82R3312 CAS-D
By: Fletcher H.B. No. 402
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to public school students who have dyscalculia.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 7.102(c)(28), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(28) The board shall approve a program for testing
students for dyslexia and related disorders and for dyscalculia as
provided by Section 38.003.
SECTION 2. Section 11.252(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Each school district shall have a district improvement
plan that is developed, evaluated, and revised annually, in
accordance with district policy, by the superintendent with the
assistance of the district-level committee established under
Section 11.251. The purpose of the district improvement plan is to
guide district and campus staff in the improvement of student
performance for all student groups in order to attain state
standards in respect to the student achievement indicators adopted
under Section 39.053. The district improvement plan must include
provisions for:
(1) a comprehensive needs assessment addressing
district student performance on the student achievement
indicators, and other appropriate measures of performance, that are
disaggregated by all student groups served by the district,
including categories of ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sex, and
populations served by special programs, including students in
special education programs under Subchapter A, Chapter 29;
(2) measurable district performance objectives for
all appropriate student achievement indicators for all student
populations, including students in special education programs
under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, and other measures of student
performance that may be identified through the comprehensive needs
assessment;
(3) strategies for improvement of student performance
that include:
(A) instructional methods for addressing the
needs of student groups not achieving their full potential;
(B) methods for addressing the needs of students
for special programs, such as suicide prevention, conflict
resolution, violence prevention, or dyslexia or dyscalculia
treatment programs;
(C) dropout reduction;
(D) integration of technology in instructional
and administrative programs;
(E) discipline management;
(F) staff development for professional staff of
the district;
(G) career education to assist students in
developing the knowledge, skills, and competencies necessary for a
broad range of career opportunities; and
(H) accelerated education;
(4) strategies for providing to middle school, junior
high school, and high school students, those students' teachers and
counselors, and those students' parents information about:
(A) higher education admissions and financial
aid opportunities;
(B) the TEXAS grant program and the Teach for
Texas grant program established under Chapter 56;
(C) the need for students to make informed
curriculum choices to be prepared for success beyond high school;
and
(D) sources of information on higher education
admissions and financial aid;
(5) resources needed to implement identified
strategies;
(6) staff responsible for ensuring the accomplishment
of each strategy;
(7) timelines for ongoing monitoring of the
implementation of each improvement strategy; and
(8) formative evaluation criteria for determining
periodically whether strategies are resulting in intended
improvement of student performance.
SECTION 3. Section 12.012(c), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(c) This section does not permit a home-rule school district
to discriminate against a student who has been diagnosed as having a
learning disability, including dyslexia, dyscalculia, or attention
deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Discrimination prohibited by this
subsection includes denial of placement in a gifted and talented
program if the student would otherwise be qualified for the program
but for the student's learning disability. This section does not
permit a home-rule school district to, on the basis of race,
socioeconomic status, learning disability, or family support
status, place a student in a program other than the highest-level
program necessary to ensure the student's success.
SECTION 4. Section 21.0482(c), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(c) To be eligible for a master mathematics teacher
certificate, a person must:
(1) hold a teaching certificate issued under this
subchapter;
(2) have at least three years of teaching experience;
(3) satisfactorily complete a knowledge-based course
of instruction on the science of teaching children mathematics that
includes training in:
(A) mathematics instruction;
(B) identification of dyscalculia and effective
mathematics instruction techniques for students with dyscalculia;
and
(C) professional peer mentoring techniques that,
through scientific testing, have been proven effective;
(4) perform satisfactorily on the appropriate master
mathematics teacher certification examination prescribed by the
board; and
(5) satisfy any other requirements prescribed by the
board.
SECTION 5. The heading to Section 38.003, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 38.003. SCREENING AND TREATMENT FOR DYSLEXIA AND
RELATED DISORDERS AND FOR DYSCALCULIA.
SECTION 6. Sections 38.003(a), (b), and (d), Education
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) Students enrolling in public schools in this state shall
be tested for dyslexia and related disorders and for dyscalculia at
appropriate times in accordance with a program approved by the
State Board of Education.
(b) In accordance with the program approved by the State
Board of Education, the board of trustees of each school district
shall provide for the treatment of any student determined to have
dyslexia or a related disorder or dyscalculia.
(d) In this section:
(1) "Dyscalculia" means a specific learning
disability or difficulty involving innate difficulty in learning or
comprehending mathematics.
(2) "Dyslexia" means a disorder of constitutional
origin manifested by a difficulty in learning to read, write, or
spell, despite conventional instruction, adequate intelligence,
and sociocultural opportunity.
(3) [(2)] "Related disorders" includes disorders
similar to or related to dyslexia, such as developmental auditory
imperception, dysphasia, specific developmental dyslexia,
developmental dysgraphia, and developmental spelling disability.
SECTION 7. Section 42.152(c-1), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(c-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (c), funds allocated under
this section may be used to fund in proportion to the percentage of
students served by the program that meet the criteria in Section
29.081(d) or (g):
(1) an accelerated reading instruction program under
Section 28.006(g); or
(2) a program for treatment of students who have
dyslexia or a related disorder or dyscalculia, as required by
Section 38.003.
SECTION 8. Section 21.0482(c), Education Code, as amended
by this Act, applies only to eligibility for a master mathematics
teacher certificate issued on or after January 1, 2013.
SECTION 9. This Act applies beginning with the 2011-2012
school year.
SECTION 10. 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, 2011.