By: Dutton H.B. No. 4545
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the purchase of certain instruction-related materials,
  the establishment of a strong foundations grant program, providing
  accelerated instruction for students who fail to achieve
  satisfactory performance on certain assessment instruments, and an
  accelerated learning and sustainment outcomes bonus allotment
  under the foundation school program.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter C, Chapter 7, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Section 7.071 to read as follows:
         Sec. 7.071.  INSTRUCTION-RELATED PURCHASE BY COMMISSIONER.
  (a)  Using available funds and in addition to the commissioner's
  authority regarding instructional materials under Section
  7.055(b)(28), the commissioner may purchase from available funds
  curriculum programs and other instructional tools to provide for
  use by school districts and open-enrollment charter schools.
         (b)  To leverage state purchasing power and ensure
  cost-effective use of taxpayer funds, the commissioner may contract
  on behalf of school districts and open-enrollment charter schools
  to purchase any item for instructional purposes.
         SECTION 2.  The heading to Section 28.0211, Education Code,
  is amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 28.0211.  ACCELERATED LEARNING COMMITTEE [SATISFACTORY
  PERFORMANCE ON ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENTS REQUIRED]; ACCELERATED
  INSTRUCTION; MODIFIED TEACHER ASSIGNMENT.
         SECTION 3.  Section 28.0211, Education Code, is amended by
  amending Subsections (a), (a-1), (a-2), (a-3), (c), (f), (i), (k),
  and (n) and adding Subsections (a-4), (a-5), (f-1), (f-2), (f-3),
  (f-4), and (f-5) to read as follows:
         (a)  A school district shall establish an accelerated
  learning committee described by Subsection (c) for each student who
  does not perform satisfactorily on:
               (1)  the third grade mathematics or reading assessment
  instrument under Section 39.023;
               (2)  [Except as provided by Subsection (b) or (e), a
  student may not be promoted to:
               [(1)  the sixth grade program to which the student
  would otherwise be assigned if the student does not perform
  satisfactorily on] the fifth grade mathematics or [and] reading
  assessment instrument [instruments] under Section 39.023; or
               (3) [(2)  the ninth grade program to which the student
  would otherwise be assigned if the student does not perform
  satisfactorily on] the eighth grade mathematics or [and] reading
  assessment instrument [instruments] under Section 39.023.
         (a-1)  Each time a student fails to perform satisfactorily on
  an assessment instrument administered under Section 39.023(a) in
  the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, or eighth grade, the
  school district in which the student attends school shall provide
  to the student accelerated instruction in the applicable subject
  area during the subsequent summer or school year. Accelerated
  instruction provided during the following school year may require
  participation of the student before or after normal school hours
  [and may include participation at times of the year outside normal
  school operations].
         (a-2)  [A student who fails to perform satisfactorily on an
  assessment instrument specified under Subsection (a) and who is
  promoted to the next grade level must complete accelerated
  instruction required under Subsection (a-1) before placement in the
  next grade level. A student who fails to complete required
  accelerated instruction may not be promoted.] Accelerated
  instruction provided by a district must:
               (1)  ensure the student's participation in and exposure
  to all of the grade level content in the foundation and enrichment
  curriculum adopted under Section 28.002 that is available to
  students at the same grade level not receiving accelerated
  instruction;
               (2)  allow the parent or guardian of the student to
  choose the teacher of record for the subsequent grade and subject or
  subsequent aligned course if more than one teacher of record is
  available for the subsequent grade or subject; and
               (3)  provide one of the following options:
                     (A)  supplemental instruction as described by
  Subsection (a-3); or
                     (B)  the student is offered a teacher of record
  for the subsequent grade and subject or subsequent aligned course
  who is designated a recognized, exemplary, or master teacher under
  Section 21.3521 effective that year.
         (a-3)  Supplemental instruction provided by a district under
  Subsection (a-2)(3)(A) must:
               (1)  include targeted instruction in the essential
  knowledge and skills;
               (2)  be provided in addition to instruction normally
  provided to students in the grade level in which the student is
  enrolled;
               (3)  be provided for no less than 30 total hours during
  the following summer and school year, and include instruction no
  less than once per week unless the instruction is provided fully
  during summer;
               (4)  be designed to assist the student in achieving
  grade level performance in the applicable subject area;
               (5)  include effective instructional materials
  designed for supplemental instruction;
               (6)  be provided to a student individually or in a group
  of no more than three students, unless the parent or guardian of
  each student in the group authorizes a larger group;
               (7)  be provided by a person with training in the
  instructional materials used for supplemental instruction and who
  receives ongoing oversight while providing supplemental
  instruction; and
               (7)  to the extent possible, be provided by the same
  person for the student for the entirety of the supplemental
  instruction period.
         (a-4) [(a-3)]  The commissioner shall provide guidelines to
  school districts on research-based best practices and effective
  strategies that a district may use in developing an accelerated
  instruction program and may provide resources to districts to
  assist in the provision of an accelerated instruction program.
         (c)  [Each time a student fails to perform satisfactorily on
  an assessment instrument specified under Subsection (a), the school
  district in which the student attends school shall provide to the
  student accelerated instruction in the applicable subject area,
  including reading instruction for a student who fails to perform
  satisfactorily on a reading assessment instrument.] After a student
  fails to perform satisfactorily on an assessment instrument
  specified under Subsection (a), an accelerated learning [a second
  time, a grade placement] committee shall be established [to
  prescribe the accelerated instruction the district shall provide to
  the student before the student is administered the assessment
  instrument the third time]. The accelerated learning [grade
  placement] committee shall be composed of the principal or the
  principal's designee, the student's parent or guardian, and the
  teacher of the subject of an assessment instrument on which the
  student failed to perform satisfactorily. The district shall notify
  the parent or guardian of the time and place for convening the
  accelerated learning [grade placement] committee and the purpose of
  the committee. [An accelerated instruction group administered by a
  school district under this section may not have a ratio of more than
  10 students for each teacher.]
         (f)  An accelerated learning [A school district shall
  provide to a student who, after three attempts, has failed to
  perform satisfactorily on an assessment instrument specified under
  Subsection (a) accelerated instruction during the next school year
  as prescribed by an educational plan developed for the student by
  the student's grade placement] committee described by [established
  under] Subsection (c) shall, not later than the start of the
  subsequent school year, develop an[. The district shall provide
  that accelerated instruction regardless of whether the student has
  been promoted or retained. The] educational plan for the student
  that provides the necessary accelerated instruction [must be
  designed] to enable the student to perform at the appropriate grade
  level by the conclusion of the school year.
         (f-1)  The educational plan under Subsection (f) must be
  documented in writing, and a copy must be provided to the student's
  parent or guardian.
         (f-2)  During the school year, the student shall be monitored
  to ensure that the student is progressing in accordance with the
  plan developed under Subsection (f).  The district shall administer
  to the student the assessment instrument for the grade level in
  which the student is placed at the time the district regularly
  administers the assessment instruments for that school year.
         (f-3)  The board of trustees of each school district shall
  adopt a policy consistent with the grievance procedure adopted
  under Section 26.011 to allow a parent to contest the content or
  implementation of an educational plan developed under Subsection
  (f).
         (f-4)  If a student who fails to perform satisfactorily on an
  assessment instrument specified under Subsection (a) fails in the
  subsequent school year to perform satisfactorily on an assessment
  instrument in the same subject, the superintendent of the district,
  or the superintendent's designee, shall meet with the student's
  accelerated learning committee to:
               (1)  identify the reason the student did not perform
  satisfactorily; and
               (2)  determine, in order to ensure the student performs
  satisfactorily on the assessment instrument at the next
  administration of the assessment instrument, whether:
                     (A)  the educational plan developed for the
  student under Subsection (f) must be modified to provide the
  necessary accelerated instruction for that student; and
                     (B)  any additional resources are required for
  that student.
         (f-5)  The superintendent's designee under Subsection (f-4):
               (1)  may be an employee of a regional education service
  center; and
               (2)  may not be a person who served on the student's
  accelerated learning committee.
         (i)  The admission, review, and dismissal committee of a
  student who participates in a district's special education program
  under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, and who does not perform
  satisfactorily on an assessment instrument specified under
  Subsection (a) and administered under Section 39.023(a) or (b) must
  meet to [before the student is administered the assessment
  instrument for the second time. The committee shall] determine[:
               [(1)]  the manner in which the student will participate
  in an accelerated instruction program under this section[; and
               [(2)  whether the student will be promoted in
  accordance with Subsection (i-1) or retained under this section].
         (k)  The commissioner may [shall] adopt rules as necessary to
  implement this section[, including rules concerning when school
  districts shall administer assessment instruments required under
  this section and which administration of the assessment instruments
  will be used for purposes of Section 39.054].
         (n)  A student who fails to perform satisfactorily on an
  assessment instrument specified under Subsection (a) and is
  promoted to the next grade level [by a grade placement committee
  under this section] must be assigned in the subsequent school year
  in each subject in which the student failed to perform
  satisfactorily on an assessment instrument specified under
  Subsection (a) to a teacher who meets all state and federal
  qualifications to teach that subject and grade.
         SECTION 4.  Section 28.0217, Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 28.0217.  ACCELERATED INSTRUCTION FOR HIGH SCHOOL
  STUDENTS. (a) Each time a student fails to perform satisfactorily
  on an assessment instrument administered under Section 39.023(c),
  the school district in which the student attends school shall
  provide to the student accelerated instruction in the applicable
  subject area[, using funds appropriated for accelerated
  instruction under Section 28.0211].
         (b)  Accelerated instruction provided under this section:
               (1)  may require participation of the student before or
  after normal school hours and may include participation at times of
  the year outside normal school operations; and
               (2)  must comply with the requirements for accelerated
  instruction provided under Section 28.0211.
         SECTION 5.  Subchapter C, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Section 29.0881 to read as follows:
         Sec. 29.0881.  STRONG FOUNDATIONS GRANT PROGRAM. (a) The
  commissioner shall establish and administer a strong foundations
  grant program for campuses or a program at a campus serving students
  enrolled in prekindergarten through grade five to implement a
  rigorous school approach that combines high-quality instruction,
  materials, and support structures.
         (b)  The commissioner shall adopt components that school
  districts, open-enrollment charter schools, and campuses of the
  districts or schools must implement under the strong foundations
  grant program. The components must include:
               (1)  use of high-quality instructional materials,
  curricula, and curricular tools;
               (2)  aligned professional supports; and
               (3)  measurement of fidelity of implementation of the
  program.
         (c)  The commissioner shall use funds appropriated, federal
  funds, and other funds available for the strong foundations grant
  program to assist school districts and open-enrollment charter
  schools in implementing the program.
         (d)  The commissioner may accept gifts, grants, and
  donations from any source, including private and nonprofit
  organizations, for the program.  A private or nonprofit
  organization that contributes to the program may receive an award
  under Section 7.113.
         (e)  The commissioner may adopt rules as necessary to
  administer the strong foundations grant program.
         SECTION 6.  Sections 39.023 (a-4), (c-3), and (e), Education
  Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (a-4)  For purposes of Subsection (a)(1), the State Board of
  Education by rule must require the mathematics assessment
  instrument for a grade level to align with the technology
  expectations included in the essential knowledge and skills for
  that grade level and may designate sections of a mathematics
  assessment instrument for a grade level that:
               (1)  may be completed with the aid of technology; and
               (2)  must be completed without the aid of technology.
         (c-3)  Except as provided by Subsection (c-7), as added by
  Chapter 1315 (H.B. 3906), Acts of the 86th Legislature, Regular
  Session, 2019, in adopting a schedule for the administration of
  assessment instruments under this section, the State Board of
  Education shall ensure that assessment instruments administered
  under Subsection (a) or (c) are not administered on the first
  instructional day of a week unless the superintendent of a school
  district applies to the commissioner for a waiver of the
  requirement under this subsection due to local conditions which
  have significantly affected the district's ability to comply with
  the requirement of this subsection.
         (e)  Under rules adopted by the State Board of Education, at
  least every third year, the agency shall release the questions and
  answer keys to each assessment instrument administered under
  Subsection (a), (b), (c), (d), or (l), excluding any assessment
  instrument administered to a student for the purpose of retaking
  the assessment instrument, after the last time the instrument is
  administered for that school year.  To ensure a valid bank of
  questions for use each year, the agency is not required to release a
  question that is being field-tested and was not used to compute the
  student's score on the instrument. The agency shall also release ,
  under board rule, each question that is no longer being
  field-tested and that was not used to compute a student's score.
  [During the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 school years, the agency shall
  release the questions and answer keys to assessment instruments as
  described by this subsection each year.]
         SECTION 7.  Section 39.025(b-1), Education Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (b-1)  A school district shall provide each student who fails
  to perform satisfactorily as determined by the commissioner under
  Section 39.0241(a) on an end-of-course assessment instrument with
  accelerated instruction under Section 28.0217 in the subject
  assessed by the assessment instrument.
         SECTION 8.  Section 39.301(c), Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (c)  Indicators for reporting purposes must include:
               (1)  the percentage of graduating students who meet the
  course requirements established by State Board of Education rule
  for:
                     (A)  the foundation high school program;
                     (B)  the distinguished level of achievement under
  the foundation high school program; and
                     (C)  each endorsement described by Section
  28.025(c-1);
               (2)  the results of the SAT, ACT, and certified
  workforce training programs described by Chapter 311, Labor Code;
               (3)  for students who have failed to perform
  satisfactorily, under each performance standard under Section
  39.0241, on an assessment instrument required under Section
  39.023(a) or (c), the performance of those students on subsequent
  assessment instruments required under those sections, aggregated
  by grade level and subject area;
               (4)  for each campus, the number of students,
  disaggregated by major student subpopulations, that take courses
  under the foundation high school program and take additional
  courses to earn an endorsement under Section 28.025(c-1),
  disaggregated by type of endorsement;
               (5)  the percentage of students, aggregated by grade
  level, provided accelerated instruction under Section 28.0211
  [28.0211(c)], the results of assessment instruments administered
  under that section, [the percentage of students promoted through
  the grade placement committee process under Section 28.0211,] the
  subject of the assessment instrument on which each student failed
  to perform satisfactorily under each performance standard under
  Section 39.0241, and the performance of those students in the
  subsequent school year [following that promotion] on the assessment
  instruments required under Section 39.023;
               (6)  the percentage of students of limited English
  proficiency exempted from the administration of an assessment
  instrument under Sections 39.027(a)(1) and (2);
               (7)  the percentage of students in a special education
  program under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, assessed through assessment
  instruments developed or adopted under Section 39.023(b);
               (8)  the percentage of students who satisfy the college
  readiness measure;
               (9)  the measure of progress toward dual language
  proficiency under Section 39.034(b), for students of limited
  English proficiency, as defined by Section 29.052;
               (10)  the percentage of students who are not
  educationally disadvantaged;
               (11)  the percentage of students who enroll and begin
  instruction at an institution of higher education in the school
  year following high school graduation; and
               (12)  the percentage of students who successfully
  complete the first year of instruction at an institution of higher
  education without needing a developmental education course.
         SECTION 9.  Subchapter C, Chapter 48, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Section 48.1102 to read as follows:
         Sec. 48.1102.  ACCELERATED LEARNING AND SUSTAINMENT
  OUTCOMES BONUS. (a)  For purposes of this section, a student is a:
               (1)  successfully accelerated student if the student:
                     (A)  performs satisfactorily or better on an
  assessment instrument administered under Section 39.023(a); and
                     (B)  was administered but did not perform
  satisfactorily on the assessment instrument administered under
  Section 39.023(a) for the same subject in the student's preceding
  grade level; and
               (2)  sustained accelerated student if the student:
                     (A)  performs at the level determined under
  Section 39.0241(a-1) or the equivalent to determine preparedness
  for the student's next grade level or better on an assessment
  instrument administered under Section 39.023(a);
                     (B)  performs satisfactorily or better on the
  assessment instrument administered under Section 39.023(a) for the
  same subject in the student's preceding grade level; and
                     (C)  was administered but did not perform
  satisfactorily on the assessment instrument administered under
  Section 39.023(a) for the grade level and subject preceding the
  assessment described by Paragraph (B).
         (b)  For each successfully accelerated student enrolled in a
  school district or open-enrollment charter school who exceeds the
  threshold established by the commissioner under Subsection (d), a
  school district or open-enrollment charter school is entitled to
  $500 for each successfully accelerated student who is not
  educationally disadvantaged and $1,000 for each successfully
  accelerated student who is educationally disadvantaged.
         (c)  For each sustained accelerated student enrolled in a
  school district or open-enrollment charter school, a school
  district or open-enrollment charter school is entitled to $250 for
  each sustained accelerated student who is not educationally
  disadvantaged and $500 for each sustained accelerated student who
  is educationally disadvantaged.
         (d)  Using a percentile determined by the commissioner based
  on the median performance of school districts and open-enrollment
  charter schools on assessments administered under Section
  39.023(a) during the 2017-2018 school year, for each subject and
  grade the commissioner shall:
               (1)  establish the threshold percentage of
  successfully accelerated students who are not educationally
  disadvantaged; and
               (2)  establish the threshold percentage of
  successfully accelerated students who are educationally
  disadvantaged.
         (e)  Each year, the commissioner shall determine for each
  school district and open-enrollment charter school, the minimum
  number of successfully accelerated students the district must have
  in order for the district to achieve the percentage equal to the
  threshold percentage established for that group of students under
  Subsection (b).
         (f)  After five years of the same threshold performance
  standard, the commissioner may modify the thresholds under
  Subsection (d) if the commissioner determines that substantial
  performance in the median performance of districts has occurred.
         SECTION 10.  Section 51.338(d), Education Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (d)  A student who has demonstrated the performance standard
  for college readiness as provided by Section 28.008 on the
  postsecondary readiness assessment instruments adopted under
  Section 39.0238 for Algebra II and English III, as that section
  existed before repeal by _.B.____, Acts of the 87th Legislature,
  Regular Session, 2021, is exempt from the requirements of this
  subchapter with respect to those content areas. The commissioner of
  higher education by rule shall establish the period for which an
  exemption under this subsection is valid.
         SECTION 11.  The following provisions of the Education Code
  are repealed:
               (1)  Sections 28.0211(b), (d), (e), (i-1), (i-2), (m),
  and (m-1);
               (2)  Section 39.0231; and
               (3)  Section 39.0238.
         SECTION 12.  As soon as practicable after the effective date
  of this Act, the board of trustees of a school district shall adopt
  a policy as required by Section 28.0211(f-3), Education Code, as
  added by this Act.
         SECTION 13.  To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails
  over another Act of the 87th Legislature, Regular Session, 2021,
  relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
  codes.
         SECTION 14.  This Act applies beginning with the 2021-2022
  school year.
         SECTION 15.  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, 2021.