By: Shapiro, Lucio S.B. No. 2083
(In the Senate - Filed March 13, 2009; March 31, 2009, read
first time and referred to Committee on Education; May 1, 2009,
reported adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the
following vote: Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 1, 2009, sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 2083 By: Shapiro
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to outcome measurement and reporting concerning school
district and open-enrollment charter school special education
programs and grants to public school entities that perform well on
the measurements.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
amended by adding Sections 29.022 through 29.030 to read as
follows:
Sec. 29.022. SPECIAL EDUCATION SURVEYS: DEVELOPMENT AND
DESIGN OF DATA COLLECTION PLATFORM AND FLOWCHART. (a) The agency
shall develop an Internet-based data collection platform that, in
accordance with Section 29.023:
(1) each school district and open-enrollment charter
school shall use to coordinate the completion of surveys concerning
each student participating in the district's or school's special
education program; and
(2) the agency shall use to survey:
(A) each student who has participated in a school
district's or open-enrollment charter school's special education
program and has graduated from a district or school high school or
the parent of or person standing in parental relation to such a
student; and
(B) each student who has withdrawn from a school
district's or open-enrollment charter school's special education
program or the parent of or person standing in parental relation to
such a student.
(b) The agency shall develop a survey question flowchart for
each survey required under Subsection (a) so that each survey is
designed to be completed in 15 minutes or less. In developing each
survey flowchart, the agency shall:
(1) to the extent practicable, consult with one or
more national organizations with expertise in postsecondary
education, employment, or life skills for persons with
disabilities; and
(2) consult with:
(A) parents of students eligible under Section
29.003 to participate in a district or school special education
program;
(B) teachers who teach special education
students;
(C) school administrators, including
superintendents, principals, and special education administrators;
(D) other persons with significant interest or
expertise in special education, including:
(i) one person appointed by the presiding
officer of the standing committee in the senate with primary
jurisdiction over public education; and
(ii) one person appointed by the presiding
officer of the standing committee in the house of representatives
with primary jurisdiction over public education; and
(E) persons who perform research at institutions
of higher education and have expertise concerning the design of
statistically valid, accurate, and objective data collection
methods.
(c) A survey under this section shall be, as applicable:
(1) designed to determine, among other information,
whether the person completing the survey:
(A) perceives that the student is appropriately
progressing toward each of the following:
(i) attending postsecondary education;
(ii) living independently; and
(iii) being employed;
(B) has, as appropriate based on the person
completing the survey, an understanding of the educational rights
under federal law of a student with a disability; and
(C) is satisfied with admission, review, and
dismissal committee meetings, conflict resolution procedures and
outcomes, the level of due process provided in the special
education program, the amount and type of teacher training, teacher
retention, and, as applicable, the availability of student and
parent contact information;
(2) disaggregated by type of disability and by
preschool, including early childhood, or primary or secondary
school grade-level or age of the student; and
(3) designed, to the extent practicable, through the
use of multiple languages or other accommodations determined by the
agency, to be completed without assistance from school district
personnel.
(d) A survey under Subsection (a)(2)(A) shall be designed to
determine, among other information, whether the student is:
(1) attending a postsecondary educational institution
and, if so, the type of institution;
(2) living independently; and
(3) employed and, if so, the type of employment.
(e) A survey under Subsection (a)(2)(B) shall be designed to
determine, among other information, the reason for the student's
withdrawal from the special education program, such as a change of
residence or a decision to educate the student at home or in a
private setting.
Sec. 29.023. SPECIAL EDUCATION SURVEYS: ADMINISTRATION AND
RESULTS. (a) The agency shall conduct the surveys described by
Section 29.022 as follows:
(1) for a survey under Section 29.022(a)(1), once
during each of the following periods during which a student is
enrolled in a special education program:
(A) during the period the student is at least
three years of age and younger than six years of age;
(B) during the period the student is at least six
years of age and younger than 11 years of age;
(C) during the period the student is at least 11
years of age and younger than 15 years of age; and
(D) during the period the student is at least 15
years of age and younger than 22 years of age;
(2) for a survey under Section 29.022(a)(2)(A),
approximately 12 months and again approximately 60 months after the
date of a student's graduation; and
(3) for a survey under Section 29.022(a)(2)(B), as
soon as practicable after the student withdraws from the district's
or school's special education program.
(b) For a survey under Section 29.022(a)(1), a school
district or open-enrollment charter school shall coordinate the
completion of separate surveys of:
(1) the parent of or person standing in parental
relation to a student participating in the district's or school's
special education program;
(2) the special education teacher of the student or,
if the student is in general education classes only, a teacher of
the student in a course in the foundation curriculum under Section
28.002(a)(1);
(3) if applicable, the primary paraprofessional
working with the student; and
(4) if the student participates in admission, review,
and dismissal committee meetings, the student.
(c) For a survey under Section 29.022(a)(2)(A) or (B), the
agency shall complete a survey of:
(1) the parent of or person standing in parental
relation to each student who has participated in the district's or
school's special education program; or
(2) to the extent practicable, each student.
(d) The agency shall develop a statewide Internet-based
information reporting system that the agency posts on the agency's
Internet website and that provides current and historical special
education snapshot results for each school district, campus, and
open-enrollment charter school that are disaggregated by students'
type of disability and by students' preschool or grade-level range
or age. In addition, the information system must provide relative
performance statistics for districts, campuses, and schools among,
as determined by the agency, peer institutions in this state and, if
practicable, nationally, based on:
(1) outcomes by students and interim outcome progress
indicators, as indicated by the surveys conducted under this
section; and
(2) other indicators established by law and rules, as
determined appropriate by the agency, including the indicator under
Section 39.051(b)(12) and the districts', campuses', or schools'
current special education compliance status with the agency.
Sec. 29.024. SPECIAL EDUCATION SNAPSHOT. (a) The agency
shall develop and each school district or open-enrollment charter
school shall provide to the parent of or person standing in parental
relation to each student participating in the district's or
school's special education program, once each school year before
the first admission, review, and dismissal committee meeting, a
special education snapshot. The snapshot must be designed to be
easily understood by parents and persons standing in parental
relation and must indicate the discrete and relative performance,
disaggregated by students' type of disability and by students'
preschool or grade-level range or age, of the district and campus or
school on:
(1) issues surveyed under Sections 29.022 and 29.023;
and
(2) other indicators established by law and rules, as
determined appropriate by the agency, including the indicator under
Section 39.051(b)(12) and the district's and campus's or school's
current special education compliance status with the agency.
(b) In a case in which disaggregation of data as reported in
the snapshot would, because of the survey sample size, create a
violation under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of
1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g), the agency shall increase the
grouping sample size used for snapshot purposes by adding age
ranges or historical results to the extent necessary to comply with
that law.
(c) In a case in which disaggregation of data as reported in
the snapshot would, because of the small survey sample size, create
among peers relative performance statistics that are not
statistically sound, the agency shall increase the grouping sample
size used for snapshot purposes by adding age ranges or historical
results to create statistically valid relative performance
statistics. The discrete survey results shall be disaggregated to
the fullest extent possible.
Sec. 29.025. SPECIAL EDUCATION SUCCESS GRANTS FOR PUBLIC
SCHOOLS. (a) To the extent funds are available, the agency shall
award grants to school districts, campuses, and open-enrollment
charter schools with high relative performance statistics for
students with a specific disability, as indicated by the snapshot
information under Section 29.023(d).
(b) The commissioner shall by rule adopt criteria on which
to base a grant award under this section, for grouping districts,
campuses, and open-enrollment charter schools based on the number
of students enrolled in the program and other factors, and for
distinguishing among districts, campuses, and schools and among
types of disabilities. The rule must require a district, campus, or
school, before receiving an award, to provide a detailed, written
description on a form adopted by the commissioner under Subsection
(d) of the award-winning special education program, especially the
aspects of the program that have led to student success. The agency
shall post each description on the agency's Internet website and
shall provide copies to school districts, open-enrollment charter
schools, and regional education service centers and, on request, to
members of the public.
(c) The total amount of grant awards under this section may
not exceed $2 million per year.
(d) The commissioner by rule shall adopt a written
description form for purposes of Subsection (b). To enable another
school district, campus, or open-enrollment charter school to
understand and implement a special education program similar to the
program for which a grant has been awarded under this section, the
form must require a program description that describes, among any
other aspects of the program as determined by the commissioner:
(1) program methodologies and practices;
(2) lessons learned from program implementation;
(3) staff qualification requirements;
(4) staff-to-student ratios across placements;
(5) staff training, development, and retention
strategies, including methods and measures used to support staff;
(6) unique, creative, or advanced program elements;
(7) significant challenges faced and any solutions
found; and
(8) approximate budget information, with major
program expenditures specified.
Sec. 29.026. SPECIAL EDUCATION SURVEYS: ANALYSIS.
(a) The agency shall periodically perform a statistical analysis
to isolate particular results of surveys conducted under Sections
29.022 and 29.023 that predict student success.
(b) The agency shall post the results of the analysis under
Subsection (a), with any personally identifiable student
information removed, on the agency's Internet website and shall
provide copies of the results to school districts, open-enrollment
charter schools, and regional education service centers and, on
request, to members of the public. In addition, on request, the
agency shall make the data on which the analysis is based available,
with any personally identifiable student information removed, to
persons providing research, members of special education advocacy
groups, and other interested persons. The agency may require a
person to whom that data is made available to execute a
nondisclosure agreement as the agency determines necessary to
ensure that the person releases to the public only summary results
of the person's research and does not release to the public
information or a form of information that reveals personally
identifiable student information.
Sec. 29.027. PARENT AND TEACHER CONTACT INFORMATION. The
agency shall provide a method during the survey by which parents and
teachers of students who have participated in a special education
program and completed a survey under Section 29.023 may, through
the agency, provide contact information to persons who provide
training, advocacy, or other targeted assistance in creating
academic success for students in special education programs.
Sec. 29.028. SPECIAL EDUCATION SURVEYS: CONFIDENTIALITY OF
INFORMATION. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
subchapter, the results of a special education survey under this
subchapter are not considered public information under Chapter 552,
Government Code.
(b) The agency shall take measures to ensure
confidentiality of individual survey results so that parents of or
persons standing in parental relation to students of school
districts or open-enrollment charter schools and employees of the
districts or schools are not subject to consequences as a result of
their answers to survey questions.
Sec. 29.029. RULES. The commissioner shall adopt rules as
necessary to administer Sections 29.022-29.028.
Sec. 29.030. SPECIAL EDUCATION SURVEYS: IMPLEMENTATION
PLAN. (a) Not later than March 1, 2010, the agency shall submit to
the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the house of
representatives, and presiding officer of the standing committee of
each house of the legislature with primary jurisdiction over public
education a plan for implementing the requirements of Sections
29.022-29.028.
(b) The implementation plan must include the
confidentiality measures required by Section 29.028(b).
(c) Not later than September 1, 2010, school districts and
open-enrollment charter schools shall begin conducting surveys
under Sections 29.022 and 29.023. This section expires September
30, 2010.
SECTION 2. 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.
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