78R3240 BDH-D
By: Noriega H.B. No. 642
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the dropout count and dropout rate of students in public
schools.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 5.001, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subdivisions (3-a) and (3-b) to read as follows:
(3-a) "Dropout" means a student who:
(A) does not hold a high school diploma; and
(B) is absent from the school at which the
student is enrolled for a period of at least 30 consecutive school
days, and whose attendance at another school, including a private
school, cannot be verified.
(3-b) "Dropout rate" means the rate computed under
Section 39.0545.
SECTION 2. Section 39.051(d), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(d) Annually, the commissioner shall define exemplary,
recognized, and unacceptable performance for each academic
excellence indicator included under Subsections (b)(1) through (6)
and shall project the standards for each of those levels of
performance for succeeding years. For the indicator under
Subsection (b)(7), the commissioner shall define exemplary,
recognized, and unacceptable performance based on student
performance for the period covering both the current and preceding
academic years. [In defining exemplary, recognized, and
unacceptable performance for the indicators under Subsections
(b)(2) and (3), the commissioner may not consider as a dropout or as
a student who has failed to attend school a student whose failure to
attend school results from:
[(1) the student's expulsion under Section 37.007; and
[(2) as applicable:
[(A) adjudication as having engaged in
delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision, as
defined by Section 51.03, Family Code; or
[(B) conviction of and sentencing for an offense
under the Penal Code.]
SECTION 3. Subchapter C, Chapter 39, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 39.0545 to read as follows:
Sec. 39.0545. DROPOUT COUNT AND DROPOUT RATE. (a) In this
section:
(1) "A" is the number of students enrolled at a campus
at grade level 9;
(2) "B" is the number of students not enrolled at a
campus at grade level 9 who subsequently enroll at the campus at the
same grade level as the students described by Subdivision (1);
(3) "C" is the number of those students described by
Subdivisions (1) and (2) who remain enrolled at the same campus at
grade level 12;
(4) "D" is the number of those students described by
Subdivisions (1) and (2):
(A) who enroll at another campus, including a
private school campus, in a program that grants a high school
diploma; and
(B) whose enrollment is verified by the receiving
campus;
(5) "E" is the number of students described by
Subdivisions (1) and (2) who die while enrolled at the campus before
receiving a high school diploma;
(6) "F" is the number of students described by
Subdivisions (1) and (2) who receive a high school diploma before
completing grade level 12;
(7) "DC" is the dropout count; and
(8) "DR" is the dropout rate.
(b) The dropout count of students at a school campus is
determined by the formula:
DC = (A + B) - (C + D + E + F)
(c) The dropout rate of students at a school campus is
determined by the formula:
DR = DC / (A + B) x 100
(d) The dropout count and dropout rate of students enrolled
in a school district or in this state are computed in the same
manner as the dropout count and dropout rate of a campus under this
section.
SECTION 4. Section 39.182(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Not later than December 1 of each 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 school 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 count and dropout rate
of students in grade levels 7 through 12, expressed in the aggregate
and by grade level, and a statement of the dropout count and dropout
rate [completion rates] of students in [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 5. This Act applies beginning with the 2003-2004
school year.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2003.