82R10371 EAH-D
By: West S.B. No. 1486
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to requirements regarding public school accountability.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 39, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter A to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 39.001. NOTICE AND REPORTS TO PARENTS PROVIDED
ELECTRONICALLY. (a) A school district or open-enrollment charter
school may provide any notice or report to a parent of a student
required under this chapter by e-mail if the parent provides an
e-mail address and requests information to be delivered
electronically.
(b) The district or charter school may provide a form to a
parent when the student is registered that allows the parent to
provide an e-mail address and signify that the parent chooses to
receive notices electronically.
SECTION 2. Section 39.023, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (c), and (c-3) and adding Subsections
(a-2), (c-7), and (c-8) 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 [All] students, other than [except] 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;
(4) social studies, in grade eight;
(5) science, in grades five and eight; and
(6) any other subject and grade required by federal
law.
(a-2) A student in grade eight who is enrolled in a
secondary-level course and administered the end-of-course
assessment instrument for that course as required by Subsection (c)
is not required to be assessed in the same content area as required
by Subsection (a). This subsection is subject to approval by the
secretary of the United States Department of Education for
compliance with the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act of
2001 (20 U.S.C. Section 6301 et seq.).
(c) The agency shall also adopt end-of-course assessment
instruments for secondary-level courses in Algebra I, Algebra II,
geometry, biology, chemistry, physics, English I, English II,
English III, world geography, world history, and United States
history. The Algebra I, Algebra II, and geometry end-of-course
assessment instruments must be administered with the aid of
technology. A school district shall comply with State Board of
Education rules regarding administration of the assessment
instruments listed in this subsection [and shall adopt a policy
that requires a student's performance on an end-of-course
assessment instrument for a course listed in this subsection in
which the student is enrolled to account for 15 percent of the
student's final grade for the course. If a student retakes an
end-of-course assessment instrument for a course listed in this
subsection, as provided by Section 39.025, a school district is not
required to use the student's performance on the subsequent
administration or administrations of the assessment instrument to
determine the student's final grade for the course]. 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).
(c-3) In adopting a schedule for the administration of
assessment instruments under this section, the State Board of
Education shall:
(1) require:
(A) [(1)] 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
(B) [(2)] the spring administration of
end-of-course assessment instruments under Subsection (c) to occur
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, English II, and English III
must be permitted to occur at an earlier date; and
(2) coordinate with the College Board to ensure that
end-of-course assessment instruments under Subsection (c) are not
administered on the same date as any advanced placement test
administered by the College Board.
(c-7) The agency shall conduct a study to evaluate the
methods of and determine the costs associated with administering
end-of-course assessment instruments to students who complete
courses on a schedule different from the regular school year,
including self-paced courses, courses for credit recovery, or
compressed virtual courses. The agency must include in the study an
evaluation of the administration of end-of-course assessment
instruments through the use of computer technology and an Internet
website. Not later than January 1, 2013, the agency 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 a written report that contains recommendations
on methods of administering end-of-course assessment instruments
to students who complete courses on a nontraditional schedule and
the costs associated with those methods. This subsection expires
September 1, 2013.
(c-8) The agency shall conduct a study to evaluate the
impact on student performance and determine the cost savings
associated with reducing the number of end-of-course assessment
instruments required for graduation to one in each of the four
content areas of English, mathematics, science, and social studies.
Not later than January 1, 2013, the agency 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 a written report that contains recommendations
on reducing the number of end-of-course assessment instruments
required for graduation and the impact on student performance and
the cost savings associated with the reduction. This subsection
expires September 1, 2013.
SECTION 3. Section 39.0234(a), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) The agency shall ensure that assessment instruments
required under Section 39.023 are capable of being administered by
computer. The commissioner may not require a school district or
open-enrollment charter school to administer an assessment
instrument, including an assessment instrument administered under
Section 39.023(l), by computer.
SECTION 4. Section 39.025, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-4) to read as
follows:
(a) The commissioner shall adopt rules requiring a student
participating in the recommended or advanced high school program to
be administered each end-of-course assessment instrument listed in
Section 39.023(c) and requiring a student participating in the
minimum high school program to be administered an end-of-course
assessment instrument listed in Section 39.023(c) [only] for each
[a] course as determined by commissioner rule [in which the student
is enrolled and for which an end-of-course assessment instrument is
administered]. A student is required to achieve, in each subject in
the foundation curriculum under Section 28.002(a)(1), a cumulative
score that is at least equal to the product of the number of
end-of-course assessment instruments administered to the student
in that subject and a scale score that indicates satisfactory
performance, as determined by the commissioner under Section
39.0241(a). A student must achieve a minimum score as determined by
the commissioner to be within a reasonable range of the scale score
under Section 39.0241(a) on an end-of-course assessment instrument
for the score to count towards the student's cumulative score. For
purposes of this subsection, a student's cumulative score is
determined using the student's highest score on each end-of-course
assessment instrument administered to the student. A student may
not receive a high school diploma until the student has performed
satisfactorily on the end-of-course assessment instruments in the
manner provided under this subsection. This subsection does not
require a student to demonstrate readiness to enroll in an
institution of higher education.
(a-4) The commissioner shall adopt rules to establish
uniform requirements for students participating in the minimum high
school program to be administered appropriate end-of-course
assessment instruments listed in Section 39.023(c). The rules must
provide for the uniform requirements for administration of
end-of-course assessment instruments adopted under this subsection
to apply to students participating in the minimum high school
program and entering the ninth grade beginning with the 2012-2013
school year.
SECTION 5. Subchapter C, Chapter 39, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 39.0541 to read as follows:
Sec. 39.0541. PRELIMINARY NOTICE OF PERFORMANCE RATING.
The commissioner shall adopt rules to provide for sending, as soon
as practicable, a preliminary notice to:
(1) each school district regarding the district's
accreditation status under Section 39.052 and performance rating
under Section 39.054; and
(2) each campus regarding the campus's performance
rating under Section 39.054.
SECTION 6. Section 39.109, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 39.109. ACQUISITION OF PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. (a) If
a district or campus is required under this chapter to acquire
professional services, including a monitor, conservator,
management team, campus intervention team, technical assistance
team, or other professional services described by Subsection (b),
the commissioner or the district, as appropriate, shall make a
reasonable effort to acquire those services from available,
qualified professionals employed by the district.
(b) In addition to other interventions and sanctions
authorized under this subchapter, the commissioner may order a
school district or campus to acquire professional services at the
expense of the district or campus to address the applicable
financial, assessment, data quality, program, performance, or
governance deficiency. The commissioner's order may require the
district or campus to:
(1) select or be assigned an external auditor, data
quality expert, professional authorized to monitor district
assessment instrument administration, or curriculum or program
expert; or
(2) provide for or participate in the appropriate
training of district staff or board of trustees members in the case
of a district, or campus staff, in the case of a campus.
SECTION 7. Not later than January 1, 2012, the commissioner
shall adopt rules to establish uniform requirements for students
participating in the minimum high school program to be administered
appropriate end-of-course assessment instruments as provided by
Section 39.025(a-4), as added by this Act.
SECTION 8. 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.