By Barrientos S.B. No. 197
74R2110 KKA-F
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to an early high school graduation scholarship program and
1-3 credit by examination for middle and secondary school students.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Chapter 56, Education Code, is amended by adding
1-6 Subchapter K to read as follows:
1-7 SUBCHAPTER K. EARLY HIGH SCHOOL
1-8 GRADUATION SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
1-9 Sec. 56.201. PROGRAM NAME. The student financial assistance
1-10 program authorized by this subchapter is known as the Early High
1-11 School Graduation Scholarship program.
1-12 Sec. 56.202. PURPOSE. (a) The Early High School Graduation
1-13 Scholarship program is created to increase efficiency in the
1-14 foundation school program and to provide tuition assistance to an
1-15 eligible person to enable that person to attend a Texas public or
1-16 private institution of higher education.
1-17 (b) A portion of any savings to the foundation school
1-18 program that occur as a result of the program is dedicated to state
1-19 tuition credits provided by the program.
1-20 Sec. 56.203. ELIGIBLE PERSON. (a) To be eligible for the
1-21 Early High School Graduation Scholarship program, a person must:
1-22 (1) have the written approval of at least one of the
1-23 person's parents or a person standing in parental relation to the
1-24 person;
2-1 (2) have successfully completed the requirements for a
2-2 public high school diploma in less than four years and graduated or
2-3 be eligible for graduation from a Texas public high school; and
2-4 (3) be a Texas resident as defined by Texas Higher
2-5 Education Coordinating Board rule.
2-6 (b) Each school district shall certify annually to the
2-7 coordinating board the names and other identifying information of
2-8 those students in the district who are eligible under this section.
2-9 Sec. 56.204. ENTITLEMENT; MATCHING CREDIT. (a) An eligible
2-10 person under the Early High School Graduation Scholarship program
2-11 is entitled to $1,000 in state tuition credits at a Texas public or
2-12 private institution of higher education.
2-13 (b) The use of a credit at a Texas private institution is
2-14 contingent upon a private institution's agreement to match the
2-15 state tuition credit.
2-16 Sec. 56.205. ISSUANCE OF CERTIFICATE. The coordinating
2-17 board shall provide a certificate for state tuition credits to an
2-18 eligible person.
2-19 Sec. 56.206. USE OF TUITION CREDIT. (a) On enrollment of
2-20 an eligible person in an eligible institution of higher education,
2-21 the institution shall apply to the person's tuition charges for the
2-22 enrollment period an amount equal to the lesser of:
2-23 (1) the amount of the tuition credit available to the
2-24 person; or
2-25 (2) the person's actual tuition.
2-26 (b) A private institution of higher education shall apply
2-27 the state tuition credit and the matching credit required by
3-1 Section 56.204(b) in equal amounts.
3-2 (c) For each student using a state tuition credit under this
3-3 subchapter, the institution of higher education shall report to the
3-4 coordinating board:
3-5 (1) the student's name;
3-6 (2) the school district from which the student
3-7 graduated from high school; and
3-8 (3) the amount of the state tuition credit applied.
3-9 Sec. 56.207. PAYMENT OF TUITION CREDIT. (a) On receipt of
3-10 a report from an eligible institution of higher education under
3-11 Section 56.206(c), the coordinating board shall distribute to the
3-12 institution the amount of the state tuition credit applied by the
3-13 institution.
3-14 (b) At least once each year the coordinating board shall
3-15 submit a report to the commissioner of education that includes:
3-16 (1) the name of each student who used state tuition
3-17 credit under this subchapter during the period covered by the
3-18 report;
3-19 (2) the school district from which each student
3-20 graduated from high school; and
3-21 (3) the amount of the state tuition credit used by
3-22 each student during the period covered by the report.
3-23 (c) On receipt of a report from the coordinating board under
3-24 Subsection (b), the commissioner shall transfer to the coordinating
3-25 board, from funds appropriated for the foundation school program,
3-26 an amount sufficient to reimburse the coordinating board for
3-27 amounts disbursed in payment of state tuition credits during the
4-1 period covered by the report.
4-2 Sec. 56.208. FUNDING. (a) The Early High School Graduation
4-3 Scholarship program is financed under the foundation school
4-4 program. Funding for the state tuition credits is not subject to
4-5 the provisions of Sections 16.254(e)-(k).
4-6 (b) The commissioner of education shall reduce the total
4-7 annual amount of foundation school fund payments made to a school
4-8 district by an amount equal to F x A, where:
4-9 (1) "F" is the lesser of one or the quotient of the
4-10 district's local share for the preceding school year under Section
4-11 16.252 divided by the amount of money to which the district was
4-12 entitled under Subchapters C and D, Chapter 16, for the preceding
4-13 school year; and
4-14 (2) "A" is the amount of state tuition credits under
4-15 this subchapter applied by institutions of higher education on
4-16 behalf of eligible persons who graduated from the district that has
4-17 not been used to compute a previous reduction under this
4-18 subsection.
4-19 (c) A school district that does not receive foundation
4-20 school fund payments during a year in which the commissioner would
4-21 otherwise withhold money from the district under Subsection (b)
4-22 shall remit an amount equal to the amount that would be withheld
4-23 under Subsection (b) to the comptroller for deposit to the credit
4-24 of the foundation school fund.
4-25 (d) The commissioner and the foundation school fund budget
4-26 committee shall consider the costs of the program in estimating the
4-27 funds needed for foundation school program purposes.
5-1 (e) The school district from which an eligible person
5-2 graduated is entitled to continue including the eligible person in
5-3 the average daily attendance of the district for purposes of
5-4 Chapters 16 and 36 until the end of the school year in which the
5-5 eligible person would have graduated had the eligible person not
5-6 graduated early.
5-7 Sec. 56.209. ADOPTION AND DISTRIBUTION OF RULES. (a) The
5-8 coordinating board shall adopt rules to administer this subchapter.
5-9 (b) The coordinating board shall distribute copies of all
5-10 rules adopted under this subchapter to each eligible institution of
5-11 higher education and to each school district.
5-12 SECTION 2. Section 21.032(a), Education Code, is amended to
5-13 read as follows:
5-14 (a) Unless specifically exempted by Section 21.033 of this
5-15 code or under other laws or unless a child is at least 17 years of
5-16 age and has been issued a high school diploma or a high school
5-17 equivalency certificate, every child in the state who is as much as
5-18 six years of age, or who is less than seven years of age and has
5-19 previously been enrolled in first grade, and who has not completed
5-20 the academic year in which his 17th birthday occurred shall be
5-21 required to attend the public schools in the district of his
5-22 residence or in some other district to which he may be transferred
5-23 as provided or authorized by law a minimum of 170 days of the
5-24 regular school term of the district in which the child resides or
5-25 to which he has been transferred.
5-26 SECTION 3. Section 21.724, Education Code, is amended to
5-27 read as follows:
6-1 Sec. 21.724. ADVANCED PLACEMENT EXAMINATION FOR PRIMARY
6-2 GRADE LEVELS. (a) Using guidelines established by the State Board
6-3 of Education, a school district shall develop for board review
6-4 advanced placement examinations for each primary school grade level
6-5 <and for secondary school academic subjects>. The guidelines must
6-6 provide for the examinations to thoroughly test comprehension of
6-7 the information presented in the applicable grade level <or
6-8 subject>. The board shall approve advanced placement examinations
6-9 that satisfy board guidelines.
6-10 (b) A student in a primary grade level shall be given credit
6-11 for a grade level and advanced one grade level on the basis of a
6-12 board-approved advanced placement examination if:
6-13 (1) the student scores in the 90th percentile or above
6-14 on each section of the examination;
6-15 (2) a school district representative recommends that
6-16 the student be advanced; and
6-17 (3) the student's parent or guardian gives written
6-18 approval of the advancement.
6-19 (c) <A student in grade level six or above shall be given
6-20 credit for a subject on the basis of a board-approved advanced
6-21 placement examination in the subject if the student scores in the
6-22 90th percentile or above on the examination. If a student is given
6-23 credit in a subject on the basis of an examination, the examination
6-24 score shall be entered on the student's transcript.>
6-25 <(d)> Each school district shall administer the advanced
6-26 placement examination not less than once a year, at times to be
6-27 determined by the board.
7-1 SECTION 4. Subchapter S, Chapter 21, Education Code, is
7-2 amended by adding Section 21.725 to read as follows:
7-3 Sec. 21.725. CREDIT BY EXAMINATION FOR MIDDLE AND SECONDARY
7-4 SCHOOLS. (a) A school district shall adopt a policy governing
7-5 credit by examination for use by students in middle and secondary
7-6 schools consistent with this section that includes:
7-7 (1) eligibility requirements applicable to a student
7-8 seeking credit by examination;
7-9 (2) a list of courses for which credit may be earned
7-10 by examination;
7-11 (3) procedures for obtaining credit by examination;
7-12 and
7-13 (4) provisions that ensure that examinations given
7-14 under this section:
7-15 (A) assess mastery of applicable subject or
7-16 course essential elements adopted by the State Board of Education
7-17 under Section 21.101; and
7-18 (B) are properly evaluated before credit is
7-19 granted.
7-20 (b) A policy adopted by a school district under Subsection
7-21 (a) may:
7-22 (1) contain restrictions on the total amount of credit
7-23 that may be earned through examination;
7-24 (2) use screening procedures to determine which
7-25 students may seek credit by examination, except that a student with
7-26 formal previous instruction in a subject, as determined by the
7-27 district's review of the student's educational records, must be
8-1 allowed to seek credit by examination for the subject; and
8-2 (3) impose fees to be charged for examinations given
8-3 under this section in amounts not to exceed limits set by the
8-4 commissioner of education.
8-5 (c) A school district may obtain an examination that
8-6 assesses student mastery of the essential elements of a particular
8-7 course from any source and may select any entity to administer the
8-8 examination. The examination may use a variety of testing methods
8-9 and should be as rigorous as possible.
8-10 (d) A school district is not required to submit an
8-11 examination given under this section to the Central Education
8-12 Agency for approval, but accreditation teams from the agency may
8-13 review the examination.
8-14 (e) A school district may not give a student credit for a
8-15 course under this section unless:
8-16 (1) the student scores at least 70 on a scale of 100
8-17 on an examination that meets the requirements of this section;
8-18 (2) the student performs at a level equivalent to the
8-19 performance of a student receiving regular classroom instruction;
8-20 and
8-21 (3) the district and the student's parents agree that
8-22 credit should be given.
8-23 (f) A school district shall record credit awarded to a
8-24 student under this section on the student's permanent school record
8-25 or academic achievement record.
8-26 (g) A student may not use credit received by examination
8-27 under this section to gain eligibility for participation in
9-1 extracurricular activities.
9-2 (h) A school district shall give reasonable notice of the
9-3 availability of credit by examination to students and their parents
9-4 by including information about the district's policy in the
9-5 district's student handbook, if any, or other documents made
9-6 available to students and their parents.
9-7 SECTION 5. This Act applies beginning with the 1995-1996
9-8 school year.
9-9 SECTION 6. The importance of this legislation and the
9-10 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
9-11 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
9-12 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
9-13 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
9-14 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
9-15 passage, and it is so enacted.