By: Shapiro S.B. No. 518

(In the Senate - Filed February 3, 2011; February 17, 2011, read first time and referred to Committee on Education; April 18, 2011, reported adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0; April 18, 2011, sent to printer.)

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 518 By: Shapiro

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. 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 5. 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 6. 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 7. Section 29.100, Education Code, as added by this Act, applies beginning with the 2012-2013 school year.

SECTION 8. Except as otherwise provided by this Act, this Act applies beginning with the 2011-2012 school year.

SECTION 9. 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.

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