HBA-PDH H.B. 760 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 760 By: Dutton Public Education 4/20/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, a school district is not required to establish a basic skills academy. H.B. 760 requires a school district with an enrollment of at least 190,000 students to establish a basic skills academy at each elementary school if the school has at least 20 students eligible for special education or is identified as a low-performing school. In this bill, "basic skills" means reading, writing, and mathematics. 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 Chapter 29, Education Code, by adding Subchapter J, as follows: SUBCHAPTER J. BASIC SKILLS ACADEMIES IN CERTAIN SCHOOL DISTRICTS Sec. 29.351. APPLICABILITY OF SUBCHAPTER. Provides that this subchapter applies only to a school district (district) with an enrollment of at least 190,000 students on the last day of the preceding school year. Sec. 29.352. DEFINITION. Defines "basic skills." Sec. 29.353. BASIC SKILLS ACADEMIES REQUIRED. Requires a district to establish a basic skills academy at each elementary school that has 20 or more students identified as eligible for special education under Subchapter A (Special Education Program) or that is identified as low performing under Subchapter D (Accreditation Status), Chapter 39 (Public School System Accountability). Provides that the academic program of a basic skills academy must focus on basic skills. Requires a basic skills academy to serve students in grades three through six. Sec. 29.354. DIAGNOSTIC TESTING FOR BASIC SKILLS PROFICIENCY; PLACEMENT IN BASIC SKILLS ACADEMY. Requires a school that is required to have a basic skills academy to administer a diagnotic test to each student in the third grade to determine the student's proficiency in basic skills. Requires the Texas Education Agency (agency) to establish a level of basic skills at which each student in the third through sixth grade must be proficient. Authorizes the board of trustees of a district to establish a level of basic skills that is different but not lower than the level established by the agency. Requires a district to place a student in the basic skills academy if the student does not meet the applicable level of proficiency in basic skills. Sec. 29.355. PERIODIC TESTING OF STUDENTS IN BASIC SKILLS ACADEMY. Requires a district to periodically test each student in a basic skills academy to determine the student's proficiency in basic skills. Requires a district to return each student who meets the applicable level of proficiency in basic skills to the regular academic program. Sec. 29.356. IDENTIFICATION OF STUDENTS IN BASIC SKILLS ACADEMY. Requires a district, for the purposes of accountability under Chapter 39 (Public School System Accountability), to identify to the agency each student placed in a basic skills academy. Sec. 29.357. FUNDING OF BASIC SKILLS ACADEMY. Provides that a district is entitled to $4,000 in additional state funding for each student in a basic skills program in addition to funding to which the school district is entitled under Chapter 42 (Foundation School Program). Requires that funding be derived from the amount appropriated out of the net proceeds of the state lottery account under Chapter 466 (State Lottery), Government Code. Sec. 29.358. CONTRACT AUTHORITY. Authorizes the board of trustees of a district to contract under Section 11.157 (Contracts for Educational Services), Education Code, for the provision of educational services to students placed in a basic skills academy. Sec. 29.359. EXPIRATION. Provides that this subchapter expires September 1, 2003. SECTION 2. Amends Section 39.053, Education Code, by adding Subsection (a-1), to require the annual report of a school district to which Subchapter J, Chapter 29, applies to include the performance rating of each basic skills academy as provided under Section 39.072(d). Provides that this subsection expires September 1, 2003. SECTION 3. Amends Section 39.072, Education Code, by adding Subsection (d), to require the Texas Education Agency to evaluate against state standards and report the performance of each basic skills academy established under Suchapter J, Chapter 29, on the basis of the academy's performance on the indicators adopted under Sections 39.051 (b) (1)-(3), (8), and (9) (Academic Excellence Indicators), Education Code. Provides that notwithstanding Section 39.072(c), the performance of a campus that has a basic skills academy is not based on students placed in the basic skills academy. Provides that this subsection expires September 1, 2003. SECTION 4. Amends Section 42.152, Education Code, by adding Subsection (c-1), to provide that for purposes of Subsection (c), a basic skills academy established under Subchapter J, Chapter 29, is considered to be an accelerated instruction program under Section 29.081 (Compensatory and Accelerated Instruction), Education Code. Provides that this subsection expires September 1, 2003. SECTION 5.Effective date: September 1, 1999. SECTION 6.Requires each school district to which Subchapter J, Chapter 29, applies to establish basic skills academies by the beginning of the 2000-2001 school year. SECTION 7.Emergency clause.