TEXAS

Texas is one of only three states making progress on all six policy elements.  It is a trailblazer for enacting innovative types of dropout policies over the last eight years. The state’s comprehensive approach, emphasizing both prevention and recovery includes the development of Back on Track options: models, programs, and new school development.

Texas also stands out for its coherent and far-reaching strategy to put dropouts and struggling students at the center of high school reform. In 2003, Texas passed legislation on early college high schools (SB 976), adopted the National Center for Education Statistics definition of a dropout (SB 186), and appropriated $60 million for high school completion and success programs. In 2007, Texas enacted HB 2237, the state's comprehensive policy approach to reduce dropouts and increase the number of students who graduate ready for postsecondary success. That same year, Texas enacted HB 1137, authorizing the use of school districts' funds to help young people up to age 26 earn a high school diploma.

HB 2237 not only codified some of the state’s secondary school reform efforts; it also laid the groundwork for Texas's forward-thinking dropout agenda. It formed the High School Completion and Success Council, a committee of educational and legislative leaders that created a strategic plan calling for a focus on students who have dropped out or are at risk of dropping out. The Texas Dropout Recovery Pilot Program is a competitive grant program that enables dropouts to return to school and earn a standards-based high school diploma or meet the state standard of college readiness. It provides a great deal of flexibility to encourage innovation and override “seat time” and other constraints, allowing for multiple types of education providers including nonprofits and community colleges serving returning dropouts. Another programmatic option created under HB 2237 is the Collaborative Dropout Reduction Pilot, which creates local partnerships among businesses, government or law enforcement agencies, nonprofit organizations, faith-based organizations, and higher education institutions to reduce dropouts.

Texas' compulsory attendance age had been set at 18 prior to 2002.