BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1225

By: Metcalf

Public Education

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Concerns have been raised regarding the possibility of technical difficulties when students are completing their standardized tests online. Under current law, there is no way for a student's parent, guardian, or teacher to request that the student be tested on paper rather than online. This can be problematic for students, as they may run into difficulties that have the potential to impact their testing experience. C.S.H.B. 1225 seeks to provide for the administration of certain statewide standardized tests or end-of-course assessments in a paper format upon request of a student's parent, guardian, or teacher.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1225 amends the Education Code to authorize a public school district to administer the following tests in paper format to any student whose parent, guardian, or teacher in the applicable subject area requests such a format:

· statewide standardized tests designed to assess state curriculum standards in mathematics, reading, social studies, science, and any other subject required by law;

· such statewide standardized tests administered in Spanish to certain students in grades three through five; and

· end-of-course tests for secondary-level courses in Algebra I, biology, English I, English II, and United States history.

The bill requires a request for the administration of an applicable test in paper format to a student to be submitted to the district not later than December 1 of the school year in which the test will be administered. The bill caps the number of students enrolled at a district who may be administered an applicable test in paper format for any single administration at three percent of the number of students enrolled in the district. On receipt of more requests for administration of a test than the maximum number permitted, the district must accept the requests in the order received until the maximum number is reached. The bill prohibits the results of a test administered in paper format from being considered in evaluating district or campus performance. The bill's provisions apply beginning with the 2023-2024 school year.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2023.

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 1225 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

While both versions of the bill provide for the administration of applicable tests in paper format, the introduced required a district to administer the tests in paper format on request whereas the substitute authorizes a district to do so. The substitute includes a teacher in the applicable subject area among persons who may request that a test be administered to the student in paper format, whereas the introduced only provided for such a request by a parent or guardian.

The substitute includes provisions that were not in the introduced that do the following:

· establish a deadline for the submission of a request for the administration of an applicable test in paper format;

· cap the number of students who may be administered a test in paper format;

· require the district to accept the requests in the order received until the maximum number is reached, as applicable; and

· prohibit the results of a test administered in paper format from being considered in evaluating district or campus performance.