H.B. No. 572
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to the inclusion of students enrolled in a dropout
  recovery school as students at risk of dropping out of school for
  purposes of compensatory, intensive, and accelerated instruction
  and to a study by the Texas Education Agency on competency-based
  educational programs.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 29.081(d), Education Code, as amended by
  Chapters 403 (S.B. 1746), 597 (S.B. 668), and 1060 (H.B. 1051), Acts
  of the 86th Legislature, Regular Session, 2019, is reenacted and
  amended to read as follows:
         (d)  For purposes of this section, "student at risk of
  dropping out of school" includes each student who:
               (1)  is under 26 years of age and who:
                     (A)  was not advanced from one grade level to the
  next for one or more school years;
                     (B)  if the student is in grade 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, or
  12, did not maintain an average equivalent to 70 on a scale of 100 in
  two or more subjects in the foundation curriculum during a semester
  in the preceding or current school year or is not maintaining such
  an average in two or more subjects in the foundation curriculum in
  the current semester;
                     (C)  did not perform satisfactorily on an
  assessment instrument administered to the student under Subchapter
  B, Chapter 39, and who has not in the previous or current school
  year subsequently performed on that instrument or another
  appropriate instrument at a level equal to at least 110 percent of
  the level of satisfactory performance on that instrument;
                     (D)  if the student is in prekindergarten,
  kindergarten, or grade 1, 2, or 3, did not perform satisfactorily on
  a readiness test or assessment instrument administered during the
  current school year;
                     (E)  is pregnant or is a parent;
                     (F)  has been placed in an alternative education
  program in accordance with Section 37.006 during the preceding or
  current school year;
                     (G)  has been expelled in accordance with Section
  37.007 during the preceding or current school year;
                     (H)  is currently on parole, probation, deferred
  prosecution, or other conditional release;
                     (I)  was previously reported through the Public
  Education Information Management System (PEIMS) to have dropped out
  of school;
                     (J)  is a student of limited English proficiency,
  as defined by Section 29.052;
                     (K)  is in the custody or care of the Department of
  Family and Protective Services or has, during the current school
  year, been referred to the department by a school official, officer
  of the juvenile court, or law enforcement official;
                     (L)  is homeless;
                     (M)  resided in the preceding school year or
  resides in the current school year in a residential placement
  facility in the district, including a detention facility, substance
  abuse treatment facility, emergency shelter, psychiatric hospital,
  halfway house, cottage home operation, specialized child-care
  home, or general residential operation; [or]
                     (N) [(14)]  has been incarcerated or has a parent
  or guardian who has been incarcerated, within the lifetime of the
  student, in a penal institution as defined by Section 1.07, Penal
  Code; or
                     (O)  is enrolled in a school district or
  open-enrollment charter school, or a campus of a school district or
  open-enrollment charter school, that is designated as a dropout
  recovery school under Section 39.0548; or
               (2)  regardless of the student's age, participates in
  an adult education program provided under a high school diploma and
  industry certification charter school program under Section
  29.259.
         SECTION 2.  Subchapter Z, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Section 29.928 to read as follows:
         Sec. 29.928.  STUDY ON COMPETENCY-BASED EDUCATIONAL
  PROGRAMS. (a) The agency shall conduct a study on the
  implementation of competency-based educational programs by public
  schools in the state.
         (b)  The study must analyze methods of:
               (1)  providing funding for competency-based
  educational programs that do not rely on average daily attendance;
               (2)  assessing the performance of competency-based
  educational programs under the public school accountability
  system; and
               (3)  providing competency-based educational programs
  to nontraditional students, including adult students.
         (c)  The agency may solicit and accept gifts, grants, and
  donations from any public or private source to fund the study.
         (d)  Not later than December 1, 2022, the agency shall
  prepare and submit to the legislature a report on the results of the
  study and any recommendations for legislative or other action.
         (e)  This section expires September 1, 2023.
         SECTION 3.  The Texas Education Agency is required to
  implement Section 29.928, Education Code, as added by this Act,
  only if the legislature appropriates money specifically for that
  purpose. If the legislature does not appropriate money
  specifically for that purpose, the agency may, but is not required
  to, implement that section using other money available for that
  purpose.
         SECTION 4.  To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails
  over another Act of the 87th Legislature, Regular Session, 2021,
  relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
  codes.
         SECTION 5.  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 September 1, 2021.
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 572 was passed by the House on May 14,
  2021, by the following vote:  Yeas 128, Nays 0, 1 present, not
  voting; that the House refused to concur in Senate amendments to
  H.B. No. 572 on May 28, 2021, and requested the appointment of a
  conference committee to consider the differences between the two
  houses; and that the House adopted the conference committee report
  on H.B. No. 572 on May 30, 2021, by the following vote:  Yeas 138,
  Nays 0, 2 present, not voting.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 572 was passed by the Senate, with
  amendments, on May 26, 2021, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays
  0; at the request of the House, the Senate appointed a conference
  committee to consider the differences between the two houses; and
  that the Senate adopted the conference committee report on H.B. No.
  572 on May 30, 2021, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0.
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate   
  APPROVED: __________________
                  Date       
   
           __________________
                Governor