance;
8-20 (B) the manner in which the agency considered
8-21 the district's failure to comply in determining the district's
8-22 accreditation status; and
8-23 (C) an explanation of the actions taken by the
8-24 commissioner to ensure compliance and an evaluation of the results
8-25 of those actions; and
8-26 (16) any additional information considered important
8-27 by the commissioner or the State Board of Education.
9-1 SECTION 6. Section 42.152, Education Code, is amended by
9-2 adding Subsections (u) and (v) to read as follows:
9-3 (u) From the total amount of funds appropriated for
9-4 allotments under this section, the commissioner shall, each fiscal
9-5 year, withhold $250,000 or a greater amount as determined in the
9-6 General Appropriations Act and out of that amount distribute:
9-7 (1) $10,000 or a greater amount as determined in the
9-8 General Appropriations Act to each of the 20 high school campuses
9-9 that achieved the greatest annual reduction in the longitudinal
9-10 dropout rate for the preceding school year; and
9-11 (2) $50,000 or a greater amount as determined by the
9-12 General Appropriations Act among other districts selected by the
9-13 commissioner according to guidelines adopted by the commissioner to
9-14 be used for instructional materials or program replication based
9-15 on programs used to lower the dropout rate in districts described
9-16 under Subdivision (1).
9-17 (v) After deducting the amount withheld under Subsection (u)
9-18 from the total amount appropriated for the allotment under
9-19 Subsection (a), the commissioner shall reduce each district's
9-20 allotments in the same manner described for a reduction in
9-21 allotments under Section 42.253.
9-22 SECTION 7. (a) As soon as practicable after the effective
9-23 date of this Act, the commissioner of education shall adopt rules
9-24 concerning the minimum requirements and the format of the audit of
9-25 dropout records prescribed under Section 39.055, Education Code, as
9-26 added by this Act. Each school district shall have its dropout
9-27 records audited as required by Section 39.055, Education Code, as
10-1 added by this Act, beginning with dropout records for the 2001-2002
10-2 school year.
10-3 (b) Not later than January 1, 2003, the commissioner of
10-4 education shall submit to the legislature a plan to incrementally
10-5 decrease the state and school district longitudinal dropout rates
10-6 to five percent or less.
10-7 SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.