Bill Text: TX HB1776 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Comm Sub

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: 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.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 8-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2017-05-05 - Received from the House [HB1776 Detail]

Download: Texas-2017-HB1776-Comm_Sub.html

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85R14327 KJE-F
By: Ashby, Huberty H.B. No. 1776
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1776:
By: Huberty C.S.H.B. No. 1776

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, 2017, may elect to satisfy that requirement by
performing satisfactorily on the civics test. This subsection
expires September 1, 2025.
(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 2018-2019 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, 2017.