88R14346 TSS-F
By: Dutton H.B. No. 4409
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to an annual student discipline review by the commissioner
of education and student discipline plans submitted by public
schools.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 12.104(b), Education Code, as amended by
Chapters 542 (S.B. 168), 887 (S.B. 1697), 915 (H.B. 3607), 974 (S.B.
2081), and 1046 (S.B. 1365), Acts of the 87th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2021, is reenacted and amended to read as follows:
(b) An open-enrollment charter school is subject to:
(1) a provision of this title establishing a criminal
offense;
(2) the provisions in Chapter 554, Government Code;
and
(3) a prohibition, restriction, or requirement, as
applicable, imposed by this title or a rule adopted under this
title, relating to:
(A) the Public Education Information Management
System (PEIMS) to the extent necessary to monitor compliance with
this subchapter as determined by the commissioner;
(B) criminal history records under Subchapter C,
Chapter 22;
(C) reading instruments and accelerated reading
instruction programs under Section 28.006;
(D) accelerated instruction under Section
28.0211;
(E) high school graduation requirements under
Section 28.025;
(F) special education programs under Subchapter
A, Chapter 29;
(G) bilingual education under Subchapter B,
Chapter 29;
(H) prekindergarten programs under Subchapter E
or E-1, Chapter 29, except class size limits for prekindergarten
classes imposed under Section 25.112, which do not apply;
(I) extracurricular activities under Section
33.081;
(J) discipline management practices or behavior
management techniques under Section 37.0021;
(K) health and safety under Chapter 38;
(L) the provisions of Subchapter A, Chapter 39;
(M) public school accountability and special
investigations under Subchapters A, B, C, D, F, G, and J, Chapter
39, and Chapter 39A;
(N) the requirement under Section 21.006 to
report an educator's misconduct;
(O) intensive programs of instruction under
Section 28.0213;
(P) the right of a school employee to report a
crime, as provided by Section 37.148;
(Q) bullying prevention policies and procedures
under Section 37.0832;
(R) the right of a school under Section 37.0052
to place a student who has engaged in certain bullying behavior in a
disciplinary alternative education program or to expel the student;
(S) the right under Section 37.0151 to report to
local law enforcement certain conduct constituting assault or
harassment;
(T) a parent's right to information regarding the
provision of assistance for learning difficulties to the parent's
child as provided by Sections 26.004(b)(11) and 26.0081(c) and (d);
(U) establishment of residency under Section
25.001;
(V) school safety requirements under Sections
37.108, 37.1081, 37.1082, 37.109, 37.113, 37.114, 37.1141, 37.115,
37.207, and 37.2071;
(W) the early childhood literacy and mathematics
proficiency plans under Section 11.185;
(X) the college, career, and military readiness
plans under Section 11.186; [and]
(Y) [(X)] parental options to retain a student
under Section 28.02124;
(Z) the reports relating to out-of-school
suspensions, expulsions, and disciplinary alternative education
program placements under Section 37.020; and
(AA) the commissioner review of student
discipline and student discipline plan requirements under Section
37.0201.
SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 37, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 37.0201 to read as follows:
Sec. 37.0201. COMMISSIONER REVIEW OF STUDENT DISCIPLINE;
STUDENT DISCIPLINE PLAN. (a) The commissioner shall annually
publish on the agency's Internet website a review of student
discipline in all school districts in this state. The review under
this section shall:
(1) include an analysis of the data reported to the
agency under Section 37.020 for each district and a list of
districts in the top 20 percent of districts statewide for each of
the following metrics:
(A) the total number of students placed in a
disciplinary alternative education program established under
Section 37.008 divided by the district's total enrollment;
(B) the total number of students expelled under
Section 37.007 divided by the district's total enrollment; and
(C) the total number of students placed in
out-of-school suspensions under Section 37.005 divided by the
district's total enrollment;
(2) disaggregate the data analyzed under Subdivision
(1) by:
(A) the grade level, race, ethnicity, gender,
age, and status as having limited English proficiency of the
student disciplined;
(B) the type of incident for which the student
was disciplined; and
(C) the length of time for which the student was
disciplined; and
(3) report whether the data disaggregated under
Subdivision (2) indicates racial disproportionality in the use of
placement in a disciplinary alternative education program,
out-of-school suspension, or expulsion, as determined using the
method established by the United States Department of Education
Office for Civil Rights for determining racial disproportionality.
(a-1) For purposes of determining a school district's total
enrollment under Subsection (a), the commissioner shall use the
number of students enrolled in the district on the last school day
in September in the school year for which the data was collected.
(b) The list of districts for a metric under Subsection
(a)(1) may not include a school district that issued fewer than a
total of 10 out-of-school suspensions, expulsions, or disciplinary
alternative education program placements, as applicable, during a
school year to which the data applies.
(c) The analysis included in the review under Subsection
(a)(1) must be based on data collected over three consecutive
school years, beginning with the 2023-2024 school year.
(d) Except as provided by Subsection (e), beginning with the
2026-2027 school year, the commissioner shall require each school
district that has been included on the list of districts in the top
20 percent for a metric under Subsection (a)(1) for three
consecutive school years to submit a student discipline plan
developed by the district's board of trustees. The plan must
identify strategies the district will implement to reduce the use
of disciplinary alternative education programs, expulsion, or
suspension, as applicable.
(e) A school district must submit a student discipline plan
under Subsection (d) annually until the district has not been
included on the list of districts under Subsection (a)(1) for three
consecutive school years.
(f) A plan submitted under Subsection (d) must be approved
at a public meeting of the school district board of trustees and,
once approved, be posted on the school district's Internet website.
Not later than one year after the date a plan is approved by the
board under this subsection, the board shall prepare a report on the
district's progress toward implementing the plan, submit the report
to the commissioner, and post the report on the district's Internet
website.
(g) The commissioner by rule may require a plan submitted
under Subsection (d) to be combined with any other plan or report
required to be submitted to the commissioner under state or federal
law.
(h) The commissioner shall adopt rules as necessary to
implement this section.
SECTION 3. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails
over another Act of the 88th Legislature, Regular Session, 2023,
relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
codes.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.