HBA-TBM H.B. 970 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 970 By: Oliveira Public Education 4/3/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, school districts receive compensatory education funds for the purpose of providing compensatory education and accelerated instruction to students identified as at risk of dropping out of school. Compensatory education funds are allowed to be spent only on costs supplemental to the regular program, including program and student evaluation, instructional materials, equipment and other supplies required for quality instruction, and supplemental staff expenses and salary for teachers of at-risk students. Broadening the category of at-risk students to make more students eligible for compensatory education may help districts more effectively prevent students from dropping out of school. House Bill 970 broadens the definition of a "student at risk of dropping out of school." 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. ANALYSIS House Bill 970 amends the Education Code to require each school district to assess the effectiveness of accelerated instruction in reducing any disparity in the performance on assessment instruments and the rates of high school completion or receipt of a high school equivalency certificate for students at risk of dropping out of school as compared to all other district students. The bill modifies the guidelines for the determination of at-risk students eligible for accelerated instruction by removing the limitation to students in grades 7 through 12 and stipulates that each student not be eligible for the special education program for students with disabilities. The bill also modifies the guidelines to include a student who does not maintain a grade average in two or more foundation courses equivalent to 70 on a scale of 100 during a semester in the previous year or the current year. The bill removes the language concerning a student who is not expected to graduate within four years of the date the student begins the ninth grade. The bill includes a student who did not perform satisfactorily on an assessment instrument and during the two following school years did not achieve a score equal to at least 105 percent of the score considered to be satisfactory performance. The bill excludes students in grades four, five, and six who did not perform satisfactorily on an assessment instrument. The bill removes the stipulation that a limited English proficiency student needs to have not performed satisfactorily on an assessment instrument. The bill removes students who are sexually, physically, or psychologically abused or who engage in delinquent conduct, and adds language relating to students who in the preceding school year resided in a residential placement facility, including a detention facility, substance abuse treatment facility, emergency shelter, psychiatric hospital, halfway house, or foster family group home. The bill includes a student who was in the preceding school year or is in the current school year removed to an alternative education program. The bill includes a student who is currently released on parole or under supervision, placed under community supervision or on probation, placed on deferred adjudication, or released under another type of conditional release. The bill includes a student who has been reported in the Public Education Information Management System as being a dropout or as having failed in the preceding school year or as failing in the current school year to attend a class for at least 90 percent of the days the class is offered without a valid exemption or excuse. The bill also includes a student who is in the custody or care of the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services or during the current school year is referred to that department, and a student who is homeless. The bill entitles a student who is eligible for a special education program for students with disabilities to participate in a accelerated instruction program. The bill authorizes the board of trustees of a school district to adopt additional criteria for identifying students eligible for an accelerated instruction program (Sec. 29.081). The bill requires the comparison of performance on academic excellence indicators to state-established standards to be disaggregated with respect to students who are considered at risk of dropping out of school (Sec. 39.051). The bill authorizes the board of trustees' annual district and campus assessment reports to indicate the number students at risk of dropping out of school (Sec. 39.053). The bill requires the comprehensive biennial report by the Texas Education Agency to disaggregate the performance on assessment instruments of students who are considered to be at risk of dropping out of school (Sec. 39.182). The bill authorizes a school district to use funds allocated for compensatory education only to fund supplemental programs and services designed to eliminate educational disparities between students who are at risk of dropping out of school and the rest of the students in the district, specifically accelerated instruction, alternative education, and support programs eligible for federal funding for helping disadvantaged children (Sec. 42.152). EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2001. The Act applies beginning with the 2001-2002 school year. The provisions related to the comparison of performance on academic excellence indicators apply beginning with the 2002-2003 school year.