By: Taylor  S.B. No. 2094
         (In the Senate - Filed March 12, 2021; April 1, 2021, read
  first time and referred to Committee on Education; May 13, 2021,
  reported adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the
  following vote:  Yeas 8, Nays 3; May 13, 2021, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
 
  COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 2094 By:  Taylor
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to the assessment of public school students, 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.  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 2.  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), (a-6), (f-1), (f-2),
  (f-3), (f-4), (f-5), and (n-1) 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 and either:
               (1)  allow the student to be assigned a classroom
  teacher who is certified as a master, exemplary, or recognized
  teacher under Section 21.3521 for the subsequent school year in the
  applicable subject area; or
               (2)  provide the student supplemental instruction
  under Subsection (a-4).
         (a-2)  Accelerated instruction provided during the following
  school year under Subsection (a-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].
         (a-3)  In providing accelerated instruction under Subsection
  (a-1), a district may not remove a student, except under
  circumstances for which a student enrolled in the same grade level
  who is not receiving accelerated instruction would be removed,
  from:
               (1)  instruction in the foundation curriculum and
  enrichment curriculum adopted under Section 28.002 for the grade
  level in which the student is enrolled; or
               (2)  recess or other physical activity that is
  available to other students enrolled in the same grade level. 
         (a-4)  Supplemental instruction provided by a school
  district under Subsection (a-1)(2) must: 
               (1)  include targeted instruction in the essential
  knowledge and skills for the applicable grade levels and subject
  area;
               (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 subsequent summer or school year and, unless the instruction is
  provided fully during summer, include instruction no less than once
  per week during the school year;
               (4)  be designed to assist the student in achieving
  satisfactory performance in the applicable grade level and 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
  applicable instructional materials for the supplemental
  instruction and under the oversight of the school district; and
               (8)  to the extent possible, be provided by one person
  for the entirety of the student's supplemental instruction period.
         (a-5)  If there is more than one classroom teacher available
  in the applicable subject area to which a student who fails to
  perform satisfactorily on an assessment instrument specified under
  Subsection (a) could be assigned for the subsequent school year,
  the student's parent or guardian may choose the teacher who will
  provide the applicable instruction to the student.
         [(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.]
         (a-6) [(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)  Except as provided by Subsection (n-1), a [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 an appropriately
  certified [a] teacher who meets all state and federal
  qualifications to teach that subject and grade.
         (n-1)  In a manner consistent with federal law and
  notwithstanding any other law, the commissioner may waive the
  requirement under Subsection (n) regarding the assignment of a
  student to an appropriately certified classroom teacher on the
  request of a school district.
         SECTION 3.  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 4.  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 5.  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 6.  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 in excess of
  the minimum number of students determined for the district or
  school under Subsection (d), a school district or open-enrollment
  charter school is entitled to the following annual outcomes bonus:
               (1)  $500 for each student who is not educationally
  disadvantaged; and
               (2)  $1,000 for each student who is educationally
  disadvantaged.
         (c)  For each sustained accelerated student, a school
  district or open-enrollment charter school is entitled to the
  following annual outcomes bonus:
               (1)  $250 for each student who is not educationally
  disadvantaged; and
               (2)  $500 for each student who is educationally
  disadvantaged.
         (d)  The commissioner shall establish, 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, a threshold percentage of:
               (1)  successfully accelerated students who are not
  educationally disadvantaged; and
               (2)  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 or school
  must have in order for the district to achieve the percentage equal
  to the threshold percentage established for that group of students
  described by Subsection (b).
         (f)  The commissioner may modify the threshold percentages
  established under Subsection (d) once every five years if the
  commissioner determines that substantial improvement in the median
  performance of school districts and open-enrollment charter
  schools has occurred. 
         SECTION 7.  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 H.B. 4545, 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 8.  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 9.  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 10.  This Act applies beginning with the 2021-2022
  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, 2021.
 
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