Enrolled Bill Summary

House Bill 8 amends the Education Code, Government Code, and Labor Code to require the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to transition the program for tests administered under the public school accountability system from the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) assessment program to the instructionally supportive assessment program provided by the bill and to set out and revise provisions relating to the adoption and administration of tests in public schools, indicators of achievement, public school performance ratings, and interventions and sanctions under the public school accountability system, a grant program for school district local accountability plans, and actions challenging TEA decisions related to public school accountability. With respect to the instructionally supportive assessment program, the bill does the following, among other provisions:

• requires TEA to adopt or develop appropriate beginning‑of‑year, middle‑of‑year, and end‑of‑year tests for certain subjects and to approve a list of alternative norm‑referenced tests that may be administered in place of a beginning‑of‑year or middle‑of‑year test;
• exempts students in a special education program who have been identified as having a significant cognitive disability from beginning‑of‑year and middle‑of‑year tests and provides for alternative end‑of‑year and end‑of‑course tests for such students;
• removes English II as a course for which an end‑of‑course test is required;
• requires an item developed by TEA for inclusion on a test to be reviewed and approved by a committee composed of Texas teachers;
• requires the writing portion of a reading language arts test to be designed using open‑ended questions that are grade‑level appropriate, administered separately, and scored using a process that involves classroom teachers and allows for rescoring;
• requires TEA to adopt a schedule for the administration of tests within specified testing windows and to provide the schedule two years in advance;
• revises test design requirements with respect to the amount of time allocated for administering applicable tests;
• requires TEA to provide notice of test results within two business days; and
• limits the administration of benchmark tests.

Additionally, House Bill 8 does the following with respect to accountability and interventions and sanctions:

• requires TEA to develop a measure of student through‑year instructional growth and improvement for evaluating the performance of applicable campuses;
• requires the commissioner of education to submit a report to certain state officials before modifying performance standards;
• requires TEA, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and the Texas Workforce Commission to jointly develop a list of eligible industry certifications for the student achievement indicator;
• requires the commissioner to establish an accountability advisory committee to aid with the adoption and modification of performance standards and indicators;
• sets out provisions relating to the adoption of standards and the provision of explanatory materials for the accountability rating system; and
• provides for the continuation of applicable interventions and sanctions while the assignment of performance ratings is enjoined.

Except as otherwise provided by the bill, the bill takes effect December 4, 2025, and applies beginning with the 2027‑2028 school year.