| 1 | 1 | | 86R4892 KJE-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Stickland H.B. No. 1133 |
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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 public school class size limits. |
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| 8 | 8 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 9 | 9 | | SECTION 1. Sections 25.112(a) and (d), Education Code, are |
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| 10 | 10 | | amended to read as follows: |
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| 11 | 11 | | (a) Except as otherwise authorized by this section, a school |
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| 12 | 12 | | district may not enroll at a campus in classes in the kindergarten, |
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| 13 | 13 | | first, second, third, or fourth grade levels more than a |
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| 14 | 14 | | campus-wide average in each of those grade levels of 22 students per |
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| 15 | 15 | | [in a kindergarten, first, second, third, or fourth grade] class. |
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| 16 | 16 | | That limitation does not apply during: |
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| 17 | 17 | | (1) any 12-week period of the school year selected by |
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| 18 | 18 | | the district, in the case of a district whose average daily |
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| 19 | 19 | | attendance is adjusted under Section 42.005(c); or |
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| 20 | 20 | | (2) the last 12 weeks of any school year in the case of |
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| 21 | 21 | | any other district. |
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| 22 | 22 | | (d) On application of a school district, the commissioner |
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| 23 | 23 | | may except the district from the limit in Subsection (a) for the |
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| 24 | 24 | | school year if the commissioner finds the limit works an undue |
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| 25 | 25 | | hardship on the district. An exception expires at the end of the |
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| 26 | 26 | | school year for which it is granted. |
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| 27 | 27 | | SECTION 2. Section 25.113(a), Education Code, is amended to |
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| 28 | 28 | | read as follows: |
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| 29 | 29 | | (a) A campus or district that is granted an exception under |
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| 30 | 30 | | Section 25.112(d) from class size limits shall provide written |
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| 31 | 31 | | notice of the exception to the parent of or person standing in |
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| 32 | 32 | | parental relation to each student affected by the exception. The |
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| 33 | 33 | | notice must be in conspicuous bold or underlined print and: |
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| 34 | 34 | | (1) specify the grade level [class] for which an |
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| 35 | 35 | | exception from the limit imposed by Section 25.112(a) was granted; |
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| 36 | 36 | | (2) state the number of children in each [the] class at |
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| 37 | 37 | | the grade level for which the exception was granted; and |
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| 38 | 38 | | (3) be included in a regular mailing or other |
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| 39 | 39 | | communication from the campus or district, such as information sent |
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| 40 | 40 | | home with students. |
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| 41 | 41 | | SECTION 3. Section 39.333, Education Code, is amended to |
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| 42 | 42 | | read as follows: |
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| 43 | 43 | | Sec. 39.333. REGIONAL AND DISTRICT LEVEL REPORT. As part of |
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| 44 | 44 | | the comprehensive biennial report under Section 39.332, the agency |
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| 45 | 45 | | shall submit a regional and district level report covering the |
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| 46 | 46 | | preceding two school years and containing: |
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| 47 | 47 | | (1) a summary of school district compliance with the |
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| 48 | 48 | | student/teacher ratios and class-size limitations prescribed by |
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| 49 | 49 | | Sections 25.111 and 25.112, including: |
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| 50 | 50 | | (A) the number of campuses and grade levels |
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| 51 | 51 | | [classes] at each campus granted an exception from Section 25.112; |
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| 52 | 52 | | and |
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| 53 | 53 | | (B) for each campus granted an exception from |
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| 54 | 54 | | Section 25.112, a statement of whether the campus has been awarded a |
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| 55 | 55 | | distinction designation under Subchapter G or has been identified |
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| 56 | 56 | | as an unacceptable campus under Chapter 39A; |
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| 57 | 57 | | (2) a summary of the exemptions and waivers granted to |
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| 58 | 58 | | campuses and school districts under Section 7.056 or 39.232 and a |
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| 59 | 59 | | review of the effectiveness of each campus or district following |
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| 60 | 60 | | deregulation; |
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| 61 | 61 | | (3) an evaluation of the performance of the system of |
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| 62 | 62 | | regional education service centers based on the indicators adopted |
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| 63 | 63 | | under Section 8.101 and client satisfaction with services provided |
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| 64 | 64 | | under Subchapter B, Chapter 8; |
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| 65 | 65 | | (4) an evaluation of accelerated instruction programs |
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| 66 | 66 | | offered under Section 28.006, including an assessment of the |
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| 67 | 67 | | quality of such programs and the performance of students enrolled |
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| 68 | 68 | | in such programs; and |
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| 69 | 69 | | (5) the number of classes at each campus that are |
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| 70 | 70 | | currently being taught by individuals who are not certified in the |
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| 71 | 71 | | content areas of their respective classes. |
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| 72 | 72 | | SECTION 4. This Act applies beginning with the 2019-2020 |
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| 73 | 73 | | school year. |
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| 74 | 74 | | SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 75 | 75 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 76 | 76 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 77 | 77 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 78 | 78 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |
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