By Delisi H.B. No. 1648
77R462 KEL-F
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to abolishing the Texas Academic Skills Program.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Sections 51.306 and 51.3061, Education Code, are
1-5 repealed.
1-6 SECTION 2. Section 39.023(c), Education Code, is amended to
1-7 read as follows:
1-8 (c) The agency shall also adopt secondary exit-level
1-9 assessment instruments designed to be administered to students in
1-10 grade 11 to assess essential knowledge and skills in mathematics,
1-11 English language arts, social studies, and science. The
1-12 mathematics section must include at least Algebra I and geometry
1-13 with the aid of technology. The English language arts section must
1-14 include at least English III and must include the assessment of
1-15 essential knowledge and skills in writing. The social studies
1-16 section must include early American and United States history. The
1-17 science section must include at least biology and integrated
1-18 chemistry and physics. The assessment instruments must be designed
1-19 to assess a student's mastery of minimum skills necessary for high
1-20 school graduation and readiness to enroll in an institution of
1-21 higher education. If a student is in a special education program
1-22 under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, the student's admission, review,
1-23 and dismissal committee shall determine whether any allowable
1-24 modification is necessary in administering to the student an
2-1 assessment instrument required under this subsection or whether the
2-2 student should be exempted under Section 39.027(a)(2). The State
2-3 Board of Education shall administer the assessment instruments. The
2-4 State Board of Education shall adopt a schedule for the
2-5 administration of secondary exit-level assessment instruments. Each
2-6 student who did not perform satisfactorily on any secondary
2-7 exit-level assessment instrument when initially tested shall be
2-8 given multiple opportunities to retake that assessment instrument.
2-9 [A student who performs at or above a level established by the
2-10 Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board on the secondary
2-11 exit-level assessment instruments is exempt from the requirements
2-12 of Section 51.306.]
2-13 SECTION 3. Section 39.051(b), Education Code, as amended by
2-14 Chapters 396, 397, and 1422, Acts of the 76th Legislature, Regular
2-15 Session, 1999, is amended and reenacted to read as follows:
2-16 (b) Performance on the indicators adopted under this section
2-17 shall be compared to state-established standards. The degree of
2-18 change from one school year to the next in performance on each
2-19 indicator adopted under this section shall also be considered. The
2-20 indicators must be based on information that is disaggregated with
2-21 respect to race, ethnicity, sex, and socioeconomic status and must
2-22 include:
2-23 (1) the results of assessment instruments required
2-24 under Sections 39.023(a), (c), and (l), aggregated by grade level
2-25 and subject area;
2-26 (2) dropout rates;
2-27 (3) student attendance rates;
3-1 (4) [the percentage of graduating students who attain
3-2 scores on the secondary exit-level assessment instruments required
3-3 under Subchapter B that are equivalent to a passing score on the
3-4 test instrument required under Section 51.306;]
3-5 [(5)] the percentage of graduating students who meet
3-6 the course requirements established for the recommended high school
3-7 program by State Board of Education rule;
3-8 (5) [(6)] the results of the Scholastic Assessment
3-9 Test (SAT), the American College Test, articulated postsecondary
3-10 degree programs described by Section 61.852, and certified
3-11 workforce training programs described by Chapter 311, Labor Code;
3-12 (6) [(7)] the number of students, aggregated by grade
3-13 level, provided accelerated instruction under Section 28.0211(c),
3-14 the results of assessments administered under that section, the
3-15 number of students promoted through the grade placement committee
3-16 process under Section 28.0211, the subject of the assessment
3-17 instrument on which each student failed to perform satisfactorily,
3-18 and the performance of those students in the school year following
3-19 that promotion on the assessment instruments required under Section
3-20 39.023;
3-21 (7) [(8)] for students who have failed to perform
3-22 satisfactorily on an assessment instrument required under Section
3-23 39.023(a) or (c), the numerical progress of those students on
3-24 subsequent assessment instruments required under those sections,
3-25 aggregated by grade level and subject area;
3-26 (8) [(9)] the percentage of students exempted, by
3-27 exemption category, from the assessment program generally
4-1 applicable under this subchapter; and
4-2 (9) [(10)] any other indicator the State Board of
4-3 Education adopts.
4-4 SECTION 4. Section 39.051(d), Education Code, as amended by
4-5 Chapters 396 and 397, Acts of the 76th Legislature, Regular
4-6 Session, 1999, is amended and reenacted to read as follows:
4-7 (d) Annually, the commissioner shall define exemplary,
4-8 recognized, and unacceptable performance for each academic
4-9 excellence indicator included under Subsections (b)(1) through
4-10 (5) [(6)] and shall project the standards for each of those levels
4-11 of performance for succeeding years. For the indicator under
4-12 Subsection (b)(6) [(b)(7)], the commissioner shall define
4-13 exemplary, recognized, and unacceptable performance based on
4-14 student performance for the period covering both the current and
4-15 preceding academic years. In defining exemplary, recognized, and
4-16 unacceptable performance for the indicators under Subsections
4-17 (b)(2) and (3), the commissioner may not consider as a dropout or
4-18 as a student who has failed to attend school a student whose
4-19 failure to attend school results from:
4-20 (1) the student's expulsion under Section 37.007; and
4-21 (2) as applicable:
4-22 (A) adjudication as having engaged in delinquent
4-23 conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision, as defined by
4-24 Section 51.03, Family Code; or
4-25 (B) conviction of and sentencing for an offense
4-26 under the Penal Code.
4-27 SECTION 5. Sections 51.930(e) and (f), Education Code, are
5-1 amended to read as follows:
5-2 (e) [A student participating in the program from another
5-3 state shall be exempt from the provisions of Section 51.306 of this
5-4 code unless that student becomes a degree-seeking undergraduate
5-5 student at a Texas public institution of higher education.]
5-6 [(f)] A student may not participate in the program for more
5-7 than one year.
5-8 SECTION 6. Section 130.0035(b), Education Code, is amended to
5-9 read as follows:
5-10 (b) The report must include the following information for
5-11 the junior college district for the academic year covered by the
5-12 report:
5-13 (1) the rate at which students completed courses
5-14 attempted;
5-15 (2) the number and types of degrees and certificates
5-16 awarded;
5-17 (3) the percentage of graduates who passed licensing
5-18 exams related to the degree or certificate awarded, to the extent
5-19 the information can be determined;
5-20 (4) the number of students or graduates who transfer
5-21 to or are admitted to a public university;
5-22 (5) [the passing rates for students required to be
5-23 tested under Section 51.306;]
5-24 [(6)] the percentage of students enrolled who are
5-25 academically disadvantaged;
5-26 (6) [(7)] the percentage of students enrolled who are
5-27 economically disadvantaged;
6-1 (7) [(8)] the racial and ethnic composition of the
6-2 district's student body; and
6-3 (8) [(9)] the percentage of student contact hours
6-4 taught by full-time faculty.
6-5 SECTION 7. This Act takes effect immediately and applies
6-6 beginning with the 2001 fall semester.