79R4906 SLO-F
By: Van de Putte S.B. No. 1717
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to promotion of students to certain grade levels in public
school.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 28.0211, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (c)-(f) and adding Subsections (a-1),
(b-1), and (d-1) to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b-1), (d), [(b)] or
(e), a student may not be promoted to:
(1) the fourth grade program to which the student
would otherwise be assigned if the student does not perform
satisfactorily on the third grade reading assessment instrument
under Section 39.023;
(2) the sixth grade program to which the student would
otherwise be assigned if the student does not perform
satisfactorily on the fifth grade mathematics and reading
assessment instruments under Section 39.023; or
(3) the ninth grade program to which the student would
otherwise be assigned if the student does not perform
satisfactorily on the eighth grade mathematics and reading
assessment instruments under Section 39.023.
(a-1) A school district shall establish a grade placement
committee to determine whether to promote or retain a student who
fails to perform satisfactorily on an assessment instrument
specified under Subsection (a). The grade placement committee
shall be composed of the student's principal or the principal's
designee, the teacher of the subject of an assessment instrument on
which the student failed to perform satisfactorily, and a counselor
at the student's school, or in the student's school district if the
student's school does not have a counselor. The district shall
notify the student's parent or guardian of:
(1) the student's failure to perform satisfactorily on
the assessment instrument;
(2) the time and place for convening the grade
placement committee and the purpose of the committee; and
(3) the possibility that the student might be retained
at the same grade level for the next school year.
(b-1) The grade placement committee may decide to promote a
student who fails to perform satisfactorily on an assessment
instrument specified under Subsection (a) if the committee
concludes, using standards adopted by the board of trustees, that
if promoted and given accelerated instruction as provided by
Subsection (f), the student is likely to perform at grade level.
The standards adopted by the board of trustees may include:
(1) evidence of satisfactory student performance,
including grades, portfolios, work samples, local assessments, and
individual reading and mathematics diagnostic tests or
inventories;
(2) grades in language arts, mathematics, science, and
social studies for the grade level from which the student seeks
promotion;
(3) performance on the individual assessment
instruments administered to the student under Section 39.023;
(4) total scores on the assessment instrument or
instruments specified by Subsection (a); and
(5) extenuating circumstances that have adversely
affected the student's participation in the required assessments.
(c) If the grade placement committee decides not to promote
a student under Subsection (b-1), the [Each time a student fails to
perform satisfactorily on an assessment instrument specified under
Subsection (a), the school district in which the student attends
school shall provide to the student accelerated instruction in the
applicable subject area, including reading instruction for a
student who fails to perform satisfactorily on a reading assessment
instrument. After a student fails to perform satisfactorily on an
assessment instrument a second time, a] grade placement committee
shall [be established to] prescribe [the] accelerated instruction
for [the district shall provide to] the student for the remainder of
the school year and may prescribe accelerated instruction for the
time school is recessed for the summer [before the student is
administered the assessment instrument the third time]. [The grade
placement committee shall be composed of the principal or the
principal's designee, the student's parent or guardian, and the
teacher of the subject of an assessment instrument on which the
student failed to perform satisfactorily. The district shall
notify the parent or guardian of the time and place for convening
the grade placement committee and the purpose of the committee.] An
accelerated instruction group administered by a school district
under this section may not have a ratio of more than 10 students for
each teacher. The accelerated instruction must include reading
instruction for a student who fails to perform satisfactorily on a
reading assessment instrument. The
[(d) In addition to providing accelerated instruction to a
student under Subsection (c), the] district shall notify the
student's parent or guardian of[:
[(1) the student's failure to perform satisfactorily
on the assessment instrument;
[(2)] the accelerated instruction program to which the
student is assigned[; and
[(3) the possibility that the student might be
retained at the same grade level for the next school year].
(d) The grade placement committee may decide in favor of a
student's promotion after a student has received accelerated
instruction as provided by Subsection (c) if the committee
concludes, using the same standards adopted by the board of
trustees under Subsection (b-1), that if promoted and given
accelerated instruction as provided by Subsection (f), the student
is likely to perform at grade level.
(d-1) A student may not be retained on the basis of the grade
placement committee's decision unless that decision is unanimous.
The commissioner by rule shall establish a time line for making the
placement determination.
(e) A student who[, after at least three attempts,] fails to
perform satisfactorily on an assessment instrument specified under
Subsection (a) and is not promoted by the grade placement committee
under Subsection (b-1) or (d) shall be retained at the same grade
level for the next school year in accordance with Subsection (a).
The student's parent or guardian may appeal the student's retention
by submitting a request to the grade placement committee
established under Subsection (a-1) to reconsider its decision under
Subsection (d) [(c)]. The school district shall give the parent or
guardian written notice of the opportunity to appeal. Subsections
(b-1) and (d) and this [The grade placement committee may decide in
favor of a student's promotion only if the committee concludes,
using standards adopted by the board of trustees, that if promoted
and given accelerated instruction, the student is likely to perform
at grade level. A student may not be promoted on the basis of the
grade placement committee's decision unless that decision is
unanimous. The commissioner by rule shall establish a time line for
making the placement determination. This] subsection do [does] not
create a property interest in promotion. [The decision of the grade
placement committee is final and may not be appealed.]
(f) A school district shall provide to a student who[, after
three attempts,] has failed to perform satisfactorily on an
assessment instrument specified under Subsection (a) accelerated
instruction during the next school year as prescribed by an
educational plan developed for the student by the student's grade
placement committee established under Subsection (a-1) [(c)]. The
district shall provide that accelerated instruction regardless of
whether the student has been promoted or retained. The educational
plan must be designed to enable the student to perform at the
appropriate grade level by the conclusion of the school year.
During the school year, the student shall be monitored to ensure
that the student is progressing in accordance with the plan. The
district shall administer to the student the assessment instrument
for the grade level in which the student is placed at the time the
district regularly administers the assessment instruments for that
school year.
SECTION 2. Section 28.0211(b), Education Code, is repealed.
SECTION 3. Section 28.0211, Education Code, as amended by
this Act, applies beginning with the 2005-2006 school year.
SECTION 4. 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, 2005.