86R3210 KJE-D
 
  By: Ashby H.B. No. 1244
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to including a civics test in the graduation requirements
  for public high school students and to eliminating the United
  States history end-of-course assessment instrument.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 28.025(c), Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (c)  A person may receive a diploma if the person is eligible
  for a diploma under Section 28.0251. In other cases, a student may
  graduate and receive a diploma only if:
               (1)  the student successfully completes the curriculum
  requirements identified by the State Board of Education under
  Subsection (a) and complies with Sections 39.02304 and [Section]
  39.025; or
               (2)  the student successfully completes an
  individualized education program developed under Section 29.005.
         SECTION 2.  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, and 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 3.  Subchapter B, Chapter 39, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Section 39.02304 to read as follows:
         Sec. 39.02304.  CIVICS TEST. (a) The commissioner shall
  adopt rules requiring a school district to administer a civics test
  to a student in the foundation high school program under Section
  28.025. A student may not receive a high school diploma until the
  student has performed satisfactorily on the civics test.
         (b)  The civics test must consist of all of the questions on
  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 questions must be presented in a multiple-choice
  format.
         (c)  To perform satisfactorily on the civics test, a student
  must answer at least 70 percent of the questions correctly.
         (d)  A school district shall administer the civics test to a
  student when the school counselor or the teacher of the United
  States history course in which the student is enrolled, if
  applicable, determines that the student is prepared for the test.
         (e)  The admission, review, and dismissal committee of a
  student in a special education program under Subchapter A, Chapter
  29, shall determine:
               (1)  whether any allowable modification is necessary in
  administering the civics test to the student to appropriately
  measure the student's achievement; and
               (2)  if the committee determines that the civics test,
  even with allowable modifications, would not provide an appropriate
  measure of the student's achievement, whether the student is
  required to achieve satisfactory performance on the civics test to
  receive a high school diploma.
         (f)  The commissioner shall adopt rules regarding the
  administration of the civics test. The rules:
               (1)  must require:
                     (A)  the test to be administered electronically in
  the presence of a teacher, teacher's aide, proctor, or campus
  testing coordinator and be scored by that person or by the school
  district; and
                     (B)  the results of the test to be submitted to the
  agency not later than the last instructional day of the school year
  in which the test is administered; and
               (2)  may not:
                     (A)  restrict the high school grade level at which
  a student may take the civics test; or
                     (B)  limit the number of attempts a student may
  make to perform satisfactorily on the test.
         (g)  A student who is required to perform satisfactorily on a
  United States history end-of-course assessment instrument under
  Section 39.025(a) based on the provisions of Section 39.023(c) in
  effect on January 1, 2019, may elect to satisfy that requirement by
  performing satisfactorily on the civics test. This subsection
  expires September 1, 2027.
         (h)  For purposes of the public school accountability
  system, a reference in this code to an assessment instrument under
  Section 39.023(c) includes the civics test. Performance at the
  level required under Subsection (c) of this section is considered
  satisfactory performance for purposes of Section 39.0241(a), and
  the commissioner shall determine the level of performance
  considered to indicate college readiness for purposes of Section
  39.0241(a-1). To the extent of a conflict between this section and
  any other provision of law, this section controls.
         SECTION 4.  This Act applies beginning with students who
  enter the ninth grade during the 2020-2021 school year.
         SECTION 5.  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, 2019.