By: Taylor of Galveston, Schwertner S.B. No. 1288
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the United States history end-of-course assessment
instrument for public high school students.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 39.023(c), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(c) The agency shall also adopt end-of-course assessment
instruments for secondary-level courses in Algebra I, biology,
English I, English II, and United States history. The Algebra I
end-of-course assessment instrument must be administered with the
aid of technology. The English I and English II end-of-course
assessment instruments must each assess essential knowledge and
skills in both reading and writing in the same assessment
instrument and must provide a single score. A school district shall
comply with State Board of Education rules regarding administration
of the assessment instruments listed in this subsection. If a
student is in a special education program under Subchapter A,
Chapter 29, the student's admission, review, and dismissal
committee shall determine whether any allowable modification is
necessary in administering to the student an assessment instrument
required under this subsection. The State Board of Education shall
administer the assessment instruments. The State Board of Education
shall adopt a schedule for the administration of end-of-course
assessment instruments that complies with the requirements of
Subsection (c-3).
SECTION 2. Section 39, Education Code is amended by adding
Sec. 39.02302 to read as follows:
Section 39.02302 U.S. History Assessment (a) Beginning
with students entering the 9th grade in the 2018-2019 school year,
each student shall be required to take the civics test administered
by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services as part
of the naturalization process under the federal Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. Section 1101 et seq.). The test shall be
administered in accordance with rules adopted by a district board
of trustees, the commissioner, and as follows:
(1) On a computer in a multiple choice format, and
(2) In the presence of a teacher, aide, proctor, or
campus testing coordinator, and
(3) At any time during the school year when the
instructor or counselor determines the student to be ready.
(b) A student who has entered the 9th grade prior to the
2018-2019 may elect to take the test in accordance with this section
in lieu of the test required in Section 39.023(c).
(c) As a condition of graduation, a student must answer at
least 70% of the questions correctly.
(d) If a student is in a special education program under
Subchapter A, Chapter 29, the student's admission, review, and
dismissal committee shall determine whether any allowable
modification is necessary in administering this assessment
instrument to appropriately measure a student's achievement on this
test.
(e) An individual graduation committee may waive the
requirement in this section for a student in a special education
program under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, for whom this assessment
instrument, even with allowable accommodations, would not provide
an appropriate measure of student achievement, as determined by the
student's admission, review, and dismissal committee.
(f) The commissioner shall adopt rules requiring a school
district to provide a student in the foundation high school program
under Section 28.025 with the opportunity to be administered the
test in this section. A rule may not:
(1) Restrict the grade level at which a student may
take this test; or
(2) Limit the number of attempts a student may take to
perform satisfactorily on the test.
(g) A school district shall annually certify to the
commissioner the results of each student who takes this assessment.
SECTION 3. This Act applies beginning with students who
enter the ninth grade during the 2018-2019 school year.
SECTION 4. 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, 2017.