S.B. No. 186




AN ACT

relating to the computation of public school dropout and completion 
rates.  
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Subsection (b), Section 39.051, Education Code, 
as amended by Chapters 8, 725, 834, and 1420, Acts of the 77th 
Legislature, Regular Session, 2001, is reenacted and amended to 
read as follows:
	(b)  Performance on the indicators adopted under this 
section shall be compared to state-established standards.  The 
degree of change from one school year to the next in performance on 
each indicator adopted under this section shall also be considered.  
The indicators must be based on information that is disaggregated 
by race, ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status and must 
include:
		(1)  the results of assessment instruments required 
under Sections 39.023(a), (c), and (l), aggregated by grade level 
and subject area;
		(2)  dropout rates, including dropout rates and 
district completion rates for grade levels 9 through 12, computed 
in accordance with standards and definitions adopted by the 
National Center for Education Statistics of the United States 
Department of Education;
		(3)  high school graduation rates, computed in 
accordance with standards and definitions adopted in compliance 
with the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Pub. L. No. 
107-110);
		(4)  student attendance rates;                                         
		(5) [(4)]  the percentage of graduating students who 
attain scores on the secondary exit-level assessment instruments 
required under Subchapter B that are equivalent to a passing score 
on the test instrument required under Section 51.306;
		(6) [(5)]  the percentage of graduating students who 
meet the course requirements established for the recommended high 
school program by State Board of Education rule;
		(7) [(6)]  the results of the Scholastic Assessment 
Test (SAT), the American College Test (ACT), articulated 
postsecondary degree programs described by Section 61.852, and 
certified workforce training programs described by Chapter 311, 
Labor Code;
		(8) [(7)]  the percentage of students, aggregated by 
grade level, provided accelerated instruction under Section 
28.0211(c), the results of assessments administered under that 
section, the percentage of students promoted through the grade 
placement committee process under Section 28.0211, the subject of 
the assessment instrument on which each student failed to perform 
satisfactorily, and the performance of those students in the school 
year following that promotion on the assessment instruments 
required under Section 39.023;
		(9) [(8)]  for students who have failed to perform 
satisfactorily on an assessment instrument required under Section 
39.023(a) or (c), the numerical progress of those students on 
subsequent assessment instruments required under those sections, 
aggregated by grade level and subject area;
		(10) [(9)  the percentage of students taking 
end-of-course assessment instruments adopted under Section 
39.023(d);
		[(9)]  the percentage of students exempted, by 
exemption category, from the assessment program generally 
applicable under this chapter [subchapter]; and
		(11)  the percentage of students of limited English 
proficiency exempted from the administration of an assessment 
instrument under Sections 39.027(a)(3) and (4).
	SECTION 2.  Subsection (b), Section 39.051, Education Code, 
as amended by this Act, applies beginning with the 2005-2006 school 
year.
	SECTION 3.  The Texas Education Agency shall modify its data 
collection system to permit the application of the National Center 
for Education Statistics definition of a dropout to campuses not 
later than the 2005-2006 school year.  In the interim, the Texas 
Education Agency shall assist districts in computing the required 
rates to the extent necessary to apply for dropout reduction grants 
funded under Section 1803 of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 
(20 U.S.C. Section 6553).
	SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.                           

                                                                              




______________________________    ______________________________
President of the Senate             Speaker of the House
	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 186 passed the Senate on 
March 19, 2003, by a viva-voce vote.




______________________________ 
   Secretary of the Senate             
	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 186 passed the House on 
May 28, 2003, by a non-record vote.




______________________________ 
   Chief Clerk of the House            



Approved:


______________________________ 
            Date



______________________________ 
          Governor