84R7732 GCB-D
 
  By: Rodríguez S.B. No. 977
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to a secondary-level English language learners' program
  for public school students of limited English proficiency.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 29.053(d), Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (d)  Each district that is required to offer bilingual
  education and special language programs under this section shall
  offer the following for students of limited English proficiency:
               (1)  bilingual education in kindergarten through the
  elementary grades;
               (2)  bilingual education, instruction in English as a
  second language, or other transitional language instruction
  approved by the agency in post-elementary grades through grade 8;
  and
               (3)  a secondary-level [instruction in] English [as a
  second] language learners' program, as provided by Sections
  29.055(b-1) and (b-2), in grades 9 through 12.
         SECTION 2.  Section 29.055, Education Code, is amended by
  adding Subsections (b-1), (b-2), and (g) to read as follows:
         (b-1)  A language program for students of limited English
  proficiency in post-elementary grades through grade 12, as
  applicable, as required by Section 29.053(d)(2) or (3), other than
  a bilingual education program, must include the following
  components:
               (1)  consistent with Section 29.056 and any other law:
                     (A)  identification and placement procedures
  that are based on information concerning a student's proficiency in
  English and in the student's primary language; and
                     (B)  specialized identification and placement
  procedures and instructional support services for students who are
  recent immigrants, as determined under commissioner rule, that take
  into consideration a student's previous school experience;
               (2)  assessment, approved by the agency, that:
                     (A)  is administered in English and, in
  appropriate cases as determined under commissioner rule, in a
  student's primary language; and
                     (B)  measures a student's progress toward state
  and district academic performance standards or mastery of subject
  matter content;
               (3)  instruction in English as a second language that
  is aligned with the various levels of English language proficiency
  of students of limited English proficiency;
               (4)  in each subject in the required curriculum under
  Section 28.002 that is designated as a core content area by
  commissioner rule:
                     (A)  use of sheltered instruction to teach
  students, using the English language in a manner that enables
  students to learn both the subject area material and the English
  language; and
                     (B)  adaptation of the standard curriculum in a
  manner that results in a curriculum that:
                           (i)  is consistent with and is as rigorous as
  the standard secondary-level curriculum; and
                           (ii)  is consistent with a student's level of
  proficiency in English;
               (5)  instruction by:
                     (A)  teachers who are appropriately certified for
  English as a second language; and
                     (B)  subject area teachers who are trained in
  adapting instruction for students of limited English proficiency;
               (6)  a strategy that involves parents of
  secondary-level students of limited English proficiency and, as
  appropriate, interested members of the community in assessment of
  the effectiveness of the program provided under this subsection;
  and
               (7)  access to supplemental instructional services for
  any student of limited English proficiency who does not reach
  state, district, or campus academic performance standards.
         (b-2)  For a campus performing unsatisfactorily, as
  determined by commissioner rule and consistent with applicable
  performance standards under the agency's Performance-Based
  Monitoring Analysis System, in offering language programs to which
  Subsection (b-1) applies, a school district shall require campus
  educators, including appropriate administrators, associated with
  such a program to, as provided by State Board for Educator
  Certification rule, participate in ongoing professional
  development in effective, research-based practices for serving
  students of limited English proficiency. In satisfying the
  professional development requirements adopted under this
  subsection, a subject area teacher and an administrator serving
  students of limited English proficiency on the campus must
  complete:
               (1)  at least six semester credit hours of higher
  education coursework in English as a second language contact
  methodology; or
               (2)  professional development, equivalent as
  determined under State Board for Educator Certification rule in the
  time commitment necessary for satisfying the requirement under
  Subdivision (1), in using sheltered instruction to teach a subject
  area.
         (g)  The commissioner and the State Board for Educator
  Certification, as applicable, shall adopt rules as necessary to
  administer this section.
         SECTION 3.  (a)  Not later than March 1, 2016:
               (1)  the commissioner of education shall adopt rules as
  necessary to administer Section 29.055(b-1), Education Code, as
  added by this Act; and
               (2)  the State Board for Educator Certification shall
  adopt rules as necessary to administer Section 29.055(b-2),
  Education Code, as added by this Act.
         (b)  Beginning with the 2015-2016 school year, each school
  district shall provide programs as provided by Sections 29.055(b-1)
  and (b-2), Education Code, as added by this Act.
         (c)  A public school teacher teaching students of limited
  English proficiency on or before March 1, 2016, must comply with the
  educational or professional development requirements of that
  provision not later than March 1, 2018.
         SECTION 4.  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, 2015.