79R2777 SLO-D
By: Madden H.B. No. 2058
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to education programs for gifted and talented students.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 29.123, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 29.123. STATE PLAN; ASSISTANCE. (a) The State Board
of Education shall develop and periodically update a state plan for
the education of gifted and talented students to guide school
districts in establishing and improving programs for identified
students.
(b) The regional education service centers may assist
districts in implementing the state plan. In addition to obtaining
assistance from a regional education service center, a district may
obtain other assistance in implementing the plan.
(c) The plan shall be used for accountability purposes to
measure the performance of districts in providing services to
students identified as gifted and talented. The plan's
accountability measures must be performance-based.
SECTION 2. Subchapter D, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
amended by adding Sections 29.1231, 29.124, 29.125, and 29.126 to
read as follows:
Sec. 29.1231. STATE PLAN DURING 2006-2007 SCHOOL YEAR FOR
CERTAIN SCHOOL DISTRICTS. (a) During the 2006-2007 school year, a
school district may participate in either the state plan developed
by the State Board of Education for the 2005-2006 school year or the
performance-based state plan developed by the board for the
2006-2007 school year.
(b) A school district that participates in the state plan
developed for the 2005-2006 school year must fully comply with that
state plan, but is not subject to the requirements of Section 29.124
or 29.125.
(c) A school district that participates in the state plan
developed for the 2005-2006 school year is entitled to funding for
not more than five percent of the district's students in average
daily attendance who are eligible for funding under Section 42.156.
(d) Beginning with the 2007-2008 school year, each school
district shall participate in and comply with the performance-based
state plan.
(e) This section expires September 1, 2007.
Sec. 29.124. MINIMUM LEVEL OF PERFORMANCE UNDER STATE PLAN.
(a) The agency shall set a minimum level of performance that a
school district is required to achieve in order to be in compliance
with the state plan. The agency may periodically raise the level of
performance so that a district is required to demonstrate that an
increasing number of gifted and talented students in the district
are meeting increasingly higher performance levels.
(b) A school district that achieves the minimum level of
performance is entitled to funding for each district student in
average daily attendance who is eligible for funding under Section
42.156.
(c) A school district that does not achieve the minimum
level of performance for two consecutive school years must develop
and implement a plan of action for achieving the minimum level of
performance the following school year. A district that does not
achieve the minimum level of performance the following school year
is subject to sanctions as determined by the agency. The sanctions
may include a loss of funding for the district's gifted and talented
program.
Sec. 29.125. DOCUMENTATION OF COMPLIANCE WITH STATE PLAN.
(a) To receive funding under Section 42.156, each school year a
school district shall provide the agency with information that:
(1) demonstrates that the district has achieved the
minimum level of performance set by the agency under Section
29.124;
(2) documents any changes in the total number of
full-time equivalent gifted and talented personnel in the district;
and
(3) documents any reduction in district resources
dedicated to gifted and talented programs in the district.
(b) After evaluating the information submitted by a school
district under Subsection (a), the agency may request additional
information from the district to verify that the district has
achieved the minimum level of performance set by the agency under
Section 29.124.
Sec. 29.126. ACCOUNTABILITY REPORTS. The campus report
card under Section 39.052, the performance report under Section
39.053, and the comprehensive annual report under Section 39.182
must include information on the race, ethnicity, gender,
socioeconomic status, and limited English proficiency status of
gifted and talented students at the campus, in the district, or in
the state, as applicable. The reports must also analyze the
percentage of gifted and talented students who were formerly
identified as students of limited English proficiency and who have
since exited from a bilingual education or special language
program.
SECTION 3. Section 42.156(c), Education Code, is repealed.
SECTION 4. This Act applies beginning with the 2006-2007
school year.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.