C.S.H.B. 2449 78(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


C.S.H.B. 2449
By: Chavez
Public Education
Committee Report (Substituted)


BACKGROUND 

Currently, some school campuses house drop-out prevention programs in
which there are enrolled students from other campuses. When these students
fail state mandated assessment tests, their scores negatively affect the
school housing the program. As a result, some schools are rated as low
performing due to students who have spent minimal time on that campus. Due
to the negative impact of a low performance rating, some feel it is unfair
to count these at risk students in the performance rating of the campuses
that house the drop-out prevention program.  


PURPOSE

The purpose of  C.S.H.B. 2449 is to consider students in multi-campus
drop-out prevention programs as students of the school they would normally
attend for the purpose of performance indicators. 


RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly
granted to the commissioner of education in SECTION 1 (Section 39.072,
Education Code) in this bill. 


ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 2449 amends the Education Code to provide that, for purposes of
campus performance evaluation, a student, who attends a program serving
students who are pregnant or parents that is based at a single campus but
serves students from more than one campus, is considered to be a student
at the campus to which the student would regularly be assigned. The bill
authorizes the commissioner of education (commissioner) to make rules to
implement this section. 

This Act applies to inclusion of a student for purposes of public school
accountability beginning with the 2003-2004 school year. A district may
apply to the commissioner for a determination of what rating a campus
rating would have had during the 2002-2003 school year if this Act had
been in effect. 


EFFECTIVE DATE

Upon passage, or, if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act
takes effect September 1, 2003. 


COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 2449 modifies the original version by amending Section 39.072
rather than 39.051, Education Code. C.S.H.B. 2449 modifies the original
version by conforming to the Texas Legislative Council style and format.
C.S.H.B. 2449 modifies the original by granting rulemaking authority to
the commissioner of education.