80R10884 T

By: McClendon H.B. No. 3750

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the augmentation of the objectives, goals, and foundation curriculum for public schools to include social training for adult responsibility.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. This Act shall be known as the Social Training for Adult Responsibility (STAR) Act.

SECTION 2. Section 4.001(b), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(b) The objectives of public education are:

OBJECTIVE 1: Parents will be full partners with educators in the education of their children.

OBJECTIVE 2: Students will be encouraged and challenged to meet their full educational potential.

OBJECTIVE 3: Through enhanced dropout prevention efforts, all students will remain in school until they obtain a high school diploma.

OBJECTIVE 4: A well-balanced and appropriate curriculum will be provided to all students.

OBJECTIVE 5: Educators will prepare students to be thoughtful, active citizens who have an appreciation for the basic values of our state and national heritage and who can understand and productively function in a free enterprise society.

OBJECTIVE 6: Qualified and highly effective personnel will be recruited, developed, and retained.

OBJECTIVE 7: The state's students will demonstrate exemplary performance in comparison to national and international standards.

OBJECTIVE 8: (a) School campuses will maintain a safe and disciplined environment conducive to student learning; and

(b) School campuses will provide a positive and supportive learning environment for all students, pre-K through high school, in which the social and emotional developmental instruction of students is given priority equal to that of academic subjects, so that students build cognitive and communication skills to help them manage their lives responsibly and well as they transition from childhood to youth to adulthood, while learning in a safe and disciplined school environment.

OBJECTIVE 9: Educators will keep abreast of the development of creative and innovative techniques in instruction and administration using those techniques as appropriate to improve student learning.

OBJECTIVE 10: Technology will be implemented and used to increase the effectiveness of student learning, instructional management, staff development, and administration.

SECTION 3. Section 4.002, Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 4.002. PUBLIC EDUCATION ACADEMIC GOALS. To serve as a foundation for a well-balanced and appropriate education:

GOAL 1: The students in the public education system will demonstrate exemplary performance in the reading and writing of the English language.

GOAL 2: The students in the public education system will demonstrate exemplary performance in the understanding of mathematics.

GOAL 3: The students in the public education system will demonstrate exemplary performance in the understanding of science.

GOAL 4: The students in the public education system will demonstrate exemplary performance in the understanding of social studies.

GOAL 5: The students in the public education system will demonstrate exemplary performance in the understanding of effective cognitive reasoning and communication skills needed for healthy social adjustment and living in community with other persons.

SECTION 4. Section 28.002(a), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) Each school district that offers kindergarten through grade 12 shall offer, as a required curriculum:

(1) a foundation curriculum that includes:

(A) English language arts;

(B) mathematics;

(C) science; [and]

(D) social studies, consisting of Texas, United States, and world history, government, and geography; and

(E) skills in social training for adult responsibility required to think, speak, learn and reason, consisting of but not limited to effective, non-violent communication skills; problem-solving; setting appropriate boundaries and priorities; and creative decision-making ability; and

(2) an enrichment curriculum that includes:

(A) to the extent possible, languages other than English;

(B) health, with emphasis on the importance of proper nutrition and exercise;

(C) physical education;

(D) fine arts;

(E) economics, with emphasis on the free enterprise system and its benefits;

(F) career and technology education; and

(G) technology applications.

SECTION 5. Sections 39.023(a) and (c), Education Code, are amended to read as follows:

(a) The agency shall adopt or develop appropriate criterion-referenced assessment instruments designed to assess essential knowledge and skills in reading, writing, mathematics, social studies, and science. All students, except students assessed under Subsection (b) or (l) or exempted under Section 39.027, shall be assessed in:

(1) mathematics, annually in grades three through seven without the aid of technology and in grades eight through 11 with the aid of technology on any assessment instruments that include algebra;

(2) reading, annually in grades three through nine;

(3) writing, including spelling and grammar, in grades four and seven;

(4) English language arts, in grade 10;

(5) social studies, in grades eight and 10;

(6) science, in grades five, eight, and 10;

(7) skills in social training for adult responsibility, annually in grades pre-K through 12;

(8) any other subject and grade required by federal law.

(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, and skills in social training for adult responsibility. 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 skills in social training for adult responsibility section must include the assessment of essential skills in cognitive reasoning and effective non-violent communication, required to think, speak, learn and reason effectively. 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 6. Section 39.025(a), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) A student may not receive a high school diploma until the student has performed satisfactorily on the secondary exit-level assessment instruments for English language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science and skills in social training for adult responsibility administered under Section 39.023(c). This subsection does not require a student to demonstrate readiness to enroll in an institution of higher education.

SECTION 7. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this section, this Act applies beginning with the 2008-2009 school year.

(b) Section 39.025, Education Code, as amended by this Act, applies only to a student who enters the ninth grade in the 2008-2009 or a later school year.

SECTION 8. 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, 2007.