83R8444 CAS-D
By: Workman H.B. No. 2010
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a career path initiative for public school students
that includes career path guidance for students in certain grade
levels, additional high school graduation programs, and a
requirement for a minimum number of school counselors at certain
schools.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 28, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter B-1 to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER B-1. CAREER PATH INITIATIVE: CAREER PATH INFORMATION,
APTITUDE ASSESSMENT, AND ADDITIONAL HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION
PROGRAMS
Sec. 28.041. CAREER PATH INFORMATION FOR SIXTH, SEVENTH,
AND EIGHTH GRADE STUDENTS. Each school district and
open-enrollment charter school shall provide to each district or
charter school student during the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades
information concerning future career path opportunities. The
information may be included as part of the curriculum or provided
through video presentations or presentations by persons in various
professions or occupations.
Sec. 28.042. EIGHTH GRADE APTITUDE ASSESSMENT. (a) The
agency shall adopt or develop an assessment instrument:
(1) designed to measure student aptitude; and
(2) appropriate to be administered to students in the
eighth grade for purposes of Subdivision (1).
(b) Each school district and open-enrollment charter school
shall:
(1) administer the aptitude assessment instrument
adopted or developed under Subsection (a) to each district or
charter school student in eighth grade during the second half of the
school year; and
(2) provide to each student assessed and the parent of
or person standing in parental relation to the student the results
of the aptitude assessment instrument to use in planning a path to a
successful career for the student.
(c) A student or the parent of or person standing in
parental relation to the student may consult with a school
counselor for guidance concerning the results of the aptitude
assessment instrument.
(d) Not later than the end of the school year, each eighth
grade student shall select two or three areas of interest to learn
more about during the ninth grade.
Sec. 28.043. NINTH GRADE PRELIMINARY CAREER PLANNING. (a)
Each school district and open-enrollment charter school shall
provide to each district or charter school student during the ninth
grade information as necessary for the student to explore in
greater detail each area of interest selected by the student during
the eighth grade in accordance with Section 28.042(d). The
information may be included as part of the curriculum or provided
through video presentations, presentations by persons in various
professions or occupations, or student Internet or other research,
reading, or visiting of businesses relevant to a selected area of
interest.
(b) Not later than the end of the school year, each ninth
grade student shall select one area of interest the student plans to
learn more about during the 10th grade.
Sec. 28.044. 10TH GRADE SELECTION OF DIPLOMA PATH. (a)
Each 10th grade student shall further study the area of interest
selected under Section 28.043(b) by enrolling in one or more school
courses relevant to that area of interest and may further study that
area of interest:
(1) by observing a person in a career related to that
area of interest during working hours; or
(2) through methods described by Section 28.043(a).
(b) Not later than the end of the school year, each 10th
grade student shall select a career path high school program as
described by Section 28.046 or a general studies high school
program as described by Section 28.046(a).
Sec. 28.045. 11TH AND 12TH GRADE PURSUIT OF HIGH SCHOOL
GRADUATION PROGRAM. Each 11th and 12th grade student shall pursue a
career path high school program as described by Section 28.046.
Sec. 28.046. ADDITIONAL HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION PROGRAMS;
CAREER PATH PROGRAMS. (a) The State Board of Education shall
develop and adopt, in accordance with this section, career path
high school programs. The minimum, recommended, and advanced high
school programs under Section 28.025 are considered to be general
studies high school programs for purposes of this subchapter.
(b) The career path high school programs developed and
adopted under Subsection (a) must be the following:
(1) the liberal arts and fine arts career path high
school program;
(2) the mathematics and science career path high
school program;
(3) the applied science career path high school
program, which must:
(A) include career and technology education
courses; and
(B) provide certification based on successful
completion of curriculum requirements and of any additional
certification requirements; and
(4) the general studies high school programs.
(c) The State Board of Education by rule shall adopt
curriculum requirements for high school graduation under each
career path high school program under Subsection (b). The
curriculum requirements for career path high school programs under
Subsections (b)(1), (2), and (3) must provide for a student to
enroll in core courses and in multiple career path courses that
concentrate on a specific career or specific career field. The
board shall consult with representatives from professions and
occupations concerning appropriate courses and certifications.
(d) Notwithstanding any other law, a student who
successfully completes the curriculum requirements adopted under
Subsection (c) for any of the career path high school programs is
considered to have successfully completed the curriculum
requirements identified by the State Board of Education under
Section 28.025(a). The board shall ensure that the curriculum
requirements for the liberal arts and fine arts career path program
and the mathematics and science career path program are equal in
rigor to the curriculum requirements for the recommended high
school program. For purposes of Sections 51.3062(q-1) and
51.803(a)(2)(A)(i) and for eligibility for postsecondary financial
assistance under this code, the curriculum requirements for the
liberal arts and fine arts career path high school program and the
mathematics and science career path high school program are
considered equivalent to and may be substituted for curriculum
requirements for the recommended high school program.
(e) The commissioner shall adopt rules requiring a student
participating in a career path high school program under this
section to be administered an end-of-course assessment instrument
listed in Section 39.023(c) only for a course in which the student
is enrolled and for which an end-of-course assessment instrument is
administered. Notwithstanding Section 28.025(c) or 39.025(a), a
student may receive a high school diploma if the student:
(1) performs satisfactorily on the assessment
instruments described by this subsection in the manner provided
under Subsection 39.025(a); and
(2) satisfies Section 39.025(a-2), if the student
graduates under the liberal arts and fine arts career path high
school program or the mathematics and science career path high
school program.
(f) Each school district shall report the academic
achievement record of students who have completed a career path
high school program on transcript forms adopted by the State Board
of Education. The transcript forms adopted by the board must be
designed to clearly differentiate between each of the career path
high school programs and, as applicable, identify the type of
certification a student has received under the applied science
career path high school program.
(g) A student may change from any one high school program to
another one or more times. Regardless of whether a student changes
high school programs, a student must complete the curriculum
requirements for the high school program under which the student
graduates from high school.
(h) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, a
student shall be allowed to transfer to a school in the student's
school district or to a school in another district to the extent
necessary for the student to enroll in a career path high school
program with a concentration of career path courses not offered by
the student's school or by another school in the student's district,
as applicable. A student transferring under this subsection to
another district may not be charged tuition by that district.
Section 25.037 applies to a transfer under this subsection.
SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 33, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 33.001 to read as follows:
Sec. 33.001. MIDDLE SCHOOL, JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL, AND HIGH
SCHOOL COUNSELORS. (a) Each middle school, junior high school, and
high school shall employ at least one counselor certified under the
rules of the State Board for Educator Certification for every 250
students in the school.
(b) A middle school counselor may not be assigned
responsibility for scheduling aptitude assessment instruments
administered under Section 28.042.
SECTION 3. The State Board of Education and the
commissioner of education shall adopt rules as necessary to
implement Subchapter B-1, Chapter 28, Education Code, as added by
this Act, beginning with the 2014-2015 school year.
SECTION 4. Section 33.001, Education Code, as added by this
Act, applies beginning with the 2014-2015 school year.
SECTION 5. 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, 2013.