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Amend the Eissler amendment to HB 2217 as follows:
(1) On page 7, between lines 22 and 23, insert the following appropriately numbered SECTION:
SECTION ____. Subchapter A, Chapter 28, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 28.015 to read as follows:
Sec. 28.015. APPLIED MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE COURSES. (a)
The commissioner of education and the commissioner of higher
education shall establish vertical teams composed of public school
educators, institution of higher education faculty, community or
technical college faculty, workforce representatives, and any
other person selected by the commissioners to serve on the vertical
teams.
(b) The vertical teams shall develop and recommend to the
State Board of Education for adoption under Section 28.002 the
essential knowledge and skills of a course in applied mathematics
and a course in applied science for use in public high schools. A
course developed under this section must be designed to prepare
students for success in college courses and in advanced technical
occupations.
(c) A student who successfully completes a course developed
under this section may use the credit earned in the course toward
satisfying the applicable mathematics or science curriculum
requirement for the standard high school program under Section
28.025.
(d) The agency, in consultation with the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board, shall adopt an end-of-course
assessment instrument for each course developed under this section
to ensure the rigor of the course. A school district shall, in
accordance with State Board of Education rules, administer the
end-of-course assessment instrument to a student enrolled in a
course developed under this section. Each school district shall
adopt a policy that requires a student's performance on the
end-of-course assessment instrument to account for 15 percent of
the student's final grade for the course. A student's performance
on an end-of-course assessment instrument administered under this
subsection is not subject to the graduation requirements
established under Section 39.025.
(e) The agency, in coordination with the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board, shall adopt a series of optional
questions to be included in an end-of-course assessment instrument
administered under Subsection (d) to be used for purposes of
Section 51.3062. The optional questions must be developed in a
manner consistent with any college readiness standards adopted
under Sections 39.113 and 51.3062. A student's performance on an
optional question adopted under this subsection may not be used to
determine the student's performance on an end-of-course assessment
instrument.
(f) The State Board of Education shall adopt instructional
materials for a course developed under this section in accordance
with Chapter 31. The instructional materials must include
technology resources that enhance the effectiveness of the course
and draw on established best practices.
(g) Not later than October 1, 2008, the State Board of
Education shall adopt essential knowledge and skills for each
course developed under this section. The State Board of Education
shall make each course developed under this section and the related
instructional materials available to school districts beginning
with the 2010-2011 school year. As required by Subsection (d), a
school district shall adopt a policy requiring a student's
performance on an end-of-course assessment instrument administered
under that subsection to account for 15 percent of the student's
grade for a course developed under this section beginning with the
2011-2012 school year. This subsection expires September 1, 2012.
(2) On page 7, between lines 28 and 29, insert the following
appropriately numbered SECTION:
SECTION ____. Sections 28.025(a), (b), (e), and (g),
Education Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The State Board of Education by rule shall determine
curriculum requirements for the standard [minimum], recommended,
and advanced high school programs that are consistent with the
required curriculum under Section 28.002.
(b) A school district shall ensure that each student enrolls
in the courses necessary to complete the curriculum requirements
identified by the State Board of Education under Subsection (a) for
the recommended or advanced high school program unless the student,
the student's parent or other person standing in parental relation
to the student, and a school counselor or school administrator
agree that the student should be permitted to take courses under the
standard [minimum] high school program.
(e) Each school district shall report the academic
achievement record of students who have completed a standard
[minimum], recommended, or advanced high school program on
transcript forms adopted by the State Board of Education. The
transcript forms adopted by the board must be designed to clearly
differentiate between each of the high school programs and identify
whether a student received a diploma or a certificate of coursework
completion.
(g) If a student, other than a student permitted to take
courses under the standard [minimum] high school program as
provided by Subsection (b), is unable to complete the recommended
or advanced high school program solely because necessary courses
were unavailable to the student at the appropriate times in the
student's high school career as a result of course scheduling, lack
of enrollment capacity, or another cause not within the student's
control, the school district shall indicate that fact on the
student's transcript form described by Subsection (e).
(3) Renumber the SECTIONS of the bill accordingly.