By: Patrick, Branch (Senate Sponsor - Shapiro) H.B. No. 3468
(In the Senate - Received from the House March 5, 2011;
May 9, 2011, read first time and referred to Committee on
Education; May 20, 2011, reported adversely, with favorable
Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 7, Nays 0;
May 20, 2011, sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 3468 By: Shapiro
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to high school readiness, to the assessment of public
school students for college readiness and developmental education
courses to prepare students for college-level coursework, and to
teacher certification to teach at certain grade levels in public
school.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 21.041, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (e), (f), (f-1), and (f-2) to read as follows:
(e) In proposing rules under Subsection (b)(2), the board
shall ensure that a person seeking to teach a subject in the
foundation curriculum under Section 28.002(a)(1) at the seventh
grade level or above is required to hold a certificate that
indicates the person's mastery of the specific subject taught. To
achieve this result, the board shall not issue a generalist
certificate that authorizes a person to teach a subject in the
foundation curriculum under Section 28.002(a)(1) at the seventh
grade level or above.
(f) Subsection (e) applies to initial certificates issued
on or after September 1, 2013. Subsection (e) does not affect the
validity of a certificate issued before that date or the
eligibility of a person holding such a certificate for subsequent
renewals of the certificate in accordance with board rules.
(f-1) In implementing Subsection (e), the board shall
ensure that the subject area examinations administered to persons
seeking certificates at the seventh grade level and above in
English language arts, mathematics, science, or social studies are
at least as rigorous as the examinations administered before
September 1, 2013, to persons seeking grades 8-12 certificates to
teach in those subject areas.
(f-2) Subsection (f-1) and this subsection expire September
1, 2013.
SECTION 2. Section 21.4551, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
(b-1) In addition to the components described by Subsection
(b), the commissioner shall ensure that each academy developed and
made available under this section includes a component on providing
students with writing instruction.
SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 28, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 28.0141 to read as follows:
Sec. 28.0141. STUDY AND REPORT ON EARLY COLLEGE READINESS
ASSESSMENTS. (a) The agency, in consultation with the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board, shall conduct a study of best
practices for and existing programs offering early assessments of
high school students in order to determine college readiness,
identify any deficiencies in college readiness, and provide
intervention to address any deficiencies before high school
graduation. In conducting the study, the agency, in consultation
with the coordinating board, shall review:
(1) various assessments, including end-of-course
assessment instruments under Section 39.023(c), each assessment
currently used under Section 51.3062, and any assessment being
proposed as a statewide model by the coordinating board under
Section 51.3062(v), for identifying students who need additional
assistance in preparing for college;
(2) various early intervention models, including:
(A) summer bridge programs;
(B) college preparatory courses for credit
toward high school graduation;
(C) developmental education programs, including
college readiness programs under Section 39.234, and college study
skills courses; and
(D) dual credit courses;
(3) the costs associated with different assessments
and early intervention models; and
(4) the effectiveness of different assessments and
early intervention models in preparing students for college
coursework for which course credit may be earned.
(b) Not later than December 1, 2012, the agency, in
consultation with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board,
public institutions of higher education, and school districts,
shall submit 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, higher education, or state
appropriations a written report that contains recommendations for
promoting and implementing early assessments of college readiness
that are of a diagnostic nature and early intervention models for
preparing high school students for college coursework for which
course credit may be earned.
(c) This section expires January 1, 2013.
SECTION 4. Subchapter A, Chapter 28, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 28.015 to read as follows:
Sec. 28.015. HIGH SCHOOL READINESS PILOT PROGRAM. (a) The
agency shall develop and implement a high school readiness pilot
program under which:
(1) a participating school with students enrolled at
the sixth, seventh, and eighth grade levels shall enroll all
students at those levels in a student advisory class; and
(2) a participating high school shall provide annual
high school orientation sessions for parents of students who are
enrolled at the sixth, seventh, and eighth grade levels in the high
school's attendance zone.
(b) An application to participate in the program may be
submitted by an individual school or by a school district on behalf
of multiple schools located in the district. To be eligible to
participate in the component of the program described by Subsection
(a)(1), a school must:
(1) be a school for which the district in which the
school is located receives funding under Title I of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. Section 6301 et seq.)
or be a school that, as determined by the commissioner, is a
low-performing school under Chapter 39 or has a high percentage of
students who are at risk of dropping out of school, as defined by
Section 29.081(d); and
(2) have students enrolled at the seventh and eighth
grade levels.
(c) The agency shall develop standards and guidelines for
the student advisory class. The standards and guidelines must:
(1) at a minimum, require that the class provide
instruction about:
(A) school culture;
(B) school procedures;
(C) test-taking skills;
(D) study skills;
(E) positive academic behaviors;
(F) civic and community responsibility; and
(G) high school and college readiness;
(2) permit the class to be offered as an electronic
course through the state virtual school network under Chapter 30A;
and
(3) provide that the class be taught, if practicable,
by an educator who does not instruct the enrolled students in other
coursework.
(d) The agency shall develop standards and guidelines for
the high school orientation session. An orientation session must:
(1) prepare a parent for the transition to high school
of the parent's child;
(2) allow a parent to meet and interact with high
school teachers and administrators;
(3) provide a parent with information regarding:
(A) high school curriculum, including the
curriculum requirements for the minimum, recommended, and advanced
high school programs under Section 28.025; and
(B) high school options available to the parent's
child, including any high school magnet programs, academies, or
similar special programs available in the district;
(4) address the role of the parent in assisting the
parent's child in performing successfully in high school; and
(5) provide a parent with a written document that
addresses frequently asked questions from parents regarding the
transition to high school.
SECTION 5. Subsection (d), Section 29.081, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(d) For purposes of this section, "student at risk of
dropping out of school" includes each student who is under 21 years
of age and who:
(1) was not advanced from one grade level to the next
for one or more school years;
(2) if the student is in grade 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, or
12, did not maintain an average equivalent to 70 on a scale of 100 in
two or more subjects in the foundation curriculum during a semester
in the preceding or current school year or is not maintaining such
an average in two or more subjects in the foundation curriculum in
the current semester;
(3) did not perform satisfactorily on an assessment
instrument administered to the student under Subchapter B, Chapter
39, and who has not in the previous or current school year
subsequently performed on that instrument or another appropriate
instrument at a level equal to at least 110 percent of the level of
satisfactory performance on that instrument;
(4) if the student is in prekindergarten,
kindergarten, or grade 1, 2, or 3, did not perform satisfactorily on
a readiness test or assessment instrument administered during the
current school year;
(5) is pregnant or is a parent;
(6) has been placed in an alternative education
program in accordance with Section 37.006 during the preceding or
current school year;
(7) has been expelled in accordance with Section
37.007 during the preceding or current school year;
(8) is currently on parole, probation, deferred
prosecution, or other conditional release;
(9) was previously reported through the Public
Education Information Management System (PEIMS) to have dropped out
of school;
(10) is a student of limited English proficiency, as
defined by Section 29.052;
(11) is in the custody or care of the Department of
Protective and Regulatory Services or has, during the current
school year, been referred to the department by a school official,
officer of the juvenile court, or law enforcement official;
(12) is homeless, as defined by 42 U.S.C. Section
11302, and its subsequent amendments; or
(13) resided in the preceding school year or resides
in the current school year in a residential placement facility in
the district, including a detention facility, substance abuse
treatment facility, emergency shelter, psychiatric hospital,
halfway house, or foster group home.
SECTION 6. Subchapter C, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 29.100 to read as follows:
Sec. 29.100. EARLY IDENTIFICATION AND INTERVENTION. (a)
Each year a school with students enrolled at the sixth, seventh, or
eighth grade level shall:
(1) identify the students at each of those grade
levels who are at risk of dropping out of school, as defined by
Section 29.081(d), or who are likely to become at risk of dropping
out of school, as determined in accordance with rules adopted by the
commissioner; and
(2) determine the specific interventions that the
school will use to address the needs of students at each of those
grade levels who are at risk of dropping out of school, as defined
by Section 29.081(d).
(b) Not later than July 1 of each year, a school with
students enrolled at a grade level from which students are promoted
to high school must provide each high school to which students at
the school are promoted with:
(1) the names of students entering the high school at
the beginning of the next school year that have been identified
under Subsection (a)(1); and
(2) if applicable, the specific interventions used
with each student named under Subdivision (1).
(c) The commissioner shall adopt rules necessary to
implement this section.
SECTION 7. Subchapter H, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 29.2531 to read as follows:
Sec. 29.2531. ADULT EDUCATION ASSESSMENT. The Texas
Education Agency shall, in consultation with the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board, review the standardized assessment
mechanism required under Section 29.252(a)(8) and recommend any
changes necessary to align the assessment with the assessments
designated under Section 51.3062 to allow for the proper placement
of a student in an adult basic education course or to provide the
student with the proper developmental or English as a second
language coursework, as appropriate.
SECTION 8. Subsection (c-1), Section 42.152, Education
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(c-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (c), funds allocated under
this section may be used to fund in proportion to the percentage of
students served by the program that meet the criteria in Section
29.081(d) or (g):
(1) an accelerated reading instruction program under
Section 28.006(g); [or]
(2) a program for treatment of students who have
dyslexia or a related disorder as required by Section 38.003; or
(3) an extended learning time program grounded in
practices that are proven effective in improving student retention
and performance and in preparing students for future college and
career readiness.
SECTION 9. Section 51.3062, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (t), (t-1), (u), (v), and (w) to read as follows:
(t) To allow a student to complete any necessary
developmental coursework in the most efficient and cost-effective
manner, the board shall encourage institutions of higher education
to offer various types of developmental coursework that address
various levels of deficiency in readiness to perform college
coursework for which course credit may be earned, as determined on
the basis of assessments as described by Subsection (f). The types
of developmental coursework may include:
(1) course-based programs;
(2) non-course-based programs, such as advising
programs;
(3) module format programs;
(4) competency-based education programs; and
(5) programs under which the student is pairing or
taking concurrently a developmental education course and another
course in the same subject area for which course credit may be
earned.
(t-1) The board may adopt rules as necessary to implement
Subsection (t).
(u) The board, in consultation with institutions of higher
education, shall use evidence-based studies and existing data to
study and analyze:
(1) assessment instruments that are currently used or
could be used by institutions to comply with this section,
including the diagnostic reliability and cost-effectiveness of
those assessment instruments;
(2) differentiated placements for developmental
coursework based on a student's demonstrated proficiencies or
deficiencies in readiness to perform college coursework for which
course credit may be earned, as determined on the basis of
assessments as described by Subsection (f), including the extent to
which various types of placements result in or serve efficient,
cost-effective, and successful developmental education;
(3) whether the funding formulas under Subsection (m)
and under Section 61.059, as applied to developmental coursework,
result in or serve efficient and cost-effective implementation of
successful developmental education; and
(4) whether any of the nonapplicability categories
under Subsection (r) should be retained.
(v) Not later than December 1, 2012, the board shall submit
a written report based on the study under Subsection (u) to the
governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the house of
representatives, and presiding officer of each legislative
standing committee with primary jurisdiction over higher education
or state appropriations recommending, to the extent practicable, a
statewide diagnostic standard assessment instrument for purposes
of this section that allows for:
(1) accurate diagnosis and targeted intervention for
students who are identified as requiring developmental coursework;
(2) appropriate placement to provide the type and
level of developmental coursework that allow a student to receive
developmental education in the most efficient, cost-effective, and
successful manner; and
(3) the most effective use of formula funding with
regard to developmental coursework targeted to students' needs.
(w) Subsections (u) and (v) and this subsection expire
January 1, 2013.
SECTION 10. Section 61.059, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
(b-1) The board shall include in its periodic review of
formulas under Subsection (b) recommendations for changes in
funding formulas for developmental education programs based on the
results of the study conducted under Section 51.3062(u) and the
report submitted under Section 51.3062(v). This subsection expires
January 1, 2015.
SECTION 11. The commissioner of education shall implement
Subsection (b-1), Section 21.4551, Education Code, as added by this
Act, beginning with reading academies offered on or after January
1, 2012.
SECTION 12. The Texas Education Agency shall develop
standards and guidelines for the student advisory class and high
school orientation session in compliance with Section 28.015,
Education Code, as added by this Act, as soon as possible after the
effective date of this Act. The agency shall fully implement the
pilot program required by Section 28.015, Education Code, as added
by this Act, not later than the 2012-2013 school year.
SECTION 13. Section 29.100, Education Code, as added by
this Act, applies beginning with the 2012-2013 school year.
SECTION 14. The changes in law made by this Act to Sections
21.041, 29.081, and 42.152, Education Code, apply beginning with
the 2011-2012 school year.
SECTION 15. The change in law made by this Act to Section
61.059, Education Code, applies beginning with periodic reviews
submitted on or after December 1, 2012.
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, 2011.
* * * * *