By: West S.B. No. 1563
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the methodology for the certification of funds to
support satisfactory performance on certain state assessments.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 28.0211(m), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(m-1) Each biennium, not later than the 30th day after the
effective date of the General Appropriations Act, the commissioner
shall provide to the Legislative Budget Board, the office of budget
and planning in the governor's office, and the presiding officer of
each legislative standing committee with primary jurisdiction over
primary and secondary education a certification methodology for
making a determination under Subsection (m) for the purpose of
receiving comments on the proposed methodology. To allow time for
such comment, the commissioner may not make a certification under
Subsection (m) before the tenth day after the date that the
certification methodology is provided under this subsection. The
certification methodology provided under this subsection must
include a determination that:
(1) funding has been appropriated to enable the agency
to provide research-based statewide professional development for
reading and mathematics for grade levels from kindergarten through
eighth grade in an effective and cost-efficient manner;
(2) both the total number and percentage of students
who failed to perform satisfactorily on a reading or mathematics
assessment administered in fifth or eighth grade have decreased
over the previous two school years;
(3) the appropriation of funds, excluding Foundation
School Program funds, is adequate to provide support to students in
third through eighth grade who are students at-risk of dropping out
of school as defined in Section 29.081(d);
(4) school district expenditures from the
compensatory education allotment are expended on proven
research-based strategies to increase student achievement;
(5) all students eligible for prekindergarten under
Section 29.153(b) have access to a high-quality prekindergarten
program; and
(6) sufficient funds have been appropriated to provide
instructional materials that are aligned to the state assessment
program under Section 39.023(a) for grade levels from third to
eighth grade.
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, 2011.