Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1888 Compare Versions

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1	1	88R11220 AMF-F
2	2	By: Bettencourt S.B. No. 1888
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the inclusion of chronically absent and truant students
8	8	as students at risk of dropping out of school and the collection and
9	9	reporting of data regarding those students.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Section 29.081(d), Education Code, is amended to
12	12	read as follows:
13	13	(d) For purposes of this section, "student at risk of
14	14	dropping out of school" includes each student who:
15	15	(1) is under 26 years of age and who:
16	16	(A) except as provided by Subsection (h) or if
17	17	retained for prekindergarten under Section 28.02124, was not
18	18	advanced from one grade level to the next for one or more school
19	19	years;
20	20	(B) if the student is in grade 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, or
21	21	12, did not maintain an average equivalent to 70 on a scale of 100 in
22	22	two or more subjects in the foundation curriculum during a semester
23	23	in the preceding or current school year or is not maintaining such
24	24	an average in two or more subjects in the foundation curriculum in
25	25	the current semester;
26	26	(C) did not perform satisfactorily on an
27	27	assessment instrument administered to the student under Subchapter
28	28	B, Chapter 39, and who has not in the previous or current school
29	29	year subsequently performed on that instrument or another
30	30	appropriate instrument at a level equal to at least 110 percent of
31	31	the level of satisfactory performance on that instrument;
32	32	(D) if the student is in prekindergarten,
33	33	kindergarten, or grade 1, 2, or 3, did not perform satisfactorily on
34	34	a readiness test or assessment instrument administered during the
35	35	current school year;
36	36	(E) is pregnant or is a parent;
37	37	(F) has been placed in an alternative education
38	38	program in accordance with Section 37.006 during the preceding or
39	39	current school year;
40	40	(G) has been expelled in accordance with Section
41	41	37.007 during the preceding or current school year;
42	42	(H) is currently on parole, probation, deferred
43	43	prosecution, or other conditional release;
44	44	(I) was previously reported through the Public
45	45	Education Information Management System (PEIMS) to have dropped out
46	46	of school;
47	47	(J) is an emergent bilingual student, as defined
48	48	by Section 29.052;
49	49	(K) is in the custody or care of the Department of
50	50	Family and Protective Services or has, during the current school
51	51	year, been referred to the department by a school official, officer
52	52	of the juvenile court, or law enforcement official;
53	53	(L) is homeless;
54	54	(M) resided in the preceding school year or
55	55	resides in the current school year in a residential placement
56	56	facility in the district, including a detention facility, substance
57	57	abuse treatment facility, emergency shelter, psychiatric hospital,
58	58	halfway house, cottage home operation, specialized child-care
59	59	home, or general residential operation;
60	60	(N) has been incarcerated or has a parent or
61	61	guardian who has been incarcerated, within the lifetime of the
62	62	student, in a penal institution as defined by Section 1.07, Penal
63	63	Code; [or]
64	64	(O) is enrolled in a school district or
65	65	open-enrollment charter school, or a campus of a school district or
66	66	open-enrollment charter school, that is designated as a dropout
67	67	recovery school under Section 39.0548; [or]
68	68	(P) is a chronically absent student, as defined
69	69	by Section 48.009; or
70	70	(Q) is required to attend school under Section
71	71	25.085, is not exempted under Section 25.086, and fails to attend
72	72	school without excuse for 10 or more days or parts of days within a
73	73	six-month period in the same school year; or
74	74	(2) regardless of the student's age, participates in
75	75	an adult education program provided under the adult high school
76	76	charter school program under Subchapter G, Chapter 12.
77	77	SECTION 2. Section 48.009, Education Code, is amended by
78	78	amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (c-1) to
79	79	read as follows:
80	80	(a) In this section:
81	81	(1) "Chronically absent student" means a student who
82	82	is absent from school for more than 10 percent of the school's
83	83	required operation and instructional time within:
84	84	(A) a school year; or
85	85	(B) an enrollment period that exceeds 30
86	86	instructional days.
87	87	(2) "Full-time [, "full-time] equivalent school
88	88	counselor" means 40 hours of counseling services a week.
89	89	(b) The commissioner by rule shall require each school
90	90	district and open-enrollment charter school to report through the
91	91	Public Education Information Management System information
92	92	regarding:
93	93	(1) the number of students enrolled in the district or
94	94	school who are identified as having dyslexia;
95	95	(2) the availability of school counselors, including
96	96	the number of full-time equivalent school counselors, at each
97	97	campus;
98	98	(3) the availability of expanded learning
99	99	opportunities as described by Section 33.252 at each campus;
100	100	(4) the total number of students, other than students
101	101	described by Subdivision (5), enrolled in the district or school
102	102	with whom the district or school, as applicable, used intervention
103	103	strategies, as that term is defined by Section 26.004, at any time
104	104	during the year for which the report is made;
105	105	(5) the total number of students enrolled in the
106	106	district or school to whom the district or school provided aids,
107	107	accommodations, or services under Section 504, Rehabilitation Act
108	108	of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794), at any time during the year for
109	109	which the report is made;
110	110	(6) disaggregated by campus and grade, the number of:
111	111	(A) children who are required to attend school
112	112	under Section 25.085, are not exempted under Section 25.086, and
113	113	fail to attend school without excuse for 10 or more days or parts of
114	114	days within a six-month period in the same school year, in total and
115	115	disaggregated by whether the child is receiving instructional
116	116	services under Section 29.081;
117	117	(B) students for whom the district initiates a
118	118	truancy prevention measure under Section 25.0915(a-4); and
119	119	(C) parents of students against whom an
120	120	attendance officer or other appropriate school official has filed a
121	121	complaint under Section 25.093; [and]
122	122	(7) the number of students who are enrolled in a high
123	123	school equivalency program, a dropout recovery school, or an adult
124	124	education program provided under a high school diploma and industry
125	125	certification charter school program provided by the district or
126	126	school and who:
127	127	(A) are at least 18 years of age and under 26
128	128	years of age;
129	129	(B) have not previously been reported to the
130	130	agency as dropouts; and
131	131	(C) enroll in the program at the district or
132	132	school after not attending school for a period of at least nine
133	133	months; and
134	134	(8) the number of chronically absent students enrolled
135	135	at each campus in the district or school, in total and disaggregated
136	136	by whether the student is receiving instructional services under
137	137	Section 29.081.
138	138	(c-1) The agency shall annually aggregate at the campus and
139	139	district levels and make publicly available the data on truancy
140	140	collected under Subsection (b)(6)(A) and student chronic
141	141	absenteeism collected under Subsection (b)(8).
142	142	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.