By: Shapiro S.B. No. 1362

(In the Senate - Filed March 4, 2009; March 17, 2009, read first time and referred to Committee on Education; April 7, 2009, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0; April 7, 2009, sent to printer.)

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to a Texas Youth Commission comprehensive plan to improve student reading skills and behavior.

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

SECTION 1. Subchapter E, Chapter 30, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 30.106 to read as follows:

Sec. 30.106. READING AND BEHAVIOR PLAN. (a) Because learning and behavior are inextricably linked and learning and improved behavior correlate with decreased recidivism rates, the Texas Youth Commission shall not only fulfill the commission's duties under state and federal law to provide general and special educational services to students in commission educational programs but also shall implement a comprehensive plan to improve the reading skills and behavior of those students.

(b) To improve the reading skills of students in Texas Youth Commission educational programs, the commission shall:

(1) adopt a reliable battery of reading assessments that:

(A) are based on a normative sample appropriate to students in commission educational programs;

(B) are designed to be administered on an individual basis; and

(C) allow school employees to:

(i) evaluate performance in each essential component of effective reading instruction, including phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension;

(ii) monitor progress in areas of deficiency specific to an individual student; and

(iii) provide reading performance data;

(2) administer the assessments adopted under Subdivision (1):

(A) at periodic intervals not to exceed 12 months, to each student in a commission educational program; and

(B) at least 15 days and not more than 30 days before a student is released from the commission;

(3) provide at least 60 minutes per school day of individualized reading instruction to each student in a commission educational program who exhibits deficits in reading on the assessments adopted under Subdivision (1):

(A) by trained educators with expertise in teaching reading to struggling adolescent readers; and

(B) through the use of scientifically based, peer-reviewed reading curricula that:

(i) have proven effective in improving the reading performance of struggling adolescent readers;

(ii) address individualized and differentiated reading goals; and

(iii) include each of the essential components of effective reading instruction, including phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension;

(4) require each teacher in a commission regular or special educational program who teaches English language arts, reading, mathematics, science, social studies, or career and technology education to be trained in incorporating content area reading instruction using empirically validated instructional methods that are appropriate for struggling adolescent readers; and

(5) evaluate the effectiveness of the commission's plan to increase reading skills according to the following criteria:

(A) an adequate rate of improvement in reading performance, as measured by monthly progress monitoring using curricular-based assessments in each of the essential components of effective reading instruction, including phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension;

(B) a significant annual rate of improvement in reading performance, disaggregated by subgroups designated under commission rule, as measured using the battery of reading assessments adopted under Subdivision (1); and

(C) student ratings of the quality and impact of the reading plan under this subsection, as measured on a student self-reporting instrument.

(c) To increase the positive social behaviors of students in Texas Youth Commission educational programs and to create an educational environment that facilitates learning, the commission shall:

(1) adopt system-wide classroom and individual positive behavior supports that incorporate a continuum of prevention and intervention strategies that:

(A) are based on current behavioral research; and

(B) are systematically and individually applied to students consistent with the demonstrated level of need;

(2) require each teacher and other educational staff member in a commission educational program to be trained in implementing the positive behavior support system adopted under Subdivision (1); and

(3) adopt valid assessment techniques to evaluate the effectiveness of the positive behavior support system according to the following criteria:

(A) documentation of school-related disciplinary referrals, disaggregated by the type, location, and time of infraction and by subgroups designated under commission rule;

(B) documentation of school-related disciplinary actions, including time-out, placement in security, and use of restraints and other aversive control measures, disaggregated by subgroups designated under commission rule;

(C) validated measurement of systemic positive behavioral support interventions; and

(D) the number of minutes students are out of the regular classroom because of disciplinary reasons.

(d) The Texas Youth Commission shall consult with faculty from institutions of higher education who have expertise in reading instruction for adolescents, in juvenile corrections, and in positive behavior supports to develop and implement the plan under Subsections (b) and (c).

(e) Not later than December 1, 2010, the Texas Youth Commission shall report to the legislature concerning:

(1) the effectiveness of the commission's reading plan based on the criteria specified by Subsection (b)(5); and

(2) the implementation of the positive behavior support system plan under Subsection (c).

(f) Not later than December 1, 2012, the Texas Youth Commission shall report to the legislature concerning the effectiveness of the positive behavior support system based on the criteria specified by Subsection (c)(3).

(g) Subsections (e) and (f) and this subsection expire January 1, 2013.

SECTION 2. (a) Not later than November 1, 2009, the Texas Youth Commission shall adopt the battery of reading assessments as required by Subsection (b), Section 30.106, Education Code, as added by this Act.

(b) Not later than January 1, 2010, the Texas Youth Commission shall begin administering the battery of reading assessments as required by Subsection (b), Section 30.106, Education Code, as added by this Act.

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.

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