By: RodrÃguez, et al. S.B. No. 160
(Wu)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a prohibition of a monitoring system performance
indicator based solely on the number or percentage of students
receiving special education services.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 29.0011 to read as follows:
Sec. 29.0011. PROHIBITED PERFORMANCE INDICATOR.
(a) Notwithstanding Section 29.001(5), Section 29.010, or any
other provision of this code, the commissioner or agency may not
adopt or implement a performance indicator in any agency monitoring
system, including the performance-based monitoring analysis
system, that solely measures a school district's or open-enrollment
charter school's aggregated number or percentage of enrolled
students who receive special education services.
(b) Subsection (a) does not prohibit or limit the
commissioner or agency from meeting requirements under:
(1) 20 U.S.C. Section 1418(d) and its implementing
regulations to collect and examine data to determine whether
significant disproportionality based on race or ethnicity is
occurring in the state and in the school districts and
open-enrollment charter schools in the state with respect to the:
(A) identification of children as children with
disabilities, including the identification of children as children
with particular impairments;
(B) placement of children with disabilities in
particular educational settings; and
(C) incidence, duration, and type of
disciplinary actions taken against children with disabilities,
including suspensions and expulsions; or
(2) 20 U.S.C. Section 1416(a)(3)(C) and its
implementing regulations to address in the statewide plan the
percentage of school districts and open-enrollment charter schools
with disproportionate representation of racial and ethnic groups in
special education and related services and in specific disability
categories that results from inappropriate identification.
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, 2017.