By: Duncan, Van de Putte S.B. No. 1620
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to substitution of certain career and technology courses
  for certain mathematics and science courses otherwise required
  under the recommended high school program.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 21.044, Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 21.044.  EDUCATOR PREPARATION.  (a)  The board shall
  propose rules establishing the training requirements a person must
  accomplish to obtain a certificate, enter an internship, or enter
  an induction-year program. The board shall specify the minimum
  academic qualifications required for a certificate.
         (b)  In proposing rules under this section, the board shall
  specify that to obtain a certificate to teach an "applied STEM
  course," as that term is defined by Section 28.027, at a secondary
  school, a person must:
               (1)  pass the certification test administered by the
  recognized national or international business and industry group
  that created the curriculum the applied STEM course is based on; and
               (2)  have at a minimum:
                     (A)  an associate degree from an accredited
  institution of higher education; and
                     (B)  three years of work experience in an
  occupation for which the applied STEM course is intended to prepare
  the student.
         SECTION 2.  Subchapter B, Chapter 28, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Section 28.027 to read as follows:
         Sec. 28.027.  APPLIED SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND
  MATHEMATICS COURSES. (a)  In this section, "applied STEM course"
  means an applied science, technology, engineering, or mathematics
  course offered as part of a school district's career and technology
  education curriculum.
         (b)  The State Board of Education shall establish a process
  under which an applied STEM course may be reviewed and approved for
  purposes of satisfying the mathematics and science curriculum
  requirements for the recommended high school program imposed under
  Section 28.025(b-1)(1)(A) through substitution of the applied STEM
  course for a specific mathematics or science course otherwise
  required under the recommended high school program and completed
  during the student's fourth year of mathematics or science course
  work.
         (c)  The process must provide that an applied STEM course is
  entitled to be approved for the purpose described by Subsection (b)
  if the course meets the following requirements:
               (1)  the applied STEM course is part of a curriculum
  created by a recognized national or international business and
  industry group to prepare a student for a national or international
  business and industry certification or license;
               (2)  the applied STEM course qualifies as:
                     (A)  a dual credit course; or
                     (B)  an articulated postsecondary course provided
  for local credit or articulated postsecondary advanced technical
  credit course provided for state credit;
               (3)  the essential knowledge and skills covered in the
  applied STEM course are equivalent to the essential knowledge and
  skills covered in the mathematics or science course for which the
  applied STEM course is proposed to be approved for substitution;
  and
               (4)  the applied STEM course:
                     (A)  provides substantial mathematics content or
  science content, as applicable, taught in an applied or symbolic
  format, that enables a student to develop relevant critical
  thinking skills necessary for preparation for employment or
  additional training in a career identified by the Texas Workforce
  Commission as a high-demand or emerging occupation; and
                     (B)  incorporates college and career readiness
  skills.
         (d)  If an applied STEM course approved under this section is
  part of a coherent sequence of career and technology courses, a
  student is eligible to enroll in the applied STEM course for the
  purpose described in Subsection (b) only if the student has
  completed the prerequisite course work, if any, for the applied
  STEM course.
         (e)  Notwithstanding Section 39.023(c) or 39.025, a student
  who enrolls in an applied STEM course approved under this section as
  a substitute for a course for which an end-of-course assessment
  instrument is adopted under Section 39.023(c) shall be assessed
  using the assessment instrument developed for the applied STEM
  course by the recognized national or international business and
  industry group that created the applied STEM course curriculum.
  The calculation of the student's performance on the assessment
  instrument must comply with all applicable rules.
         SECTION 3.  Subsection (b-2), Section 28.025, Education
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (b-2)  In adopting rules under Subsection (b-1), the State
  Board of Education shall allow a student to comply with the
  curriculum requirements for a mathematics [course under Subsection
  (b-1)(1) taken after the successful completion of an Algebra II
  course] or science course under Subsection (b-1)(1) [taken after
  the successful completion of a physics course] by successfully
  completing an advanced career and technical course designated by
  the State Board of Education as containing substantively similar
  and rigorous academic content. The rules may not require Algebra II
  as a prerequisite for an applied STEM course that is permitted to be
  substituted for a mathematics course under Section 28.027 or a
  physics course as a prerequisite for an applied STEM course that is
  permitted to be substituted for a science course under Section
  28.027 [A student may use the option provided by this subsection for
  not more than two courses].
         SECTION 4.  Subchapter C, Chapter 61, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Section 61.0517 to read as follows:
         Sec. 61.0517.  APPLIED STEM COURSES. (a)  In this section,
  "applied STEM course" means an applied science, technology,
  engineering, or mathematics course offered as part of a school
  district's career and technology education curriculum and
  approved, as provided by Section 28.027, by the State Board of
  Education for purposes of satisfying the mathematics and science
  curriculum requirements for the recommended high school program
  imposed under Section 28.025(b-1)(1)(A).
         (b)  The board shall ensure that academic credit for an
  applied STEM course is freely transferable among all institutions
  of higher education in this state.
         (c)  The board shall include applied STEM courses in the
  board's listing of courses approved for offer by a public junior
  college or public technical institute.
         SECTION 5.  Not later than September 1, 2012, the
  commissioner of education shall establish and implement the process
  required by Section 28.027, Education Code, as added by this Act.
         SECTION 6.  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, 2011.