Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1776 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1		85R14327 KJE-F
2		-	By: Ashby, Huberty H.B. No. 1776
3		-	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1776:
4		-	By: Huberty C.S.H.B. No. 1776
	2	+	By: Ashby, Huberty, Price, H.B. No. 1776
	3	+	Anderson of Dallas, Kacal, et al.
5	4
6	5
7	6		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	7		AN ACT
9	8		relating to including a civics test in the graduation requirements
10	9		for public high school students and to eliminating the United
11	10		States history end-of-course assessment instrument.
12	11		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	12		SECTION 1. Section 28.025(c), Education Code, is amended to
14	13		read as follows:
15	14		(c) A person may receive a diploma if the person is eligible
16	15		for a diploma under Section 28.0251. In other cases, a student may
17	16		graduate and receive a diploma only if:
18	17		(1) the student successfully completes the curriculum
19	18		requirements identified by the State Board of Education under
20	19		Subsection (a) and complies with Sections 39.02304 and [Section]
21	20		39.025; or
22	21		(2) the student successfully completes an
23	22		individualized education program developed under Section 29.005.
24	23		SECTION 2. Section 39.023(c), Education Code, is amended to
25	24		read as follows:
26	25		(c) The agency shall also adopt end-of-course assessment
27	26		instruments for secondary-level courses in Algebra I, biology,
28	27		English I, and English II [, and United States history]. The
29	28		Algebra I end-of-course assessment instrument must be administered
30	29		with the aid of technology. The English I and English II
31	30		end-of-course assessment instruments must each assess essential
32	31		knowledge and skills in both reading and writing in the same
33	32		assessment instrument and must provide a single score. A school
34	33		district shall comply with State Board of Education rules regarding
35	34		administration of the assessment instruments listed in this
36	35		subsection. If a student is in a special education program under
37	36		Subchapter A, Chapter 29, the student's admission, review, and
38	37		dismissal committee shall determine whether any allowable
39	38		modification is necessary in administering to the student an
40	39		assessment instrument required under this subsection. The State
41	40		Board of Education shall administer the assessment instruments.
42	41		The State Board of Education shall adopt a schedule for the
43	42		administration of end-of-course assessment instruments that
44	43		complies with the requirements of Subsection (c-3).
45	44		SECTION 3. Subchapter B, Chapter 39, Education Code, is
46	45		amended by adding Section 39.02304 to read as follows:
47	46		Sec. 39.02304. CIVICS TEST. (a) The commissioner shall
48	47		adopt rules requiring a school district to administer a civics test
49	48		to a student in the foundation high school program under Section
50	49		28.025. A student may not receive a high school diploma until the
51	50		student has performed satisfactorily on the civics test.
52	51		(b) The civics test must consist of all of the questions on
53	52		the civics test administered by the United States Citizenship and
54	53		Immigration Services as part of the naturalization process under
55	54		the federal Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. Section 1101
56	55		et seq.). The questions must be presented in a multiple-choice
57	56		format.
58	57		(c) To perform satisfactorily on the civics test, a student
59	58		must answer at least 70 percent of the questions correctly.
60	59		(d) A school district shall administer the civics test to a
61	60		student when the school counselor or the teacher of the United
62	61		States history course in which the student is enrolled, if
63	62		applicable, determines that the student is prepared for the test.
64	63		(e) The admission, review, and dismissal committee of a
65	64		student in a special education program under Subchapter A, Chapter
66	65		29, shall determine:
67	66		(1) whether any allowable modification is necessary in
68	67		administering the civics test to the student to appropriately
69	68		measure the student's achievement; and
70	69		(2) if the committee determines that the civics test,
71	70		even with allowable modifications, would not provide an appropriate
72	71		measure of the student's achievement, whether the student is
73	72		required to achieve satisfactory performance on the civics test to
74	73		receive a high school diploma.
75	74		(f) The commissioner shall adopt rules regarding the
76	75		administration of the civics test. The rules:
77	76		(1) must require:
78	77		(A) the test to be administered electronically in
79	78		the presence of a teacher, teacher's aide, proctor, or campus
80	79		testing coordinator and be scored by that person or by the school
81	80		district; and
82	81		(B) the results of the test to be submitted to the
83	82		agency not later than the last instructional day of the school year
84	83		in which the test is administered; and
85	84		(2) may not:
86	85		(A) restrict the high school grade level at which
87	86		a student may take the civics test; or
88	87		(B) limit the number of attempts a student may
89	88		make to perform satisfactorily on the test.
90	89		(g) A student who is required to perform satisfactorily on a
91	90		United States history end-of-course assessment instrument under
92	91		Section 39.025(a) based on the provisions of Section 39.023(c) in
93	92		effect on January 1, 2017, may elect to satisfy that requirement by
94	93		performing satisfactorily on the civics test. This subsection
95	94		expires September 1, 2025.
96	95		(h) For purposes of the public school accountability
97	96		system, a reference in this code to an assessment instrument under
98	97		Section 39.023(c) includes the civics test. Performance at the
99	98		level required under Subsection (c) of this section is considered
100	99		satisfactory performance for purposes of Section 39.0241(a), and
101	100		the commissioner shall determine the level of performance
102	101		considered to indicate college readiness for purposes of Section
103	102		39.0241(a-1). To the extent of a conflict between this section and
104	103		any other provision of law, this section controls.
105	104		SECTION 4. This Act applies beginning with students who
106	105		enter the ninth grade during the 2018-2019 school year.
107	106		SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
108	107		a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
109	108		provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
110	109		Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
111	110		Act takes effect September 1, 2017.