S.B. No. 1108
AN ACT
relating to academic achievement in public schools.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 12, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 12.0521 to read as follows:
Sec. 12.0521. ALTERNATIVE AUTHORIZATION. (a) Notwithstanding
Section 12.052, in accordance with this subchapter and in the
manner provided by this section, the board of trustees of a school
district or the governing body of a home-rule school district may
grant a charter for:
(1) a new district campus; or
(2) a program that is operated:
(A) by an entity that has entered into a contract
with the district under Section 11.157 to provide educational
services to the district through the campus or program; and
(B) at a facility located in the boundaries of
the district.
(b) A student's parent or guardian may choose to enroll the
student at a campus or in a program under this section. A school
district may not assign a student to a campus or program under this
section unless the student's parent or guardian has voluntarily
enrolled the student at the campus or in the program. A student's
parent or guardian may, at any time, remove the student from a
campus or program under this section and enroll the student at the
campus to which the student would ordinarily be assigned.
(c) A school district may not assign to a campus or program
under this section a teacher who has signed a written statement that
the teacher does not agree to that assignment.
SECTION 2. Sections 12.057, 12.058, and 12.062, Education
Code, are amended to read as follows:
Sec. 12.057. STATUS. (a) With respect to the operation of
a campus or program granted a charter under this subchapter, the [A]
governing body of the campus or program provided for under the
charter is considered a governmental body for purposes of Chapters
551 and 552, Government Code.
(b) An employee of a campus or program granted a charter
under Section 12.052, 12.0521(a)(1), or 12.053 [this subchapter]
who qualifies for membership in the Teacher Retirement System of
Texas shall be covered under the system in the same manner and to
the same extent as a qualified employee employed on a regularly
operating campus or in a regularly operating program is covered.
(c) A [The] campus or program granted a charter under
Section 12.052, 12.0521(a)(1), or 12.053 is immune from liability
to the same extent as a school district, and its employees and
volunteers are immune from liability to the same extent as school
district employees and volunteers.
Sec. 12.058. CHARTER POLICY. [(a)] Each school district
shall adopt a campus charter and [campus] program charter policy.
The policy must specify:
(1) the process to be followed for approval of a campus
charter or a [campus] program charter;
(2) the statutory requirements with which a campus
charter or [campus] program charter must comply; and
(3) the items that must be included in a charter
application.
[(b) Each school district shall adopt a campus charter and
campus program charter policy as required by this section not later
than January 1, 1998.]
Sec. 12.062. REVISION. (a) A charter granted under
Section 12.052 or 12.053 [this subchapter] may be revised:
(1) with the approval of the board of trustees that
granted the charter; and
(2) on a petition signed by a majority of the parents
and a majority of the classroom teachers at the campus or in the
program, as applicable.
(b) A charter granted under Section 12.0521 may be revised
with the approval of the board of trustees that granted the charter.
A charter may be revised under this subsection only before the first
day of instruction of a school year or after the final day of
instruction of a school year.
SECTION 3. Subsection (b), Section 12.104, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(b) An open-enrollment charter school is subject to:
(1) a provision of this title establishing a criminal
offense; and
(2) a prohibition, restriction, or requirement, as
applicable, imposed by this title or a rule adopted under this
title, relating to:
(A) the Public Education Information Management
System (PEIMS) to the extent necessary to monitor compliance with
this subchapter as determined by the commissioner;
(B) criminal history records under Subchapter C,
Chapter 22;
(C) reading instruments and accelerated reading
instruction programs under Section 28.006;
(D) satisfactory performance on assessment
instruments and to accelerated instruction under Section 28.0211;
(E) intensive programs of instruction under
Section 28.0213;
(F) high school graduation under Section 28.025;
(G) [(F)] special education programs under
Subchapter A, Chapter 29;
(H) [(G)] bilingual education under Subchapter
B, Chapter 29;
(I) [(H)] prekindergarten programs under
Subchapter E, Chapter 29;
(J) [(I)] extracurricular activities under
Section 33.081;
(K) [(J)] discipline management practices or
behavior management techniques under Section 37.0021;
(L) [(K)] health and safety under Chapter 38; and
(M) [(L)] public school accountability under
Subchapters B, C, D, and G, Chapter 39.
SECTION 4. Section 12.111, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 12.111. CONTENT. (a) Each charter granted under this
subchapter must:
(1) describe the educational program to be offered,
which must include the required curriculum as provided by Section
28.002;
(2) specify the period for which the charter or any
charter renewal is valid;
(3) provide that continuation or renewal of the
charter is contingent on acceptable student performance on
assessment instruments adopted under Subchapter B, Chapter 39, and
on compliance with any accountability provision specified by the
charter, by a deadline or at intervals specified by the charter;
(4) establish the level of student performance that is
considered acceptable for purposes of Subdivision (3);
(5) specify any basis, in addition to a basis
specified by this subchapter, on which the charter may be placed on
probation or revoked or on which renewal of the charter may be
denied;
(6) prohibit discrimination in admission policy on the
basis of sex, national origin, ethnicity, religion, disability,
academic, artistic, or athletic ability, or the district the child
would otherwise attend in accordance with this code, although the
charter may provide for the exclusion of a student who has a
documented history of a criminal offense, a juvenile court
adjudication, or discipline problems under Subchapter A, Chapter
37;
(7) specify the grade levels to be offered;
(8) describe the governing structure of the program,
including:
(A) the officer positions designated;
(B) the manner in which officers are selected and
removed from office;
(C) the manner in which members of the governing
body of the school are selected and removed from office;
(D) the manner in which vacancies on that
governing body are filled;
(E) the term for which members of that governing
body serve; and
(F) whether the terms are to be staggered;
(9) specify the powers or duties of the governing body
of the school that the governing body may delegate to an officer;
(10) specify the manner in which the school will
distribute to parents information related to the qualifications of
each professional employee of the program, including any
professional or educational degree held by each employee, a
statement of any certification under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, held
by each employee, and any relevant experience of each employee;
(11) describe the process by which the person
providing the program will adopt an annual budget;
(12) describe the manner in which an annual audit of
the financial and programmatic operations of the program is to be
conducted, including the manner in which the person providing the
program will provide information necessary for the school district
in which the program is located to participate, as required by this
code or by State Board of Education rule, in the Public Education
Information Management System (PEIMS);
(13) describe the facilities to be used;
(14) describe the geographical area served by the
program; and
(15) specify any type of enrollment criteria to be
used.
(b) A charter holder of an open-enrollment charter school
shall consider including in the school's charter a requirement that
the school develop and administer personal graduation plans under
Section 28.0212.
SECTION 5. Subchapter A, Chapter 21, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 21.005 to read as follows:
Sec. 21.005. HIGH-QUALITY TEACHERS. The commissioner may
by rule establish a statewide standard to be used to certify each
school district that is preparing, training, and recruiting
high-quality teachers in a manner consistent with the No Child Left
Behind Act of 2001 (Pub. L. No. 107–110).
SECTION 6. Subchapter J, Chapter 21, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 21.456 to read as follows:
Sec. 21.456. TRAINING FOR TEACHERS OF STUDENTS OF LIMITED
ENGLISH PROFICIENCY. The commissioner shall develop and make
available training materials and other teacher training resources
to assist teachers in developing the expertise required to enable
students of limited English proficiency to meet state performance
expectations.
SECTION 7. Subchapter B, Chapter 28, Education Code, is
amended by adding Sections 28.0212 and 28.0213 to read as follows:
Sec. 28.0212. PERSONAL GRADUATION PLAN. (a) A principal
shall designate a guidance counselor, teacher, or other appropriate
individual to develop and administer a personal graduation plan for
each student enrolled in a junior high, middle, or high school who:
(1) does not perform satisfactorily on an assessment
instrument administered under Subchapter B, Chapter 39; or
(2) is not likely to receive a high school diploma
before the fifth school year following the student's enrollment in
grade level nine, as determined by the district.
(b) A personal graduation plan must:
(1) identify educational goals for the student;
(2) include diagnostic information, appropriate
monitoring and intervention, and other evaluation strategies;
(3) include an intensive instruction program
described by Section 28.0213;
(4) address participation of the student's parent or
guardian, including consideration of the parent's or guardian's
educational expectations for the student; and
(5) provide innovative methods to promote the
student's advancement, including flexible scheduling, alternative
learning environments, on-line instruction, and other
interventions that are proven to accelerate the learning process
and have been scientifically validated to improve learning and
cognitive ability.
(c) Notwithstanding Subsection (b), a student's
individualized education program developed under Section 29.005
may be used as the student's personal graduation plan under this
section.
Sec. 28.0213. INTENSIVE PROGRAM OF INSTRUCTION. (a) A
school district shall offer an intensive program of instruction to
a student who does not perform satisfactorily on an assessment
instrument administered under Subchapter B, Chapter 39.
(b) A school district shall design the intensive program of
instruction described by Subsection (a) to:
(1) enable the student to:
(A) to the extent practicable, perform at the
student's grade level at the conclusion of the next regular school
term; or
(B) attain a standard of annual growth specified
by the school district and reported by the district to the agency;
and
(2) if applicable, carry out the purposes of Section
28.0211.
(c) A school district shall use funds appropriated by the
legislature for an intensive program of instruction to plan and
implement intensive instruction and other activities aimed at
helping a student satisfy state and local high school graduation
requirements. The commissioner shall distribute funds to districts
that implement a program under this section based on the number of
students identified by the district who:
(1) do not perform satisfactorily on an assessment
instrument administered under Subchapter B, Chapter 39; or
(2) are not likely to receive a high school diploma
before the fifth school year following the student's enrollment in
grade nine, as determined by the district.
(d) A school district's determination of the
appropriateness of a program for a student under this section is
final and does not create a cause of action.
(e) For a student in a special education program under
Subchapter A, Chapter 29, who does not perform satisfactorily on an
assessment instrument administered under Section 39.023(a), (b),
or (c), the student's admission, review, and dismissal committee
shall design the program to:
(1) enable the student to attain a standard of annual
growth on the basis of the student's individualized education
program; and
(2) if applicable, carry out the purposes of Section
28.0211.
SECTION 8. Subsection (a), Section 29.082, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(a) A school district may set aside an amount from the
district's allotment under Section 42.152 or may apply to the
agency for funding of an extended year program for a period not to
exceed 30 instructional days for students in:
(1) kindergarten through grade 11 [8] who are
identified as likely not to be promoted to the next grade level for
the succeeding school year; or
(2) grade 12 who are identified as likely not to
graduate from high school before the beginning of the succeeding
school year.
SECTION 9. Section 29.903, Education Code, as added by
Chapter 944, Acts of the 77th Legislature, Regular Session, 2001,
is renumbered as Section 29.909, Education Code, and amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 29.909 [29.903]. ELECTRONIC COURSES. (a) In this
section, "electronic course" means an educational program or
course:
(1) that includes use of [available to students
primarily through] the Internet or other electronic media; and
(2) in which a student and a teacher are in different
locations for a majority of the student's instructional period
[enrolled in the course is not physically present in the classroom
for all or part of the course].
(b) The commissioner shall implement a program under which a
school district may offer [an] electronic courses [course] to
students enrolled in the district or to students enrolled in
another district, as provided by an agreement between the
districts. A district may not require a student to enroll in an
electronic course. The district may offer the electronic courses
through a designated campus or through a full-time program serving
students throughout the district.
(c) The commissioner shall select school districts to
participate in the program based on applications submitted by the
districts. The commissioner may not require a district to
participate in the program. The commissioner may determine the
number of districts permitted to participate in the program,
provided that the commissioner shall to the extent possible permit
the participation of rural and urban districts with a higher than
average:
(1) number of at-risk students, as determined by the
commissioner;
(2) dropout rate; or
(3) population of underserved gifted and talented
students, as determined by the commissioner.
(d) A school district seeking to participate in the program
must submit a written application to the commissioner not later
than July 1 preceding the school year the district proposes to begin
participation [participate] in the program, or an earlier date set
by the commissioner. The application must include:
(1) a proposed budget for the program;
(2) a method to be used to verify student attendance;
(3) [an accountability plan;
[(4) a description of each electronic course to be
offered by the district;
[(5) a description of the students expected to be
enrolled in each electronic course;
[(6)] any requested waiver of a requirement,
restriction, or prohibition imposed by this code or by a rule of the
State Board of Education or the commissioner,[;] and
[(7)] the period for which any requested waiver [under
Subdivision (6)] is proposed to be in effect; and
(4) the information required under Subsection (f).
(e) The commissioner may collect from each district that
submits an application under Subsection (d) a reasonable fee
sufficient to pay the costs of administering this section.
(f) Not later than a date determined by the commissioner,
each school district participating in the program shall create and
maintain on the district's Internet website an "informed choice"
report in a format determined by the commissioner. The agency shall
maintain on its Internet website a link to each district report
under this subsection. Each report must include a description of:
(1) each course of instruction offered to students in
the program, including the number of lessons, the expected duration
of each lesson, and a description of each lesson that requires use
of a computer;
(2) all materials required for each course offered in
the program;
(3) the process used to ensure that each course meets
the essential knowledge and skills requirements under Subchapter A,
Chapter 28, including any consultation with a district curriculum
specialist;
(4) the process used to place students in the
appropriate academic levels of the program, including:
(A) sample placement evaluations;
(B) information related to each person
responsible for placement of a student;
(C) the circumstances in which a student may be
placed in different academic levels for different course subjects
during a school year; and
(D) the circumstances in which a student may
complete more than one course level during a school year;
(5) any technology provided by the program to each
student enrolled in the program, including any computer, computer
software, or Internet access;
(6) the method used to report attendance in the
program;
(7) the method used to authenticate student course
work and attendance;
(8) the location and content of each scheduled meeting
between parents or guardians of students enrolled in the program
and teachers or other school officials, and the method used to
notify parents and guardians of the time and location of each
meeting;
(9) the program policies relating to:
(A) computer security and privacy; and
(B) truancy, absences, discipline, withdrawal,
and expulsion of students;
(10) any extracurricular activities provided by the
program, including activities held on a campus in the school
district;
(11) the teaching model used by the program,
including:
(A) each teacher's responsibilities;
(B) minimum teacher qualifications;
(C) minimum hours of training provided to
teachers;
(D) average and maximum student/teacher ratios;
(E) hours of teacher availability; and
(F) for each grade level, minimum and expected
amounts of contact between teachers and parents and between
teachers and students;
(12) any academic services that the program expects a
student's parent or guardian to provide to the student;
(13) each standardized assessment instrument, in
addition to any assessment instrument required under Chapter 39,
that the student is required to complete during the school year and,
if available, the location for administration of the instrument;
(14) a summary of the results of each assessment
instrument administered to students in the program during the
school year preceding the year the report is submitted; and
(15) the school year calendar for the program,
including any options for continued participation outside of the
standard school district calendar.
(g) A school district is entitled to receive federal, state,
and local funding for a student enrolled in an electronic course in
an amount equal to the funding the district is otherwise entitled to
receive for a student enrolled in the district. A school district
may calculate the average daily attendance of a student enrolled in
an electronic course based on:
(1) hours of contact with the student;
(2) the student's successful completion of a course;
or
(3) a method approved by the commissioner.
(h) The commissioner may waive any requirement,
restriction, or prohibition imposed by this code [relating to the
computation of daily attendance] to the extent necessary to
implement a program under this section.
(i) [(f)] The commissioner may cooperate with the
comptroller, the Department of Information Resources, or any other
state agency or commission in adopting technical standards for
auditing or verifying student attendance in an electronic course.
(j) [(g)] Not later than December 1, 2006 [2002], the
commissioner shall submit a report to the lieutenant governor and
the speaker of the house of representatives. The report must
include:
(1) [proposed] methods proposed by school districts
for funding electronic courses, including an evaluation of the
fiscal costs or benefits of each method;
(2) available methods of verifying student attendance
in an electronic course, including biometric attendance methods;
(3) any security or privacy issues involved in
providing an electronic course;
(4) the educational benefits of an electronic course;
(5) a list of any waiver requests submitted to the
commissioner by school districts under Subsection (d)(3) [(d)(6)];
and
(6) a list of any provisions waived by the
commissioner in the implementation of a program under this section.
(k) [(h)] This subsection and Subsection (j) expire January
[section expires September] 1, 2007 [2003].
SECTION 10. Subchapter Z, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 29.910 to read as follows:
Sec. 29.910. PROGRAMS OF MUTUAL BENEFIT. (a) The
commissioner, in coordination with appropriate representatives of
institutions of higher education and school districts, shall
develop:
(1) a diagnostic and assistance program for each
subject assessed by an assessment instrument under Section
39.023(c); and
(2) other academic programs of mutual benefit to
school districts and institutions of higher education.
(b) The commissioner shall seek private funding to make
available and maintain on the Internet each diagnostic and
assistance program developed under Subsection (a)(1).
SECTION 11. Subsection (a), Section 39.023, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(a) The agency shall adopt or develop appropriate
criterion-referenced assessment instruments designed to assess
essential knowledge and skills in reading, writing, mathematics,
social studies, and science. All students, except students
assessed under Subsection (b) or (l) or exempted under Section
39.027, shall be assessed in:
(1) mathematics, annually in grades three through
seven without the aid of technology and in grades eight through 11
with the aid of technology on any assessment instruments that
include algebra;
(2) reading, annually in grades three through nine;
(3) writing, including spelling and grammar, in grades
four and seven;
(4) English language arts, in grade 10;
(5) social studies, in grades eight and 10; and
(6) science, in grades five, eight, and 10.
SECTION 12. Section 39.024, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsections (d) and (e) to read
as follows:
(c) The agency shall develop study guides for the assessment
instruments administered under Sections 39.023(a) and (c). To
assist parents in providing assistance during the period that
school is recessed for summer, each school district shall
distribute the study guides to parents of students who do not
perform satisfactorily on one or more parts of an assessment
instrument administered under this subchapter.
(d) The agency shall develop and make available teacher
training materials and other teacher training resources to assist
teachers in enabling students of limited English proficiency to
meet state performance expectations. The teacher training
resources shall be designed to support intensive, individualized,
and accelerated instructional programs developed by school
districts for students of limited English proficiency.
(e) The commissioner shall retain a portion of the total
amount of funds allotted under Section 42.152(a) that the
commissioner considers appropriate to finance activities under
Subsections (c) and may retain a portion for activities under
Subsection (d) and for intensive programs of instruction for
students of limited English proficiency offered by school districts
[the development and distribution of the study guides] and shall
reduce each district's allotment proportionately.
SECTION 13. Subsection (b), Section 39.131, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(b) If a campus performance is below any standard under
Section 39.073(b), the campus is considered a low-performing
campus. The [and the] commissioner may permit the campus to
participate in an innovative redesign of the campus to improve
campus performance or may take any of the other following actions,
listed in order of severity, to the extent the commissioner
determines necessary:
(1) issue public notice of the deficiency to the board
of trustees;
(2) order a hearing conducted by the board of trustees
at the campus for the purpose of notifying the public of the
unacceptable performance, the improvements in performance expected
by the agency, and the sanctions that may be imposed under this
section if the performance does not improve within a designated
period of time and of soliciting public comment on the initial steps
being taken to improve performance;
(3) order the preparation of a report regarding the
parental involvement program at the campus and a plan describing
strategies for improving parental involvement at the campus;
(4) order the preparation of a report regarding the
effectiveness of the district- and campus-level planning and
decision-making committees established under Subchapter F, Chapter
11, and a plan describing strategies for improving the
effectiveness of those committees;
(5) order the preparation of a student achievement
improvement plan that addresses each academic excellence indicator
for which the campus's performance is unacceptable, the submission
of the plan to the commissioner for approval, and implementation of
the plan;
(6) order a hearing to be held before the commissioner
or the commissioner's designee at which the president of the board
of trustees, the superintendent, and the campus principal shall
appear and explain the campus's low performance, lack of
improvement, and plans for improvement;
(7) appoint a special campus intervention team to:
(A) conduct a comprehensive on-site evaluation
of each low-performing campus to determine the cause for the
campus's low performance and lack of progress;
(B) recommend actions, including reallocation of
resources and technical assistance, changes in school procedures or
operations, staff development for instructional and administrative
staff, intervention for individual administrators or teachers,
waivers from state statute or rule, or other actions the team
considers appropriate;
(C) assist in the development of a campus plan
for student achievement; and
(D) assist the commissioner in monitoring the
progress of the campus in implementing the campus plan for
improvement of student achievement;
(8) if a campus has been a low-performing campus for a
period of one year or more, appoint a board of managers composed of
residents of the district to exercise the powers and duties of the
board of trustees of the district in relation to the campus; or
(9) if a campus has been a low-performing campus for a
period of two years or more, order closure of the school program on
the campus.
SECTION 14. Subsection (b), Section 39.024, Education Code,
is repealed.
SECTION 15. Subsection (e), Section 29.909, Education Code,
as added by this Act, applies only to a district that applies for
participation in the electronic course program under Section
29.909, Education Code, as renumbered by this Act, on or after the
effective date of this Act.
SECTION 16. The commissioner of education shall adopt rules
for the implementation of Subdivision (6), Subsection (a), Section
39.023, Education Code, as amended by this Act. The commissioner's
rules must provide that:
(1) not later than the 2006-2007 school year, the
State Board of Education shall administer a science assessment
instrument to students in the eighth grade as provided by
Subdivision (6), Subsection (a), Section 39.023, Education Code, as
amended by this Act; and
(2) not later than the 2008-2009 school year, the
Texas Education Agency, in evaluating the performance of school
districts, campuses, and open-enrollment charter schools under
Subchapter D, Chapter 39, Education Code, shall include the results
of student performance on the eighth grade science assessment
instrument required by Subdivision (6), Subsection (a), Section
39.023, Education Code, as amended by this Act.
SECTION 17. This Act applies beginning with the 2003-2004
school year, except that the commissioner of education shall make
available not later than the beginning of the 2004-2005 school year
the programs developed under Subdivision (1), Subsection (a),
Section 29.910, Education Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 18. 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.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1108 passed the Senate on
April 7, 2003, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0;
May 30, 2003, Senate refused to concur in House amendments and
requested appointment of Conference Committee; May 31, 2003, House
granted request of the Senate; June 1, 2003, Senate adopted
Conference Committee Report by the following vote: Yeas 31,
Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1108 passed the House, with
amendments, on May 28, 2003, by the following vote: Yeas 137,
Nays 0, one present not voting; May 31, 2003, House granted request
of the Senate for appointment of Conference Committee;
June 1, 2003, House adopted Conference Committee Report by the
following vote: Yeas 146, Nays 0, two present not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
______________________________
Date
______________________________
Governor