By: Ashby H.B. No. 1776
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the United States history end-of-course assessment
  instrument for public high school students.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 39.023(c), Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (c)  The agency shall also adopt end-of-course assessment
  instruments for secondary-level courses in Algebra I, biology,
  English I, English II, and United States history.  
  The Algebra I
  end-of-course assessment instrument must be administered with the
  aid of technology.  The English I and English II end-of-course
  assessment instruments must each assess essential knowledge and
  skills in both reading and writing in the same assessment
  instrument and must provide a single score. A school district shall
  comply with State Board of Education rules regarding administration
  of the assessment instruments listed in this subsection. 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. The State Board of Education shall
  administer the assessment instruments. The State Board of Education
  shall adopt a schedule for the administration of end-of-course
  assessment instruments that complies with the requirements of
  Subsection (c-3).
         SECTION 2.  Section 39, Education Code is amended by adding
  Sec. 39.02302 to read as follows:
         Section 39.02302 U.S. History Assessment (a) Beginning with
  students entering the 9th grade in the 2018-2019 school year, each
  student shall be required to take the civics test administered by
  the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services as part of
  the naturalization process under the federal Immigration and
  Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. Section 1101 et seq.). The test shall be
  administered in accordance with rules adopted by a district board
  of trustees, the commissioner, and as follows:
               (1)  On a computer in a multiple choice format, and
               (2)  In the presence of a teacher, aide, proctor, or
  campus testing coordinator, and
               (3)  At any time during the school year when the
  instructor or counselor determines the student to be ready.
         (b)  A student who has entered the 9th grade prior to the
  2018-2019 may elect to take the test in accordance with this
  section in lieu of the test required in Section 39.023(c).
         (c)  As a condition of graduation, a student must answer at
  least 70% of the questions correctly.
         (d)  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 this assessment
  instrument to appropriately measure a student's achievement on this
  test.
         (e)  An individual graduation committee may waive the
  requirement in this section for a student in a special education
  program under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, for whom this assessment
  instrument, even with allowable accommodations, would not provide
  an appropriate measure of student achievement, as determined by
  the student's admission, review, and dismissal committee.
         (f)  The commissioner shall adopt rules requiring a school
  district to provide a student in the foundation high school program
  under Section 28.025 with the opportunity to be administered the
  test in this section. A rule may not:
               (1)  Restrict the grade level at which a student may
  take this test; or
               (2)  Limit the number of attempts a student may take to
  perform satisfactorily on the test.
         (g)  A school district shall annually certify to the
  commissioner the results of each student who takes this assessment.
         SECTION 3.  This Act applies beginning with students who
  enter the ninth grade during the 2018-2019 school year.
         SECTION 4.  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, 2017.