BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 1612

By: Guillen

Higher Education

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Interested parties note that an institution of higher education administering a Texas Success Initiative test currently is not required to provide test data to school districts. The parties suggest that this is a significant disadvantage to districts seeking to improve district students' ability to prepare for retesting and postsecondary opportunities because they lack an important diagnostic tool to do so. H.B. 1612 seeks to provide school districts with this valuable data.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board in SECTION 1 of this bill.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 1612 amends the Education Code to require an institution of higher education that administers Texas Success Initiative tests to entering undergraduate students to provide to each assessed student an individual score report that includes information regarding each item answered incorrectly by the student and to report to each school district from which assessed students graduated high school each student's scores on the test and data on the students' overall performance on the test disaggregated by content area for each subject tested and by student demographics, including campus, race, ethnicity, sex, age, and populations served by special programs.

H.B. 1612 requires the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to adopt rules as necessary to implement the bill's provisions, including rules for implementing the provisions in a manner that complies with federal law regarding confidentiality of student medical or educational information and any state law relating to the privacy of student information. The bill's provisions apply beginning with tests administered by public institutions of higher education to entering undergraduate students for the 2016 fall semester.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2015.