78R7745 SLO-D

By:  Dutton                                                       H.B. No. 1518



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to accountability for public school dropouts and students 
at risk of dropping out of school.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 29.081(c), Education Code, is amended to 
read as follows:
	(c)  Each school district shall evaluate and document the 
effectiveness of the accelerated instruction in reducing any 
disparity in performance on assessment instruments administered 
under Subchapter B, Chapter 39, or disparity in the rates of high 
school completion between students at risk of dropping out of 
school and all other district students.  The evaluation shall 
include an analysis of the effectiveness of each program described 
in the campus and district improvement plans for reducing the 
disparities described by this subsection. The commissioner shall 
ensure that each school district complies with this subsection.
	SECTION 2.  Subchapter C, Chapter 29, Education Code, is 
amended by adding Section 29.088 to read as follows:
	Sec. 29.088.  DROPOUT DATA OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE.  (a)  The 
dropout data oversight committee shall review the agency's 
standards and definitions for dropouts and students completing 
school before the agency implements the standards and definitions. 
The committee shall be composed of:
		(1)  one member appointed by the governor;                             
		(2)  one member appointed by the speaker of the house;                 
		(3)  one member appointed by the lieutenant governor;                  
		(4)  one member of the Legislative Budget Board, 
appointed jointly by the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the 
house; and
		(5)  one employee of the office of the state auditor, 
appointed by the state auditor.
	(b)  A committee member appointed by the governor, 
lieutenant governor, or speaker of the house shall represent the 
public and must have a demonstrated interest in dropout prevention 
and public education.
	(c)  The committee is subject to Chapter 2110, Government 
Code.       
	SECTION 3.  Sections 42.152(d) and (r), Education Code, are 
amended to read as follows:
	(d)  The agency shall systematically evaluate the 
effectiveness of accelerated instruction and support programs 
provided under Section 29.081 for students at risk of dropping out 
of school.  The agency shall organize and share the information it 
collects during its evaluation with local districts.  If the agency 
cannot perform this evaluation with existing resources, the 
commissioner shall:
		(1)  withhold from the total amount appropriated for 
allotments under this section an amount the commissioner determines 
is necessary to perform the evaluation; and
		(2)  reduce each district's tier one allotments in the 
manner described for a reduction in allotments under Section 
42.253.
	(r)  The commissioner shall adopt rules under which the 
commissioner must grant a one-year exemption from the requirements 
of Subsection (q) [(g)] to a school district that consistently 
achieves significant reductions in the disparity in performance 
between students described by Section 29.081(d) and all other 
students.  The commissioner may not grant an exemption to a district 
that does not make consistent significant progress in reducing its 
dropout rate [in which the group of students who have failed to 
perform satisfactorily in the preceding school year on an 
assessment instrument required under Section 39.023(a), (c), or (l) 
subsequently performs on those assessment instruments at a level 
that meets or exceeds a level prescribed by commissioner rule].  
Each year the commissioner, based on the most recent information 
available, shall determine if a school district is entitled to an 
exemption for the following school year and notify the district and 
the district's board of trustees of that determination.
	SECTION 4.  (a)  This Act takes effect beginning with the 
2003-2004 school year.
	(b)  As soon as practicable on or after the effective date of 
this Act, as provided by Section 29.088, Education Code, as added by 
this Act:
		(1)  the governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of 
the house shall each appoint a person to the dropout data oversight 
committee;
		(2)  the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the 
house shall appoint a member of the Legislative Budget Board to the 
dropout data oversight committee; and
		(3)  the state auditor shall appoint an employee of the 
office of the state auditor to the dropout data oversight 
committee.
	SECTION 5.  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.