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House Bill 3261 |
House Author: Huberty |
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Effective: 6-18-21 |
Senate Sponsor: Taylor |
House Bill 3261 amends the Education Code to revise provisions requiring the Texas Education Agency to develop and implement a transition plan for electronic administration of certain statewide standardized tests by removing the associated expiration date and limiting the tests to which the transition plan applies. The applicable tests must be administered electronically beginning with the 2022‑2023 school year unless otherwise provided by commissioner rule. The bill authorizes the commissioner of education to establish a temporary matching grant program for purposes of funding the necessary infrastructure for public school districts and open‑enrollment charter schools to administer tests electronically in accordance with the transition plan.
House Bill 3261 authorizes the use of the instructional materials and technology allotment to purchase services, equipment, and technology infrastructure necessary to ensure Internet connectivity and adequate bandwidth and to pay for training personnel in the electronic administration of tests. The bill, among other provisions, revises the state process for determining the total amount of the biennial disbursement from the available school fund to fund the allotment, caps the proportion of that amount that may be attributable to instructional materials costs under State Board of Education requests for production, and establishes considerations on which a district's technological equipment purchases must be based. The bill revises certain requirements relating to the scheduling and question format of applicable statewide standardized tests.