| 1 | 1 | | 81R1793 PAM-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Van de Putte S.B. No. 452 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to transfer of a student of limited English proficiency |
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| 8 | 8 | | out of a public school bilingual education or special language |
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| 9 | 9 | | program. |
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| 10 | 10 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 11 | 11 | | SECTION 1. Section 29.056(g), Education Code, is amended to |
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| 12 | 12 | | read as follows: |
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| 13 | 13 | | (g) A district may transfer a student of limited English |
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| 14 | 14 | | proficiency out of a bilingual education or special language |
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| 15 | 15 | | program for the first time or a subsequent time if the student is |
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| 16 | 16 | | able to participate equally in a regular all-English instructional |
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| 17 | 17 | | program as determined by: |
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| 18 | 18 | | (1) agency-approved tests administered at the end of |
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| 19 | 19 | | each school year to determine the extent to which the student has |
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| 20 | 20 | | developed oral and written language proficiency and specific |
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| 21 | 21 | | language skills in both the student's primary language and English; |
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| 22 | 22 | | (2) satisfactory performance on the reading |
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| 23 | 23 | | assessment instrument under Section 39.023(a) or an English |
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| 24 | 24 | | language arts assessment instrument under Section 39.023(c), as |
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| 25 | 25 | | applicable, with the assessment instrument administered in |
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| 26 | 26 | | English[, or, if the student is enrolled in the first or second |
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| 27 | 27 | | grade, an achievement score at or above the 40th percentile in the |
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| 28 | 28 | | reading and language arts sections of an English standardized test |
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| 29 | 29 | | approved by the agency]; and |
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| 30 | 30 | | (3) other indications of a student's overall progress, |
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| 31 | 31 | | including [agency-approved] criterion-referenced test scores, |
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| 32 | 32 | | [tests and the results of a] subjective teacher evaluation, and |
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| 33 | 33 | | parental evaluation. |
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| 34 | 34 | | SECTION 2. This Act applies beginning with the 2009-2010 |
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| 35 | 35 | | school year. |
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| 36 | 36 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 37 | 37 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 38 | 38 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 39 | 39 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 40 | 40 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |
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