87R3419 MLH-F
By: Lucio S.B. No. 880
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to authorizing a dropout recovery competency-based
educational pilot program provided through a campus or campus
program charter or open-enrollment charter school.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 12, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter F to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER F. DROPOUT RECOVERY COMPETENCY-BASED EDUCATIONAL
PILOT PROGRAM
Sec. 12.201. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "program"
means a dropout recovery competency-based educational pilot
program authorized under this subchapter.
Sec. 12.202. PROGRAM AUTHORIZATION. (a) For the purpose of
offering during the 2022-2023 school year a dropout recovery
competency-based educational pilot program to serve eligible
students described by Section 12.203, the commissioner, subject to
Subsection (b), may:
(1) on the basis of an application submitted, grant a
charter to an eligible entity for an open-enrollment charter school
under Subchapter D to provide the program;
(2) authorize an open-enrollment charter school to
provide the program; or
(3) authorize a campus or campus program that has been
granted a charter under Subchapter C to provide the program.
(b) To qualify for authorization under this subchapter, a
program must:
(1) serve students in grades 9 through 12 and have an
enrollment of which at least 50 percent of the students are 17 years
of age or older as of September 1 of the school year as reported for
the fall semester Public Education Information Management System
(PEIMS) submission; and
(2) meet the eligibility requirements for and register
under alternative education accountability procedures adopted by
the commissioner.
Sec. 12.203. ELIGIBLE STUDENT. A student is eligible to
enroll in a program offered under this subchapter if the student is
at least 14 years of age and under 26 years of age on September 1 of
the school year and meets one or more of the following criteria:
(1) the student was reported through the Public
Education Information Management System (PEIMS) or in another state
to have dropped out of school, including a student who has
previously dropped out of school;
(2) the student is a student at risk of dropping out of
school under the circumstances described by Section
29.081(d)(1)(A), (B), (C), (E), or (J);
(3) the student has been placed in a disciplinary
alternative education program under Section 37.006 during the
previous or current school year based on the Public Education
Information Management System (PEIMS) submissions or other
supporting documentation;
(4) the student has been expelled under Section 37.007
during the previous four school years or the current school year;
(5) the student is currently on parole, probation,
deferred prosecution, deferred adjudication, or other conditional
release;
(6) the student is currently in the custody or care of
the Department of Family and Protective Services or has been
referred to the department during the previous or current school
year by a school official, officer of a juvenile court, or law
enforcement official;
(7) the student has been previously or is currently
homeless as defined by 42 U.S.C. Section 11302 or within the meaning
of the term "homeless children and youths" under 42 U.S.C. Section
11434a, as applicable;
(8) the student resided at any time or currently
resides in a residential care facility, 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;
(9) the student is employed and working for pay at
least 15 hours or more each week to provide individual support or to
support the student's family;
(10) the student is ordered by a court to attend a high
school equivalency certificate program but has not yet earned the
certificate or a high school diploma;
(11) the student has previously been placed on a
personal graduation plan under Section 28.0212 or an intensive
program of instruction under Section 28.0213; or
(12) the student or the parent of or person standing in
parental relation to the student certifies to the school that the
student would benefit from the program to otherwise avoid dropping
out of school due to extenuating family circumstances or
responsibilities, including to provide medical or caregiving
services to a family member or to provide individual support or to
support the student's family.
Sec. 12.204. ELIGIBILITY FOR DIPLOMA. (a) A student
enrolled in a program under this subchapter may earn high school
course credits and receive a high school diploma if the student
successfully completes the curriculum requirements described under
Section 28.025.
(b) The commissioner by rule shall establish the
requirements to demonstrate satisfactory completion of the
program, including:
(1) successful completion of coursework to satisfy
curriculum requirements under the program; and
(2) successful performance on an examination under
Section 28.023 to demonstrate mastery of the curriculum.
Sec. 12.205. OPERATION OF PROGRAM. (a) An entity
authorized to operate a program under this subchapter shall create
an educational calendar and class schedule for the program's
operation that provides for flexibility in class scheduling and
student attendance. The commissioner shall approve reasonable
exceptions to accommodate program scheduling and achieve the
program's purpose.
(b) An entity authorized to operate a program under this
subchapter shall have an audit of the operations of the program,
including the financial operations, conducted at the entity's
expense. The audit must be conducted by an independent certified
public accountant.
(c) For purposes of conducting an audit under this section,
the commissioner by rule shall establish requirements for verifying
course credits earned by program students.
Sec. 12.206. ACCOUNTABILITY. A program under this
subchapter shall be evaluated under Section 39.0548 and as provided
by commissioner rule.
Sec. 12.207. FUNDING. (a) An entity authorized to operate
a program under this subchapter is entitled to receive full state
funding as provided by Section 12.106, provided that, for purposes
of this subchapter, the commissioner shall by rule determine a
method to calculate average daily attendance based on:
(1) a student's successful completion of a number of
courses as determined by commissioner rule; and
(2) a student's hours of contact time with the school.
(b) The method under Subsection (a) must provide for a
proportionate reduction in funding if a student fails to
successfully complete the number of courses determined under
Subsection (a)(1).
(c) An entity authorized to operate a program under this
subchapter may receive additional funds appropriated by the
legislature for:
(1) an intensive program of instruction to the same
extent as a program under Section 28.0213; or
(2) accelerated instruction to the same extent as a
program under Section 28.0217.
Sec. 12.208. PROGRAM REPORTING SYSTEM. (a) The
commissioner by rule shall develop:
(1) a system for each entity authorized to operate a
program under this subchapter to report information relating to the
program as directed by the commissioner; and
(2) to the extent practicable, a monthly funding
schedule.
(b) Before developing the system and schedule under
Subsection (a) and in an effort to best serve the interests and
needs of eligible students under this subchapter, the commissioner
shall solicit input from approved charter schools that currently
operate dropout recovery programs.
Sec. 12.209. RULES; WAIVERS. (a) The commissioner shall
adopt rules necessary to implement and administer this subchapter.
(b) The commissioner may waive any requirement under this
code to facilitate the purposes of this subchapter.
Sec. 12.210. REPORT. Not later than December 1, 2023, the
commissioner shall submit to the legislature a report that:
(1) evaluates the implementation of this subchapter;
and
(2) makes recommendations regarding any legislative
or other action.
Sec. 12.211. EXPIRATION. This subchapter expires December
1, 2023.
SECTION 2. 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
(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 3. This Act applies beginning with the 2022-2023
school year.
SECTION 4. 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 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.