Amend HB 866 (senate committee printing) as follows:

(1)  In the recital to SECTION 1 of the bill (page 1, line 25), strike "and (a-9)" and substitute "(a-9), and (a-10)".

(2)  In SECTION 1 of the bill, amending Section 39.023(a), Education Code (page 1, lines 38 - 39) strike "[writing, including spelling and grammar, in grades four and seven;" and substitute "writing, including spelling and grammar, in grades four and seven;".

(3)  In SECTION 1 of the bill, amending Section 39.023(a), Education Code (page 1, line 40), strike "[(4)]" and substitute "(4)".

(4)  In SECTION 1 of the bill, amending Section 39.023(a), Education Code (page 1, line 41), strike "(4) [(5)]" and substitute "(5)".

(5)  In SECTION 1 of the bill, immediately following Section 39.023(a-9), Education Code (page 3, between lines 8 and 9), insert the following:

(6)  Add the following appropriately number SECTION to the bill and renumber subsequent SECTIONS of the bill accordingly:

SECTION ____.  Effective September 1, 2017, Sections 39.023(a), (a-1), (a-2), (b), (c-1), (c-3), (e), (l), (m), (n), and (p), 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.  Except as provided by Subsection (a-2), all students, other than 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 grade eight with the aid of technology on any assessment instrument that includes algebra;

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

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

(4)  social studies, in grade eight;

(5)  science, in grades five and eight; and

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

(a-1)  The agency shall develop assessment instruments required under Subsection (a) in a manner that allows, to the extent practicable:

(1)  the score a student receives to provide reliable information relating to a student's satisfactory performance for each performance standard under Section 39.0241; and

(2)  an appropriate range of performances to serve as a valid indication of growth in student achievement.

(a-2)  A student is not required to be assessed in a subject otherwise assessed at the student's grade level under Subsection (a) if the student:

(1)  is enrolled in a course in the subject intended for students above the student's grade level and will be administered an assessment instrument adopted or developed under Subsection (a) that aligns with the curriculum for the course in which the student is enrolled; or

(2)  is enrolled in a course in the subject for which the student will receive high school academic credit and will be administered an end-of-course assessment instrument adopted under Subsection (c) for the course.

(b)  The agency shall develop or adopt appropriate criterion-referenced  alternative assessment instruments to be administered to each student in a special education program under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, for whom an assessment instrument adopted under Subsection (a), even with allowable accommodations, would not provide an appropriate measure of student achievement, as determined by the student's admission, review, and dismissal committee.

(c-1)  The agency shall develop any assessment instrument required under this section in a manner that allows for the measurement of annual improvement in student achievement as required by Sections 39.034(c) and (d).

(c-3)  In adopting a schedule for the administration of assessment instruments under this section, the State Board of Education shall require:

(1)  assessment instruments administered under Subsection (a) to be administered on a schedule so that the first assessment instrument is administered at least two weeks later than the date on which the first assessment instrument was administered under Subsection (a) during the 2006-2007 school year; and

(2)  the spring administration of end-of-course assessment instruments under Subsection (c) to occur in each school district not earlier than the first full week in May, except that the spring administration of the end-of-course assessment instruments in English I, English II, and English III must be permitted to occur at an earlier date.

(e)  Under rules adopted by the State Board of Education, every third year, the agency shall release the questions and answer keys to each assessment instrument administered under Subsection (a), (b), (c), (d), or (l), excluding any assessment instrument administered to a student for the purpose of retaking the assessment instrument, after the last time the instrument is administered for that school year.  To ensure a valid bank of questions for use each year, the agency is not required to release a question that is being field-tested and was not used to compute the student's score on the instrument.  The agency shall also release, under board rule, each question that is no longer being field-tested and that was not used to compute a student's score.

(l)  The State Board of Education shall adopt rules for the administration of the assessment instruments adopted under Subsection (a) in Spanish to students in grades three through five who are of limited English proficiency, as defined by Section 29.052, whose primary language is Spanish, and who are not otherwise exempt from the administration of an assessment instrument under Section 39.027(a)(1) or (2).  Each student of limited English proficiency whose primary language is Spanish, other than a student to whom Subsection (b) applies, may be assessed using assessment instruments in Spanish under this subsection for up to three years or assessment instruments in English under Subsection (a).  The language proficiency assessment committee established under Section 29.063 shall determine which students are administered assessment instruments in Spanish under this subsection.

(m)  The commissioner by rule shall develop procedures under which the language proficiency assessment committee established under Section 29.063 shall determine which students are exempt from the administration of the assessment instruments under Section 39.027(a)(1) or (2).  The rules adopted under this subsection shall ensure that the language proficiency assessment committee provides that the exempted students are administered the assessment instruments under Subsections (a) and (c) at the earliest practical date.

(n)  This subsection applies only to a student who is determined to have dyslexia or a related disorder and who is an individual with a disability under 29 U.S.C. Section 705(20) and its subsequent amendments. The agency shall adopt or develop appropriate criterion-referenced assessment instruments designed to assess the ability of and to be administered to each student to whom this subsection applies for whom the assessment instruments adopted under Subsection (a), even with allowable modifications, would not provide an appropriate measure of student achievement, as determined by the committee established by the board of trustees of the district to determine the placement of students with dyslexia or related disorders. The committee shall determine whether any allowable modification is necessary in administering to a student an assessment instrument required under this subsection. The assessment instruments required under this subsection shall be administered on the same schedule as the assessment instruments administered under Subsection (a).

(p)  On or before September 1 of each year, the commissioner shall make the following information available on the agency's Internet website for each assessment instrument administered under Subsection (a), (c), or (l):

(1)  the number of questions on the assessment instrument;

(2)  the number of questions that must be answered correctly to achieve satisfactory performance as determined by the commissioner under Section 39.0241(a);

(3)  the number of questions that must be answered correctly to achieve satisfactory performance under the college readiness performance standard as provided by Section 39.0241; and

(4)  the corresponding scale scores.

(7)  In SECTION 2 of the bill, in Subsection (a) (page 4, line 41), strike "This Act" and substitute "Except as otherwise provided by this Act, this Act".