Amend CSSB 1952 (House Committee Report), in PART 9 of the
bill by adding the following appropriately numbered ARTICLE to read
as follows:
ARTICLE 9 _____. GENERAL EDUCATION PROVISIONS
SECTION 9_____.01. Subchapter B, Chapter 7, Education Code,
is amended by adding Section 7.027 to read as follows:
Sec. 7.027. GRANTS. (a) The agency may accept grants for the
benefit of public education.
(b) Unless otherwise required by federal law or by the terms
of a private grant, the agency may award grants in accordance with a
formula or other criteria adopted by agency rule instead of using a
competitive process.
SECTION 9_____.02. Section 7.102(c)(15), Education Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(15) The board shall adopt criteria for identifying
gifted and talented students [and shall develop and update a state
plan for the education of gifted and talented students] as required
under Subchapter D, Chapter 29.
SECTION 9_____.03. Section 8.103, Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 8.103. ANNUAL EVALUATION. The commissioner shall
conduct an annual evaluation of each executive director and
regional education service center. Each evaluation must include:
(1) an audit of the center's finances;
(2) a review of the center's performance on the
indicators adopted under Section 8.101; and
(3) [a review of client satisfaction with services
provided under Subchapter B; and
[(4)] a review of any other factor the commissioner
determines to be appropriate.
SECTION 9_____.04. Section 21.004(a), Education Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) To the extent that funds are available, the agency, the
State Board for Educator Certification, and the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board shall develop and implement
coordinated programs to identify talented students and recruit
those students and persons, including high school and undergraduate
students, mid-career and retired professionals, honorably
discharged and retired military personnel, and members of
underrepresented gender and ethnic groups, into the teaching
profession.
SECTION 9_____.05. Section 21.355, Education Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 21.355. CONFIDENTIALITY. (a) A document evaluating the
performance of a teacher or administer is confidential.
(b) This section does not restrict the use of aggregate
results of student performance on academic skills assessment
instruments for the purposes of evaluating teacher preparation and
training programs as provided by Section 39.030(b).
SECTION 9_____.06. Section 29.903, as added by Chapter 795,
Acts of the 77th Legislature, Regular Session, 2001, is amended by
adding Subsection (h) to read as follows:
(h) This section must be implemented only to the extent that
funds are specifically appropriated for the purpose.
SECTION 9_____.07. Sections 31.1011(a), (d), and (e),
Education Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The commissioner shall implement a program to study the
use of credits for textbooks. The program shall be designed to
allow a participating school district or open-enrollment charter
school to receive credit for textbooks purchased at a cost below the
cost limit established under Section 31.025(a). The commissioner
shall allow any school district or open-enrollment charter school
to participate in the program.
(d) The commissioner shall prepare a report relating to the
use of the textbook credit system and deliver the report to the 80th
[79th] Legislature.
(e) This section expires September 1, 2007 [2005].
SECTION 9_____.08. Section 32.033(a), Education Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The agency, in coordination with institutions of higher
education and other public or private entities, may [shall]
maintain and expand, as needed, the telecommunications
capabilities of school districts and regional education service
centers. The agency shall design and implement a
telecommunications system for distance learning throughout the
state.
SECTION 9_____.09. Section 39.030(b), Education Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) The results of individual student performance on academic
skills assessment instruments administered under this subchapter
are confidential and may be released only in accordance with the
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C.
Section 1232g). However, overall student performance data shall be
aggregated by ethnicity, sex, grade level, subject area, campus,
and district and made available to the public, with appropriate
interpretations, at regularly scheduled meetings of the board of
trustees of each school district. The information may not contain
the names of individual students [or teachers]. Except as
otherwise required by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g), this subsection does not
restrict the use of aggregate results of student performance on
academic skills assessment instruments for the purpose of
evaluating teacher preparation and training programs, including:
(1) traditional educator preparation programs;
(2) alternative certification programs; and
(3) continuing education courses and programs.
SECTION 9_____.10. Section 39.075(a), Education Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The commissioner may [shall] authorize special
accreditation investigations to be conducted:
(1) when excessive numbers of absences of students
eligible to be tested on state assessment instruments are
determined;
(2) when excessive numbers of allowable exemptions from
the required state assessment are determined;
(3) in response to complaints submitted to the agency
with respect to alleged violations of civil rights or other
requirements imposed on the state by federal law or court order;
(4) in response to established compliance reviews of
the district's financial accounting practices and state and federal
program requirements;
(5) when extraordinary numbers of student placements in
alternative education programs, other than placements under
Sections 37.006 and 37.007, are determined;
(6) in response to an allegation involving a conflict
between members of the board of trustees or between the board and
the district administration if it appears that the conflict
involves a violation of a role or duty of the board members or the
administration clearly defined by this code; or
(7) as the commissioner otherwise determines necessary.
SECTION 9_____.11. Section 39.131, Education Code, is
amended by adding subsection (k) to read as follows:
(k) The commissioner may take action under Subsection (a) or
(b) against an entity to which a charter is granted under Subchapter
B, Chapter 12, based on the failure of one or more campuses operated
by that charter holder to satisfy accreditation criteria.
SECTION 9_____.12. The heading to Section 39.182, Education
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 39.182. COMPREHENSIVE [ANNUAL] REPORT.
SECTION 9_____.13. Section 39.182(a), Education Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) Not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year, the
agency shall prepare and deliver to the governor, the lieutenant
governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, each member
of the legislature, the Legislative Budget Board, and the clerks of
the standing committees of the senate and house of representatives
with primary jurisdiction over the public school system a
comprehensive report covering the preceding two school years [year]
and containing;
(1) an evaluation of the achievements of the state
educational program in relation to the statutory goals for the
public education system under Section 4.002;
(2) an evaluation of the status of education in the
state as reflected by the academic excellence indicators adopted
under Section 39.051;
(3) a summary compilation of overall student
performance on academic skills assessment instruments required by
Section 39.023 with the number and percentage of students exempted
from the administration of those instruments and the basis of the
exemptions, aggregated by grade level, subject area, campus, and
district, with appropriate interpretations and analysis, and
disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic
status;
(4) a summary compilation of overall performance of
students placed in an alternative education program established
under Section 37.008 on academic skills assessment instruments
required by Section 39.023 with the number of those students
exempted from the administration of those instruments and the basis
of the exemptions, aggregated by district, grade level, and subject
area, with appropriate interpretations and analysis, and
disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic
status;
(5) a summary compilation of overall performance of
students at risk of dropping out of school, as defined by Section
29.081(d), on academic skills assessment instruments required by
Section 39.023 with the number of those students exempted from the
administration of those instruments and the basis of the
exemptions, aggregated by district, grade level, and subject area,
with appropriate interpretations and analysis, and disaggregated
by race, ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status;
(6) an evaluation of the correlation between student
grades and student performance on academic skills assessment
instruments required by Section 39.023;
(7) a statement of the dropout rate of students in grade
levels 7 through 12, expressed in the aggregate and by grade level,
and a statement of the completion rates of students for grade levels
9 through 12;
(8) a statement of:
(A) the completion rate of students who enter
grade level 9 and graduate not more than four years later;
(B) the completion rate of students who enter
grade level 9 and graduate, including students who require more
than four years to graduate;
(C) the completion rate of students who enter
grade level 9 and not more than four years later receive a high
school equivalency certificate;
(D) the completion rate of students who enter
grade level 9 and receive a high school equivalency certificate,
including students who require more than four years to receive a
certificate; and
(E) the number and percentage of all students who
have not been accounted for under Paragraph (A), (B), (C), or (D);
(9) a statement of the projected cross-sectional and
longitudinal dropout rates for grade levels 9 through 12 for the
next five years, assuming no state action is taken to reduce the
dropout rate;
(10) a description of a systematic, measurable plan for
reducing the projected cross-sectional and longitudinal dropout
rates to five percent or less for the 1997-1998 school year;
(11) a summary of the information required by Section
29.083 regarding grade level retention of students and information
concerning:
(A) the number and percentage of students
retained; and
(B) the performance of retained students on
assessment instruments required under Section 39.023(a);
(12) information, aggregated by district type and
disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic
status, on:
(A) the number of students placed in an
alternative education program established under Section 37.008;
(B) the average length of a student's placement in
an alternative education program established under Section 37.008;
(C) the academic performance of students on
assessment instruments required under Section 39.023(a) during the
year preceding and during the year following placement in an
alternative education program; and
(D) the dropout rates of students who have been
placed in an alternative education program established under
Section 37.008;
(13) a list of each school district or campus that does
not satisfy performance standards, with an explanation of the
actions taken by the commissioner to improve student performance in
the district or campus and an evaluation of the results of those
actions;
(14) an evaluation of the status of the curriculum
taught in public schools, with recommendations for legislative
changes necessary to improve or modify the curriculum required by
Section 28.002;
(15) a description of all funds received by and each
activity and expenditure of the agency;
(16) a summary and analysis of the compliance of school
districts with administrative cost ratios set by the commissioner
under Section 42.201, including any improvements and cost savings
achieved by school districts;
(17) a summary of the effect of deregulation, including
exemptions and waivers granted under Section 7.056 or 39.112;
(18) a statement of the total number and length of
reports that school districts and school district employees must
submit to the agency, identifying which reports are required by
federal statute or rule, state statute, or agency rule, and a
summary of the agency's efforts to reduce overall reporting
requirements;
(19) a list of each school district that is not in
compliance with state special education requirements, including:
(A) the period for which the district has not been
in compliance;
(B) the manner in which the agency considered the
district's failure to comply in determining the district's
accreditation status; and
(C) an explanation of the actions taken by the
commissioner to ensure compliance and an evaluation of the results
of those actions;
(20) a comparison of the performance of open-enrollment
charter schools and school districts on the academic excellence
indicators specified in Section 39.051(b) and accountability
measures adopted under Section 39.051(g), with a separately
aggregated comparison of the performance of open-enrollment
charter schools predominantly serving students at risk of dropping
out of school, as defined by Section 29.081(d), with the
performance of school districts; and
(21) any additional information considered important by
the commissioner or the State Board of Education.
SECTION 9_____.14. Sections 825.507(b) and (c), Government
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) The retirement system may release records of a
participant, including a participant to which Chapter 803 applies,
to:
(1) the participant or the participant's attorney or
guardian or another person who the executive director determines is
acting on behalf of the participant;
(2) the executor or administrator of the deceased
participant's estate, including information relating to the
deceased participant's beneficiary;
(3) a spouse or former spouse of the participant if the
executive director determines that the information is relevant to
the spouse's or former spouse's interest in member accounts,
benefits, or other amounts payable by the retirement system;
(4) an administrator, carrier, consultant, attorney, or
agent acting on behalf of the retirement system;
(5) a governmental entity, an employer, or the
designated agent of an employer, only to the extent the retirement
system needs to share the information to perform the purposes of the
retirement system, as determined by the executive director;
(6) a person authorized by the participant in writing to
receive the information;
(7) a federal or state criminal law enforcement agency
that requests a record for a law enforcement purpose;
(8) the attorney general to the extent necessary to
enforce child support; [or]
(9) a party in response to a subpoena issued under
applicable law if the executive director determines that the
participant will have a reasonable opportunity to contest the
subpoena;
(10) the commissioner of education or the
commissioner's designee; or
(11) the State Board for Educator Certification or the
board's designee.
(c) The records of a participant remain confidential after
release to a person as authorized by this section. This section
does not prevent the disclosure or confirmation, on an individual
basis, of the status or identity of a participant as a member,
former member, retiree, deceased member or retiree, beneficiary, or
alternate payee of the retirement system. The release of records to
a designee of the commissioner of education or State Board for
Educator Certification under Subsection (b)(10) or (b)(11) is an
intergovernmental transfer of information that does not violate the
confidentiality of the information and does not waive any exception
to public disclosure.
SECTION 9_____.15. Sections 7.102(c)(1) and (c)(25),
8.051(b), 11.254(b), 12.107(b), 12.118, 12.119(c), 21.453, 29.123,
32.035, 45.208(e), Education Code, are repealed.
SECTION 9_____.16. This article applies beginning with the
2003-2004 school year.