Texas 2023 - 88th 3rd C.S.

Texas House Bill HB46 Compare Versions

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Version 2 (New)

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1	1	88S30095 AMF-F
2	2	By: Gervin-Hawkins H.B. No. 46
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the inclusion of chronically absent students as
8	8	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	(2) regardless of the student's age, participates in
71	71	an adult education program provided under the adult high school
72	72	charter school program under Subchapter G, Chapter 12.
73	73	SECTION 2. Section 48.009, Education Code, is amended by
74	74	amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (c-1) to
75	75	read as follows:
76	76	(a) In this section:
77	77	(1) "Chronically absent student" means a student who
78	78	is absent from school for more than 10 percent of the minutes of
79	79	school operation time allocated under Section 25.081 for
80	80	instruction within:
81	81	(A) a school year; or
82	82	(B) a six-week grade reporting period.
83	83	(2) "Full-time [, "full-time] equivalent school
84	84	counselor" means 40 hours of counseling services a week.
85	85	(b) The commissioner by rule shall require each school
86	86	district and open-enrollment charter school to report through the
87	87	Public Education Information Management System information
88	88	regarding:
89	89	(1) the number of students enrolled in the district or
90	90	school who are identified as having dyslexia;
91	91	(2) the availability of school counselors, including
92	92	the number of full-time equivalent school counselors, at each
93	93	campus;
94	94	(3) the availability of expanded learning
95	95	opportunities as described by Section 33.252 at each campus;
96	96	(4) the total number of students, other than students
97	97	described by Subdivision (5), enrolled in the district or school
98	98	with whom the district or school, as applicable, used intervention
99	99	strategies, as that term is defined by Section 26.004, at any time
100	100	during the year for which the report is made;
101	101	(5) the total number of students enrolled in the
102	102	district or school to whom the district or school provided aids,
103	103	accommodations, or services under Section 504, Rehabilitation Act
104	104	of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794), at any time during the year for
105	105	which the report is made;
106	106	(6) disaggregated by campus and grade, the number of:
107	107	(A) children who are required to attend school
108	108	under Section 25.085, are not exempted under Section 25.086, and
109	109	fail to attend school without excuse for 10 or more days or parts of
110	110	days within a six-month period in the same school year;
111	111	(B) students for whom the district initiates a
112	112	truancy prevention measure under Section 25.0915(a-4); and
113	113	(C) parents of students against whom an
114	114	attendance officer or other appropriate school official has filed a
115	115	complaint under Section 25.093; [and]
116	116	(7) the number of students who are enrolled in a high
117	117	school equivalency program, a dropout recovery school, or an adult
118	118	education program provided under a high school diploma and industry
119	119	certification charter school program provided by the district or
120	120	school and who:
121	121	(A) are at least 18 years of age and under 26
122	122	years of age;
123	123	(B) have not previously been reported to the
124	124	agency as dropouts; and
125	125	(C) enroll in the program at the district or
126	126	school after not attending school for a period of at least nine
127	127	months; and
128	128	(8) the total number of chronically absent students
129	129	enrolled at each campus in the district or school disaggregated by
130	130	students' race, ethnicity, and status as:
131	131	(A) students enrolled in a special education
132	132	program;
133	133	(B) students identified as having dyslexia;
134	134	(C) educationally disadvantaged students; and
135	135	(D) emergent bilingual students, as defined by
136	136	Section 29.052.
137	137	(c-1) The agency shall annually aggregate and make publicly
138	138	available the data on student chronic absenteeism collected under
139	139	Subsection (b)(8). The data must:
140	140	(1) be shown at the campus and district aggregate
141	141	levels; and
142	142	(2) include the percentage of chronically absent
143	143	students in each demographic category listed under Subsection
144	144	(b)(8).
145	145	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect on the 91st day after the
146	146	last day of the legislative session.