By: Duncan, Van de Putte S.B. No. 1620
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to substitution of certain career and technology courses
for certain mathematics and science courses otherwise required
under the recommended high school program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 21.044, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 21.044. EDUCATOR PREPARATION. (a) The board shall
propose rules establishing the training requirements a person must
accomplish to obtain a certificate, enter an internship, or enter
an induction-year program. The board shall specify the minimum
academic qualifications required for a certificate.
(b) In proposing rules under this section, the board shall
specify that to obtain a certificate to teach an "applied STEM
course," as that term is defined by Section 28.027, at a secondary
school, a person must:
(1) pass the certification test administered by the
recognized national or international business and industry group
that created the curriculum the applied STEM course is based on; and
(2) have at a minimum:
(A) an associate degree from an accredited
institution of higher education; and
(B) three years of work experience in an
occupation for which the applied STEM course is intended to prepare
the student.
SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 28, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 28.027 to read as follows:
Sec. 28.027. APPLIED SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND
MATHEMATICS COURSES. (a) In this section, "applied STEM course"
means an applied science, technology, engineering, or mathematics
course offered as part of a school district's career and technology
education curriculum.
(b) The State Board of Education shall establish a process
under which an applied STEM course may be reviewed and approved for
purposes of satisfying the mathematics and science curriculum
requirements for the recommended high school program imposed under
Section 28.025(b-1)(1)(A) through substitution of the applied STEM
course for a specific mathematics or science course otherwise
required under the recommended high school program and completed
during the student's fourth year of mathematics or science course
work.
(c) The process must provide that an applied STEM course is
entitled to be approved for the purpose described by Subsection (b)
if the course meets the following requirements:
(1) the applied STEM course is part of a curriculum
created by a recognized national or international business and
industry group to prepare a student for a national or international
business and industry certification or license;
(2) the applied STEM course qualifies as:
(A) a dual credit course; or
(B) an articulated postsecondary course provided
for local credit or articulated postsecondary advanced technical
credit course provided for state credit;
(3) the essential knowledge and skills covered in the
applied STEM course are equivalent to the essential knowledge and
skills covered in the mathematics or science course for which the
applied STEM course is proposed to be approved for substitution;
and
(4) the applied STEM course:
(A) provides substantial mathematics content or
science content, as applicable, taught in an applied or symbolic
format, that enables a student to develop relevant critical
thinking skills necessary for preparation for employment or
additional training in a career identified by the Texas Workforce
Commission as a high-demand or emerging occupation; and
(B) incorporates college and career readiness
skills.
(d) If an applied STEM course approved under this section is
part of a coherent sequence of career and technology courses, a
student is eligible to enroll in the applied STEM course for the
purpose described in Subsection (b) only if the student has
completed the prerequisite course work, if any, for the applied
STEM course.
(e) Notwithstanding Section 39.023(c) or 39.025, a student
who enrolls in an applied STEM course approved under this section as
a substitute for a course for which an end-of-course assessment
instrument is adopted under Section 39.023(c) shall be assessed
using the assessment instrument developed for the applied STEM
course by the recognized national or international business and
industry group that created the applied STEM course curriculum.
The calculation of the student's performance on the assessment
instrument must comply with all applicable rules.
SECTION 3. Subsection (b-2), Section 28.025, Education
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(b-2) In adopting rules under Subsection (b-1), the State
Board of Education shall allow a student to comply with the
curriculum requirements for a mathematics [course under Subsection
(b-1)(1) taken after the successful completion of an Algebra II
course] or science course under Subsection (b-1)(1) [taken after
the successful completion of a physics course] by successfully
completing an advanced career and technical course designated by
the State Board of Education as containing substantively similar
and rigorous academic content. The rules may not require Algebra II
as a prerequisite for an applied STEM course that is permitted to be
substituted for a mathematics course under Section 28.027 or a
physics course as a prerequisite for an applied STEM course that is
permitted to be substituted for a science course under Section
28.027 [A student may use the option provided by this subsection for
not more than two courses].
SECTION 4. Subchapter C, Chapter 61, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 61.0517 to read as follows:
Sec. 61.0517. APPLIED STEM COURSES. (a) In this section,
"applied STEM course" means an applied science, technology,
engineering, or mathematics course offered as part of a school
district's career and technology education curriculum and
approved, as provided by Section 28.027, by the State Board of
Education for purposes of satisfying the mathematics and science
curriculum requirements for the recommended high school program
imposed under Section 28.025(b-1)(1)(A).
(b) The board shall ensure that academic credit for an
applied STEM course is freely transferable among all institutions
of higher education in this state.
(c) The board shall include applied STEM courses in the
board's listing of courses approved for offer by a public junior
college or public technical institute.
SECTION 5. Not later than September 1, 2012, the
commissioner of education shall establish and implement the process
required by Section 28.027, Education Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 6. 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.