HBA-JRA H.B. 3769 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3769 By: Gallego Public Education 4/20/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, the Texas Education Code does not require a student who performs unsatisfactorily on an assessment instrument such as the TAAS exam or who receives a grade lower than 70 percent in an academic class in a grading period to make specific efforts at improving the student's educational performance. The Education Code also does not require that the parents and teachers of such a student take any specific action or provide specific assistance to help such a student. An agreement to take specific action between the student, the student's parent, and the student's teachers may help focus attention on improving the educational performance of a student experiencing academic difficulty. H.B. 3769 requires a student, the student's parent, and the student's teachers to execute an individualized performance agreement, which requires each to take specific action to improve the student's educational performance, if the student fails to perform satisfactorily on an assessment instrument or receives a grade lower than the equivalent of 70 on a scale of 100 in a grade evaluation period for an academic class. 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 1 (Section 28.026, Education Code) of this bill. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter B, Chapter 28, Education Code, by adding Section 28.026, as follows: Sec. 28.026. INDIVIDUALIZED PERFORMANCE AGREEMENTS. (a) Requires a student, the student's parent, and the student's teachers to execute an individualized performance agreement if the student fails to perform satisfactorily on an assessment instrument under Section 39.023 (Adoption and Administration of Instruments). (b) Requires a student, the student's parent, and the student's teachers to execute an individualized performance agreement if the student receives a grade lower than the equivalent of 70 on a scale of 100 in a grade evaluation period for an academic class. (c) Requires the student, in an individualized performance agreement, to commit to making a specific and described level of effort toward improving performance; the student's parent to commit to taking specific and described actions designed to enhance the student's performance, including enhancement of the student's home learning environment; and the student's teacher or teachers, as applicable, to commit to providing specific and described assistance and services designed to enhance the student's performance. (d) Requires the principal or the principal's designee to confer with the parties to the agreement, participate in the development of the agreement, and sign the agreement at the request of the student, the student's parent, or a teacher who is a party to an individualized performance agreement. Authorizes the administrator, if an administrator participates, to commit to performing particular actions or ensure the provision of particular assistance or services. (e) Provides that an individualized performance agreement is not binding, and no rights or liabilities accrue to any person as the result of an individualized performance agreement. Prohibits a student from being punished or in any way discriminated against for failure to meet commitments made in an individualized performance agreement. (f) Authorizes the commissioner of education to adopt rules governing the form and content of individualized performance agreements. (g) Provides that, if the language normally used in the student's home, or the parent's primary language, is other than English, the individualized performance agreement must be prepared in both languages. SECTION 2. Makes application of this Act prospective to the 1999-2000 school year. SECTION 3.Emergency clause. Effective date: upon passage.