By: West S.B. No. 1470
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to student eligibility to participate in a high school
equivalency program and to authorization of a school district or
open-enrollment charter school to operate a program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 29.087, Education Code, as added by
Chapter 1514, Acts of the 77th Legislature, Regular Session, 2001,
is amended by amending Subsections (b), (d), and (f) and adding
Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
(b) Any [A] school district or open-enrollment charter
school may [not] apply for authorization to operate a program under
this section [unless on May 1, 2001, the district or school was
operating a similar program as authorized by the agency]. As part
of the application process, the commissioner shall require a
district or school to provide information regarding the operation
of any [that] similar program during the preceding five years.
(b-1) A school district or open-enrollment charter school
authorized by the commissioner on or before August 31, 2003, to
operate a program under this section may continue to operate that
program in accordance with this section.
(d) A student is eligible to participate in a program
authorized by this section if:
(1) the student has been ordered by a court under
Article 45.054, Code of Criminal Procedure, as added by Chapter
1514, Acts of the 77th Legislature, Regular Session, 2001, or by the
Texas Youth Commission to:
(A) participate in a preparatory class for the
high school equivalency examination; or
(B) take the high school equivalency examination
administered under Section 7.111; or
(2) the following conditions are satisfied:
(A) the student is at least 16 years of age at the
beginning of the school year or semester;
(B) the student is a student at risk of dropping
out of school, as defined by Section 29.081;
(C) the student and the student's parent or
guardian agree in writing to the student's participation;
(D) at least two school years have elapsed since
the student first enrolled in ninth grade and the student has
accumulated less than one half [quarter] of the credits required to
graduate under the minimum graduation requirements of the district
or school; and
(E) any other conditions specified by the
commissioner.
(f) A [Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, a]
student participating in a program authorized by this section,
other than a student who has been ordered to participate by the
Texas Youth Commission under Subsection (d)(1), must have taken the
Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE) and performed satisfactorily
on that test [exit-level assessment instruments specified by
Section 39.025(a)] before entering the program [or must take those
assessment instruments during the first year in which the student
is enrolled in the program]. The board of trustees of the school
district or the governing body of the open-enrollment charter
school operating the program shall adopt a policy that establishes
the level of performance considered to be satisfactory for purposes
of this subsection [The commissioner may authorize a student to
take the assessment instruments required by Section 39.023(a) to be
administered to students in grade 10 instead of the exit-level
assessment instruments. A student participating in the program may
not take the high school equivalency examination unless the student
has taken the assessment instruments required by this subsection].
SECTION 2. Subsection (o), Section 29.087, Education Code,
as added by Chapter 1514, Acts of the 77th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2001, is repealed.
SECTION 3. 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.