87R6368 MM-F
By: Lucio S.B. No. 878
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to an Internet online dropout recovery education program
for students at risk of dropping out of school.
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) is enrolled in a school district or
open-enrollment charter school, or a campus of a school district or
open-enrollment charter school, that is designated as a dropout
recovery school under Section 39.0548; 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 29.081, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (e-2) and adding Subsection (f-1) to read as
follows:
(e-2) An Internet online dropout recovery education program
must:
(1) include as a part of its curriculum credentials,
certifications, or other course offerings that relate directly to
employment opportunities in the state;
(2) employ as faculty and administrators persons with
baccalaureate or advanced degrees;
(3) provide an academic coach and local advocate for
each student;
(4) use an individual learning plan to monitor each
student's progress;
(5) [establish satisfactory requirements for the
monthly progress of students according to standards set by the
commissioner;
[(6)] provide a monthly report to the student's school
district regarding the student's progress;
(6) [(7)] perform satisfactorily according to
performance indicators and accountability standards adopted for
alternative education programs by the commissioner; and
(7) [(8)] comply with this title and rules adopted
under this title except as otherwise provided by this subsection.
(f-1) An Internet online dropout recovery education program
is not subject to commissioner rules applicable to an optional
flexible school day program under Section 29.0822 regarding minutes
of instruction and calculation of average daily attendance. For
the purposes of calculating attendance for an Internet online
dropout recovery education program, the commissioner shall:
(1) consider a student to be scheduled for and
receiving instruction for 55 minutes per day for each course taken
for purposes of determining whether the student satisfies the
requirements of half-day or full-day enrollment;
(2) consider a student who is enrolled for five
semester courses to be in attendance for each day of instruction in
the reporting period for purposes of establishing the student's
daily attendance;
(3) calculate the final average daily attendance of
the program based on successful student completion of semester
courses in which students were enrolled using course completion
data reported by the district;
(4) adjust the average daily attendance based on
students' failure to complete semester courses; and
(5) adjust the amount of funding provided under the
Foundation School Program during the following school year based on
any adjustment made under Subdivision (4).
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.