88R2235 BDP-F
By: Talarico H.B. No. 2106
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the implementation of student and family engagement
plans by school districts.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter Z, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 29.927 to read as follows:
Sec. 29.927. STUDENT AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT PLANS. (a) Each
school district shall develop and implement a student and family
engagement plan for students in each grade level from
prekindergarten through grade 12 to assist the district in:
(1) achieving and maintaining high levels of family
involvement and positive family attitudes toward public education;
(2) strengthening relationships between students,
families, district administrators, and teachers;
(3) creating positive outcomes by increasing positive
student engagement and developing the student's sense of connection
to the student's learning environment, including by ensuring that
the student is:
(A) actively involved in the student's academic
achievement; and
(B) positively motivated to attend school
regularly and graduate;
(4) creating opportunities for parents to engage with
and be directly involved in their child's education; and
(5) creating a communal campus environment that
includes students, families, teachers, district staff, and
community-based organizations that provide resources to students
for social-emotional and academic development.
(b) The student and family engagement plans must be based on
student and parent engagement strategies that:
(1) are evidence-based and supported by empirical
research;
(2) establish a system of communication, updated
annually based on a district assessment of parent and communication
needs, between students, families, and school districts that
includes mailed, electronic, and virtual communications, such as
phone calls, text messaging, virtual conferences, and e-mail;
(3) provide support for students who are attending
school in-person or virtually through counselors, teachers, and
district staff;
(4) use diagnostic tools to evaluate the emotional,
behavioral, and cognitive engagement of students and communicate
the results to the family of the student;
(5) include regular meetings with interested persons,
including community-based organizations, throughout the school
year regarding the development and implementation of the engagement
plans;
(6) are proven to demonstrate significant positive
short-term and long-term outcomes for early childhood, elementary,
middle school, and high school education;
(7) include programs and interventions that engage a
family in supporting a student's learning at home;
(8) include programming that is accessible by students
and families who are bilingual or emergent bilingual;
(9) are proven to demonstrate solutions that build
long-lasting generational relationships between school districts
and families; and
(10) support virtual or remote learning by promoting
digital communication and literacy and by ensuring that students
have access to devices and broadband Internet.
(c) Each school district shall ensure that student and
family engagement plans are consistent with the public education
mission and objectives described by Section 4.001 and accessible to
students who are educationally disadvantaged.
(d) In developing student and family engagement plans, a
school district must collaborate with campus leaders, educators,
teachers, families, and students at all grade levels to include in
the student and family engagement plans the strategies described by
Subsection (b). A school district must provide for a student at the
middle or high school level to be directly involved in developing
student engagement plans.
(e) The agency shall offer administrative support and
resources to assist school districts with developing and
implementing student and family engagement plans as provided by
this section.
(f) Not later than the 30th instructional day following the
first day of school, each school district shall post the student and
family engagement plans on the district's Internet website.
(g) The agency shall collaborate with other state agencies
to coordinate and streamline the process for accessing information,
support, and resources included in a school district's family
engagement plan.
(h) A parent-teacher organization or community-based
organization may submit:
(1) to the agency recommendations regarding the
establishment of family engagement strategies; and
(2) to a school district recommendations regarding the
development of a student and family engagement plan.
(i) The agency, in establishing family engagement
strategies, or a school district, in establishing a student and
family engagement plan, shall consider any recommendations
submitted under Subsection (h).
(j) Each school district shall review the student and family
engagement plans annually and update the plans at least once every
two years.
SECTION 2. Section 29.934(d), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(d) To be designated as a resource campus, the campus must:
(1) implement a targeted improvement plan as described
by Chapter 39A and establish a school community partnership team;
(2) adopt an accelerated campus excellence turnaround
plan as provided by Section 39A.105(b) except that a classroom
teacher who satisfies the requirements for demonstrated
instructional effectiveness under Section 39A.105(b)(3) must also
hold a current designation assigned under Section 21.3521;
(3) be in a school district that has adopted an
approved local optional teacher designation system under Section
21.3521;
(4) satisfy certain staff criteria by:
(A) requiring a principal or teacher employed at
the campus before the designation to apply for a position to
continue at the campus;
(B) employing only teachers who have at least
three years of teaching experience;
(C) employing at least one school counselor for
every 300 students; and
(D) employing at least one appropriately
licensed professional to assist with the social and emotional needs
of students and staff, who must be a:
(i) family and community liaison;
(ii) clinical social worker;
(iii) specialist in school psychology; or
(iv) professional counselor;
(5) implement a positive behavior program as provided
by Section 37.0013;
(6) implement a student and family engagement plan as
described by Section 29.927 [29.168];
(7) develop and implement a plan to use high quality
instructional materials;
(8) if the campus is an elementary campus, operate the
campus for a school year that qualifies for funding under Section
48.0051; and
(9) annually submit to the commissioner data and
information required by the commissioner to assess fidelity of
implementation.
SECTION 3. Section 29.168, Education Code, is repealed.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2023.