Texas 2013 - 83rd Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB681 Compare Versions

The same version is selected twice. Please select two different versions to compare.

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	By: West S.B. No. 681
2	2	(In the Senate - Filed February 20, 2013; February 25, 2013,
3	3	read first time and referred to Committee on Education;
4	4	May 2, 2013, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
5	5	Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 0; May 2, 2013,
6	6	sent to printer.)
7	7	COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 681 By: West
8	8
9	9
10	10	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
11	11	AN ACT
12	12	relating to a pilot program for a three-year high school diploma
13	13	plan and cost-neutral expansion of full-day prekindergarten
14	14	programs.
15	15	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
16	16	SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 28, Education Code, is
17	17	amended by adding Section 28.0255 to read as follows:
18	18	Sec. 28.0255. PILOT PROGRAM: THREE-YEAR HIGH SCHOOL
19	19	DIPLOMA PLAN. (a) In this section, "certificate program," "public
20	20	junior college," "public state college," and "public technical
21	21	institute" have the meanings assigned by Section 61.003.
22	22	(b) This section applies only to a school district:
23	23	(1) with an enrollment of more than 150,000 students
24	24	that is located primarily in a county that:
25	25	(A) has a population of 2.2 million or more; and
26	26	(B) is adjacent to a county with a population of
27	27	more than 600,000; or
28	28	(2) located in a county that borders the United
29	29	Mexican States and the Gulf of Mexico.
30	30	(c) A school district to which this section applies may
31	31	develop and implement a pilot program for students who wish to
32	32	obtain a high school diploma after completion of three years of
33	33	secondary school attendance as an alternative to the traditional
34	34	four-year period of attendance. The program must:
35	35	(1) be designed to serve the educational needs of
36	36	students who do not anticipate immediate enrollment in a four-year
37	37	college or university after graduation from high school; and
38	38	(2) include partnerships between the school district
39	39	and public junior colleges, public technical institutes, public
40	40	state colleges, and any other public postsecondary institutions in
41	41	this state offering academic or technical education or vocational
42	42	training under a certificate program or an associate degree program
43	43	to facilitate the prompt enrollment of students in those
44	44	institutions after high school graduation under the program.
45	45	(d) Participation by a student in the program must be
46	46	voluntary, with approval of the student's parent. A student who
47	47	agrees to participate in the program may, on request, discontinue
48	48	participation and resume taking courses under a high school program
49	49	based on a traditional four-year period of attendance.
50	50	(e) Notwithstanding Section 28.025, the school district
51	51	shall specify the curriculum requirements for receiving a high
52	52	school diploma under the program. The curriculum requirements must
53	53	ensure that a student who graduates under the program possesses
54	54	sufficient knowledge and skills in English language arts and
55	55	mathematics to be capable of performing successfully in public
56	56	junior college-level courses.
57	57	(f) The school district shall submit the proposed
58	58	curriculum requirements to the State Board of Education for comment
59	59	and the commissioner for approval. The district may not implement
60	60	the program before obtaining the commissioner's approval of the
61	61	proposed curriculum requirements.
62	62	(g) A student is entitled to a high school diploma if the
63	63	student:
64	64	(1) successfully complies with the curriculum
65	65	requirements specified under Subsection (e); and
66	66	(2) performs satisfactorily, as determined by the
67	67	commissioner under Subsection (h), on end-of-course assessment
68	68	instruments listed under Section 39.023(c) for courses in which the
69	69	student was enrolled.
70	70	(h) For purposes of Subsection (g)(2), the commissioner
71	71	shall determine the level of satisfactory performance on applicable
72	72	end-of-course assessment instruments administered to a student.
73	73	(i) The school district shall report the academic
74	74	achievement record of students who have completed the program on a
75	75	transcript that clearly identifies the program and distinguishes
76	76	the program from the other high school programs based on a
77	77	traditional four-year period of attendance.
78	78	(j) A student who has received a diploma under the program
79	79	is exempt from the compulsory school attendance requirements under
80	80	Section 25.085.
81	81	(k) To the extent this section conflicts with any other
82	82	provision of this code or rule adopted under this code, this section
83	83	prevails.
84	84	(l) This section expires September 1, 2023.
85	85	SECTION 2. Subchapter E, Chapter 42, Education Code, is
86	86	amended by adding Section 42.2526 to read as follows:
87	87	Sec. 42.2526. ADJUSTMENT FOR DISTRICT OPERATING PILOT
88	88	PROGRAM. (a) This section applies only to a school district
89	89	operating a pilot program authorized by Section 28.0255.
90	90	(b) Beginning with the first school year that follows the
91	91	first school year in which students receive high school diplomas
92	92	under the pilot program authorized by Section 28.0255 and
93	93	continuing for every subsequent school year that the district
94	94	operates the pilot program, the commissioner shall provide funding
95	95	for the district's prekindergarten program under Section 29.153 on
96	96	a full-day basis for a number of prekindergarten students equal to
97	97	twice the number of students who received a high school diploma
98	98	under the pilot program authorized by Section 28.0255 during the
99	99	preceding school year.
100	100	(c) This section expires September 1, 2023.
101	101	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
102	102	* * * * *