By: West S.B. No. 681
(In the Senate - Filed February 20, 2013; February 25, 2013,
read first time and referred to Committee on Education;
May 2, 2013, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 0; May 2, 2013,
sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 681 By: West
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a pilot program for a three-year high school diploma
plan and cost-neutral expansion of full-day prekindergarten
programs.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 28, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 28.0255 to read as follows:
Sec. 28.0255. PILOT PROGRAM: THREE-YEAR HIGH SCHOOL
DIPLOMA PLAN. (a) In this section, "certificate program," "public
junior college," "public state college," and "public technical
institute" have the meanings assigned by Section 61.003.
(b) This section applies only to a school district:
(1) with an enrollment of more than 150,000 students
that is located primarily in a county that:
(A) has a population of 2.2 million or more; and
(B) is adjacent to a county with a population of
more than 600,000; or
(2) located in a county that borders the United
Mexican States and the Gulf of Mexico.
(c) A school district to which this section applies may
develop and implement a pilot program for students who wish to
obtain a high school diploma after completion of three years of
secondary school attendance as an alternative to the traditional
four-year period of attendance. The program must:
(1) be designed to serve the educational needs of
students who do not anticipate immediate enrollment in a four-year
college or university after graduation from high school; and
(2) include partnerships between the school district
and public junior colleges, public technical institutes, public
state colleges, and any other public postsecondary institutions in
this state offering academic or technical education or vocational
training under a certificate program or an associate degree program
to facilitate the prompt enrollment of students in those
institutions after high school graduation under the program.
(d) Participation by a student in the program must be
voluntary, with approval of the student's parent. A student who
agrees to participate in the program may, on request, discontinue
participation and resume taking courses under a high school program
based on a traditional four-year period of attendance.
(e) Notwithstanding Section 28.025, the school district
shall specify the curriculum requirements for receiving a high
school diploma under the program. The curriculum requirements must
ensure that a student who graduates under the program possesses
sufficient knowledge and skills in English language arts and
mathematics to be capable of performing successfully in public
junior college-level courses.
(f) The school district shall submit the proposed
curriculum requirements to the State Board of Education for comment
and the commissioner for approval. The district may not implement
the program before obtaining the commissioner's approval of the
proposed curriculum requirements.
(g) A student is entitled to a high school diploma if the
student:
(1) successfully complies with the curriculum
requirements specified under Subsection (e); and
(2) performs satisfactorily, as determined by the
commissioner under Subsection (h), on end-of-course assessment
instruments listed under Section 39.023(c) for courses in which the
student was enrolled.
(h) For purposes of Subsection (g)(2), the commissioner
shall determine the level of satisfactory performance on applicable
end-of-course assessment instruments administered to a student.
(i) The school district shall report the academic
achievement record of students who have completed the program on a
transcript that clearly identifies the program and distinguishes
the program from the other high school programs based on a
traditional four-year period of attendance.
(j) A student who has received a diploma under the program
is exempt from the compulsory school attendance requirements under
Section 25.085.
(k) To the extent this section conflicts with any other
provision of this code or rule adopted under this code, this section
prevails.
(l) This section expires September 1, 2023.
SECTION 2. Subchapter E, Chapter 42, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 42.2526 to read as follows:
Sec. 42.2526. ADJUSTMENT FOR DISTRICT OPERATING PILOT
PROGRAM. (a) This section applies only to a school district
operating a pilot program authorized by Section 28.0255.
(b) Beginning with the first school year that follows the
first school year in which students receive high school diplomas
under the pilot program authorized by Section 28.0255 and
continuing for every subsequent school year that the district
operates the pilot program, the commissioner shall provide funding
for the district's prekindergarten program under Section 29.153 on
a full-day basis for a number of prekindergarten students equal to
twice the number of students who received a high school diploma
under the pilot program authorized by Section 28.0255 during the
preceding school year.
(c) This section expires September 1, 2023.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
* * * * *