80R8806 JRJ-D

By: Delisi H.B. No. 3645

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the analysis and use of public school campus and school district data concerning student attrition rates.

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

SECTION 1. Section 11.255(a), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) Each district-level planning and decision-making committee and each campus-level planning and decision-making committee for a junior, middle, or high school campus shall analyze information related to dropout prevention, including:

(1) the results of the audit of dropout records required by Section 39.055;

(2) campus information related to:

(A) graduation rates;

(B) [,] dropout rates;

(C) [,] high school equivalency certificate rates;

(D) attrition rates attributable to causes other than students graduating, dropping out, or earning a high school equivalency certificate;[,] and

(E) the percentage of students who remain in high school more than four years after entering grade level 9;

(3) the number of students who enter a high school equivalency certificate program and:

(A) do not complete the program;

(B) complete the program but do not take the high school equivalency examination; or

(C) complete the program and take the high school equivalency examination but do not obtain a high school equivalency certificate;

(4) for students enrolled in grade levels 9 and 10, information related to academic credit hours earned, retention rates, and placements in alternative education programs and expulsions under Chapter 37; and

(5) the results of an evaluation of each school-based dropout prevention program in the district.

SECTION 2. Section 39.051(b), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(b) Performance on the indicators adopted under this section shall be compared to state-established standards. The degree of change from one school year to the next in performance on each indicator adopted under this section shall also be considered. The indicators must be based on information that is disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status and must include:

(1) the results of assessment instruments required under Sections 39.023(a), (c), and (l), aggregated by grade level and subject area;

(2) dropout rates, including dropout rates and district completion rates for grade levels 9 through 12, computed in accordance with standards and definitions adopted by the National Center for Education Statistics of the United States Department of Education;

(3) high school graduation rates, computed in accordance with standards and definitions adopted in compliance with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Pub. L. No. 107-110);

(4) student attendance rates;

(5) the percentage of graduating students who attain scores on the secondary exit-level assessment instruments required under Subchapter B that are equivalent to a passing score on the assessment instrument required under Section 51.3062;

(6) the percentage of graduating students who meet the course requirements established for the recommended high school program by State Board of Education rule;

(7) the results of the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT), the American College Test (ACT), articulated postsecondary degree programs described by Section 61.852, and certified workforce training programs described by Chapter 311, Labor Code;

(8) the percentage of students, aggregated by grade level, provided accelerated instruction under Section 28.0211(c), the results of assessments administered under that section, the percentage of students promoted through the grade placement committee process under Section 28.0211, the subject of the assessment instrument on which each student failed to perform satisfactorily, and the performance of those students in the school year following that promotion on the assessment instruments required under Section 39.023;

(9) for students who have failed to perform satisfactorily on an assessment instrument required under Section 39.023(a) or (c), the numerical progress of those students grouped by percentage on subsequent assessment instruments required under those sections, aggregated by grade level and subject area;

(10) the percentage of students exempted, by exemption category, from the assessment program generally applicable under this chapter;

(11) the percentage of students of limited English proficiency exempted from the administration of an assessment instrument under Sections 39.027(a)(3) and (4);

(12) the percentage of students in a special education program under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, assessed through assessment instruments developed or adopted under Section 39.023(b);

(13) the measure of progress toward preparation for postsecondary success; [and]

(14) the measure of progress toward dual language proficiency under Section 39.034(b), for students of limited English proficiency, as defined by Section 29.052; and

(15) attrition rates attributable to causes other than students graduating, dropping out, or earning a high school equivalency certificate, for grade levels 9 through 12.

SECTION 3. Section 39.072, Education Code, is amended by adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:

(e) The agency may not consider a school district's attrition rates under Section 39.051(b)(15) in the rating of the district under this section.

SECTION 4. Section 39.182(a), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) Not later than December 1 of each year, the agency shall prepare and deliver to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, each member of the legislature, the Legislative Budget Board, and the clerks of the standing committees of the senate and house of representatives with primary jurisdiction over the public school system a comprehensive report covering the preceding school year and containing:

(1) an evaluation of the achievements of the state educational program in relation to the statutory goals for the public education system under Section 4.002;

(2) an evaluation of the status of education in the state as reflected by the academic excellence indicators adopted under Section 39.051;

(3) a summary compilation of overall student performance on academic skills assessment instruments required by Section 39.023 with the number and percentage of students exempted from the administration of those instruments and the basis of the exemptions, aggregated by grade level, subject area, campus, and district, with appropriate interpretations and analysis, and disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status;

(4) a summary compilation of overall performance of students placed in a disciplinary alternative education program established under Section 37.008 on academic skills assessment instruments required by Section 39.023 with the number of those students exempted from the administration of those instruments and the basis of the exemptions, aggregated by district, grade level, and subject area, with appropriate interpretations and analysis, and disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status;

(5) a summary compilation of overall performance of students at risk of dropping out of school, as defined by Section 29.081(d), on academic skills assessment instruments required by Section 39.023 with the number of those students exempted from the administration of those instruments and the basis of the exemptions, aggregated by district, grade level, and subject area, with appropriate interpretations and analysis, and disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status;

(6) an evaluation of the correlation between student grades and student performance on academic skills assessment instruments required by Section 39.023;

(7) a statement of the dropout rate of students in grade levels 7 through 12, expressed in the aggregate and by grade level, and a statement of the completion rates and the attrition rates under Section 39.051(b)(15) of students for grade levels 9 through 12;

(8) a statement of:

(A) the completion rate of students who enter grade level 9 and graduate not more than four years later;

(B) the completion rate of students who enter grade level 9 and graduate, including students who require more than four years to graduate;

(C) the completion rate of students who enter grade level 9 and not more than four years later receive a high school equivalency certificate;

(D) the completion rate of students who enter grade level 9 and receive a high school equivalency certificate, including students who require more than four years to receive a certificate; and

(E) the number and percentage of all students who have not been accounted for under Paragraph (A), (B), (C), or (D);

(9) a statement of the projected cross-sectional and longitudinal dropout rates for grade levels 9 through 12 for the next five years, assuming no state action is taken to reduce the dropout rate;

(10) a description of a systematic, measurable plan for reducing the projected cross-sectional and longitudinal dropout rates to five percent or less for the 1997-1998 school year;

(11) a summary of the information required by Section 29.083 regarding grade level retention of students and information concerning:

(A) the number and percentage of students retained; and

(B) the performance of retained students on assessment instruments required under Section 39.023(a);

(12) information, aggregated by district type and disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status, on:

(A) the number of students placed in a disciplinary alternative education program established under Section 37.008;

(B) the average length of a student's placement in a disciplinary alternative education program established under Section 37.008;

(C) the academic performance of students on assessment instruments required under Section 39.023(a) during the year preceding and during the year following placement in a disciplinary alternative education program; and

(D) the dropout rates of students who have been placed in a disciplinary alternative education program established under Section 37.008;

(13) a list of each school district or campus that does not satisfy performance standards, with an explanation of the actions taken by the commissioner to improve student performance in the district or campus and an evaluation of the results of those actions;

(14) an evaluation of the status of the curriculum taught in public schools, with recommendations for legislative changes necessary to improve or modify the curriculum required by Section 28.002;

(15) a description of all funds received by and each activity and expenditure of the agency;

(16) a summary and analysis of the instructional expenditures ratios and instructional employees ratios of school districts computed under Section 44.0071;

(17) a summary of the effect of deregulation, including exemptions and waivers granted under Section 7.056 or 39.112;

(18) a statement of the total number and length of reports that school districts and school district employees must submit to the agency, identifying which reports are required by federal statute or rule, state statute, or agency rule, and a summary of the agency's efforts to reduce overall reporting requirements;

(19) a list of each school district that is not in compliance with state special education requirements, including:

(A) the period for which the district has not been in compliance;

(B) the manner in which the agency considered the district's failure to comply in determining the district's accreditation status; and

(C) an explanation of the actions taken by the commissioner to ensure compliance and an evaluation of the results of those actions;

(20) a comparison of the performance of open-enrollment charter schools and school districts on the academic excellence indicators specified in Section 39.051(b) and accountability measures adopted under Section 39.051(g), with a separately aggregated comparison of the performance of open-enrollment charter schools predominantly serving students at risk of dropping out of school, as defined by Section 29.081(d), with the performance of school districts;

(21) a summary of the information required by Section 38.0141 regarding student health and physical activity from each school district; and

(22) any additional information considered important by the commissioner or the State Board of Education.

SECTION 5. This Act applies beginning with the 2007-2008 school year.

SECTION 6. 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.