HBA-PDH H.B. 685 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 685 By: Oliveira Public Education 4/20/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, a school district is not required to provide additional English language development training if a student is classified as having limited English proficiency after receiving two years of instruction in English as a second language. H.B. 685 requires a school district to provide additional intensive English language development training to each student who is still classified as a student of limited English language proficiency after receiving instruction in English as a second language for at least two school years. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 29.056, Education Code, by adding Subsection (i), which requires a school district to provide additional intensive English language development training if a student is classified as having limited English proficiency after receiving at least two years of instruction in English as a second language. Requires a district to provide training in a manner that enables a student to participate equally in a regular all-English instructional program as determined in Subsection (g). Subsection (g) provides that a student is able to participate equally in all-English instruction when a student shows oral and written proficiency in a student's primary language and English, a student scores at or above the 40th percentile on a reading or language arts section of an English standardized test approved by the Texas Education Agency, and other indications of a student's overall progress leading to such a conclusion. SECTION 2. Sets forth that instruction provided prior to the effective date of this Act is included in the computation for determining the amount of instruction in English as a second language required by Section 29.056 (i), Education Code. SECTION 3.Makes application of this Act prospective beginning with the 2000-2001 school year. SECTION 4.Emergency clause. Effective date: upon passage.