Enrolled Bill Summary

The Education Code previously authorized reciprocity agreements between Texas and other states to facilitate the transfer of military personnel and their dependents to and from Texas public schools by addressing the transfer of student records and the award of credit for completed course work. House Bill 591 amends the code to require, rather than permit, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to pursue such agreements and adds to the procedures that must be addressed in an agreement to include permitting a student to satisfy Texas secondary exit-level performance requirements through successful performance on a comparable exit-level assessment instrument in another state. The bill directs the TEA to give priority to the pursuit of agreements with Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia. It requires the TEA, not later than January 1, 2004, to report the results of its efforts to the chairs of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs and Military Installations and the House Committee on Defense Affairs and State-Federal Relations.