BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 3820

By: Sherman, Sr.

Public Education

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

It has been noted that for purposes of compliance with federal requirements, a public school district must administer the SAT or ACT to a student who has taken certain state-required end-of-course tests before beginning high school. It has been suggested that while responsibility for the cost of such testing should belong to the state, current law does not make this sufficiently clear. H.B. 3820 seeks to address this issue by requiring a district to administer the federally mandated test in this situation and by specifying that this is done at state cost.

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 this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 3820 amends the Education Code to require a public school district, each school year and at state cost, to administer to students in a grade level determined by the commissioner of education who have been administered the Algebra I end-of-course test or English I and English II end-of-course tests one of the valid, reliable, and nationally norm-referenced tests used by colleges and universities as part of their undergraduate admissions processes for the purpose of fulfilling federal requirements regarding assessment at the high school level. The bill clarifies that the authorization for high school students in the spring of the 11th grade or during the 12th grade to select and take such a test once at state cost applies to students to whom such a test is not administered under the requirement imposed by the bill. The bill applies beginning with the 2019-2020 school year.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2019.