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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to transfer of a student of limited English proficiency |
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out of a public school bilingual education or special language |
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program. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 29.056(g), Education Code, is amended to |
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read as follows: |
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(g) A district may transfer a student of limited English |
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proficiency out of a bilingual education or special language |
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program for the first time or a subsequent time if the student is |
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able to participate equally in a regular all-English instructional |
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program as determined by: |
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(1) agency-approved tests administered at the end of |
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each school year to determine the extent to which the student has |
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developed oral and written language proficiency and specific |
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language skills in: |
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(A) English; and |
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(B) Spanish, if the student is enrolled in a |
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bilingual education program and the student's primary language is |
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Spanish; |
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(2) satisfactory performance on the reading |
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assessment instrument under Section 39.023(a) or an English |
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language arts assessment instrument under Section 39.023(c), as |
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applicable, with the assessment instrument administered in |
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English, [or,] if the student is enrolled in the third or fourth |
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[first or second] grade[, an achievement score at or above the 40th
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percentile in the reading and language arts sections of an English
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standardized test approved by the agency]; and |
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(3) other indications of a student's overall progress, |
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including [agency-approved] criterion-referenced test scores, |
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[tests and the results of a] subjective teacher evaluation, and |
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parental evaluation. |
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SECTION 2. This Act applies beginning with the 2009-2010 |
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school year. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |