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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, The citizens of Texas understand the importance of a |
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quality education system to the future well-being of our state; |
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even so, a number of fundamental performance measures indicate |
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troubling and persistent deficiencies within the state's public |
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education system; and |
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WHEREAS, The number of low-performing students and students |
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who drop out, for example, is alarmingly high in Texas and has been |
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for some time; moreover, the connection between low-performing |
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students and students who drop out is such that many low-performing |
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students find themselves so far behind, with an almost impossible |
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academic gap to overcome, that they simply give up and leave school |
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completely; and |
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WHEREAS, As an obvious consequence, low-performing students |
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and dropouts are generally not prepared for college or advanced |
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careers, resulting in lowered income potential, higher |
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incarceration rates, and more likely dependence on public health |
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care and social services; and |
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WHEREAS, To solve these issues, some experts suggest that |
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improvements are needed to the state's accountability system with |
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regard to closing and measuring student achievement gaps, advising |
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that without higher minimum performance standards the current |
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system creates a disservice to the education of many students; and |
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WHEREAS, There is also cause for concern that the state's |
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responsibility to monitor and promote student performance in |
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Disciplinary Alternative Education Programs has been rendered |
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inconsequential by schools that take exception to reporting data or |
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compliance violations; and |
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WHEREAS, Current research indicates that these problems are |
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also present among the state's charter schools, some of which were |
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specifically designed to serve at-risk students; regrettably, |
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state policy permits variances in the mission, operation, and |
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performance of charter schools in Texas due to their freedom from |
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the normal restrictions placed on traditional public schools, |
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resulting in the uneven education of charter school students; and |
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WHEREAS, In fact, it has been suggested that there is a lack |
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of uniformity with regard to student discipline and the code of |
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student behavior, and that drastic improvements are needed in |
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parental involvement in the disciplinary appeals process and the |
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timeliness of parental notification of student discipline; and |
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WHEREAS, The future welfare and economic competitiveness of |
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Texas and its graduates depend on providing the best educational |
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opportunities to its students; with every measurable indicator |
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signaling a need for systemic change, the state should carefully |
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examine the current organization of the public education system; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, The University of Texas at Austin is ideally |
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qualified to lead such a study on the role of the state with regard |
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to low-performing students, student dropouts, the state's |
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accountability system, charter school students, and student |
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behavior and discipline; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 81st Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby request The University of Texas at Austin to perform a study |
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on the effectiveness of the Texas Education Agency's role in |
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establishing a public education system that fully captures and |
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promotes an acceptable level of student achievement, prevents |
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student dropouts, improves the state accountability system for |
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school districts and charter schools, and contributes to a fair, |
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balanced, and uniform approach to student discipline. |