| 1 | 1 | | By: Taylor of Galveston, Schwertner S.B. No. 1288 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 5 | 5 | | AN ACT |
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| 6 | 6 | | relating to the United States history end-of-course assessment |
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| 7 | 7 | | instrument for public high school students. |
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| 8 | 8 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 9 | 9 | | SECTION 1. Section 39.023(c), Education Code, is amended to |
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| 10 | 10 | | read as follows: |
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| 11 | 11 | | (c) The agency shall also adopt end-of-course assessment |
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| 12 | 12 | | instruments for secondary-level courses in Algebra I, biology, |
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| 13 | 13 | | English I, English II, and United States history. The Algebra I |
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| 14 | 14 | | end-of-course assessment instrument must be administered with the |
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| 15 | 15 | | aid of technology. The English I and English II end-of-course |
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| 16 | 16 | | assessment instruments must each assess essential knowledge and |
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| 17 | 17 | | skills in both reading and writing in the same assessment |
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| 18 | 18 | | instrument and must provide a single score. A school district shall |
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| 19 | 19 | | comply with State Board of Education rules regarding administration |
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| 20 | 20 | | of the assessment instruments listed in this subsection. If a |
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| 21 | 21 | | student is in a special education program under Subchapter A, |
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| 22 | 22 | | Chapter 29, the student's admission, review, and dismissal |
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| 23 | 23 | | committee shall determine whether any allowable modification is |
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| 24 | 24 | | necessary in administering to the student an assessment instrument |
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| 25 | 25 | | required under this subsection. The State Board of Education shall |
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| 26 | 26 | | administer the assessment instruments. The State Board of Education |
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| 27 | 27 | | shall adopt a schedule for the administration of end-of-course |
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| 28 | 28 | | assessment instruments that complies with the requirements of |
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| 29 | 29 | | Subsection (c-3). |
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| 30 | 30 | | SECTION 2. Section 39, Education Code is amended by adding |
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| 31 | 31 | | Sec. 39.02302 to read as follows: |
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| 32 | 32 | | Section 39.02302 U.S. History Assessment (a) Beginning |
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| 33 | 33 | | with students entering the 9th grade in the 2018-2019 school year, |
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| 34 | 34 | | each student shall be required to take the civics test administered |
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| 35 | 35 | | by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services as part |
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| 36 | 36 | | of the naturalization process under the federal Immigration and |
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| 37 | 37 | | Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. Section 1101 et seq.). The test shall be |
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| 38 | 38 | | administered in accordance with rules adopted by a district board |
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| 39 | 39 | | of trustees, the commissioner, and as follows: |
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| 40 | 40 | | (1) On a computer in a multiple choice format, and |
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| 41 | 41 | | (2) In the presence of a teacher, aide, proctor, or |
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| 42 | 42 | | campus testing coordinator, and |
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| 43 | 43 | | (3) At any time during the school year when the |
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| 44 | 44 | | instructor or counselor determines the student to be ready. |
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| 45 | 45 | | (b) A student who has entered the 9th grade prior to the |
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| 46 | 46 | | 2018-2019 may elect to take the test in accordance with this section |
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| 47 | 47 | | in lieu of the test required in Section 39.023(c). |
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| 48 | 48 | | (c) As a condition of graduation, a student must answer at |
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| 49 | 49 | | least 70% of the questions correctly. |
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| 50 | 50 | | (d) If a student is in a special education program under |
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| 51 | 51 | | Subchapter A, Chapter 29, the student's admission, review, and |
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| 52 | 52 | | dismissal committee shall determine whether any allowable |
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| 53 | 53 | | modification is necessary in administering this assessment |
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| 54 | 54 | | instrument to appropriately measure a student's achievement on this |
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| 55 | 55 | | test. |
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| 56 | 56 | | (e) An individual graduation committee may waive the |
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| 57 | 57 | | requirement in this section for a student in a special education |
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| 58 | 58 | | program under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, for whom this assessment |
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| 59 | 59 | | instrument, even with allowable accommodations, would not provide |
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| 60 | 60 | | an appropriate measure of student achievement, as determined by the |
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| 61 | 61 | | student's admission, review, and dismissal committee. |
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| 62 | 62 | | (f) The commissioner shall adopt rules requiring a school |
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| 63 | 63 | | district to provide a student in the foundation high school program |
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| 64 | 64 | | under Section 28.025 with the opportunity to be administered the |
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| 65 | 65 | | test in this section. A rule may not: |
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| 66 | 66 | | (1) Restrict the grade level at which a student may |
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| 67 | 67 | | take this test; or |
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| 68 | 68 | | (2) Limit the number of attempts a student may take to |
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| 69 | 69 | | perform satisfactorily on the test. |
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| 70 | 70 | | (g) A school district shall annually certify to the |
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| 71 | 71 | | commissioner the results of each student who takes this assessment. |
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| 72 | 72 | | SECTION 3. This Act applies beginning with students who |
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| 73 | 73 | | enter the ninth grade during the 2018-2019 school year. |
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| 74 | 74 | | SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 75 | 75 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 76 | 76 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 77 | 77 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 78 | 78 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |
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