BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 3452

By: Dutton

Public Education

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

It has been suggested that the student performance levels used as targets in assessing most schools under the public school accountability system are inappropriately high for dropout recovery schools. C.S.H.B. 3452 seeks to address this issue by applying appropriate accountability procedures.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 3452 amends the Education Code to require the commissioner of education, for purposes of assigning performance ratings under the public school accountability system, to evaluate a dropout recovery school under alternative education accountability procedures adopted by the commissioner. The bill requires the commissioner, for purposes of evaluating performance of a dropout recovery school under the alternative education accountability procedures, to adopt performance targets for the student achievement domain and the school progress domain that are based on the average performance of public school districts and campuses registered under the alternative education accountability procedures for the preceding school year for those respective domains. The bill requires the commissioner, for purposes of assigning an overall performance rating for a dropout recovery school, to attribute not more than 10 percent of that rating to the closing the gaps domain. The bill requires the commissioner, if the commissioner obtains any necessary federal waiver or receives written notification from the U.S. Department of Education that a waiver is not required, to certify that the commissioner has received such a waiver or notification, as applicable, and publish notice of that fact in the Texas Register. The bill applies beginning with the first school year that begins after the bill's effective date.

EFFECTIVE DATE

Any date not later than September 1, 2021, on which the commissioner of education obtains any necessary federal waiver or receives written notification from the U.S. Department of Education that a waiver is not required.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 3452 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute revises the manner by which the bill as introduced requires the commissioner to evaluate the performance of a dropout recovery school.

The substitute includes a provision requiring the commissioner to certify the commissioner's receipt of a federal waiver or of notice that such a waiver is not required, as applicable, and publish notice of that fact in the Texas Register. The substitute changes the effective date to be contingent on the receipt of the waiver or the notice.