81R2283 PAM-D
By: Olivo H.B. No. 153
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the promotion of students to certain grade levels in
public schools.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 28.0211, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (c), and (f) and adding Subsections
(c-1), (c-2), (c-3), (c-4), and (n) to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (c-3) [(b) or (e)], a
student may not be promoted to:
(1) the fourth grade program to which the student
would otherwise be assigned if the student does not perform
satisfactorily on the third grade reading assessment instrument
under Section 39.023;
(2) the sixth grade program to which the student would
otherwise be assigned if the student does not perform
satisfactorily on the fifth grade mathematics and reading
assessment instruments under Section 39.023; or
(3) the ninth grade program to which the student would
otherwise be assigned if the student does not perform
satisfactorily on the eighth grade mathematics and reading
assessment instruments under Section 39.023.
(c) After the first [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 the student with an opportunity to take the
assessment instrument a second time. Before administering the
assessment instrument to the student a second time, the district
shall establish a grade placement committee to prescribe [to] the
[student] accelerated instruction that must be provided by the
district to the student in the applicable subject area, including
reading instruction for a student who fails to perform
satisfactorily on a reading assessment instrument, and establish an
educational plan for the student. The educational plan must be
designed to enable the student to perform at the appropriate grade
level by the conclusion of the school year. 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.
(c-1) The grade placement committee established under
Subsection (c) 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 grade placement committee and the purpose of the committee.
(c-2) In addition to providing accelerated instruction to a
student and establishing an educational plan for a student under
Subsection (c), the district shall notify the student's parent or
guardian of:
(1) the student's failure to perform satisfactorily on
the assessment instrument;
(2) the accelerated instruction program to which the
student is assigned;
(3) the educational plan developed for the student;
(4) the opportunity for the student to take the
assessment instrument a second time; and
(5) the possibility that the student may be retained
at the same grade level for the next school year if the student
fails to perform satisfactorily after taking the assessment
instrument a second time.
(c-3) If [After] a student fails to perform satisfactorily
on an assessment instrument a second time, the [a] grade placement
committee shall determine whether the student should be promoted.
The grade placement committee may promote the student if the
committee determines that the student has demonstrated an overall
competency in the essential knowledge and skills of the student's
grade level. If the grade placement committee determines that the
student should not be promoted, the grade placement committee shall
provide the student with an opportunity to take the assessment
instrument a third time. If the student's parent or guardian
declines the opportunity for the student to take the assessment
instrument a third time or if the student takes the assessment
instrument a third time and fails to perform satisfactorily on the
assessment instrument, the student may not be promoted to the next
grade level unless the grade placement committee determines that
the student has demonstrated an overall competency in the essential
knowledge and skills of the student's grade level. A student may
not be retained on the basis of the grade placement committee's
decision under this subsection unless that decision is unanimous.
The commissioner by rule shall establish a time line for making the
placement determination. This subsection does not create a
property interest in promotion [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 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 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].
(c-4) In determining whether a student has demonstrated an
overall competency in the essential knowledge and skills of the
student's grade level under Subsection (c-3) the grade placement
committee shall consider:
(1) evidence of the student's satisfactory
performance, including grades, portfolios, work samples, local
assessments, and individual reading and mathematics diagnostic
tests or inventories;
(2) the student's grades in language arts,
mathematics, science, and social studies for the grade level from
which the student seeks promotion;
(3) the student's performance on the individual
assessment instruments administered to the student under Section
39.023;
(4) the student's total scores on the assessment
instrument or instruments specified by Subsection (a); and
(5) extenuating circumstances that have adversely
affected the student's participation in the required assessments.
(f) A school district shall provide to a student who, after
two [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 the [an]
educational plan developed for the student by the student's grade
placement committee [established] under Subsection (c). The
district shall provide that accelerated instruction regardless of
whether the student has been promoted or retained. [The
educational plan must be designed to enable the student to perform
at the appropriate grade level by the conclusion of the school
year.] During the school year, the student shall be monitored to
ensure that the student is progressing in accordance with the
educational plan developed for the student under Subsection (c).
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.
(n) If at any point during the school year a teacher
determines that a student who is required to take an assessment
instrument specified under Subsection (a) is not performing at
grade level, the teacher shall notify the student's parent or
guardian in writing and by telephone and request a conference with
the parent or guardian. The teacher must request the conference not
later than the 30th day before the first day on which the assessment
instrument specified under Subsection (a) is administered to the
student.
SECTION 2. Sections 28.0211(b), (d), and (e), Education
Code, are repealed.
SECTION 3. This Act applies beginning with the 2009-2010
school year.
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, 2009.