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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.