Bill Text: TX HB515 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Engrossed

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Bill Title: Relating to assessment of public school students and providing accelerated instruction and eliminating performance requirements based on performance on certain assessment instruments.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 16-7)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2017-05-27 - Senate appoints conferees-reported [HB515 Detail]

Download: Texas-2017-HB515-Engrossed.html

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By: VanDeaver, Isaac, Deshotel, Ashby, H.B. No. 515
Huberty, et al.

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to assessment of public school students and providing
accelerated instruction and eliminating performance requirements
based on performance on certain assessment instruments.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. 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 2. Section 28.0211, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (a-1), (a-3), (c), (f), (i), (k), 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 [to
prescribe the accelerated instruction the district shall provide to
the student before the student is administered the assessment
instrument the third time]. The accelerated learning [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 for the student to
achieve appropriate grade level performance; 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) The educational plan developed under Subsection
(f)(1) must be designed to enable the student to perform at the
appropriate grade level by the conclusion of the subsequent 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 [B], 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)
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 or retained
under this section].
(k) The commissioner shall adopt rules as necessary to
implement this section[, including rules concerning when school
districts shall administer assessment instruments required under
this section and which administration of the assessment instruments
will be used for purposes of Section 39.054].
(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 3. 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 4. Section 39.023(a), Education Code, as effective
September 1, 2017, is 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].
SECTION 5. 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 6. Section 39.023(c-3), Education Code, effective
September 1, 2017, is amended to read as follows:
(c-3) The commissioner, with input from school districts,
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 [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].
SECTION 7. Section 39.023(e), Education Code, as effective
September 1, 2017, is amended to read as follows:
(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 8. Section 39.02301, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (b), (h), and (j) and adding Subsection
(k) to read as follows:
(a) The [During the 2015-2016 school year, the] agency, in
coordination with the entity that has been contracted to develop or
implement assessment instruments under Section 39.023, shall
conduct a study to develop a writing assessment method as an
alternative to the writing assessment instruments required under
Sections 39.023(a) and (c). The writing assessment method must be
designed to assess:
(1) a student's mastery of the essential knowledge and
skills in writing through timed writing samples;
(2) improvement of a student's writing skills from the
beginning of the school year to the end of the school year;
(3) a student's ability to follow the writing process
from rough draft to final product; and
(4) a student's ability to produce more than one type
of writing style.
(b) The [During the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 school years,
the] agency shall establish a pilot program as provided by this
section to implement in designated school districts the writing
assessment method developed under Subsection (a).
(h) [Not later than September 1, 2016, the agency shall
prepare and deliver to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the
speaker of the house of representatives, and the presiding officer
of each legislative standing committee with primary jurisdiction
over primary and secondary education a report covering the study of
the development of the writing assessment method under Subsection
(a).] Not later than September 1 of each even-numbered year [in
2017 and 2018], the agency shall prepare and deliver to the
governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of
representatives, and the presiding officer of each legislative
standing committee with primary jurisdiction over primary and
secondary education a report that:
(1) evaluates the implementation and progress of the
pilot program under this section; and
(2) makes recommendations regarding the continuation
or expansion of the pilot program.
(j) Not later than September 1, 2021, the agency, with input
from school districts participating in the pilot program, shall
modify the method for assessing students in writing in grades four
and seven and in English I and English II secondary-level courses,
based on the writing assessment method developed under this
section.
(k) This section expires September 1, 2021 [2019].
SECTION 9. 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) 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 10. Section 39.025, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (c-1) and (f) and adding Subsection (f-1) to
read as follows:
(c-1) A school district may not administer a general subject
[an] assessment instrument required for graduation administered
under this section as this section existed before September 1, 2007
[1999]. A school district may administer to a student who failed to
perform satisfactorily on an assessment instrument described by
this subsection 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 required for graduation administered under
this section as this section existed before September 1, 1999.] 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.
(f) The commissioner shall by rule adopt a transition plan
to implement the amendments made by Chapter 1312 (S.B. No. 1031),
Acts of the 80th Legislature, Regular Session, 2007, replacing
general subject assessment instruments administered at the high
school level with end-of-course assessment instruments. The rules
must provide for the end-of-course assessment instruments adopted
under Section 39.023(c) to be administered beginning with students
enrolled in [entering] the ninth grade for the first time during the
2011-2012 school year. During the period under which the
transition to end-of-course assessment instruments is made:
(1) for students entering a grade above the ninth
grade during the 2011-2012 school year, the commissioner shall
retain, administer, and use for purposes of accreditation and other
campus and district accountability measures under this chapter the
assessment instruments required by Section 39.023(a) or (c), as
that section existed before amendment by Chapter 1312 (S.B.
No. 1031), Acts of the 80th Legislature, Regular Session, 2007; and
(2) a student subject to Subdivision (1) may not
receive a high school diploma unless the student has performed
satisfactorily, as determined by the commissioner under Subsection
(f-1), on the SAT, the ACT, or the Texas Success Initiative (TSI)
diagnostic assessment [each required assessment instrument
administered under Section 39.023(c) as that section existed before
amendment by Chapter 1312 (S.B. No. 1031), Acts of the 80th
Legislature, Regular Session, 2007].
(f-1) The commissioner shall determine the level of
performance considered to be satisfactory on the SAT, the ACT, and
the Texas Success Initiative (TSI) diagnostic assessment for a
student described by Subsection (f)(1) to qualify for a high school
diploma. In determining satisfactory performance, the
commissioner shall ensure that the level of performance determined
under this subsection as satisfactory is equivalent to the level of
performance required under Subsection (a) for satisfactory
performance on an end-of-course assessment instrument.
Notwithstanding Subsection (f), the commissioner is not required to
retain, administer, or use assessment instruments described by
Subsection (f)(1) after September 1, 2017.
SECTION 11. 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 12. 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, articulated
postsecondary degree programs described by Section 61.852, 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 13. Section 51.3062(q-1), Education Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(q-1) 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. 515, Acts of the 85th Legislature,
Regular Session, 2017, is exempt from the requirements of this
section 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 14. The following provisions of the Education Code
are repealed:
(1) Section 7.102(c)(5);
(2) Sections 28.0211(a-2), (b), (d), (e), (m), and
(m-1); and
(3) Section 39.0238.
SECTION 15. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of
this section, this Act applies beginning with the 2017-2018 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
2018-2019 school year.
SECTION 16. 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.