87S30102 MEW-D
 
  By: Huberty H.B. No. 131
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to providing accelerated instruction for certain public
  school students, a substitute teacher grant program, the
  calculation of average daily attendance of public school students,
  and an accelerated learning and sustainment allotment under the
  foundation school program.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 28.0211, Education Code, is amended by
  amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (b) to read as
  follows:
         (a)  A school district shall ensure that curricular and
  instructional systems established by the district provide
  instruction to all students that:
               (1)  is consistently aligned with grade-level
  essential knowledge and skills; and
               (2)  strategically and timely addresses deficiencies
  in prerequisite essential knowledge and skills required for each
  grade level.
         (b)  A school district shall establish an accelerated
  learning committee described by Subsection (b-1) [(c)] for each
  student who does not perform satisfactorily on:
               (1)  the third grade mathematics or reading assessment
  instrument under Section 39.023; or
               (2)  the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, or eighth grade
  mathematics or reading assessment instrument under Section 39.023
  in the school year following a school year in which the student did
  not perform satisfactorily in the same subject on the assessment
  instrument[; or
               [(3)  the eighth grade mathematics or reading
  assessment instrument under Section 39.023].
         SECTION 2.  Section 28.0211, Education Code, is amended by
  amending Subsections (a-1), (a-4), and (a-5) and adding Subsections
  (a-7), (a-8), and (a-9) to read as follows:
         (a-1)  Each time a student fails to perform satisfactorily on
  an assessment instrument administered under Section 39.023(a) in
  the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, or eighth grade, the
  school district in which the student attends school shall:
               (1)  provide to the student accelerated instruction in
  the applicable subject area during the subsequent summer or school
  year;
               (2)  provide the student's parent or guardian the
  option under Subsection (a-5) to request that the student be
  assigned to a particular classroom teacher; and
               (3)  either:
                     (A) [(1)]  allow the student to be assigned a
  classroom teacher who is certified as a master, exemplary, or
  recognized teacher under Section 21.3521 for the subsequent school
  year in the applicable subject area; or
                     (B) [(2)]  provide the student supplemental
  instruction under Subsection (a-4).
         (a-4)  If a district receives funding under Section 29.0881,
  48.104, or 48.1102, the Coronavirus Response and Relief
  Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (Div. M, Pub. L.
  No. 116-260), or the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Pub. L.
  No. 117-2), then supplemental instruction provided by a school
  district under Subsection (a-1)(3)(B) [(a-1)(2)] must:
               (1)  include targeted instruction in the essential
  knowledge and skills for the applicable grade levels and subject
  area;
               (2)  be provided in addition to instruction normally
  provided to students in the grade level in which the student is
  enrolled;
               (3)  be provided:
                     (A)  to each student for no less than 15 [30 total]
  hours for that school year;
                     (B)  for an average of no less than 30 hours per
  student for all students receiving supplemental instruction that
  school year; 
                     (C)  during the subsequent summer or school year;
  and
                     (D) [,]  unless the instruction is provided to a
  student fully during summer, [include instruction] no less than
  once per week during the school year;
               (4)  be designed to assist the student in achieving
  satisfactory performance in the applicable grade level and subject
  area;
               (5)  include effective instructional materials
  designed for supplemental instruction;
               (6)  be provided to a student individually or in a group
  of no more than four [three] students, unless the parent or guardian
  of each student in the group authorizes a larger group;
               (7)  be provided by a person with training in the
  applicable instructional materials for the supplemental
  instruction and under the oversight of the school district; and
               (8)  to the extent possible, be provided by one person
  for the entirety of the student's supplemental instruction period.
         (a-5)  Each school district shall establish a process
  allowing for the parent or guardian of a student who fails to
  perform satisfactorily on an assessment instrument specified under
  Subsection (a-1) [(a)] to make a request for district consideration
  that the student be assigned to a particular classroom teacher in
  the applicable subject area for the subsequent school year, if more
  than one classroom teacher is available.
         (a-7)  A parent or guardian of a student who is provided
  supplemental instruction under Subsection (a-1)(3)(B) by the
  school district may decrease or remove a requirement of the
  supplemental instruction provided under Subsection (a-4) for the
  student by submitting a written request to the district. A district
  may not encourage or otherwise direct a parent or guardian to act
  under this subsection in a manner that allows the district to avoid
  providing the student with the benefit of supplemental instruction.
         (a-8)  If a student in a homebound or other off-campus
  instructional arrangement is unable to participate in an
  accelerated instruction program due to the nature of the student's
  medical condition, the student's admission, review, and dismissal
  committee, if the student receives special education services under
  Subchapter A, Chapter 29, or the committee established for the
  student under Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C.
  Section 794), if the student does not receive special education
  services under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, may determine that the
  student will be provided the accelerated instruction when the
  student returns to campus from the homebound or other off-campus
  setting. If the student's medical condition prevents the student
  from returning to campus during the current school year, the school
  district is not required to provide the accelerated instruction to
  the student during the subsequent school year.
         (a-9)  For a student retained at a grade level in which the
  student's performance requires the school district to provide
  accelerated instruction under Subsection (a-1), the requirements
  for supplemental instruction described by Subsection (a-4) do not
  apply to any supplemental instruction provided to that student.
         SECTION 3.  Section 28.0211(c), Education Code, is
  redesignated as Sections 28.0211(b-1) and (b-2), Education Code,
  and amended to read as follows:
         (b-1) [(c)]  After a student fails to perform satisfactorily
  on an assessment instrument as described by [specified under]
  Subsection (b) [(a)], an accelerated learning committee shall be
  established. The accelerated learning committee shall be composed
  of at least:
               (1)  the principal or the principal's designee from the
  campus at which the student most recently failed to perform
  satisfactorily and, if different, the campus at which the student
  will be provided accelerated instruction;
               (2)  [,] the student's parent or guardian;
               (3)  [, and] the teacher of each [the] subject of an
  assessment instrument for [on] which the student's performance
  required an accelerated learning committee to be established under
  Subsection (b);
               (4)  the student's teacher of each subject described by
  Subdivision (3) for the following school year; and
               (5)  a representative of the district authorized to
  ensure necessary supports and resources to implement an accelerated
  instruction program [student failed to perform satisfactorily].
         (b-2)  The district shall notify the parent or guardian of
  the time and place for convening the accelerated learning committee
  and the purpose of the committee.
         SECTION 4.  Sections 28.0211(f), (f-4), (i), and (j),
  Education Code, are redesignated as Sections 28.0211(b-3), (b-4),
  (b-5), and (b-6), Education Code, and amended to read as follows:
         (b-3) [(f)]  An accelerated learning committee described by
  Subsection (b-1) [(c)] shall, not later than the start of the
  subsequent school year, develop an educational plan for the student
  that provides the necessary accelerated instruction to enable the
  student to perform at the appropriate grade level by the conclusion
  of the school year.
         (b-4)  In developing the student's educational plan under
  Subsection (b-3), [(f-4) If a student who fails to perform
  satisfactorily on an assessment instrument specified under
  Subsection (a) fails in the subsequent school year to perform
  satisfactorily on an assessment instrument in the same subject, the
  superintendent of the district, or the superintendent's designee,
  shall meet with] the student's accelerated learning committee shall
  [to]:
               (1)  identify the reason the student did not perform
  satisfactorily; and
               (2)  [determine, in order] to ensure the student
  performs satisfactorily on the assessment instrument at the next
  administration of the assessment instrument, consider [whether]:
                     (A)  increasing the number of hours of
  supplemental instruction provided to the student beyond the minimum
  number of hours required under Subsection (a-4)(3), including up to
  45 hours or more during the school year [the educational plan
  developed for the student under Subsection (f) must be modified to
  provide the necessary accelerated instruction for that student];
  [and]
                     (B)  lowering the student-to-instructor ratio for
  supplemental instruction below the maximum group size permitted
  under Subsection (a-4)(6), including providing the supplemental
  instruction to a student individually;
                     (C)  expanding the scheduled availability of
  supplemental instruction during the summer, during regular school
  hours, and before or after regular school hours;
                     (D)  assigning the student to a specific teacher
  for the subsequent school year who is better able to provide
  accelerated instruction; and
                     (E)  providing any additional resources [are]
  required for that student.
         (b-5) [(i)]  The admission, review, and dismissal committee
  of a student who participates in a district's special education
  program under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, and for whom an accelerated
  learning committee is required to be established [who does not
  perform satisfactorily on an assessment instrument specified]
  under Subsection [(a) and administered under Section 39.023(a) or]
  (b) shall serve as the student's accelerated learning committee and
  must meet to determine the manner in which the student will
  participate in an accelerated instruction program under this
  section.
         (b-6) [(j)]  A school district or open-enrollment charter
  school shall provide students required to attend accelerated
  programs under this section with transportation to those programs
  if the programs occur outside of regular school hours, unless the
  district or school or an agent of the district or school does not
  operate a district or school transportation system.
         SECTION 5.  Sections 28.0211(f-1), (f-2), and (f-3),
  Education Code, are redesignated as Sections 28.0211(c), (c-1), and
  (c-2), Education Code, and amended to read as follows:
         (c) [(f-1)]  The educational plan under Subsection (b-3)
  [(f)] must be documented in writing, and a copy must be provided to
  the student's parent or guardian.
         (c-1) [(f-2)]  During the school year, the student shall be
  monitored to ensure that the student is progressing in accordance
  with the plan developed under Subsection (b-3) [(f)]. The district
  shall administer to the student the assessment instrument for the
  grade level in which the student is placed at the time the district
  regularly administers the assessment instruments for that school
  year.
         (c-2) [(f-3)]  The board of trustees of each school district
  shall adopt a policy consistent with the grievance procedure
  adopted under Section 26.011 to allow a parent to contest the
  content or implementation of an educational plan developed under
  Subsection (b-3) [(f)].
         SECTION 6.  Section 28.0211, Education Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (c-3) to read as follows:
         (c-3)  The accelerated instruction plan developed by a
  student's admission, review, and dismissal committee under
  Subsection (b-5) is not considered to be part of the student's
  individualized education program and is not subject to the
  requirements of Section 29.005 or 20 U.S.C. Section 1414(d)
  relating to the development of a student's individualized education
  program. A parent of a student with an individualized education
  program who intends to contest the content or implementation of the
  plan must follow the grievance policy adopted under Subsection
  (c-2).
         SECTION 7.  Sections 28.0211(g), (n), and (n-1), Education
  Code, are redesignated as Sections 28.0211(d), (d-1), and (d-2),
  Education Code, and amended to read as follows:
         (d) [(g)]  This section does not preclude the retention at a
  grade level, in accordance with state law or school district
  policy, of a student who performs satisfactorily on an assessment
  instrument specified under this section [Subsection (a)].
         (d-1) [(n)]  Except as provided by Subsections (a-5) and
  (d-2) [Subsection (n-1)], a student who fails to perform
  satisfactorily on an assessment instrument, as described by
  Subsection (b), [specified under Subsection (a)] and is promoted to
  the next grade level must be assigned in the subsequent school year
  in each subject in which the student failed to perform
  satisfactorily on an assessment instrument, as described by
  Subsection (b), [specified under Subsection (a)] to an
  appropriately certified teacher who meets all state and federal
  qualifications to teach that subject and grade.
         (d-2) [(n-1)]  In a manner consistent with federal law and
  notwithstanding any other law, the commissioner may waive the
  requirement under Subsection (d-1) [(n)] regarding the assignment
  of a student to an appropriately certified classroom teacher on the
  request of a school district.
         SECTION 8.  Section 28.0211(h), Education Code, is
  redesignated as Section 28.0211(e), Education Code, and amended to
  read as follows:
         (e) [(h)]  In each instance under this section in which a
  school district is specifically required to provide notice or a
  written copy of a record to a parent or guardian of a student, the
  district shall make a good faith effort to ensure that such notice
  or written copy is provided either in person or by regular mail and
  that the notice or written copy is clear and easy to understand and
  is written in English or the parent or guardian's native language.
         SECTION 9.  Section 28.0211, Education Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:
         (f)  The commissioner may provide a waiver of the
  requirements under this section for a school district for each
  school year in which at least 60 percent of the students who
  received accelerated instruction during the school year preceding
  the previous school year performed satisfactorily in the subsequent
  school year on the assessment instrument in each subject in which
  the student previously failed to perform satisfactorily. Not later
  than the beginning of each school year, the commissioner shall
  publish a list of school districts that qualify for a waiver under
  this subsection.
         SECTION 10.  Sections 28.0211(k) and (l-1), Education Code,
  are redesignated as Sections 28.0211(g) and (g-1), Education Code,
  to read as follows:
         (g) [(k)]  The commissioner may adopt rules as necessary to
  implement this section.
         (g-1) [(l-1)]  The commissioner may adopt rules requiring a
  school district that receives federal funding under Title I of the
  Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. Section
  6301 et seq.) to use that funding to provide supplemental
  educational services under 20 U.S.C. Section 6316 in conjunction
  with the accelerated instruction provided under this section,
  provided that the rules may not conflict with federal law governing
  the use of that funding.
         SECTION 11.  Section 28.0211, Education Code, is amended by
  adding Subsections (h), (h-1), and (h-2) to read as follows:
         (h)  Notwithstanding Subsection (a-1), the requirement to
  provide accelerated instruction to a student under Subsection (a-1)
  applies only to a student who fails to perform satisfactorily on:
               (1)  for the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school years, an
  assessment instrument under Section 39.023 in mathematics or
  reading; and
               (2)  for the 2023-2024 school year, an assessment
  instrument under Section 39.023 in mathematics, reading, or social
  studies.
         (h-1)  Notwithstanding Subsection (a-4)(6), by an
  affirmative vote of the board of trustees of a school district,
  supplemental instruction may be provided to a student individually
  or, without the authorization of the parent or guardian of each
  student in the group, in a group of not more than:
               (1)  10 students for the 2021-2022 school year; and
               (2)  seven students for the 2022-2023 school year.
         (h-2)  This subsection and Subsections (h) and (h-1) expire
  September 1, 2024.
         SECTION 12.  Subchapter Z, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Section 29.935 to read as follows:
         Sec. 29.935.  SUBSTITUTE TEACHER GRANT PROGRAM. (a) Using
  funds appropriated for the purpose, to address acute substitute
  teacher shortages, the agency shall provide grants to school
  districts and open-enrollment charter schools to offset the costs
  of increasing pay for substitute teachers in an amount not to exceed
  50 percent of the rate of pay offered to substitute teachers by the
  district or school during the preceding school year.
         (b)  The agency shall ensure that school districts and
  open-enrollment charter schools receiving grants under Subsection
  (a) provide matching funds in an amount equal to the amount of grant
  funds received.
         SECTION 13.  Section 48.005, Education Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (d-1) to read as follows:
         (d-1)  Notwithstanding the limit on the number of
  instructional days for which an adjustment may be provided under
  Subsection (d), the commissioner may provide an adjustment to the
  average daily attendance of a school district for the 2021-2022
  school year based on the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. This
  subsection expires September 1, 2023.
         SECTION 14.  Effective September 1, 2022, Subchapter C,
  Chapter 48, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 48.1102 to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 48.1102.  ACCELERATED LEARNING AND SUSTAINMENT
  ALLOTMENT. (a) For purposes of this section, a student is a:
               (1)  successfully accelerated student if, in the
  preceding school year, the student:
                     (A)  performs satisfactorily or better on an
  assessment instrument administered under Section 39.023(a); and
                     (B)  was administered but did not perform
  satisfactorily on the assessment instrument administered under
  Section 39.023(a) for the same subject in the student's preceding
  grade level; and
               (2)  sustained accelerated student if, in the preceding
  school year, the student:
                     (A)  performs at the level determined under
  Section 39.0241(a-1) or the equivalent to determine preparedness
  for the student's next grade level or better on an assessment
  instrument administered under Section 39.023(a);
                     (B)  performs satisfactorily or better on the
  assessment instrument administered under Section 39.023(a) for the
  same subject in the student's preceding grade level; and
                     (C)  was administered but did not perform
  satisfactorily on the assessment instrument administered under
  Section 39.023(a) for the grade level and subject preceding the
  assessment described by Paragraph (B).
         (b)  For each successfully accelerated student in the
  preceding school year in excess of the minimum number of students
  determined for the district or school under Subsection (d), a
  school district or open-enrollment charter school is entitled to
  the following annual allotment:
               (1)  $500 for each student who is not educationally
  disadvantaged; and
               (2)  $1,000 for each student who is educationally
  disadvantaged.
         (c)  For each sustained accelerated student in the preceding
  school year, a school district or open-enrollment charter school is
  entitled to the following annual allotment:
               (1)  $250 for each student who is not educationally
  disadvantaged; and
               (2)  $500 for each student who is educationally
  disadvantaged.
         (d)  The commissioner shall establish, using a percentile
  determined by the commissioner based on the median performance of
  school districts and open-enrollment charter schools on
  assessments administered under Section 39.023(a) during the
  2017-2018 school year, a threshold percentage of:
               (1)  successfully accelerated students who are not
  educationally disadvantaged; and
               (2)  successfully accelerated students who are
  educationally disadvantaged.
         (e)  Each year, the commissioner shall determine for each
  school district and open-enrollment charter school the minimum
  number of successfully accelerated students the district or school
  must have in order for the district or school to achieve the
  percentage equal to the threshold percentage established for the
  group of students described by Subsection (b).
         (f)  The commissioner may modify the threshold percentages
  established under Subsection (d) once every five years if the
  commissioner determines that substantial improvement in the median
  performance of school districts and open-enrollment charter
  schools has occurred. 
         SECTION 15.  Sections 28.0211(f-5), (o), and (p), Education
  Code, are repealed.
         SECTION 16.  Section 28.0211, Education Code, as amended by
  this Act, applies to accelerated instruction provided on or after
  the effective date of this Act, including accelerated instruction
  provided during the 2021-2022 school year.
         SECTION 17.  Except as otherwise provided by this Act, this
  Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of
  all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39,
  Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this Act does not receive the
  vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect on the
  91st day after the last day of the legislative session.