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Amend CSSB 1031 (House committee printing) as follows:
(1) Immediately following SECTION 6 of the bill (page 4,
between lines 26 and 27), insert the following appropriately
numbered SECTION and renumber the subsequent SECTIONS of the bill
accordingly:
SECTION ____. Chapter 39, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter A to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER A. COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF PUBLIC SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY
SYSTEM
Sec. 39.001. SELECT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SCHOOL
ACCOUNTABILITY. (a) The Select Committee on Public School
Accountability is established to conduct a comprehensive review of
the public school accountability system.
(b) The committee is composed of 15 members appointed as
follows:
(1) the presiding officers of the standing committees
of each house of the legislature with primary jurisdiction over
public education;
(2) one member of the senate, appointed by the
lieutenant governor;
(3) one member of the house of representatives,
appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives;
(4) the commissioner;
(5) the commissioner of higher education;
(6) one public school teacher, one public school
principal, and one public school district superintendent, each
currently employed in this state and each appointed jointly by the
lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house of
representatives;
(7) two persons each of whom is currently employed as
an educator in a public school in this state and each appointed
jointly by the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house of
representatives;
(8) one representative from the business community or
the public, appointed by the lieutenant governor;
(9) one representative from the business community or
the public, appointed by the speaker of the house of
representatives; and
(10) two representatives from the business community
and the public, at least one of whom has one or more children who
currently attend public school in this state, appointed by the
governor.
(c) The governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the
house of representatives shall make the appointments required by
Subsection (b) in a timely fashion to permit the committee to comply
with Section 39.002(a).
Sec. 39.002. COMMITTEE MEETINGS. (a) Not later than
October 1, 2007, the committee shall hold an organizational
meeting.
(b) The presiding officers described by Section
39.001(b)(1) serve as co-chairs of the committee.
(c) Committee meetings shall be held at the call of the
co-chairs.
Sec. 39.003. COMPENSATION AND REIMBURSEMENT. (a) A member
of the committee is entitled to reimbursement for actual and
necessary expenses incurred in performing committee duties.
(b) A legislative member of the committee is entitled to
reimbursement from the appropriate fund of the house of the
legislature in which the member serves.
(c) A member other than a legislative member is entitled to
reimbursement from funds appropriated to the committee.
Sec. 39.004. COMMITTEE STAFF. Staff members of the
standing committees described by Section 39.001(b)(1) shall serve
as the staff of the committee.
Sec. 39.005. OBJECTIVES OF STUDY. (a) The committee shall
conduct a comprehensive review of the public school accountability
system. In conducting its review, the committee shall study the
mission, organizational structure, design, processes, and
practices of similar accountability systems in other states and the
requirements established by federal law.
(b) A review under this section must include a thorough
study of:
(1) each element of the accountability system
prescribed by this chapter, with special emphasis on:
(A) the indicators used to determine
accreditation status;
(B) rewards and incentives for campus
excellence; and
(C) the responsibilities of the commissioner in
assisting and, if necessary, imposing sanctions on districts that
do not meet state performance standards;
(2) the extent to which the accountability system is
aligned with the requirements prescribed by the No Child Left
Behind Act of 2001 (20 U.S.C. Section 6301 et seq.);
(3) the extent to which the accountability system
reflects the public education mission, objectives, and goals
provided by Chapter 4;
(4) the extent to which the accountability system
meets public expectations;
(5) the extent to which the accountability system
fairly and accurately reports the effectiveness of educators,
instructional programs, support services, and financial
expenditures and the impact of these elements on student
achievement;
(6) the methods available to monitor the progress of
each public school student, with special emphasis on methods to
monitor demonstrable growth in academic achievement;
(7) the performance indicators that would
successfully measure the effectiveness of the campus teaching and
learning environment, including the effect of student discipline on
that environment;
(8) the effectiveness of the accountability system in
reporting the performance of open-enrollment charter schools and
alternative education programs;
(9) the implementation of statewide assessment
instruments, including specifically end-of-course assessment
instruments;
(10) the extent to which the accountability system
measures the performance of districts and campuses on important
indicators and aspects of the educational process, other than
student scores on standardized assessment instruments;
(11) the extent to which the accountability system
clearly and accurately reports to parents and interested persons
the overall performance of districts and campuses; and
(12) the extent to which the accountability system
considers the different student demographics of districts and
campuses.
(c) The committee shall conduct public hearings throughout
the state and solicit testimony about the accountability system
from parents of public school children and other interested
persons. At least one public hearing must be held at a public
school during a time that public school students are able to attend
the hearing.
(d) The commissioner shall ensure that the committee has
access to any documentation and agency personnel the committee
requests.
(e) The Legislative Budget Board, comptroller, state
auditor, and any other state agency, official, or personnel shall
cooperate with the committee in carrying out its duties under this
subchapter.
(f) The committee may coordinate the study under this
subchapter with any other legislative study, as appropriate.
Sec. 39.006. REPORT. (a) Not later than December 1, 2008,
the committee shall provide a report that:
(1) states the findings of the study conducted under
this subchapter; and
(2) includes any recommendations for statutory
changes.
(b) The report must be approved by a majority of the
committee members. A member who disagrees with any part of the
report may attach a dissenting statement to the report.
Sec. 39.007. EXPIRATION. This subchapter expires January
13, 2009.
(2) In SECTION 17 of the bill (page 23, line 22), between
"SECTION 17." and "Section", insert "(a)".
(3) In SECTION 17 of the bill (page 23, between lines 22 and
23), insert the following:
(b) Effective September 1, 2011, Subchapters C, D, and E,
Chapter 39, Education Code, are repealed.
(4) In SECTION 20 of the bill (page 24, line 20), strike
"This Act" and substitute "Except as otherwise provided by this
Act, this Act".