By: West S.B. No. 1726
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to best practices for public school student dropout
prevention and recovery.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 7, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 7.0091 to read as follows:
Sec. 7.0091. BEST PRACTICES FOR DROPOUT PREVENTION AND
RECOVERY. In conjunction with the online clearinghouse of best
practices information established under Section 7.009, the agency
shall establish a dropout prevention assistance center to:
(1) identify successful or promising school district,
campus, or open-enrollment charter school dropout prevention and
recovery programs;
(2) collect and analyze performance data regarding
programs described by Subdivision (1);
(3) identify strategies or components common to
programs described by Subdivision (1);
(4) disseminate to school districts, open-enrollment
charter schools, and regional education service centers
information concerning programs described by Subdivision (1)
through conferences, publications, toolkits, and posting to the
online clearinghouse established under Section 7.009;
(5) work in conjunction with regional education
service centers to create needs assessments for districts and
open-enrollment charter schools that are interested in determining
which best practices for dropout prevention or recovery would be
most appropriate for the district or charter school;
(6) identify programs described by Subdivision (1)
that educators or other employees of a school district,
open-enrollment charter school, and regional education service
center could visit and establish procedures for such learning
visits; and
(7) develop or collect and provide information for
districts and open-enrollment charter schools interested in
implementing a specific best practice for dropout prevention or
recovery, including research concerning the efficacy of the
practice and costs associated with and other resources needed for
implementing the practice.
SECTION 2. This Act does not make an appropriation. A
provision in this Act that creates a new governmental program,
creates a new entitlement, or imposes a new duty on a governmental
entity is not mandatory during a fiscal period for which the
legislature has not made a specific appropriation to implement the
provision.
SECTION 3. 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.