Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas House Bill HB823 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87R3028 JES-F
2	2	By: González of El Paso H.B. No. 823
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the inclusion of chronically absent students as
8	8	students at risk of dropping out of school and the collection and
9	9	reporting of data regarding those students.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Section 29.081(d), Education Code, as amended by
12	12	Chapters 403 (S.B. 1746), 597 (S.B. 668), and 1060 (H.B. 1051), Acts
13	13	of the 86th Legislature, Regular Session, 2019, is reenacted and
14	14	amended to read as follows:
15	15	(d) For purposes of this section, "student at risk of
16	16	dropping out of school" includes each student who:
17	17	(1) is under 26 years of age and who:
18	18	(A) was not advanced from one grade level to the
19	19	next for one or more school years;
20	20	(B) if the student is in grade 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, or
21	21	12, did not maintain an average equivalent to 70 on a scale of 100 in
22	22	two or more subjects in the foundation curriculum during a semester
23	23	in the preceding or current school year or is not maintaining such
24	24	an average in two or more subjects in the foundation curriculum in
25	25	the current semester;
26	26	(C) did not perform satisfactorily on an
27	27	assessment instrument administered to the student under Subchapter
28	28	B, Chapter 39, and who has not in the previous or current school
29	29	year subsequently performed on that instrument or another
30	30	appropriate instrument at a level equal to at least 110 percent of
31	31	the level of satisfactory performance on that instrument;
32	32	(D) if the student is in prekindergarten,
33	33	kindergarten, or grade 1, 2, or 3, did not perform satisfactorily on
34	34	a readiness test or assessment instrument administered during the
35	35	current school year;
36	36	(E) is pregnant or is a parent;
37	37	(F) has been placed in an alternative education
38	38	program in accordance with Section 37.006 during the preceding or
39	39	current school year;
40	40	(G) has been expelled in accordance with Section
41	41	37.007 during the preceding or current school year;
42	42	(H) is currently on parole, probation, deferred
43	43	prosecution, or other conditional release;
44	44	(I) was previously reported through the Public
45	45	Education Information Management System (PEIMS) to have dropped out
46	46	of school;
47	47	(J) is a student of limited English proficiency,
48	48	as defined by Section 29.052;
49	49	(K) is in the custody or care of the Department of
50	50	Family and Protective Services or has, during the current school
51	51	year, been referred to the department by a school official, officer
52	52	of the juvenile court, or law enforcement official;
53	53	(L) is homeless;
54	54	(M) resided in the preceding school year or
55	55	resides in the current school year in a residential placement
56	56	facility in the district, including a detention facility, substance
57	57	abuse treatment facility, emergency shelter, psychiatric hospital,
58	58	halfway house, cottage home operation, specialized child-care
59	59	home, or general residential operation; [or]
60	60	(N) [(14)] has been incarcerated or has a parent
61	61	or guardian who has been incarcerated, within the lifetime of the
62	62	student, in a penal institution as defined by Section 1.07, Penal
63	63	Code; or
64	64	(O) is a chronically absent student, as defined
65	65	by Section 48.009; or
66	66	(2) regardless of the student's age, participates in
67	67	an adult education program provided under a high school diploma and
68	68	industry certification charter school program under Section
69	69	29.259.
70	70	SECTION 2. Section 48.009, Education Code, is amended by
71	71	amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (c-1) to
72	72	read as follows:
73	73	(a) In this section:
74	74	(1) "Chronically absent student" means a student who
75	75	is absent from school for more than 10 percent of the days within:
76	76	(A) a school year; or
77	77	(B) a six-week grade reporting period.
78	78	(2) "Full-time [,"full-time] equivalent school
79	79	counselor" means 40 hours of counseling services a week.
80	80	(b) The commissioner by rule shall require each school
81	81	district and open-enrollment charter school to report through the
82	82	Public Education Information Management System information
83	83	regarding:
84	84	(1) the number of students enrolled in the district or
85	85	school who are identified as having dyslexia;
86	86	(2) the availability of school counselors, including
87	87	the number of full-time equivalent school counselors, at each
88	88	campus;
89	89	(3) the availability of expanded learning
90	90	opportunities as described by Section 33.252 at each campus;
91	91	(4) the total number of students, other than students
92	92	described by Subdivision (5), enrolled in the district or school
93	93	with whom the district or school, as applicable, used intervention
94	94	strategies, as that term is defined by Section 26.004, at any time
95	95	during the year for which the report is made; [and]
96	96	(5) the total number of students enrolled in the
97	97	district or school to whom the district or school provided aids,
98	98	accommodations, or services under Section 504, Rehabilitation Act
99	99	of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794), at any time during the year for
100	100	which the report is made; and
101	101	(6) the total number of chronically absent students
102	102	enrolled at each campus in the district or school disaggregated by
103	103	students' race, ethnicity, and status as:
104	104	(A) students enrolled in a special education
105	105	program;
106	106	(B) students identified as having dyslexia;
107	107	(C) educationally disadvantaged students; and
108	108	(D) students of limited English proficiency as
109	109	defined by Section 29.052.
110	110	(c-1) The agency shall annually aggregate and make publicly
111	111	available the data on student chronic absenteeism collected under
112	112	Subsection (b)(6). The data must:
113	113	(1) be shown at the campus and district aggregate
114	114	levels; and
115	115	(2) include the percentage of chronically absent
116	116	students in each demographic category listed under Subsection
117	117	(b)(6).
118	118	SECTION 3. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails
119	119	over another Act of the 87th Legislature, Regular Session, 2021,
120	120	relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
121	121	codes.
122	122	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.