BILL ANALYSIS |
C.S.H.B. 2694 |
By: Villarreal |
Public Education |
Committee Report (Substituted) |
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Interested parties contend that many rural students do not have the same course options as students who live in more densely populated regions. There is additional concern that even though many four-year universities require a certain number of math or foreign language credits, not all high schools are equipped to offer those courses. The parties assert that students would benefit from more flexibility in determining their high school coursework and from being able to receive credit for a course based on competency demonstrated on an examination, rather than on time spent in the classroom alone. C.S.H.B. 2694 seeks to help students facing geographic and scheduling barriers take the courses they need and to give students more options when it comes to applying to universities that have strict requirements and admissions criteria.
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RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
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ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 2694 amends the Education Code to require each school district to select, if available, at least four examinations approved by the State Board of Education (SBOE) for each subject, for purposes of examinations for acceleration for each primary school grade level or for credit for secondary school academic subjects. The bill requires the examinations selected by a district, if approved by the SBOE, to include advanced placement examinations administered by the College Board and Educational Testing Service and examinations administered through the College-Level Examination Program.
C.S.H.B. 2694 lowers the minimum percentile that a student in a primary grade level must score on each section of an SBOE-approved examination for a district to be required to give the student credit for a grade level and advance the student one grade level from the 90th percentile to the 80th percentile. The bill lowers the minimum percentile that a student in grade level six or above must score on an SBOE-approved examination for a district to be required to give the student credit for a subject from the 90th percentile to the 80th percentile. The bill requires a district to give a student in a grade level six or above credit for a subject if the student scores a three or higher on an SBOE-approved advanced placement examination administered by the College Board and Educational Testing Service or a scaled score of 60 or higher on an SBOE-approved examination administered through the College-Level Examination Program. The bill establishes that a student in grade level six or above who is given credit in a subject on the basis of an examination is not required to take an end-of-course test for that subject.
C.S.H.B. 2694 requires each district to administer each SBOE-approved examination for credit selected by the district under the bill's provisions not later than the 30th day after the date the district receives a written request from a student or the student's parent or guardian, if the examination is capable of being administered electronically, or not fewer than three times each year at times the SBOE determines, if the examination is not capable of being administered electronically, rather than requiring each district to administer each examination for acceleration or for credit not less than once a year at times the SBOE determines. The bill prohibits an examination that is administered electronically from being administered to a student more than two times each year.
C.S.H.B. 2694 prohibits a student from attempting more than two times to receive credit for a particular subject on the basis of an SBOE-approved examination for credit in that subject. The bill requires a student in grade level six or above who fails to achieve the designated score on an applicable examination for a subject before the beginning of the school year in which the student would ordinarily be enrolled in that course in accordance with the district's prescribed course sequence to satisfactorily complete the course to receive credit.
C.S.H.B. 2694 exempts a student who receives credit by examination for a class from the minimum attendance requirement for class credit. The bill's provisions apply beginning with the 2013-2014 school year.
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EFFECTIVE DATE
On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2013.
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COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.H.B. 2694 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following comparison is organized and highlighted in a manner that indicates the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.
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