Notable Bills, 80th Legislative Session Page 6

NEW EDUCATIONAL POLICIES AND PROGRAMS

High-school completion and college readiness:  HB 2237 enacts a grab-bag of programs relating to dropout prevention and various ideas for improving student outcomes in high school.  Among the most noteworthy:

$  HB 2237 requires a study of best practices in dropout prevention to be delivered before the 2009 legislative session.

$  Intensive summer program grants will be awarded to promote college and workforce readiness for students at risk of dropping out.

$   A collaborative dropout-reduction pilot program will coordinate services between school districts and local businesses, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, faith-based organizations, and institutions of higher education to provide research-based interventions.

$   Schools with high dropout rates must submit plans for reducing dropout rates using their compensatory-education allotment and high-school allotment from the state.

$  A new High School Completion and Success Initiative Council must adopt a strategic plan and make recommendations to the commissioner of education Afor the use of federal and state funds appropriated or received for high school reform.@  The council will consist of the commissioners of education and higher education and seven members named by the commissioner of education.

$   Competitive grants totaling $20 million will be provided to renovate existing science labs to comply with the curriculum requirements of the recommended and advanced high school programs.

$    Middle-school teacher reading academies will be established by June 1, 2008, to provide stipend-funded training in reading instruction for core-subject teachers in sixth through eighth grade.  After a campus is rated academically unacceptable based on a reading assessment, all teachers of core subjects in sixth through eighth grade must attend a middle-school reading academy.  A study of the impact of the academies on student performance must be completed by December 2010.

$    Districts must administer a reading instrument to each seventh-grade student whose performance on the sixth-grade TAKS reading exam indicates a lack of reading proficiency.  Districts must provide additional instruction and intervention for these seventh-graders.

$  The State Board of Education must, starting with the 2008-2009 school year, incorporate college-readiness standards and expectations into the essential knowledge and skills of the foundation curriculum for courses in grades nine through 12.

$   The commissioners of education and higher education must develop college-prep courses in core subjects for grade-12 students who do not meet college-readiness standards.  End-of-course tests must be developed for each of these courses, which will begin in the 2014-2015 school year.  The exams will count for 15 percent of the grade in each class.

Virtual school network:  SB 1788 creates a Astate virtual school network@ to provide elementary and secondary education through the Internet.  Provider schools will offer electronic courses to students around the state.  Starting in the 2008-2009 school year, the network will provide courses for grades nine through 12.  In 2009-2010, grades six through 12 will be covered; all grade levels will be included from 2010 on.

$   A school district must be rated academically acceptable or higher to provide courses through the TEA-governed network   An open-enrollment charter school must be rated recognized or higher to provide courses through the network and may serve only local students except through an agreement approved by TEA with another school district or charter school. 

$  TEA must publish criteria for courses offered through the network, evaluate proposed courses, and publish a list of approved courses.  The State Board of Education must develop criteria for electronic courses, which must be in place for six months before TEA can use the criteria to evaluate electronic courses. 

$   Courses offered through the network must be in a specific subject that is part of the required foundation and enrichment curriculum.  Courses must be aligned with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills and must be Aequivalent in instructional rigor and scope@ to courses offered in traditional classrooms.

$  Accountability standards generally apply.  A student who takes an electronic course subject to a state TAKS test must take that test, with the score reported separately from scores of students who take the course in traditional classroom format. 

$ Teachers of network courses must be certified for the course and grade level.  Before teaching a course through the network, they must take a professional-development course on teaching network courses.  The network must provide or authorize providers of professional development courses for network course teachers.       

$  TEA must establish an allowed cost of providing each approved course, subject to a maximum of $400 per course or $4,800 per full-time student.  Districts and charter schools with students enrolled in network courses are entitled to state and local funding for each student equal to the allowed course cost, plus 20 percent.  The commissioner of education may condition payment of that funding on successful progress or course completion by each student.  

$   Providers may offer courses to Texas-resident students and to non-Texas-resident students who meet the bill=s enrollment eligibility requirements.  A Texas resident attending public school could take an entire course load via electronic courses.  A Texas resident attending private school, by paying up to $400 per course, may to take up to two network courses per semester through the student=s local school district or a local charter school.  Verification of Aattendance@ for participating students will be established by procedures to be determined by the commissioner of education.

$    A student=s enrolling district or charter school may not Aunreasonably deny@ a parent=s request to enroll a student in a network course.  Denial is not considered unreasonable if it is demonstrated that the course does not meet academic standards, if the student=s course load would be inconsistent with the student=s graduation plan or could negatively affect the student=s performance on state exams, or if the enrollment cannot be reasonably accommodated at the time of the request.  Parents may appeal a denial to the commissioner, who has the final say. 

Career and technology education:  HB 3485 promotes career and technology education by (among other things):

$    launching a pilot program to provide extra funding for career and technology students in eighth grade;

$  requiring a review and revision of career and technology curriculum and programs by September 2009;

$   and allowing students to use up to two rigorous career and technology courses to meet the math and science requirements of the recommended or advanced curriculum, but only after completing Algebra II (in the case of math) or physics (in the case of science).

Financial aid for career and technology students:  HB 2383 allows a student who completes a career and tech program in a certain field, passes the industry certification exam in that field, and has financial need to receive reimbursement from the state for the cost of the certification exam.

Dual-language and language-immersion programs:  HB 2814 creates a dual-language education pilot program involving up to ten school districts and up to 30 campuses.  Students will include both native English speakers and English language learners, and instruction will be provided in both English and the native tongue of the English language learners.  TEA will report to the legislature before the 2011 and 2013 regular sessions regarding the impact of the program on student achievement.  The bill also requires TEA to contract for access to language-immersion software for up to a million students and employees in public schools.  The software must not supplant bilingual education, instruction in English as a second language, or dual-language education programs.

Bilingual-education and school-readiness data:  Starting with the 2008-2009 school year, SB 1871 requires district-level reporting and statewide collection of data on participation and long-term performance of students in six types of  bilingual and special language programs (transitional bilingual/early exit or late exit, dual language immersion/two-way or one-way, English as a second language/content-based or pull-out).  Districts also must report to TEA the raw scores on reading diagnostic instruments for use in school-readiness certification.

Intensive math intervention:  HB 2504 requires the commissioner of education to establish an intensive math and algebra intervention pilot program in which participating districts will provide intensive math intervention for students in grades four through seven who are not performing at grade level.  Algebra readiness intervention will be provided for students in grade eight who are not performing at grade level in math. 

Assessing technological proficiency:  HB 2503 requires the commissioner to establish a pilot program in which a participating school district assesses students= technological proficiency.  The commissioner must select both urban and rural school districts.  TEA must adopt an instrument designed to assess a student=s knowledge and skills in technology, and the instrument must be an existing and available one.  Participating districts must administer the assessment to all students in one grade, fifth through ninth, and report the results to TEA. 

Technology-based instruction for rural areas:  HB 2864 creates a pilot program of technology-based supplemental instruction for campuses in rural school districts.  In districts with fewer than 5,000 students outside metropolitan areas, participating campuses will be eligible for matching grants of $200 per pupil (matching $100 of locally provided revenue) to pay for distance learning in English language arts, social studies, math, science, and languages other than English, including opportunities to earn college credit in these fields.  Grants also can cover costs of instructional support, teacher training, and academic tutoring or counseling.  Students must have individual access to technology-based supplemental instruction for at least ten hours a week.  Total cost of the pilot program is capped at $4 million, it must be evaluated in 2008 and 2010, and it expires in 2011.

Notice of available college credit:  SB 282 requires school districts to notify students each year in high school of the availability of programs that would allow a student to earn college credit while still in high school. 

Grade calculation for college admission:  HB 3851 requires the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to establish for purposes of state university admissions policies a standard method for calculating high-school grade-point averages, including additional weights for advanced placement, International Baccalaureate, honors, and dual-credit courses.  The calculation applies to students seeking to enter as first-time freshmen beginning with the fall 2009 semester.  (In addition, each state university must adopt a written admission policy to promote admission of undergraduate transfer students to the institution.)

Automatic college admission restricted:  HB 3826 limits entitlement to automatic college admission to students who have graduated under the recommended or advanced high-school curriculum or a curriculum equivalent in content and rigor to the recommend or advanced curriculum, as determined under standards established by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

Exception to mandatory school start date:  HB 2171 exempts from the mandatory school start date a small category of Texas public schoolsBthose that do not offer all grade levels from K through 12 and that rely on schools in another state to provide certain grade levels for their students.  This exemption allows the schools affected to adhere to the schedule of the schools in the other state.

Textbook credits, contents:  HB 188 creates an incentive for school districts to choose lower-priced textbooks by granting them a credit for 50 percent of the amount saved below the maximum price the state would pay.  Districts can use the credits for the purchase of additional standard or supplemental textbooks.  The bill also specifies that both student and teacher editions of a textbook adopted by the State Board of Education must meet the same standard for coverage of the elements of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills.

Communities in Schools program funding and performance:  HB 1609 transfers authority over the Communities in Schools program to the commissioner of education from a semi-autonomous state director.  HB 1609 creates a permanent statutory set-aside of funding from the Compensatory Education Allotment for this program and boosts funding for the 2008-2009 biennium.  The bill also authorizes the commissioner to withhold funding from a local CIS program that doesn=t meet performance criteria.

Hold-harmless funding for school districts:  HB 828 prevents school districts from losing state aid under a formula that ties aid levels to the property wealth per student in Austin ISD.  In the event that Austin ISD property wealth declined, aid would remain at the previous year=s level.

International assessments:  HB 3259 sets up a pilot program under which students in several districts take Ainternational assessment instruments.@  The performance of these students will be compared to that of students in other countries and reported to state leaders.  The commissioner can require a district to participate.

Testing for home-schooled students:  HB 1844 requires a school district to allow a home-schooled student, who is otherwise eligible to attend school in the district, to participate in district administrations of Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Tests (PSAT/NMSQT) and college advance placement (AP) tests.  The requirement applies beginning with the 2008-2009 school year.  The district must charge the home-schooled student the same fee charged to students regularly enrolled. 

ANo pass, no play@ exemption:  SB 1517 clarifies an exemption from the Ano pass, no play@ rule.  A student can fail to pass a course and still be eligible for extracurricular activities if the course is an Aadvanced placement or international baccalaureate course@ or Aan honors or dual credit course in the subject areas of English language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, economics, or a language other than English.@

Extracurricular eligibility:  HB 208 establishes that an otherwise eligible student is not disqualified from extracurricular competition if that student is enrolled in a dual-enrollment or concurrent-enrollment course for college credit.

School-admission eligibility:  HB 1137 authorizes school districts to admit and receive state aid for students between the ages of 21 and 26 to complete graduation requirements.  The bill also extends eligibility for free pre-kindergarten classes to children placed in state foster care.

Attendance by 18-year-olds:  HB 566 allows a school district to adopt a policy requiring school attendance for the full school year by 18-year-old students who choose to enroll.  Parents of 18-year-olds attending school in a district with this policy are not held legally responsible for the students= attendance.

Pre-K for children in state custody:  SB 758 entitles a child who has been placed under state conservatorship for the child=s safety after an adversarial hearing to attend free public pre-kindergarten.

Placement of twins, etc.:  HB 314 provides rules for classroom placement of twins, triplets, etc.  It says the parents get to decide whether multiple-birth siblings in the same school and grade will be in the same class or not, unless the principal determines that the resulting placement is disruptive or unless the parental decision would require creation of a whole separate class.  Rules for placement of students with disabilities or for removal of students by teachers for disciplinary reasons prevail in case of conflict with this new law.

Participation in graduation:  SB 673 authorizes participation in graduation ceremonies of students who receive special education services and who have completed four years of high school but have not completed their individualized education program.

Posthumous diplomas:   HB 1563 allows a school district on parental request to grant a diploma to a student who died while enrolled and on track to graduate in grade 12.  The bill took effect June 15 and applies beginning with students who were enrolled in grade 12 in the 2005-2006 school year.