By: Shapiro S.B. No. 518

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to initiatives designed to improve performance of public school students, including initiatives specifically for students enrolled at the sixth, seventh, and eighth grade levels.

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

SECTION 1. Section 21.041, Education Code, is amended by adding Subsections (e), (f), (f-1), and (f-2) to read as follows:

(e) In proposing rules under Subsection (b)(2), the board shall ensure that a person seeking to teach a subject in the foundation curriculum under Section 28.002(a)(1) at the seventh grade level or above is required to hold a certificate that indicates the person's mastery of the specific subject taught. To achieve this result, the board shall not issue a generalist certificate that authorizes a person to teach a subject in the foundation curriculum under Section 28.002(a)(1) at the seventh grade level or above.

(f) Subsection (e) applies to initial certificates issued on or after September 1, 2012. Subsection (e) does not affect the validity of a certificate issued before that date or the eligibility of a person holding such a certificate for subsequent renewals of the certificate in accordance with board rules.

(f-1) In implementing Subsection (e), the board shall ensure that the subject area examinations administered to persons seeking certificates at the seventh grade level and above in English language arts, mathematics, science, or social studies are at least as rigorous as the examinations administered before September 1, 2013, to persons seeking Grades 8-12 certificates to teach in those subject areas.

(f-2) Subsection (f-1) and this subsection expire September 1, 2013.

SECTION 2. Section 21.4551, Education Code, is amended by adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:

(b-1) In addition to the components described by Subsection (b), the commissioner shall ensure that each academy developed and made available under this section includes a component on providing students with writing instruction.

SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 28, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 28.015 to read as follows:

Sec. 28.015. HIGH SCHOOL READINESS PILOT PROGRAM. (a) The agency shall develop and implement a high school readiness pilot program under which:

(1) a participating school with students enrolled at the sixth, seventh, and eighth grade levels shall enroll all students at those levels in a student advisory class; and

(2) a participating high school shall provide annual high school orientation sessions for parents of students who are enrolled at the sixth, seventh, and eighth grade levels in the high school's attendance zone.

(b) An application to participate in the program may be submitted by an individual school or by a school district on behalf of multiple schools located in the district. To be eligible to participate in the component of the program described by Subsection (a)(1), a school must:

(1) be a school for which the district in which the school is located receives funding under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. Section 6301 et seq.) or be a school that, as determined by the commissioner, is a low-performing school under Chapter 39 or has a high percentage of students who are at risk of dropping out of school, as defined by Section 29.081(d); and

(2) have students enrolled at the seventh and eighth grade levels.

(c) The agency shall develop standards and guidelines for the student advisory class. The standards and guidelines must:

(1) at a minimum, require that the class provide instruction about:

(A) school culture;

(B) school procedures;

(C) test-taking skills;

(D) study skills;

(E) positive academic behaviors;

(F) civic and community responsibility; and

(G) high school and college readiness;

(2) permit the class to be offered as an electronic course through the state virtual school network under Chapter 30A; and

(3) provide that the class be taught, if practicable, by an educator who does not instruct the enrolled students in other course work.

(d) The agency shall develop standards and guidelines for the high school orientation session. An orientation session must:

(1) prepare a parent for the transition to high school of the parent's child;

(2) allow a parent to meet and interact with high school teachers and administrators;

(3) provide a parent with information regarding:

(A) high school curriculum, including the curriculum requirements for the minimum, recommended, and advanced high school programs under Section 28.025; and

(B) high school options available to the parent's child, including any high school magnet programs, academies, or similar special programs available in the district;

(4) address the role of the parent in assisting the parent's child in performing successfully in high school; and

(5) provide a parent with a written document that addresses frequently asked questions from parents regarding the transition to high school.

SECTION 4. Subsection (d), Section 29.081, Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(d) For purposes of this section, "student at risk of dropping out of school" includes each student who is under 21 years of age and who:

(1) was not advanced from one grade level to the next for one or more school years;

(2) if the student is in grade 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, or 12, did not maintain an average equivalent to 70 on a scale of 100 in two or more subjects in the foundation curriculum during a semester in the preceding or current school year or is not maintaining such an average in two or more subjects in the foundation curriculum in the current semester;

(3) did not perform satisfactorily on an assessment instrument administered to the student under Subchapter B, Chapter 39, and who has not in the previous or current school year subsequently performed on that instrument or another appropriate instrument at a level equal to at least 110 percent of the level of satisfactory performance on that instrument;

(4) if the student is in prekindergarten, kindergarten, or grade 1, 2, or 3, did not perform satisfactorily on a readiness test or assessment instrument administered during the current school year;

(5) is pregnant or is a parent;

(6) has been placed in an alternative education program in accordance with Section 37.006 during the preceding or current school year;

(7) has been expelled in accordance with Section 37.007 during the preceding or current school year;

(8) is currently on parole, probation, deferred prosecution, or other conditional release;

(9) was previously reported through the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) to have dropped out of school;

(10) is a student of limited English proficiency, as defined by Section 29.052;

(11) is in the custody or care of the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services or has, during the current school year, been referred to the department by a school official, officer of the juvenile court, or law enforcement official;

(12) is homeless, as defined by 42 U.S.C. Section 11302, and its subsequent amendments; or

(13) resided in the preceding school year or resides in the current school year in a residential placement facility in the district, including a detention facility, substance abuse treatment facility, emergency shelter, psychiatric hospital, halfway house, or foster group home.

SECTION 5. Subchapter C, Chapter 29, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 29.100 to read as follows:

Sec. 29.100. EARLY IDENTIFICATION AND INTERVENTION. (a) Each year a school with students enrolled at the sixth, seventh, or eighth grade level shall:

(1) identify the students at each of those grade levels who are at risk of dropping out of school, as defined by Section 29.081(d), or who are likely to become at risk of dropping out of school, as determined in accordance with rules adopted by the commissioner; and

(2) determine the specific interventions that the school will use to address the needs of students at each of those grade levels who are at risk of dropping out of school, as defined by Section 29.081(d).

(b) Not later than July 1 of each year, a school with students enrolled at a grade level from which students are promoted to high school must provide each high school to which students at the school are promoted with:

(1) the names of students entering the high school at the beginning of the next school year that have been identified under Subsection (a)(1); and

(2) if applicable, the specific interventions used with each student named under Subdivision (1).

(c) The commissioner shall adopt rules necessary to implement this section.

SECTION 6. Subsection (c-1), Section 42.152, Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(c-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (c), funds allocated under this section may be used to fund in proportion to the percentage of students served by the program that meet the criteria in Section 29.081(d) or (g):

(1) an accelerated reading instruction program under Section 28.006(g); [or]

(2) a program for treatment of students who have dyslexia or a related disorder as required by Section 38.003; or

(3) an extended learning time program grounded in practices that are proven effective in improving student retention and performance and in preparing students for future college and career readiness.

SECTION 7. The commissioner of education shall implement Subsection (b-1), Section 21.4551, Education Code, as added by this Act, beginning with reading academies offered on or after January 1, 2012.

SECTION 8. The Texas Education Agency shall develop standards and guidelines for the student advisory class and high school orientation session in compliance with Section 28.015, Education Code, as added by this Act, as soon as possible after the effective date of this Act. The agency shall fully implement the pilot program required by Section 28.015, Education Code, as added by this Act, not later than the 2012-2013 school year.

SECTION 9. Section 29.100, Education Code, as added by this Act, applies beginning with the 2012-2013 school year.

SECTION 10. Except as otherwise provided by this Act, this Act applies beginning with the 2011-2012 school year.

SECTION 11. 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, 2011.