BILL ANALYSIS
By: King, Tracy
Border & International Affairs
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Texas annually rates its public schools and districts on the academic performance of their students. Some border school districts have among their student population, Native American students who accumulate as many as 90 excused absences due to observing religious holy days. Due to the high number of absences, these children frequently struggle in school, and the schools suffer because of the students' poor performance.
H.B. 2662 gives border school districts and border open-enrollment schools the right to challenge an agency decision, when an academic accountability rating is caused by the performance of Native American students who accumulated 30 or more excused absences in observance of religious holy days.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the opinion of the committee that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
ANALYSIS
H.B. 2662 amends the Education Code by authorizing certain school districts and certain open-enrollment charter schools to challenge an agency decision relating to an academic accountability rating if the rating was solely caused by the performance of Native American students who accumulated 30 or more excused absences in observance of religious holy days. The bill applies the provisions of this Act beginning with the 2007-2008 school year.
EFFECTIVE DATE
Upon passage, or, if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2007.