81R17979 CAE-D

By: Villarreal H.B. No. 1263

Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1263:

By: Jackson C.S.H.B. No. 1263

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to providing an exemption from the administration of certain assessment instruments for certain public school students who are asylees or refugees.

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

SECTION 1. Section 39.027, Education Code, is amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:

(a) A student may be exempted from the administration of an assessment instrument under:

(1) Section 39.023(a) or (b) if the student is eligible for a special education program under Section 29.003 and the student's individualized education program does not include instruction in the essential knowledge and skills under Section 28.002 at any grade level;

(2) Section 39.023(c) or (d) if the student is eligible for a special education program under Section 29.003 and:

(A) the student's individualized education program does not include instruction in the essential knowledge and skills under Section 28.002 at any grade level; or

(B) the assessment instrument, even with allowable modifications, would not provide an appropriate measure of the student's achievement as determined by the student's admission, review, and dismissal committee;

(3) Section 39.023(a) or (l) for a period of up to one year after initial enrollment in a school in the United States if the student is of limited English proficiency, as defined by Section 29.052, and has not demonstrated proficiency in English as determined by the assessment system under Subsection (e); [or]

(4) Section 39.023(a) or (l) for a period of up to two years in addition to the exemption period authorized by Subdivision (3) if the student has received an exemption under Subdivision (3) and:

(A) is a recent unschooled immigrant; or

(B) is in a grade for which no assessment instrument in the primary language of the student is available; or

(5) Section 39.023(a), (c), or (l) for a period of up to four years, in addition to the exemption period authorized by Subdivision (3), if the student's initial enrollment in a school in the United States was as an unschooled asylee or refugee.

(a-1) For purposes of this section, "unschooled asylee or refugee" means a student who:

(1) initially enrolled in a school in the United States as:

(A) an asylee as defined by 45 C.F.R. Section 400.41; or

(B) a refugee as defined by 8 U.S.C. Section 1101;

(2) has a visa issued by the United States Department of State with a Form I-94 Arrival/Departure record, or a successor document, issued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services that is stamped with "Asylee," "Refugee," or "Asylum"; and

(3) as a result of inadequate schooling outside of the United States, lacks the necessary foundation in the essential knowledge and skills of the curriculum prescribed under Section 28.002 as determined by the language proficiency assessment committee established under Section 29.063.

SECTION 2. This Act applies beginning with the 2009-2010 school year.

SECTION 3. 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, 2009.