By: Eissler H.B. No. 1270

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to an intensive reading or language intervention pilot program at certain public school campuses.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 29.094, Education Code, is reenacted and amended to read as follows:

Sec. 29.094. INTENSIVE READING OR [AND] LANGUAGE INTERVENTION PILOT PROGRAM. (a) In this section, "pilot program" means the intensive reading or [and] language intervention pilot program.

(b) The commissioner by rule shall [may] establish a pilot program in which a participating campus provides intensive reading or [and] language intervention to participating students.

(c) A [If the commissioner establishes the pilot program, a] campus may apply to the commissioner to participate in the pilot program. The commissioner may select for participation in the pilot program only campuses that have failed to improve student performance in reading according to standards established by the commissioner. The standards established by the commissioner for purposes of this subsection must be based on reading performance standards required for student promotion under Section 28.0211.

(d) The [If the commissioner establishes the pilot program, the] commissioner shall adopt minimum criteria that a program must meet to be selected by a participating campus for use in providing intensive reading or [and] language intervention. The criteria must include neuroscience-based, scientifically validated methods, scientifically based reading interventions, or instructional tools that have been proven to accelerate language acquisition or reading proficiency for struggling readers [learning, cognitive ability, and language proficiency]. A participating campus shall submit a summary of the campus's proposed intensive intervention program to the commissioner for approval. The commissioner may approve only a program that follows the minimum criteria adopted under this subsection.

(e) The principal of a participating campus, in consultation with classroom teachers at the campus, shall select students to participate in the pilot program based on assessment data. Benchmark measures shall be administered at the beginning and end of the program [A participating campus shall assess each selected student before the student enters and after the student transfers out of the pilot program to measure the student's progress].

(f) Not later than December 31, 2008 [2006], any vendor of an intensive intervention program approved under Subsection (d), in consultation with the agency and each school district with which the vendor contracts under this section, shall provide the legislature with a report describing student progress under the assessments administered to participating students under Subsection (e).

(g) Notwithstanding any other law, the commissioner shall [may] provide funding for the pilot program using not more than $6 million of funding appropriated for purposes of Section 28.0211.

(h) The [If the commissioner establishes the pilot program, the] commissioner shall adopt rules necessary to implement this section.

(i) The [If the commissioner establishes the pilot program, the] commissioner shall make the pilot program available to participating campuses during the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 [2005-2006 and 2006-2007] school years.

[(j)This section expires July 1, 2007.]

SECTION 2. 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, 2007.