By: Guillen, Meza, Button, Shaheen H.B. No. 1302

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to measures to support and acknowledge public school student achievement, including continuing education requirements for a classroom teacher to include project-based learning and the consideration of certain student achievement indicators under the public school accountability system.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 21.054(d), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(d) Continuing education requirements for a classroom teacher must provide that at least 25 percent of the training required every five years include instruction regarding:

(1) collecting and analyzing information that will improve effectiveness in the classroom;

(2) recognizing early warning indicators that a student may be at risk of dropping out of school;

(3) digital learning, digital teaching, and integrating technology into classroom instruction;

(4) project-based learning;

(5) educating diverse student populations, including:

(A) students who are eligible to participate in special education programs under Subchapter A, Chapter 29;

(B) students who are eligible to receive educational services required under Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794);

(C) students with mental health conditions or who engage in substance abuse;

(D) students with intellectual or developmental disabilities;

(E) students who are educationally disadvantaged;

(F) students of limited English proficiency; and

(G) students at risk of dropping out of school;

(6) [(5)] understanding appropriate relationships, boundaries, and communications between educators and students; and

(7) [(6)] how mental health conditions, including grief and trauma, affect student learning and behavior and how evidence-based, grief-informed, and trauma-informed strategies support the academic success of students affected by grief and trauma.

SECTION 2. Section 28.025(c-5), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(c-5) A student may earn a performance acknowledgment on the student's transcript by satisfying the requirements for that acknowledgment adopted by the State Board of Education by rule. An acknowledgment under this subsection may be earned:

(1) for outstanding performance:

(A) in a dual credit course;

(B) in bilingualism and biliteracy;

(C) on a college advanced placement test or international baccalaureate examination;

(D) on an established, valid, reliable, and nationally norm-referenced preliminary college preparation assessment instrument used to measure a student's progress toward readiness for college and the workplace; or

(E) on an established, valid, reliable, and nationally norm-referenced assessment instrument used by colleges and universities as part of their undergraduate admissions process; [or]

(2) for earning a state recognized or nationally or internationally recognized business or industry certification or license; or

(3) for completing 10 projects demonstrating workforce readiness while enrolled at a campus that is a member of the New Tech Network.

SECTION 3. Section 39.053(c), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(c) School districts and campuses must be evaluated based on three domains of indicators of achievement adopted under this section that include:

(1) in the student achievement domain, indicators of student achievement that must include:

(A) for evaluating the performance of districts and campuses generally:

(i) an indicator that accounts for the results of assessment instruments required under Sections 39.023(a), (c), and (l), as applicable for the district and campus, including the results of assessment instruments required for graduation retaken by a student, aggregated across grade levels by subject area, including:

(a) for the performance standard determined by the commissioner under Section 39.0241(a), the percentage of students who performed satisfactorily on the assessment instruments, aggregated across grade levels by subject area; and

(b) for the college readiness performance standard as determined under Section 39.0241, the percentage of students who performed satisfactorily on the assessment instruments, aggregated across grade levels by subject area; and

(ii) an indicator that accounts for the results of assessment instruments required under Section 39.023(b), as applicable for the district and campus, including the percentage of students who performed satisfactorily on the assessment instruments, as determined by the performance standard adopted by the agency, aggregated across grade levels by subject area; [and]

(B) for evaluating the performance of high school campuses and districts that include high school campuses, indicators that account for:

(i) students who satisfy the Texas Success Initiative (TSI) college readiness benchmarks prescribed by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board under Section 51.334 on an assessment instrument in reading or mathematics designated by the coordinating board under that section;

(ii) students who satisfy relevant performance standards on advanced placement tests or similar assessments;

(iii) students who earn dual course credits in the dual credit courses;

(iv) students who demonstrate military readiness by:

(a) enlisting in the armed forces of the United States;

(b) successfully completing two years of a course of study in a Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) program; or

(c) enlisting in the Texas military forces [enlist in the armed forces of the United States];

(v) students who earn industry certifications;

(vi) students admitted into postsecondary industry certification programs that require as a prerequisite for entrance successful performance at the secondary level;

(vii) students whose successful completion of a course or courses under Section 28.014 indicates the student's preparation to enroll and succeed, without remediation, in an entry-level general education course for a baccalaureate degree or associate degree;

(viii) students who successfully met standards on a composite of indicators that through research indicates the student's preparation to enroll and succeed, without remediation, in an entry-level general education course for a baccalaureate degree or associate degree;

(ix) high school graduation rates, computed in accordance with standards and definitions adopted in compliance with the Every Student Succeeds Act (20 U.S.C. Section 6301 et seq.) subject to the exclusions provided by Subsections (g), (g-1), (g-2), and (g-3);

(x) students who successfully completed an OnRamps dual enrollment course;

(xi) students who successfully completed a practicum or internship approved by the State Board of Education; [and]

(xii) students who are awarded an associate degree;

(xiii) students who have earned a diploma after not more than three and one-half years of high school attendance; and

(xiv) students who enroll in a preparatory program of training in fire protection at a school approved by the Texas Commission on Fire Protection; and

(C) for evaluating the performance of elementary, middle, and junior high school campuses and districts that include those campuses, indicators that account for students who:

(i) in grade seven or eight, complete an advanced level course as designated by the district;

(ii) have been promoted to a higher grade level, or accelerated to a higher level for a subject in the foundation curriculum, than the level to which the students would ordinarily be assigned, including through credit by examination or another method approved by the district;

(iii) are identified as gifted and talented and have been promoted to a higher grade level, or accelerated to a higher level for a subject in the foundation curriculum, than the level to which the students would ordinarily be assigned, including through credit by examination or another method approved by the district;

(iv) have received credit by examination with no prior instruction in the applicable course;

(v) by the end of grade eight, complete one career and technology education course in a program of study approved by the agency for purposes of this subparagraph;

(vi) are identified as gifted and talented and have received credit by examination with no prior instruction in the applicable course; and

(vii) complete during school hours not fewer than four project-based or problem-based learning projects during a school year;

(2) in the school progress domain, indicators for effectiveness in promoting student learning, which must include:

(A) for assessment instruments, including assessment instruments under Subdivisions (1)(A)(i) and (ii), the percentage of students who met the standard for improvement, as determined by the commissioner; and

(B) for evaluating relative performance, the performance of districts and campuses compared to similar districts or campuses; and

(3) in the closing the gaps domain, the use of disaggregated data to demonstrate the differentials among students from different racial and ethnic groups, socioeconomic backgrounds, and other factors, including:

(A) students formerly receiving special education services;

(B) students continuously enrolled; and

(C) students who are mobile.

SECTION 4. Section 39.202, Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 39.202. ACADEMIC DISTINCTION DESIGNATIONS [DESIGNATION] FOR DISTRICTS AND CAMPUSES. (a) The commissioner by rule shall establish an academic distinction designation for districts and campuses for outstanding performance in attainment of postsecondary readiness. The commissioner shall adopt criteria for the designation under this subsection [section], including:

(1) percentages of students who:

(A) performed satisfactorily, as determined under the college readiness performance standard under Section 39.0241, on assessment instruments required under Section 39.023(a), (b), (c), or (l), aggregated across grade levels by subject area; or

(B) met the standard for annual improvement, as determined by the agency under Section 39.034, on assessment instruments required under Section 39.023(a), (b), (c), or (l), aggregated across grade levels by subject area, for students who did not perform satisfactorily as described by Paragraph (A);

(2) percentages of:

(A) students who earned a nationally or internationally recognized business or industry certification or license;

(B) students who completed a coherent sequence of career and technical courses;

(C) students who completed a dual credit course or an articulated postsecondary course provided for local credit;

(D) students who achieved applicable College Readiness Benchmarks or the equivalent on the Preliminary Scholastic Assessment Test (PSAT), the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT), the American College Test (ACT), or the ACT-Plan assessment program; and

(E) students who received a score on either an advanced placement test or an international baccalaureate examination to be awarded college credit; and

(3) other factors for determining sufficient student attainment of postsecondary readiness.

(b) In addition to the distinction designation described by Subsection (a), the commissioner by rule shall establish an academic distinction designation for districts and campuses for outstanding performance in attainment of high student achievement. The commissioner shall adopt criteria for the designation under this subsection, including percentages of students who:

(1) have earned a diploma after not more than three and one-half years of high school attendance;

(2) in grade seven or eight, complete an advanced level course as designated by the district;

(3) have been promoted to a higher grade level, or accelerated to a higher level for a subject in the foundation curriculum, than the level to which the students would ordinarily be assigned, including through credit by examination or another method approved by the district;

(4) are identified as gifted and talented and have been promoted to a higher grade level, or accelerated to a higher level for a subject in the foundation curriculum, than the level to which the students would ordinarily be assigned, including through credit by examination or another method approved by the district;

(5) have received credit by examination with no prior instruction in the applicable course;

(6) are identified as gifted and talented and have received credit by examination with no prior instruction in the applicable course; and

(7) complete during school hours not fewer than four project-based or problem-based learning projects during a school year.

SECTION 5. As soon as practicable after the effective date of this Act, the State Board for Educator Certification shall propose rules implementing Section 21.054(d), Education Code, as amended by this Act.

SECTION 6. A classroom teacher subject to continuing education requirements immediately before the effective date of this Act is not required to comply with the continuing education requirements described by Section 21.054(d), Education Code, as amended by this Act, for any continuing education requirements period that ends before January 1, 2022.

SECTION 7. This Act applies beginning with the 2021-2022 school year.

SECTION 8. 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.