HBA-TBM C.S.H.B. 970 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 970 By: Oliveira Public Education 4/20/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) 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. C.S.H.B. 970 broadens the definition of a "student at risk of dropping out of school" and modifies related accountability provisions. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking authority is expressly delegated to the commissioner of education in SECTION 5 (Section 39.051, Education Code) and SECTION 11 (Section 42.152, Education Code) of this bill. ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 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 academic skills assessment instruments and the rates of high school completion 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 including a student in grades 7 through 12 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 provision that such a student should not be expected to graduate within four years of the date the student begins the ninth grade. The bill removes a student in grades 7-12 who has mathematics or reading skills that are two or more years below grade level. The bill includes a student who did not perform satisfactorily on an assessment instrument and during the previous or current school years did not subsequently achieve a score equal to at least 110 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 a readiness test or an assessment instrument. The bill includes students in grades 7 through 12 who are of limited English proficiency. The bill removes students who are sexually, physically, or psychologically abused or who engage in delinquent conduct, and adds 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 placed in an alternative education program or expelled from school. The bill includes a student who is currently on parole, probation, deferred prosecution, or other conditional release. The bill includes a student who was previously reported in the Public Education Information Management System as being a dropout. 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 authorizes a student who is eligible for a special education program for students with disabilities to participate in a accelerated instruction program if it is determined to be appropriate by the student's admission, review, and dismissal committee. The bill authorizes a student who satisfies local eligibility criteria adopted by the board of trustees of a school district to receive compensatory, intensive, and accelerated instruction. The number of such students may not exceed 10 percent of the number of students who meet the definition of at-risk students (Sec. 29.081). The bill requires, not later than December 1 of each year, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to prepare and deliver a comprehensive annual rather than biennial report and modifies the contents of the interim report (Secs. 39.027, 39.051, 39.182, 39.185, and SECTION 13). The report is required to contain the number and percentage of students exempted from the academic skills assessment instrument and the basis of the exemptions. The report is also required to contain information related to the completion rate of students and the performance of students retained, students placed in an alternative education program, and students at risk of dropping out of school. The report is required to contain a comparison of the performance of open-enrollment charter schools and school districts (Sec. 39.182). Beginning with the December 1, 2004 report, TEA will provide a statement containing the number and percentage of students who do not graduate or receive a high school equivalency certificate (Sec. 39.182 and SECTION 13). Beginning with the 2003-2004 school year, the commissioner of education (commissioner) by rule shall adopt accountability measures to be used in assessing the progress of students who have failed to perform satisfactorily in the preceding school year on an assessment instrument (Sec. 39.051 and SECTION 13). The bill requires a campus' performance on the academic excellence indicators to include completion rates (Sec. 39.051). The bill requires TEA, in determining a district's accreditation rating, to consider the progress of students who have failed to perform satisfactorily in the preceding school year on an assessment instrument (Sec. 39.073). The bill requires 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 compensatory, intensive, or accelerated instruction, alternative education, and Title I support programs. Beginning with the 2003-2004 school year, the bill requires the commissioner to grant a one-year exemption from fund use requirements to a school district in which the group of students who have failed to perform satisfactorily in the preceding school year on an assessment instrument subsequently performs on those assessment instruments at a level that meets or exceeds a level prescribed by commissioner rule. (Sec. 42.152). Using funds specifically appropriated for that purpose, the commissioner shall form a committee to conduct a study and detailed analysis of effective public education compensatory education and higher education developmental programs. The bill sets forth provisions relating to the membership and duties of the committee. The committee is abolished and these provisions expire January 1, 2003 (SECTION 12). 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 performance report and accountability measures to assess the progress of students who have failed to perform satisfactorily in the preceding school year on an assessment instrument apply beginning with the 2003-2004 school year. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 970 differs from the original by amending the proposed modifications to the eligibility guidelines for compensatory, intensive, or accelerated instruction. The substitute specifies that such instruction enable students to perform at grade level at the conclusion of the next regular school term (Sec. 29.081). The substitute requires the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to prepare and deliver a comprehensive annual rather than biennial report (Secs. 39.027 and 39.182). The substitute modifies the information required to be contained in the comprehensive annual report and the interim report (Secs. 39.182 and 39.185). The substitute provides that the academic excellence indicators must include completion rates and the percentage rather than the number of students provided accelerated instruction and promoted through the grade placement committee process (Sec. 39.051). The substitute differs from the original by not requiring performance on the indicators or performance on the assessment instruments from the comprehensive annual report to be disaggregate for students at risk of dropping out of school (Secs. 39.051 and 39.182). The substitute requires the commissioner of education (commissioner) to adopt by rule accountability measures to be used in assessing the progress of students (Sec. 39.051). The substitute does not authorize the annual performance report by the board of trustees of a school district to include the number of students identified as students at risk of dropping out of school (Sec. 39.053). The substitute requires TEA, in determining a district's accreditation rating, to consider the progress of students who have failed to perform satisfactorily in the preceding school year on an assessment instrument (Sec. 39.073). The substitute amends the proposed modifications to the requirements on the use of the compensatory education allotment and provides for exemptions from those requirements (Sec. 42.152). The substitute requires the commissioner to form a committee to study public education compensatory education and higher education developmental programs (SECTION 12).