Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB4091 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Farrar, Flores H.B. No. 4091
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to bilingual education, English as a second language, and
7	7	other special language programs and to an intensive reading
8	8	improvement program for public school students of limited English
9	9	proficiency.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Section 29.062, Education Code, is amended to
12	12	read as follows:
13	13	Sec. 29.062. COMPLIANCE. (a) The legislature recognizes
14	14	that compliance with this subchapter is an imperative public
15	15	necessity. Therefore, in accordance with the policy of the state,
16	16	the agency shall evaluate the effectiveness of programs under this
17	17	subchapter based on the following data, disaggregated by campus and
18	18	school district or open-enrollment charter school, which each
19	19	district and open-enrollment charter school shall collect and
20	20	provide to the agency:
21	21	(1) the academic excellence indicators adopted under
22	22	Section 39.051(a), including the results of assessment
23	23	instruments;
24	24	(2) the difference in grade-level retention rates
25	25	between students of limited English proficiency and students who
26	26	are not students of limited English proficiency;
27	27	(3) any significant difference in performance on
28	28	assessment instruments required under Sections 39.023(a), (c), and
29	29	(l), as applicable, between students of limited English proficiency
30	30	at the campus or in the district or open-enrollment charter school
31	31	being evaluated and the state average performance on those
32	32	assessment instruments of students who are not students of limited
33	33	English proficiency; and
34	34	(4) any significant difference in the dropout rate for
35	35	grade levels 9 through 12 between students of limited English
36	36	proficiency at the campus or in the district or open-enrollment
37	37	charter school being evaluated and the state average dropout rate
38	38	of students who are not students of limited English proficiency.
39	39	(b) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), for a campus with fewer
40	40	than 30 students enrolled in bilingual education or English as a
41	41	second language or other special language programs, the agency
42	42	shall evaluate information specified under Subsection (a) only at
43	43	the district level.
44	44	(b-1) The agency may combine but may not replace evaluations
45	45	under this section with federal accountability measures concerning
46	46	students of limited English proficiency.
47	47	(b-2) Each person considered by the agency to be the lead
48	48	monitor evaluating the effectiveness of programs under this
49	49	subchapter must be appropriately certified by the State Board for
50	50	Educator Certification as provided for under Section 29.061 for
51	51	English as a second language. An emergency endorsement issued
52	52	under Section 29.061(a) is not considered appropriate
53	53	certification for purposes of this subsection.
54	54	[(b) The areas to be monitored shall include:
55	55	[(1) program content and design;
56	56	[(2) program coverage;
57	57	[(3) identification procedures;
58	58	[(4) classification procedures;
59	59	[(5) staffing;
60	60	[(6) learning materials;
61	61	[(7) testing materials;
62	62	[(8) reclassification of students for either entry
63	63	into regular classes conducted exclusively in English or reentry
64	64	into a bilingual education or special education program; and
65	65	[(9) activities of the language proficiency
66	66	assessment committees.]
67	67	(c) If, as a result of an evaluation under Subsection (a),
68	68	the agency determines that a school district, campus, or
69	69	open-enrollment charter school program under this chapter is
70	70	ineffective, the agency shall intervene in the program [Not later
71	71	than the 30th day after the date of an on-site monitoring
72	72	inspection, the agency shall report its findings to the school
73	73	district or open-enrollment charter school and to the division of
74	74	accreditation].
75	75	(d) The agency shall notify a school district, and if
76	76	applicable, a campus, or an open-enrollment charter school [found
77	77	in noncompliance] in writing of an intervention under Subsection
78	78	(c)[,] not later than the 30th day after the first day [date] of the
79	79	intervention [on-site monitoring. The district or open-enrollment
80	80	charter school shall take immediate corrective action].
81	81	(d-1) The school district, campus, or open-enrollment
82	82	charter school with a program determined under this section to be
83	83	ineffective shall immediately review the following to evaluate
84	84	program effectiveness further:
85	85	(1) procedures for identification of students of
86	86	limited English proficiency;
87	87	(2) procedures for placement of students in a program
88	88	under this subchapter;
89	89	(3) student assessment procedures, including
90	90	assessment of:
91	91	(A) English language proficiency; and
92	92	(B) academic achievement in, as defined by
93	93	commissioner rule, core content areas;
94	94	(4) provision of instruction under the program,
95	95	including assessment of the quality of instruction and whether the
96	96	program is being implemented as designed;
97	97	(5) credentials of instructional staff, including:
98	98	(A) appropriate certification of teachers
99	99	providing English language development or content area instruction
100	100	to students of limited English proficiency; and
101	101	(B) the amount of instruction provided by
102	102	teachers who hold emergency endorsements or who are teaching
103	103	outside the teacher's area of specialization;
104	104	(6) professional development provided to content area
105	105	teachers serving students of limited English proficiency;
106	106	(7) curricular materials used in providing
107	107	instruction;
108	108	(8) district-level program evaluation procedures,
109	109	including procedures for:
110	110	(A) ongoing district-level monitoring to
111	111	identify program components needing improvement and implementing
112	112	identified improvements; and
113	113	(B) identifying and closing any academic
114	114	achievement gap between students of limited English proficiency and
115	115	students who are not students of limited English proficiency;
116	116	(9) a rate of parental denial of approval of a
117	117	student's entry into or placement in a program under this
118	118	subchapter that is at least 150 percent greater than the state
119	119	average rate of parental denial;
120	120	(10) any variance of greater than 20 percent between
121	121	the percentage of students identified as students of limited
122	122	English proficiency and the percentage of students who speak a
123	123	language other than English at home, as determined by the home
124	124	language survey administered to all students new to a campus,
125	125	district, or open-enrollment charter school as provided by Section
126	126	29.056(a)(1); and
127	127	(11) reclassification of students for either entry
128	128	into regular classes conducted exclusively in English or reentry
129	129	into a bilingual education or special education program.
130	130	(d-2) On completion of the review under Subsection (d-1),
131	131	the campus, district, or open-enrollment charter school shall
132	132	designate annual program improvement goals that:
133	133	(1) are designed to improve academic achievement in
134	134	the core content areas by students of limited English proficiency;
135	135	and
136	136	(2) are based on the extent of any academic
137	137	achievement gap identified under Subsection (d-1)(8)(B), with
138	138	incremental improvement goals established according to the size of
139	139	the achievement gap.
140	140	(d-3) The agency shall review annual improvement in a
141	141	program under this subchapter as measured by the goals designated
142	142	under Subsection (d-2). The agency shall take appropriate
143	143	corrective action for a campus, school district, or open-enrollment
144	144	charter school program that fails to meet one or more annual
145	145	improvement goals for two or more consecutive school years.
146	146	(e) If a campus, school district, or open-enrollment
147	147	charter school program under this subchapter fails to satisfy
148	148	appropriate standards adopted by the commissioner for purposes of
149	149	Subsection (d-3) [(a)], the agency shall apply sanctions, which may
150	150	include the removal of accreditation, loss of foundation school
151	151	funds, or both.
152	152	(f) The commissioner shall adopt rules consistent with this
153	153	section as necessary to administer this section.
154	154	SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
155	155	amended by adding Section 29.069 to read as follows:
156	156	Sec. 29.069. OPTIONAL INTENSIVE READING IMPROVEMENT
157	157	PROGRAM. (a) A school district may provide to students of limited
158	158	English proficiency, in accordance with this section, a reading
159	159	improvement program that is designed to:
160	160	(1) enable students to read proficiently; and
161	161	(2) increase the likelihood that students will
162	162	graduate from high school.
163	163	(b) A program under this section must:
164	164	(1) include a research-based curriculum designed to
165	165	guide students toward reading proficiency;
166	166	(2) include assessments that are approved by the
167	167	agency and designed to measure growth in a student's vocabulary and
168	168	reading comprehension;
169	169	(3) provide individualized, intensive, and
170	170	accelerated instruction;
171	171	(4) be aligned with the required curriculum under
172	172	Section 28.002;
173	173	(5) include a comprehensive system of support for
174	174	teachers that includes in-person training, access to online
175	175	professional development, and ongoing consultation throughout the
176	176	school year; and
177	177	(6) include teacher training materials and other
178	178	teacher training resources, including resource guides, to assist
179	179	teachers in enabling students of limited English proficiency to
180	180	meet state performance expectations, including performance
181	181	expectations on assessment instruments administered under
182	182	Subchapter B, Chapter 39.
183	183	(c) The results of assessments required under Subsection
184	184	(b)(2) must be accessible through an Internet data management
185	185	system:
186	186	(1) to appropriate teachers and administrators; and
187	187	(2) to the parent of a student participating in the
188	188	program.
189	189	(d) A program under this section may include computer-based
190	190	instruction that makes available additional reading practice for
191	191	students participating in the program.
192	192	(e) A school district providing a program under this section
193	193	shall begin providing instruction under the program to a student of
194	194	limited English proficiency before the student enters the seventh
195	195	grade.
196	196	(f) A school district providing a program under this section
197	197	shall begin providing instruction under the program to a student of
198	198	limited English proficiency within six weeks of receipt of Notice
199	199	of Grant Award (NOGA).
200	200	(g) Not later than January 31 and June 1 of each school year,
201	201	beginning in June 2010, a school district providing a program under
202	202	this section shall submit to the agency a written report on the
203	203	progress in reading of students participating in the district's
204	204	program. The commissioner by rule may specify the format of and
205	205	information to be provided in the report. The agency also may
206	206	collect information from each district providing a program under
207	207	this section to evaluate program effectiveness.
208	208	SECTION 3. Section 39.024(e), Education Code, is amended to
209	209	read as follows:
210	210	(e) The commissioner shall retain a portion of the total
211	211	amount of funds allotted under Section 42.152(a) that the
212	212	commissioner considers appropriate to finance activities under
213	213	Subsection [Subsections] (c) and may retain a portion for
214	214	activities under Section 29.069 [Subsection (d)] and for other
215	215	intensive programs of instruction for students of limited English
216	216	proficiency offered by school districts and shall reduce each
217	217	district's allotment proportionately.
218	218	SECTION 4. Section 42.006, Education Code, is amended by
219	219	adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:
220	220	(f) The commissioner shall adopt rules to ensure that,
221	221	through the Public Education Information Management System, the
222	222	agency collects and maintains data regarding:
223	223	(1) whether a student is or while enrolled in a public
224	224	school in this state has ever been classified as a student of
225	225	limited English proficiency;
226	226	(2) the school year in which a student first entered
227	227	ninth grade; and
228	228	(3) a student's status as:
229	229	(A) a continuing student;
230	230	(B) a high school graduate;
231	231	(C) a recipient of a high school equivalency
232	232	certificate; or
233	233	(D) a dropout.
234	234	SECTION 5. This Act does not make an appropriation. A
235	235	provision in this Act that creates a new governmental program,
236	236	creates a new entitlement, or imposes a new duty on a governmental
237	237	entity is not mandatory during a fiscal period for which the
238	238	legislature has not made a specific appropriation to implement the
239	239	provision.
240	240	SECTION 6. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this
241	241	section, this Act applies beginning with the 2009-2010 school year.
242	242	(b) Section 29.062, Education Code, as amended by this Act,
243	243	and Section 42.006(f), Education Code, as added by this Act, apply
244	244	beginning with the 2010-2011 school year.
245	245	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
246	246	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
247	247	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
248	248	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
249	249	Act takes effect September 1, 2009.