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78R4808 KEL-F
By: Delisi H.B. No. 796
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to abolishing the Texas Academic Skills Program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 51.306 and 51.3061, Education Code, are
repealed.
SECTION 2. Section 29.903(d), Education Code, as added by
Chapter 795, Acts of the 77th Legislature, Regular Session, 2001,
is amended to read as follows:
(d) A plan developed under this section:
(1) must establish clear, achievable goals for
increasing the percentage of the school district's graduating
seniors, particularly the graduating seniors attending a high
school described by Subsection (a), who enroll in an institution of
higher education for the academic year following graduation;
(2) must establish an accurate method of measuring
progress toward the goals established under Subdivision (1) that
may include the percentage of district high school students and the
percentage of students attending a district high school described
by Subsection (a) who:
(A) are enrolled in a course for which a student
may earn college credit, such as an advanced placement or
international baccalaureate course or a course offered through
concurrent enrollment in high school and at an institution of
higher education;
(B) are enrolled in courses that meet the
curriculum requirements for the recommended or advanced high school
program as determined under Section 28.025;
(C) have submitted a free application for federal
student aid (FAFSA);
(D) [are exempt under Section 51.306(l) or (m)
from administration of a test instrument under Section 51.306 or
have performed successfully on a test instrument under Section
51.306;
[(E)] graduate from high school;
(E) [(F)] graduate from an institution of higher
education; and
(F) [(G)] have taken college entrance
examinations and the average score of those students on the
examinations;
(3) must cover a period of at least five years; and
(4) may be directed at district students at any level
of primary or secondary education.
SECTION 3. Section 39.023(c), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(c) The agency shall also adopt secondary exit-level
assessment instruments designed to be administered to students in
grade 11 to assess essential knowledge and skills in mathematics,
English language arts, social studies, and science. The
mathematics section must include at least Algebra I and geometry
with the aid of technology. The English language arts section must
include at least English III and must include the assessment of
essential knowledge and skills in writing. The social studies
section must include early American and United States history. The
science section must include at least biology and integrated
chemistry and physics. The assessment instruments must be designed
to assess a student's mastery of minimum skills necessary for high
school graduation and readiness to enroll in an institution of
higher education. If a student is in a special education program
under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, the student's admission, review,
and dismissal committee shall determine whether any allowable
modification is necessary in administering to the student an
assessment instrument required under this subsection or whether the
student should be exempted under Section 39.027(a)(2). The State
Board of Education shall administer the assessment instruments. The
State Board of Education shall adopt a schedule for the
administration of secondary exit-level assessment instruments.
Each student who did not perform satisfactorily on any secondary
exit-level assessment instrument when initially tested shall be
given multiple opportunities to retake that assessment instrument.
[A student who performs at or above a level established by the Texas
Higher Education Coordinating Board on the secondary exit-level
assessment instruments is exempt from the requirements of Section
51.306.]
SECTION 4. Section 39.051(b), Education Code, as amended by
Chapters 8, 725, 834, and 1420, Acts of the 77th Legislature,
Regular Session, 2001, is reenacted and amended to read as follows:
(b) Performance on the indicators adopted under this
section shall be compared to state-established standards. The
degree of change from one school year to the next in performance on
each indicator adopted under this section shall also be considered.
The indicators must be based on information that is disaggregated
by race, ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status and must
include:
(1) the results of assessment instruments required
under Sections 39.023(a), (c), and (l), aggregated by grade level
and subject area;
(2) dropout rates, including dropout rates and
district completion rates for grade levels 9 through 12;
(3) student attendance rates;
(4) [the percentage of graduating students who attain
scores on the secondary exit-level assessment instruments required
under Subchapter B that are equivalent to a passing score on the
test instrument required under Section 51.306;
[(5)] the percentage of graduating students who meet
the course requirements established for the recommended high school
program by State Board of Education rule;
(5) [(6)] the results of the Scholastic Assessment
Test (SAT), the American College Test (ACT), articulated
postsecondary degree programs described by Section 61.852, and
certified workforce training programs described by Chapter 311,
Labor Code;
(6) [(7)] the percentage of students, aggregated by
grade level, provided accelerated instruction under Section
28.0211(c), the results of assessments administered under that
section, the percentage of students promoted through the grade
placement committee process under Section 28.0211, the subject of
the assessment instrument on which each student failed to perform
satisfactorily, and the performance of those students in the school
year following that promotion on the assessment instruments
required under Section 39.023;
(7) [(8)] for students who have failed to perform
satisfactorily on an assessment instrument required under Section
39.023(a) or (c), the numerical progress of those students on
subsequent assessment instruments required under those sections,
aggregated by grade level and subject area;
(8) [(9) the percentage of students taking
end-of-course assessment instruments adopted under Section
39.023(d);
[(9)] the percentage of students exempted, by
exemption category, from the assessment program generally
applicable under this chapter [subchapter]; and
(9) [(11)] the percentage of students of limited
English proficiency exempted from the administration of an
assessment instrument under Sections 39.027(a)(3) and (4).
SECTION 5. Section 39.051(d), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(d) Annually, the commissioner shall define exemplary,
recognized, and unacceptable performance for each academic
excellence indicator included under Subsections (b)(1) through (5)
[(6)] and shall project the standards for each of those levels of
performance for succeeding years. For the indicator under
Subsection (b)(6) [(b)(7)], the commissioner shall define
exemplary, recognized, and unacceptable performance based on
student performance for the period covering both the current and
preceding academic years. In defining exemplary, recognized, and
unacceptable performance for the indicators under Subsections
(b)(2) and (3), the commissioner may not consider as a dropout or as
a student who has failed to attend school a student whose failure to
attend school results from:
(1) the student's expulsion under Section 37.007; and
(2) as applicable:
(A) adjudication as having engaged in delinquent
conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision, as defined by
Section 51.03, Family Code; or
(B) conviction of and sentencing for an offense
under the Penal Code.
SECTION 6. Section 130.0035(b), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) The report must include the following information for
the junior college district for the academic year covered by the
report:
(1) the rate at which students completed courses
attempted;
(2) the number and types of degrees and certificates
awarded;
(3) the percentage of graduates who passed licensing
exams related to the degree or certificate awarded, to the extent
the information can be determined;
(4) the number of students or graduates who transfer
to or are admitted to a public university;
(5) [the passing rates for students required to be
tested under Section 51.306;
[(6)] the percentage of students enrolled who are
academically disadvantaged;
(6) [(7)] the percentage of students enrolled who are
economically disadvantaged;
(7) [(8)] the racial and ethnic composition of the
district's student body; and
(8) [(9)] the percentage of student contact hours
taught by full-time faculty.
SECTION 7. Section 51.930(e), Education Code, is repealed.
SECTION 8. This Act applies beginning with the 2003 fall
semester.
SECTION 9. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2003.