HBA-JRA H.B. 538 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 538
By: Zbranek
Public Education
4/17/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, school districts are held accountable by the Academic Excellence
Indicator System for students that dropout even when the district does not
have the authority or the means to return the dropout students to school.
School campuses and districts are labeled low-performing if their secondary
students' dropout rate exceeds six percent of all students, white students,
AfricanAmerican students, Hispanic students, or Native American students.
This may hold small, diverse districts to higher standards than  larger,
less diverse districts.  H.B. 538 prohibits the commissioner of education
from considering as dropouts students who failed to attend school because
of expulsion or adjudication for serious offenses. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Section 39.051(d), Education Code, to prohibit the
commissioner of education from considering as a dropout or as a student who
failed to attend school, a student who failed to attend  school because of
expulsion under Section 37.007 (Expulsion for Serious Offenses) and, as
applicable, adjudication resulting from having engaged in delinquent
conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision or conviction of and
sentence for an offense, when defining the terms "exemplary," "recognized,"
and "unacceptable" performance for academic excellence indicators. 

SECTION 2.  Makes application of this Act prospective to the 1999 - 2000
school year. 

SECTION 3.  Emergency clause.
  Effective date:  upon passage.