81R24604 CAS-F

By: Farrar H.B. No. 4091

Substitute the following for H.B. No. 4091:

By: Jackson C.S.H.B. No. 4091

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to an intensive reading improvement program that school districts may provide for students of limited English proficiency.

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

SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 29, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 29.069 to read as follows:

Sec. 29.069. OPTIONAL INTENSIVE READING IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM. (a) A school district may provide to students of limited English proficiency, in accordance with this section, a reading improvement program that is designed to:

(1) enable students to read proficiently; and

(2) increase the likelihood that students will graduate from high school.

(b) A program under this section must:

(1) include a research-based curriculum designed to guide students toward reading proficiency;

(2) include assessments that are approved by the agency and designed to measure growth in a student's vocabulary and reading comprehension;

(3) provide individualized, intensive, and accelerated instruction;

(4) be aligned with the required curriculum under Section 28.002;

(5) include a comprehensive system of support for teachers that includes in-person training, access to online professional development, and ongoing consultation throughout the school year; and

(6) include teacher training materials and other teacher training resources, including resource guides, to assist teachers in enabling students of limited English proficiency to meet state performance expectations, including performance expectations on assessment instruments administered under Subchapter B, Chapter 39.

(c) The results of assessments required under Subsection (b)(2) must be accessible through an Internet data management system:

(1) to appropriate teachers and administrators; and

(2) in English and Spanish, to the parent of a student participating in the program.

(d) A program under this section may include computer-based instruction that makes available additional reading practice for students participating in the program.

(e) A school district providing a program under this section shall begin providing instruction under the program to a student of limited English proficiency before the student enters the seventh grade.

(f) A school district providing a program under this section shall begin providing instruction under the program to a student of limited English proficiency within six weeks of the student's initial enrollment in a district school at a grade level at which the district provides the program to other students of limited English proficiency.

(g) Not later than January 31 and June 1 of each school year, a school district providing a program under this section shall submit to the agency a written report on the progress in reading of students participating in the district's program. The commissioner by rule may specify the format of and information to be provided in the report. The agency also may collect information from each district providing a program under this section to evaluate program effectiveness.

SECTION 2. Section 39.024(e), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(e) The commissioner shall retain a portion of the total amount of funds allotted under Section 42.152(a) that the commissioner considers appropriate to finance activities under Subsection [Subsections] (c) and may retain a portion for activities under Section 29.069 [Subsection (d)] and for other intensive programs of instruction for students of limited English proficiency offered by school districts and shall reduce each district's allotment proportionately.

SECTION 3. Section 39.024(d), Education Code, is repealed.

SECTION 4. This Act applies beginning with the 2009-2010 school year.

SECTION 5. 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.