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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.


COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 1
	Amend SB1470 as follows:                                                       
	(1)  On page 2, line 16, strike "one half" and substitute 
"one third".
	(2)  Strike lines 21 on page 2 through line 11 on page 3 and 
substitute the following:
	(f)  A [Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, a] 
student participating in a program authorized by this section must 
have taken the [exit-level] assessment instruments specified by 
Section [39.025(a)] 39.023(a) for grade 9 before entering the 
program and [or] must take each grade level [those] assessment 
instrument administered [instruments] during the period [first 
year] in which the student is enrolled in the program.  [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.

                                                                    Grusendorf