By: VanDeaver, Ashby, Bernal, Tinderholt, H.B. No. 1480
      Metcalf, et al.
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to assessment of public school students, providing
  accelerated instruction, appropriately crediting certain student
  performance, and eliminating requirements based on performance on
  certain assessment instruments.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter D, Chapter 11, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Section 11.184 to read as follows:
         Sec. 11.184.  SCHOOL DISTRICT ACCELERATED LEARNING
  COMMITTEE POLICY. (a) The board of trustees of a school district
  shall adopt a policy regarding the establishment of accelerated
  learning committees under Section 28.0211. The policy must
  specify:
               (1)  the composition of a committee;
               (2)  the frequency of committee meetings during the
  school year;
               (3)  the agenda, content, and purpose of meetings,
  including whether the committee will consider a student's grades,
  attendance, behavior, including disciplinary measures, vision, and
  social-emotional health;
               (4)  the objectives and goals of educational plans
  developed for providing the necessary accelerated instruction to
  the student;
               (5)  methods for measuring the efficacy of an
  accelerated instruction program;
               (6)  whether, for a student in a special education
  program under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, the student's admission,
  review, and dismissal committee will serve as the accelerated
  learning committee in developing the educational plan for the
  student's accelerated instruction program; and
               (7)  whether an accelerated learning committee will
  include a response-to-intervention approach in administering the
  educational plan for a student's accelerated instruction program.
         (b)  The policy must require that, to the extent practicable,
  school personnel assigned to a student's accelerated learning
  committee remain assigned to that committee for the duration of the
  period for which the student receives accelerated instruction.
         (c)  A superintendent of a school district or principal of a
  campus is not required to serve on an accelerated learning
  committee.
         SECTION 2.  The heading to Section 28.0211, Education Code,
  is amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 28.0211.  ACCELERATED LEARNING COMMITTEE [SATISFACTORY
  PERFORMANCE ON ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENTS REQUIRED]; ACCELERATED
  INSTRUCTION.
         SECTION 3.  Section 28.0211, Education Code, is amended by
  amending Subsections (a), (a-1), (a-3), (c), (f), (i), and (n) and
  adding Subsections (f-1) and (f-2) to read as follows:
         (a)  A district shall establish an accelerated learning
  committee described by Subsection (c) for each student who does not
  perform satisfactorily on:
               (1)  the third grade mathematics or reading assessment
  instrument under Section 39.023;
               (2)  [Except as provided by Subsection (b) or (e), a
  student may not be promoted to:
               [(1)     the sixth grade program to which the student
  would otherwise be assigned if the student does not perform
  satisfactorily on] the fifth grade mathematics or [and] reading
  assessment instrument [instruments] under Section 39.023; or
               (3) [(2)     the ninth grade program to which the student
  would otherwise be assigned if the student does not perform
  satisfactorily on] the eighth grade mathematics or [and] reading
  assessment instrument [instruments] under Section 39.023.
         (a-1)  Each time a student fails to perform satisfactorily on
  an assessment instrument administered under Section 39.023(a) in
  the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, or eighth grade, the
  school district in which the student attends school shall provide
  to the student accelerated instruction in the applicable subject
  area. Accelerated instruction may require participation of the
  student before or after normal school hours, [and] may include
  participation at times of the year outside normal school
  operations, and may be provided to the student during the
  subsequent school year.
         (a-3)  The commissioner shall provide guidelines to
  districts on research-based best practices and effective
  strategies that a district may use in developing an accelerated
  instruction program. The commissioner may provide to districts
  available resources concerning research-based best practices and
  effective strategies that a district may use in developing an
  accelerated instruction program.
         (c)  [Each time a student fails to perform satisfactorily on
  an assessment instrument specified under Subsection (a), the school
  district in which the student attends school shall provide to the
  student accelerated instruction in the applicable subject area,
  including reading instruction for a student who fails to perform
  satisfactorily on a reading assessment instrument.] After a
  student fails to perform satisfactorily on an assessment instrument
  specified under Subsection (a) [a second time], an accelerated
  learning [a grade placement] committee shall be established in
  accordance with the district's policy adopted under Section 11.184
  [to prescribe the accelerated instruction the district shall
  provide to the student before the student is administered the
  assessment instrument the third time. The grade placement
  committee shall be composed of the principal or the principal's
  designee, the student's parent or guardian, and the teacher of the
  subject of an assessment instrument on which the student failed to
  perform satisfactorily]. The district shall notify the parent or
  guardian of the time and place for convening the accelerated
  learning [grade placement] committee and the purpose of the
  committee. [An accelerated instruction group administered by a
  school district under this section may not have a ratio of more than
  10 students for each teacher.]
         (f)  An accelerated learning [A school district shall
  provide to a student who, after three attempts, has failed to
  perform satisfactorily on an assessment instrument specified under
  Subsection (a) accelerated instruction during the next school year
  as prescribed by an educational plan developed for the student by
  the student's grade placement] committee described by [established
  under] Subsection (c) shall:
               (1)  develop an educational plan for the student that
  provides the necessary accelerated instruction to enable the
  student to perform at the appropriate grade level by the conclusion
  of the subsequent school year; and
               (2)  provide other assistance to the student in
  accordance with a policy adopted by the district board of trustees
  prescribing the role of accelerated learning committees in that
  district. [The district shall provide that accelerated instruction
  regardless of whether the student has been promoted or retained.]
         (f-1)  A student for whom an [The] educational plan is
  developed under Subsection (f)(1) [must be designed to enable the
  student to perform at the appropriate grade level by the conclusion
  of the school year. During the school year, the student] shall be
  monitored to ensure that the student is progressing in accordance
  with the plan. The district shall administer to the student the
  assessment instrument for the grade level in which the student is
  placed at the time the district regularly administers the
  assessment instruments for that school year.
         (f-2)  If a student who fails to perform satisfactorily on an
  assessment instrument specified under Subsection (a) fails in the
  subsequent school year to perform satisfactorily on an assessment
  instrument in the same subject, the superintendent of the district
  or the superintendent's designee shall meet with the student's
  accelerated learning committee to:
               (1)  identify the reason the student did not perform
  satisfactorily; and
               (2)  determine, in order to ensure the student performs
  satisfactorily on the assessment instrument at the next opportunity
  for the student to be administered the assessment instrument,
  whether:
                     (A)  the educational plan developed for the
  student under Subsection (f) must be modified to provide the
  necessary accelerated instruction for that student; and
                     (B)  any additional resources are required for
  that student.
         (i)  The admission, review, and dismissal committee of a
  student who participates in a district's special education program
  under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, and who does not perform
  satisfactorily on an assessment instrument specified under
  Subsection (a) and administered under Section 39.023(a) or (b) must
  meet before the student is administered the assessment instrument
  for the second time. The committee shall determine[:
               [(1)]  the manner in which the student will participate
  in an accelerated instruction program under this section[; and
               [(2)     whether the student will be promoted in
  accordance with Subsection (i-1) or retained under this section].
         (n)  A student who fails to perform satisfactorily on an
  assessment instrument specified under Subsection (a) and is
  promoted to the next grade level [by a grade placement committee
  under this section] must be assigned at that next grade level in
  each subject in which the student failed to perform satisfactorily
  on an assessment instrument specified under Subsection (a) to a
  teacher who meets all state and federal qualifications to teach
  that subject and grade.
         SECTION 4.  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 5.  Effective September 1, 2019, Sections 39.023(a),
  (c), (c-3), and (e), Education Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The agency shall adopt or develop appropriate
  criterion-referenced assessment instruments designed to assess
  essential knowledge and skills in reading, writing, mathematics,
  [social studies,] and science.  Except as provided by Subsection
  (a-2), all students, other than students assessed under Subsection
  (b) or (l) or exempted under Section 39.027, shall be assessed in:
               (1)  mathematics, annually in grades three through
  seven without the aid of technology and in grade eight with the aid
  of technology on any assessment instrument that includes algebra;
               (2)  reading, annually in grades three through eight;
               (3)  writing, including spelling and grammar, in grades
  four and seven; and
               (4)  [social studies, in grade eight;
               [(5)]  science, in grades five and eight[; and
               [(6)     any other subject and grade required by federal
  law].
         (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 agency
  [State Board of Education] shall administer the assessment
  instruments.  The commissioner, with input from school districts,
  [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).
         (c-3)  The commissioner, with input from school districts
  and other appropriate stakeholders, shall adopt [In adopting] a
  schedule for the administration of assessment instruments under
  this section that[, the State Board of Education shall require]:
               (1)  minimizes the disruption of classroom instruction 
  [assessment instruments administered under Subsection (a) to be
  administered on a schedule so that the first assessment instrument
  is administered at least two weeks later than the date on which the
  first assessment instrument was administered under Subsection (a)
  during the 2006-2007 school year]; and
               (2)  maximizes available instruction time by
  scheduling the spring administration of [end-of-course] assessment
  instruments [under Subsection (c)] to occur as close to the end of
  the semester as possible, but not later than the second week of May 
  [in each school district not earlier than the first full week in
  May, except that the spring administration of the end-of-course
  assessment instruments in English I and English II must be
  permitted to occur at an earlier date].
         (e)  At least [Under rules adopted by the State Board of
  Education,] every third year, the agency shall release the
  questions and answer keys to each assessment instrument
  administered under Subsection (a), (b), (c), (d), or (l), excluding
  any assessment instrument administered to a student for the purpose
  of retaking the assessment instrument, after the last time the
  instrument is administered for that school year. To ensure a valid
  bank of questions for use each year, the agency is not required to
  release a question that is being field-tested and was not used to
  compute the student's score on the instrument. The agency shall
  also release[, under board rule,] each question that is no longer
  being field-tested and that was not used to compute a student's
  score. [During the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 school years, the
  agency shall release the questions and answer keys to assessment
  instruments as described by this subsection each year.]
         SECTION 6.  Effective September 1, 2020, 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 agency
  [State Board of Education] shall administer the assessment
  instruments.  The commissioner, with input from school districts,
  [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 7.  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 8.  Section 39.025(a-2), Education Code, as added by
  Chapter 1036 (H.B. 1613), Acts of the 84th Legislature, Regular
  Session, 2015, is amended to read as follows:
         (a-2)  The commissioner shall determine a method by which a
  student's satisfactory performance on an advanced placement test,
  an international baccalaureate examination, an SAT Subject Test,
  the SAT, the ACT, the Texas Success Initiative (TSI) diagnostic
  assessment, or any nationally recognized norm-referenced
  assessment instrument used by institutions of higher education to
  award course credit based on satisfactory performance on the
  assessment instrument shall be used to satisfy the requirements
  concerning an end-of-course assessment instrument in an equivalent
  course as prescribed by Subsection (a). The commissioner shall
  determine a method by which a student's satisfactory performance on
  the PSAT or the ACT-Plan shall be used to satisfy the requirements
  concerning an end-of-course assessment instrument in an equivalent
  course as prescribed by Subsection (a). In adopting methods for
  substituting satisfactory performance on an assessment instrument
  authorized under this subsection for requirements concerning an
  end-of-course assessment instrument, the commissioner shall
  designate a student's performance on a substitute assessment
  instrument as "masters grade-level performance" if the student's
  performance entitles the student to receive college credit or if
  the student's performance meets the assessment instrument
  provider's designated grade-level college readiness performance
  benchmark. A student who fails to perform satisfactorily on a
  substitute [test or other] assessment instrument authorized under
  this subsection[, other than the PSAT or the ACT-Plan,] may retake
  that [test or other] assessment instrument for purposes of this
  subsection or may take the appropriate end-of-course assessment
  instrument. [A student who fails to perform satisfactorily on the
  PSAT or the ACT-Plan must take the appropriate end-of-course
  assessment instrument.] The commissioner shall adopt rules as
  necessary for the administration of this subsection.
         SECTION 9.  Section 39.025, Education Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (a-5) to read as follows:
         (a-5)  The commissioner shall implement the changes in law
  made by H.B. 1480, 86th Legislature, Regular Session, 2019, to
  Section 39.025(a-2), as added by Chapter 1036 (H.B. 1613), Acts of
  the 84th Legislature, Regular Session, 2015, and Section
  39.053(c-4) effective beginning with the 2019-2020 accountability
  rating period. This subsection expires September 1, 2020.
         SECTION 10.  Section 39.025(c-2), Education Code, as
  effective September 1, 2019, is amended to read as follows:
         (c-2)  A school district may administer to a student who
  failed to perform satisfactorily on an assessment instrument
  described by Subsection (c-1) an alternate assessment instrument
  designated by the commissioner. The commissioner shall determine
  the level of performance considered to be satisfactory on an
  alternate assessment instrument. [The district may not administer
  to the student an assessment instrument or a part of an assessment
  instrument that assesses a subject that was not assessed in an
  assessment instrument applicable to the student described by
  Subsection (c-1).] The commissioner shall make available to
  districts information necessary to administer the alternate
  assessment instrument authorized by this subsection. The
  commissioner's determination regarding designation of an
  appropriate alternate assessment instrument under this subsection
  and the performance required on the assessment instrument is final
  and may not be appealed.
         SECTION 11.  Section 39.053, Education Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (c-4) to read as follows:
         (c-4)  The commissioner by rule shall determine a method for
  appropriately crediting a student for growth under Subsection
  (c)(2) based on the student's performance, including a student's
  "masters grade-level performance," on a substitute assessment
  instrument authorized under Section 39.025(a-2), as added by
  Chapter 1036 (H.B. 1613), Acts of the 84th Legislature, Regular
  Session, 2015.
         SECTION 12.  Section 39.203(c), Education Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (c)  In addition to the distinction designations described
  by Subsections (a) and (b), a campus that satisfies the criteria
  developed under Section 39.204 shall be awarded a distinction
  designation by the commissioner for outstanding performance in
  academic achievement in reading [English language arts],
  mathematics, or science[, or social studies].
         SECTION 13.  Section 39.301(c), Education Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (c)  Indicators for reporting purposes must include:
               (1)  the percentage of graduating students who meet the
  course requirements established by State Board of Education rule
  for:
                     (A)  the foundation high school program;
                     (B)  the distinguished level of achievement under
  the foundation high school program; and
                     (C)  each endorsement described by Section
  28.025(c-1);
               (2)  the results of the SAT, ACT, and certified
  workforce training programs described by Chapter 311, Labor Code;
               (3)  for students who have failed to perform
  satisfactorily, under each performance standard under Section
  39.0241, on an assessment instrument required under Section
  39.023(a) or (c), the performance of those students on subsequent
  assessment instruments required under those sections, aggregated
  by grade level and subject area;
               (4)  for each campus, the number of students,
  disaggregated by major student subpopulations, that take courses
  under the foundation high school program and take additional
  courses to earn an endorsement under Section 28.025(c-1),
  disaggregated by type of endorsement;
               (5)  the percentage of students, aggregated by grade
  level, provided accelerated instruction under Section 28.0211
  [28.0211(c)], the results of assessment instruments administered
  under that section, [the percentage of students promoted through
  the grade placement committee process under Section 28.0211,] the
  subject of the assessment instrument on which each student failed
  to perform satisfactorily under each performance standard under
  Section 39.0241, and the performance of those students in the
  subsequent school year [following that promotion] on the assessment
  instruments required under Section 39.023;
               (6)  the percentage of students of limited English
  proficiency exempted from the administration of an assessment
  instrument under Sections 39.027(a)(1) and (2);
               (7)  the percentage of students in a special education
  program under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, assessed through assessment
  instruments developed or adopted under Section 39.023(b);
               (8)  the percentage of students who satisfy the college
  readiness measure;
               (9)  the measure of progress toward dual language
  proficiency under Section 39.034(b), for students of limited
  English proficiency, as defined by Section 29.052;
               (10)  the percentage of students who are not
  educationally disadvantaged;
               (11)  the percentage of students who enroll and begin
  instruction at an institution of higher education in the school
  year following high school graduation; and
               (12)  the percentage of students who successfully
  complete the first year of instruction at an institution of higher
  education without needing a developmental education course.
         SECTION 14.  Section 51.338(d), Education Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (d)  A student who has demonstrated the performance standard
  for college readiness as provided by Section 28.008 on the
  postsecondary readiness assessment instruments adopted under
  Section 39.0238 for Algebra II and English III, as that section
  existed before repeal by H.B. 1480, 86th Legislature, Regular
  Session, 2019, is exempt from the requirements of this subchapter
  with respect to those content areas.  The commissioner of higher
  education by rule shall establish the period for which an exemption
  under this subsection is valid.
         SECTION 15.  The following provisions of the Education Code
  are repealed:
               (1)  Section 7.102(c)(5);
               (2)  Sections 28.0211(a-2), (b), (d), (e), (i-1),
  (i-2), (k), (m), and (m-1); and
               (3)  Section 39.0238.
         SECTION 16.  (a) Except as otherwise provided by this
  section, this Act applies beginning with the 2019-2020 school year.
         (b)  Section 28.025(c), Education Code, as amended by this
  Act, and Section 39.02304, Education Code, as added by this Act,
  apply beginning with students who enter the ninth grade during the
  2020-2021 school year.
         (c)  Subsection (a) of this section does not apply to a
  provision of this Act that is effective September 1, 2020.
         SECTION 17.  Except as otherwise provided by this Act, this
  Act takes effect:
               (1)  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; or
               (2)  September 1, 2019, if this Act does not receive the
  vote necessary for immediate effect.