Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4468 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Dutton H.B. No. 4468
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to the inclusion of chronically absent students as
7	7	students at risk of dropping out of school and the collection and
8	8	reporting of data regarding those students.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 29.081(d), Education Code, is amended to
11	11	read as follows:
12	12	(d) For purposes of this section, "student at risk of
13	13	dropping out of school" includes each student who:
14	14	(1) is under 26 years of age and who:
15	15	(A) except as provided by Subsection (h) or if
16	16	retained for prekindergarten under Section 28.02124, was not
17	17	advanced from one grade level to the next for one or more school
18	18	years;
19	19	(B) if the student is in grade 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, or
20	20	12, did not maintain an average equivalent to 70 on a scale of 100 in
21	21	two or more subjects in the foundation curriculum during a semester
22	22	in the preceding or current school year or is not maintaining such
23	23	an average in two or more subjects in the foundation curriculum in
24	24	the current semester;
25	25	(C) did not perform satisfactorily on an
26	26	assessment instrument administered to the student under Subchapter
27	27	B, Chapter 39, and who has not in the previous or current school
28	28	year subsequently performed on that instrument or another
29	29	appropriate instrument at a level equal to at least 110 percent of
30	30	the level of satisfactory performance on that instrument;
31	31	(D) if the student is in prekindergarten,
32	32	kindergarten, or grade 1, 2, or 3, did not perform satisfactorily on
33	33	a readiness test or assessment instrument administered during the
34	34	current school year;
35	35	(E) is pregnant or is a parent;
36	36	(F) has been placed in an alternative education
37	37	program in accordance with Section 37.006 during the preceding or
38	38	current school year;
39	39	(G) has been expelled in accordance with Section
40	40	37.007 during the preceding or current school year;
41	41	(H) is currently on parole, probation, deferred
42	42	prosecution, or other conditional release;
43	43	(I) was previously reported through the Public
44	44	Education Information Management System (PEIMS) to have dropped out
45	45	of school;
46	46	(J) is an emergent bilingual student, as defined
47	47	by Section 29.052;
48	48	(K) is in the custody or care of the Department of
49	49	Family and Protective Services or has, during the current school
50	50	year, been referred to the department by a school official, officer
51	51	of the juvenile court, or law enforcement official;
52	52	(L) is homeless;
53	53	(M) resided in the preceding school year or
54	54	resides in the current school year in a residential placement
55	55	facility in the district, including a detention facility, substance
56	56	abuse treatment facility, emergency shelter, psychiatric hospital,
57	57	halfway house, cottage home operation, specialized child-care
58	58	home, or general residential operation;
59	59	(N) has been incarcerated or has a parent or
60	60	guardian who has been incarcerated, within the lifetime of the
61	61	student, in a penal institution as defined by Section 1.07, Penal
62	62	Code; [or]
63	63	(O) is enrolled in a school district or
64	64	open-enrollment charter school, or a campus of a school district or
65	65	open-enrollment charter school, that is designated as a dropout
66	66	recovery school under Section 39.0548; or
67	67	(P) is a chronically absent student, as defined
68	68	by Section 48.009; or
69	69	(2) regardless of the student's age, participates in
70	70	an adult education program provided under the adult high school
71	71	charter school program under Subchapter G, Chapter 12.
72	72	SECTION 2. Section 48.009, Education Code, is amended by
73	73	amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (c-1) to
74	74	read as follows:
75	75	(a) In this section:
76	76	(1) "Chronically absent student" means a student who
77	77	is absent from school for more than 10 percent of instructional time
78	78	the days within: within:
79	79	(A) a school year; or
80	80	(B) a six-week grade reporting period.
81	81	(2) "Full-time [, "full-time] equivalent school
82	82	counselor" means 40 hours of counseling services a week.
83	83	(b) The commissioner by rule shall require each school
84	84	district and open-enrollment charter school to report through the
85	85	Public Education Information Management System information
86	86	regarding:
87	87	(1) the number of students enrolled in the district or
88	88	school who are identified as having dyslexia;
89	89	(2) the availability of school counselors, including
90	90	the number of full-time equivalent school counselors, at each
91	91	campus;
92	92	(3) the availability of expanded learning
93	93	opportunities as described by Section 33.252 at each campus;
94	94	(4) the total number of students, other than students
95	95	described by Subdivision (5), enrolled in the district or school
96	96	with whom the district or school, as applicable, used intervention
97	97	strategies, as that term is defined by Section 26.004, at any time
98	98	during the year for which the report is made;
99	99	(5) the total number of students enrolled in the
100	100	district or school to whom the district or school provided aids,
101	101	accommodations, or services under Section 504, Rehabilitation Act
102	102	of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794), at any time during the year for
103	103	which the report is made;
104	104	(6) disaggregated by campus and grade, the number of:
105	105	(A) children who are required to attend school
106	106	under Section 25.085, are not exempted under Section 25.086, and
107	107	fail to attend school without excuse for 10 or more days or parts of
108	108	days within a six-month period in the same school year;
109	109	(B) students for whom the district initiates a
110	110	truancy prevention measure under Section 25.0915(a-4); and
111	111	(C) parents of students against whom an
112	112	attendance officer or other appropriate school official has filed a
113	113	complaint under Section 25.093; [and]
114	114	(7) the number of students who are enrolled in a high
115	115	school equivalency program, a dropout recovery school, or an adult
116	116	education program provided under a high school diploma and industry
117	117	certification charter school program provided by the district or
118	118	school and who:
119	119	(A) are at least 18 years of age and under 26
120	120	years of age;
121	121	(B) have not previously been reported to the
122	122	agency as dropouts; and
123	123	(C) enroll in the program at the district or
124	124	school after not attending school for a period of at least nine
125	125	months; and
126	126	(8) the total number of chronically absent students
127	127	enrolled at each campus in the district or school disaggregated by
128	128	students' race, ethnicity, and status as:
129	129	(A) students enrolled in a special education
130	130	program;
131	131	(B) students identified as having dyslexia;
132	132	(C) educationally disadvantaged students; and
133	133	(D) emergent bilingual students, as defined by
134	134	Section 29.052.
135	135	(c-1) The agency shall annually aggregate and make publicly
136	136	available the data on student chronic absenteeism collected under
137	137	Subsection (b)(8). The data must:
138	138	(1) be shown at the campus and district aggregate
139	139	levels; and
140	140	(2) include the percentage of chronically absent
141	141	students in each demographic category listed under Subsection
142	142	(b)(8).
143	143	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.