Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4409 Compare Versions

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Version 2 (New)

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1	1	88R14346 TSS-F
2	2	By: Dutton H.B. No. 4409
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to an annual student discipline review by the commissioner
8	8	of education and student discipline plans submitted by public
9	9	schools.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Section 12.104(b), Education Code, as amended by
12	12	Chapters 542 (S.B. 168), 887 (S.B. 1697), 915 (H.B. 3607), 974 (S.B.
13	13	2081), and 1046 (S.B. 1365), Acts of the 87th Legislature, Regular
14	14	Session, 2021, is reenacted and amended to read as follows:
15	15	(b) An open-enrollment charter school is subject to:
16	16	(1) a provision of this title establishing a criminal
17	17	offense;
18	18	(2) the provisions in Chapter 554, Government Code;
19	19	and
20	20	(3) a prohibition, restriction, or requirement, as
21	21	applicable, imposed by this title or a rule adopted under this
22	22	title, relating to:
23	23	(A) the Public Education Information Management
24	24	System (PEIMS) to the extent necessary to monitor compliance with
25	25	this subchapter as determined by the commissioner;
26	26	(B) criminal history records under Subchapter C,
27	27	Chapter 22;
28	28	(C) reading instruments and accelerated reading
29	29	instruction programs under Section 28.006;
30	30	(D) accelerated instruction under Section
31	31	28.0211;
32	32	(E) high school graduation requirements under
33	33	Section 28.025;
34	34	(F) special education programs under Subchapter
35	35	A, Chapter 29;
36	36	(G) bilingual education under Subchapter B,
37	37	Chapter 29;
38	38	(H) prekindergarten programs under Subchapter E
39	39	or E-1, Chapter 29, except class size limits for prekindergarten
40	40	classes imposed under Section 25.112, which do not apply;
41	41	(I) extracurricular activities under Section
42	42	33.081;
43	43	(J) discipline management practices or behavior
44	44	management techniques under Section 37.0021;
45	45	(K) health and safety under Chapter 38;
46	46	(L) the provisions of Subchapter A, Chapter 39;
47	47	(M) public school accountability and special
48	48	investigations under Subchapters A, B, C, D, F, G, and J, Chapter
49	49	39, and Chapter 39A;
50	50	(N) the requirement under Section 21.006 to
51	51	report an educator's misconduct;
52	52	(O) intensive programs of instruction under
53	53	Section 28.0213;
54	54	(P) the right of a school employee to report a
55	55	crime, as provided by Section 37.148;
56	56	(Q) bullying prevention policies and procedures
57	57	under Section 37.0832;
58	58	(R) the right of a school under Section 37.0052
59	59	to place a student who has engaged in certain bullying behavior in a
60	60	disciplinary alternative education program or to expel the student;
61	61	(S) the right under Section 37.0151 to report to
62	62	local law enforcement certain conduct constituting assault or
63	63	harassment;
64	64	(T) a parent's right to information regarding the
65	65	provision of assistance for learning difficulties to the parent's
66	66	child as provided by Sections 26.004(b)(11) and 26.0081(c) and (d);
67	67	(U) establishment of residency under Section
68	68	25.001;
69	69	(V) school safety requirements under Sections
70	70	37.108, 37.1081, 37.1082, 37.109, 37.113, 37.114, 37.1141, 37.115,
71	71	37.207, and 37.2071;
72	72	(W) the early childhood literacy and mathematics
73	73	proficiency plans under Section 11.185;
74	74	(X) the college, career, and military readiness
75	75	plans under Section 11.186; [and]
76	76	(Y) [(X)] parental options to retain a student
77	77	under Section 28.02124;
78	78	(Z) the reports relating to out-of-school
79	79	suspensions, expulsions, and disciplinary alternative education
80	80	program placements under Section 37.020; and
81	81	(AA) the commissioner review of student
82	82	discipline and student discipline plan requirements under Section
83	83	37.0201.
84	84	SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
85	85	amended by adding Section 37.0201 to read as follows:
86	86	Sec. 37.0201. COMMISSIONER REVIEW OF STUDENT DISCIPLINE;
87	87	STUDENT DISCIPLINE PLAN. (a) The commissioner shall annually
88	88	publish on the agency's Internet website a review of student
89	89	discipline in all school districts in this state. The review under
90	90	this section shall:
91	91	(1) include an analysis of the data reported to the
92	92	agency under Section 37.020 for each district and a list of
93	93	districts in the top 20 percent of districts statewide for each of
94	94	the following metrics:
95	95	(A) the total number of students placed in a
96	96	disciplinary alternative education program established under
97	97	Section 37.008 divided by the district's total enrollment;
98	98	(B) the total number of students expelled under
99	99	Section 37.007 divided by the district's total enrollment; and
100	100	(C) the total number of students placed in
101	101	out-of-school suspensions under Section 37.005 divided by the
102	102	district's total enrollment;
103	103	(2) disaggregate the data analyzed under Subdivision
104	104	(1) by:
105	105	(A) the grade level, race, ethnicity, gender,
106	106	age, and status as having limited English proficiency of the
107	107	student disciplined;
108	108	(B) the type of incident for which the student
109	109	was disciplined; and
110	110	(C) the length of time for which the student was
111	111	disciplined; and
112	112	(3) report whether the data disaggregated under
113	113	Subdivision (2) indicates racial disproportionality in the use of
114	114	placement in a disciplinary alternative education program,
115	115	out-of-school suspension, or expulsion, as determined using the
116	116	method established by the United States Department of Education
117	117	Office for Civil Rights for determining racial disproportionality.
118	118	(a-1) For purposes of determining a school district's total
119	119	enrollment under Subsection (a), the commissioner shall use the
120	120	number of students enrolled in the district on the last school day
121	121	in September in the school year for which the data was collected.
122	122	(b) The list of districts for a metric under Subsection
123	123	(a)(1) may not include a school district that issued fewer than a
124	124	total of 10 out-of-school suspensions, expulsions, or disciplinary
125	125	alternative education program placements, as applicable, during a
126	126	school year to which the data applies.
127	127	(c) The analysis included in the review under Subsection
128	128	(a)(1) must be based on data collected over three consecutive
129	129	school years, beginning with the 2023-2024 school year.
130	130	(d) Except as provided by Subsection (e), beginning with the
131	131	2026-2027 school year, the commissioner shall require each school
132	132	district that has been included on the list of districts in the top
133	133	20 percent for a metric under Subsection (a)(1) for three
134	134	consecutive school years to submit a student discipline plan
135	135	developed by the district's board of trustees. The plan must
136	136	identify strategies the district will implement to reduce the use
137	137	of disciplinary alternative education programs, expulsion, or
138	138	suspension, as applicable.
139	139	(e) A school district must submit a student discipline plan
140	140	under Subsection (d) annually until the district has not been
141	141	included on the list of districts under Subsection (a)(1) for three
142	142	consecutive school years.
143	143	(f) A plan submitted under Subsection (d) must be approved
144	144	at a public meeting of the school district board of trustees and,
145	145	once approved, be posted on the school district's Internet website.
146	146	Not later than one year after the date a plan is approved by the
147	147	board under this subsection, the board shall prepare a report on the
148	148	district's progress toward implementing the plan, submit the report
149	149	to the commissioner, and post the report on the district's Internet
150	150	website.
151	151	(g) The commissioner by rule may require a plan submitted
152	152	under Subsection (d) to be combined with any other plan or report
153	153	required to be submitted to the commissioner under state or federal
154	154	law.
155	155	(h) The commissioner shall adopt rules as necessary to
156	156	implement this section.
157	157	SECTION 3. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails
158	158	over another Act of the 88th Legislature, Regular Session, 2023,
159	159	relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
160	160	codes.
161	161	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.