By: Seliger, et al. S.B. No. 463
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the use of individual graduation committees to satisfy
certain public high school graduation requirements.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 12.104, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b-2) and adding Subsection (b-3) to read as
follows:
(b-2) An open-enrollment charter school is subject to the
requirement to establish an individual graduation committee under
Section 28.0258. This subsection expires September 1, 2019 [2017].
(b-3) An open-enrollment charter school is subject to the
requirement to establish an individual graduation committee under
Section 28.02581. This subsection expires September 1, 2019.
SECTION 2. Section 28.025(c-6), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(c-6) Notwithstanding Subsection (c), a person may receive
a diploma if the person is eligible for a diploma under Section
28.0258. This subsection expires September 1, 2019 [2017].
SECTION 3. Effective September 1, 2018, Section 28.0258(e),
Education Code, is amended to read as follows:
(e) To be eligible to graduate and receive a high school
diploma under this section, a student must successfully complete
the curriculum requirements required for high school graduation[:
[(1)] identified by the State Board of Education under
Section 28.025(a)[; or
[(2) as otherwise provided by the transition plan
adopted by the commissioner under Section 28.025(h)].
SECTION 4. Section 28.0258(l), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(l) This section expires September 1, 2019 [2017].
SECTION 5. Subchapter B, Chapter 28, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 28.02581 to read as follows:
Sec. 28.02581. HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA AWARDED ON BASIS OF
INDIVIDUAL GRADUATION COMMITTEE REVIEW FOR CERTAIN STUDENTS WHO
ENTERED THE NINTH GRADE BEFORE 2011-2012. (a) This section
applies only to a student who:
(1) entered the ninth grade before the 2011-2012
school year;
(2) successfully completed the curriculum
requirements for high school graduation applicable to the student;
and
(3) failed to comply with any exit-level assessment
instrument performance requirements for assessment instruments
administered under Section 39.023(c), as that section existed
before amendment by Chapter 1312 (S.B. 1031), Acts of the 80th
Legislature, Regular Session, 2007.
(b) For each student to whom this section applies, the
school district in which the student is enrolled or was last
enrolled, on request by the student, shall establish an individual
graduation committee to determine whether the student may qualify
to graduate as provided by this section. The committee shall be
composed of:
(1) the principal or principal's designee;
(2) for each exit-level assessment instrument on which
the student failed to perform satisfactorily, a teacher in the
applicable subject area;
(3) the department chair or lead teacher supervising
the teacher described by Subdivision (2); and
(4) the student for whom the committee is established.
(c) The commissioner by rule shall establish a procedure for
appointing an alternative committee member if a person described by
Subsection (b)(1), (2), or (3) is unable to serve. The
superintendent of each school district shall establish procedures
for the convening of an individual graduation committee.
(d) The school district shall ensure a good faith effort is
made to timely notify the student for whom the individual
graduation committee is established of the time and place for
convening the committee. The notice must be:
(1) provided in person or by regular mail or e-mail;
and
(2) clear and easy to understand.
(e) Notwithstanding any other law, an individual graduation
committee established under this section shall recommend
additional requirements by which the student for whom the committee
is established may qualify to graduate, including:
(1) additional remediation; and
(2) for each exit-level assessment instrument on which
the student failed to perform satisfactorily:
(A) the completion of a project related to the
subject area that demonstrates proficiency in the subject area; or
(B) the preparation of a portfolio of work
samples in the subject area, including work samples that
demonstrate proficiency in the subject area.
(f) For purposes of Subsection (e), the student may submit
to the individual graduation committee coursework previously
completed to satisfy a recommended additional requirement.
(g) In determining whether a student for whom an individual
graduation committee is established is qualified to graduate, the
committee shall consider:
(1) any recommendation of the teacher of the student
in a subject area for which the student failed to perform
satisfactorily on an exit-level assessment instrument;
(2) the student's grade in each course of the subject
for which the student failed to perform satisfactorily on an
exit-level assessment instrument;
(3) the student's score on each exit-level assessment
instrument on which the student failed to perform satisfactorily;
(4) the student's performance on any additional
requirements recommended by the committee under Subsection (e);
(5) the number of hours of remediation that the
student has attended, including attendance in and successful
completion of a transitional college course in reading or
mathematics;
(6) the student's school attendance rate during the
student's enrollment in high school;
(7) the student's satisfaction of any of the Texas
Success Initiative (TSI) college readiness benchmarks prescribed
by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board;
(8) the student's successful completion of a dual
credit course in English, mathematics, science, or social studies;
(9) the student's successful completion of a high
school pre-advanced placement, advanced placement, or
international baccalaureate program course in English,
mathematics, science, or social studies;
(10) the student's rating of advanced high on the high
school administration of the Texas English Language Proficiency
Assessment System;
(11) the student's score of 50 or greater on a
College-Level Examination Program examination;
(12) the student's score on the ACT, the SAT, or the
Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test;
(13) the student's completion of a sequence of high
school courses under a career and technical education program
required to attain an industry-recognized credential or
certificate;
(14) the student's overall preparedness for
postsecondary success; and
(15) any other academic information designated for
consideration by the board of trustees of the school district.
(h) After considering the criteria under Subsection (g),
the individual graduation committee may determine that the student
is qualified to graduate. Notwithstanding any other law, a student
for whom an individual graduation committee is established may
graduate and receive a high school diploma on the basis of the
committee's decision only if the student successfully completes all
additional requirements recommended by the committee under
Subsection (e) and the committee's vote is unanimous. The
commissioner by rule shall establish a timeline for making a
determination under this subsection. This subsection does not
create a property interest in graduation. The decision of a
committee is final and may not be appealed.
(i) The commissioner shall adopt rules as necessary to
implement this section.
(j) This section expires September 1, 2019.
SECTION 6. The heading to Section 28.0259, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 28.0259. SCHOOL DISTRICT REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR
STUDENTS GRADUATING BASED ON INDIVIDUAL GRADUATION COMMITTEE
REVIEW PROCESS.
SECTION 7. Section 28.0259(e), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(e) This section expires September 1, 2019 [2018].
SECTION 8. Subchapter B, Chapter 28, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 28.02591 to read as follows:
Sec. 28.02591. TEXAS HIGHER EDUCATION COORDINATING BOARD
REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR STUDENTS GRADUATING BASED ON INDIVIDUAL
GRADUATION COMMITTEE REVIEW PROCESS. (a) The Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board, in coordination with the agency,
shall collect longitudinal data relating to the post-graduation
pursuits of each student who is awarded a diploma based on the
determination of an individual graduation committee under Section
28.0258, including whether the student:
(1) enters the workforce;
(2) enrolls in an associate degree or certificate
program at a public or private institution of higher education;
(3) enrolls in a bachelor's degree program at a public
or private institution of higher education; or
(4) enlists in the armed forces of the United States or
the Texas National Guard.
(b) Not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year,
the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall provide a
report to the legislature that includes a summary compilation of
the data collected under Subsection (a) that is presented in a
manner that does not identify an individual student.
(c) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the
agency shall adopt rules as necessary to implement this section.
SECTION 9. Section 39.025(a-2), Education Code, as added by
Chapter 5 (S.B. 149), Acts of the 84th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2015, is amended to read as follows:
(a-2) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), a student who has
failed to perform satisfactorily on end-of-course assessment
instruments in the manner provided under this section may receive a
high school diploma if the student has qualified for graduation
under Section 28.0258. This subsection expires September 1, 2019
[2017].
SECTION 10. Section 39.025(a-3), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a-3) A student who, after retaking an end-of-course
assessment instrument for Algebra I or English II, has failed to
perform satisfactorily as required by Subsection (a), but who
receives a score of proficient on the Texas Success Initiative
(TSI) diagnostic assessment for the corresponding subject for which
the student failed to perform satisfactorily on the end-of-course
assessment instrument satisfies the requirement concerning the
Algebra I or English II end-of-course assessment, as applicable.
This subsection expires September 1, 2019 [2017].
SECTION 11. Effective September 1, 2019, Section 39.025,
Education Code, is amended by amending Subsection (c-1) and adding
Subsection (c-2) to read as follows:
(c-1) A school district may not administer an assessment
instrument required for graduation administered under this section
as this section existed:
(1) before September 1, 1999; or
(2) before amendment by Chapter 1312 (S.B. 1031), Acts
of the 80th Legislature, Regular Session, 2007.
(c-2) A school district may administer to a student who
failed to perform satisfactorily on an assessment instrument
described by Subsection (c-1) [this subsection] an alternate
assessment instrument designated by the commissioner. The
commissioner shall determine the level of performance considered to
be satisfactory on an alternate assessment instrument. The
district may not administer to the student an assessment instrument
or a part of an assessment instrument that assesses a subject that
was not assessed in an assessment instrument applicable to the
student described by Subsection (c-1) [required for graduation
administered under this section as this section existed before
September 1, 1999]. The commissioner shall make available to
districts information necessary to administer the alternate
assessment instrument authorized by this subsection. The
commissioner's determination regarding designation of an
appropriate alternate assessment instrument under this subsection
and the performance required on the assessment instrument is final
and may not be appealed.
SECTION 12. Except as otherwise provided by this Act, 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.