78R7745 SLO-D

By:  Dutton                                                       H.B. No. 1518


A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to accountability for public school dropouts and students at risk of dropping out of school. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Section 29.081(c), Education Code, is amended to read as follows: (c) Each school district shall evaluate and document the effectiveness of the accelerated instruction in reducing any disparity in performance on assessment instruments administered under Subchapter B, Chapter 39, or disparity in the rates of high school completion between students at risk of dropping out of school and all other district students. The evaluation shall include an analysis of the effectiveness of each program described in the campus and district improvement plans for reducing the disparities described by this subsection. The commissioner shall ensure that each school district complies with this subsection. SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 29, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 29.088 to read as follows: Sec. 29.088. DROPOUT DATA OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE. (a) The dropout data oversight committee shall review the agency's standards and definitions for dropouts and students completing school before the agency implements the standards and definitions. The committee shall be composed of: (1) one member appointed by the governor; (2) one member appointed by the speaker of the house; (3) one member appointed by the lieutenant governor; (4) one member of the Legislative Budget Board, appointed jointly by the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house; and (5) one employee of the office of the state auditor, appointed by the state auditor. (b) A committee member appointed by the governor, lieutenant governor, or speaker of the house shall represent the public and must have a demonstrated interest in dropout prevention and public education. (c) The committee is subject to Chapter 2110, Government Code. SECTION 3. Sections 42.152(d) and (r), Education Code, are amended to read as follows: (d) The agency shall systematically evaluate the effectiveness of accelerated instruction and support programs provided under Section 29.081 for students at risk of dropping out of school. The agency shall organize and share the information it collects during its evaluation with local districts. If the agency cannot perform this evaluation with existing resources, the commissioner shall: (1) withhold from the total amount appropriated for allotments under this section an amount the commissioner determines is necessary to perform the evaluation; and (2) reduce each district's tier one allotments in the manner described for a reduction in allotments under Section 42.253. (r) The commissioner shall adopt rules under which the commissioner must grant a one-year exemption from the requirements of Subsection (q) [(g)] to a school district that consistently achieves significant reductions in the disparity in performance between students described by Section 29.081(d) and all other students. The commissioner may not grant an exemption to a district that does not make consistent significant progress in reducing its dropout rate [in which the group of students who have failed to perform satisfactorily in the preceding school year on an assessment instrument required under Section 39.023(a), (c), or (l) subsequently performs on those assessment instruments at a level that meets or exceeds a level prescribed by commissioner rule]. Each year the commissioner, based on the most recent information available, shall determine if a school district is entitled to an exemption for the following school year and notify the district and the district's board of trustees of that determination. SECTION 4. (a) This Act takes effect beginning with the 2003-2004 school year. (b) As soon as practicable on or after the effective date of this Act, as provided by Section 29.088, Education Code, as added by this Act: (1) the governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house shall each appoint a person to the dropout data oversight committee; (2) the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house shall appoint a member of the Legislative Budget Board to the dropout data oversight committee; and (3) the state auditor shall appoint an employee of the office of the state auditor to the dropout data oversight committee. SECTION 5. 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, 2003.