87R10577 JES-F
By: Morales Shaw H.B. No. 4262
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the inclusion of certain chronically absent students as
students at risk of dropping out of school and the collection and
reporting of data regarding those students.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 29.081(d), Education Code, as amended by
Chapters 403 (S.B. 1746), 597 (S.B. 668), and 1060 (H.B. 1051), Acts
of the 86th Legislature, Regular Session, 2019, is reenacted and
amended to read as follows:
(d) For purposes of this section, "student at risk of
dropping out of school" includes each student who:
(1) is under 26 years of age and who:
(A) was not advanced from one grade level to the
next for one or more school years;
(B) if the student is in grade 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, or
12, did not maintain an average equivalent to 70 on a scale of 100 in
two or more subjects in the foundation curriculum during a semester
in the preceding or current school year or is not maintaining such
an average in two or more subjects in the foundation curriculum in
the current semester;
(C) did not perform satisfactorily on an
assessment instrument administered to the student under Subchapter
B, Chapter 39, and who has not in the previous or current school
year subsequently performed on that instrument or another
appropriate instrument at a level equal to at least 110 percent of
the level of satisfactory performance on that instrument;
(D) if the student is in prekindergarten,
kindergarten, or grade 1, 2, or 3, did not perform satisfactorily on
a readiness test or assessment instrument administered during the
current school year;
(E) is pregnant or is a parent;
(F) has been placed in an alternative education
program in accordance with Section 37.006 during the preceding or
current school year;
(G) has been expelled in accordance with Section
37.007 during the preceding or current school year;
(H) is currently on parole, probation, deferred
prosecution, or other conditional release;
(I) was previously reported through the Public
Education Information Management System (PEIMS) to have dropped out
of school;
(J) is a student of limited English proficiency,
as defined by Section 29.052;
(K) is in the custody or care of the Department of
Family and Protective Services or has, during the current school
year, been referred to the department by a school official, officer
of the juvenile court, or law enforcement official;
(L) is homeless;
(M) resided in the preceding school year or
resides in the current school year in a residential placement
facility in the district, including a detention facility, substance
abuse treatment facility, emergency shelter, psychiatric hospital,
halfway house, cottage home operation, specialized child-care
home, or general residential operation; [or]
(N) [(14)] has been incarcerated or has a parent
or guardian who has been incarcerated, within the lifetime of the
student, in a penal institution as defined by Section 1.07, Penal
Code; or
(O) if the student is in kindergarten through
grade six, is a chronically absent student, as defined by Section
48.009; or
(2) regardless of the student's age, participates in
an adult education program provided under a high school diploma and
industry certification charter school program under Section
29.259.
SECTION 2. Section 48.009, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (c-1) to
read as follows:
(a) In this section:
(1) "Chronically absent student" means a student who
is absent from school for more than 10 percent of the days within:
(A) a school year; or
(B) a six-week grade reporting period.
(2) "Full-time [,"full-time] equivalent school
counselor" means 40 hours of counseling services a week.
(b) The commissioner by rule shall require each school
district and open-enrollment charter school to report through the
Public Education Information Management System information
regarding:
(1) the number of students enrolled in the district or
school who are identified as having dyslexia;
(2) the availability of school counselors, including
the number of full-time equivalent school counselors, at each
campus;
(3) the availability of expanded learning
opportunities as described by Section 33.252 at each campus;
(4) the total number of students, other than students
described by Subdivision (5), enrolled in the district or school
with whom the district or school, as applicable, used intervention
strategies, as that term is defined by Section 26.004, at any time
during the year for which the report is made; [and]
(5) the total number of students enrolled in the
district or school to whom the district or school provided aids,
accommodations, or services under Section 504, Rehabilitation Act
of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794), at any time during the year for
which the report is made; and
(6) the total number of chronically absent students
enrolled in kindergarten through grade six at a campus in the
district or school disaggregated by students' race, ethnicity, and
status as:
(A) students enrolled in a special education
program;
(B) students identified as having dyslexia;
(C) educationally disadvantaged students; and
(D) students of limited English proficiency as
defined by Section 29.052.
(c-1) The agency shall annually aggregate and make publicly
available the data on student chronic absenteeism collected under
Subsection (b)(6). The data must:
(1) be shown at the campus and district aggregate
levels; and
(2) include the percentage of chronically absent
students enrolled in kindergarten through grade six in each
demographic category listed under Subsection (b)(6).
SECTION 3. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails
over another Act of the 87th Legislature, Regular Session, 2021,
relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
codes.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.