Bill Text: TX HB37 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Introduced


Bill Title: Relating to the creation of the Texas Commission on Assessment and Accountability.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-02-23 - Referred to Public Education [HB37 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-HB37-Introduced.html
  88R1032 ANG-F
 
  By: González of El Paso H.B. No. 37
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the creation of the Texas Commission on Assessment and
  Accountability.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Chapter 39, Education Code, is amended by adding
  Subchapter N to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER N. TEXAS COMMISSION ON ASSESSMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY
         Sec. 39.451.  DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "commission"
  means the Texas Commission on Assessment and Accountability.
         Sec. 39.452.  TEXAS COMMISSION ON ASSESSMENT AND
  ACCOUNTABILITY. (a) The commission is established to develop and
  make recommendations for improvements to the current public school
  assessment and accountability systems.
         (b)  The commission is composed of 19 members, consisting of:
               (1)  four members appointed by the governor;
               (2)  seven members appointed by the lieutenant
  governor;
               (3)  seven members appointed by the speaker of the
  house of representatives; and
               (4)  a member of the State Board of Education, as
  designated by the chair of that board.
         (c)  The members appointed by the governor must have an
  interest in public education and include at least:
               (1)  one person who is a current classroom teacher:
                     (A)  in a grade and subject for which an
  assessment instrument required under Section 39.023 is
  administered; and
                     (B)  with at least 10 years of teaching experience
  at a Title 1 campus;
               (2)  one person who is a member of the business
  community; and
               (3)  one person who is a member of the civic community.
         (d)  The appointments made by the lieutenant governor and the
  speaker of the house of representatives must each consist of:
               (1)  three members of the applicable legislative
  chamber; 
               (2)  a superintendent in the public school system; 
               (3)  an elected member of the board of trustees of a
  school district;
               (4)  a parent of a student in the public school system;
  and
               (5)  a public school district staff member who serves
  on the Accountability Technical Advisory Committee established by
  rule.
         (e)  In making appointments under Subsections (b)(1), (2),
  and (3), the governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the
  house of representatives shall coordinate to ensure that the
  membership of the commission reflects, to the extent possible, the
  ethnic and geographic diversity of this state.
         Sec. 39.453.  PRESIDING OFFICER AND MEMBERS. (a) The
  governor shall designate the presiding officer of the commission.
         (b)  A commission member may not be an employee, contractor,
  consultant, or vendor of the agency or a regional education service
  center.
         Sec. 39.454.  COMPENSATION AND REIMBURSEMENT. A commission
  member is not entitled to compensation for service on the
  commission but is entitled to reimbursement for actual and
  necessary expenses incurred in performing commission duties.
         Sec. 39.455.  ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT AND FUNDING. (a) The
  agency shall provide administrative support for the commission.
  The agency, with assistance as necessary from the Texas Higher
  Education Coordinating Board, shall provide data and analysis as
  requested by the commission, including data available in the
  education research centers established under Section 1.005.
         (b)  Funding for the commission's administrative and
  operational expenses shall be provided by legislative
  appropriation made to the agency for that purpose.
         Sec. 39.456.  RECOMMENDATIONS. (a) The commission shall
  develop recommendations under this subchapter to address issues
  related to the public school statewide assessment system,
  including:
               (1)  test construction and administration methods that
  ensure validity, readability, and fairness for all students;
               (2)  assessment options to inform instruction
  throughout the school year;
               (3)  any disproportionate impact of assessments on
  students receiving each tier of the compensatory education
  allotment and other special populations, and appropriate policy
  responses; 
               (4)  the costs and instructional time devoted to the
  administration of state-required assessment instruments, and
  options for minimizing those costs and that time by combining
  assessments and classroom instruction; and
               (5)  privacy, security, and confidentiality protocols
  regarding the student information of a student receiving online
  instruction or assessment.
         (b)  The commission shall develop recommendations under this
  subchapter to address issues related to the public school academic
  accountability rating system, including:
               (1)  the correlation of accountability results with
  special student populations, including students who are
  educationally disadvantaged and students who are not educationally
  disadvantaged, for each domain rating and overall rating, and the
  effect of enrollment in open-enrollment charter schools and magnet
  or other voluntary programs on the composition of student
  populations of district campuses and the application of
  accountability measures;
               (2)  characteristics and measures of effective schools
  beyond state-required assessment instruments and ways to
  incorporate those characteristics and measures into a fairer
  accountability system; and
               (3)  the appropriateness and effectiveness of current
  district and campus sanctions and any correlation between sanctions
  imposed and campuses or districts serving particular student
  populations.
         (c)  The commission shall include and consider
  recommendations made by the existing Accountability Technical
  Advisory Committee and Accountability Policy Advisory Committee
  established by rule.
         (d)  The commission may establish one or more working groups
  composed of not more than five commission members to study,
  discuss, and address specific policy issues and recommendations to
  refer to the commission for consideration.
         Sec. 39.457.  REPORT. Not later than December 31, 2024, the
  commission shall prepare and deliver to the governor and the
  legislature a report that recommends statutory changes to improve
  the public school assessment and accountability systems.
         Sec. 39.458.  PUBLIC MEETINGS AND PUBLIC INFORMATION. (a)
  The commission may hold public meetings as needed to fulfill the
  commission's duties under this subchapter.
         (b)  The commission is subject to Chapters 551 and 552,
  Government Code.
         Sec. 39.459.  COMMISSION ABOLISHED; EXPIRATION OF
  SUBCHAPTER.  The commission is abolished and this subchapter
  expires September 1, 2025.
         SECTION 2.  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, 2023.
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