Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2983 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1		86R16815 GCB-F
2	2		By: Huberty H.B. No. 2983
	3	+	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2983:
	4	+	By: Meyer C.S.H.B. No. 2983
3	5
4	6
5	7		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	8		AN ACT
7	9		relating to the administration to public school students in certain
8	10		grades of state-administered assessment instruments.
9	11		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	12		SECTION 1. Section 39.023, Education Code, is amended by
11	13		amending Subsections (a), (a-1), (a-2), (b), (c-1), (c-3), (e),
12	14		(l), (m), (n), and (p) and adding Subsections (a-4), (a-5), (a-6),
13	15		(a-7), (a-8), (a-9), and (a-10) to read as follows:
14	16		(a) The agency shall adopt or develop appropriate
15	17		criterion-referenced assessment instruments designed to assess
16	18		essential knowledge and skills in reading, writing, mathematics,
17	19		social studies, and science. Except as provided by Subsection
18	20		(a-2), all students, other than students assessed under Subsection
19	21		(b), (b-1), or (l) or exempted under Section 39.027, shall be
20	22		assessed in:
21	23		(1) mathematics, [annually] in grades three and five
22	24		[through seven] without the aid of technology and in grade eight
23	25		with the aid of technology on any assessment instrument that
24	26		includes algebra;
25	27		(2) reading, [annually] in grades three, five, and
26	28		[through] eight;
27	29		(3) writing, including spelling and grammar, in grades
28	30		five and eight [four and seven];
29	31		(4) social studies, in grade eight; and
30	32		(5) science, in grades five and eight[; and
31	33		[(6) any other subject and grade required by federal
32	34		law].
33	35		(a-1) The agency shall develop assessment instruments
34	36		required under Subsections (a), (a-5), (a-6), and (a-7) [Subsection
35	37		(a)] in a manner that allows, to the extent practicable:
36	38		(1) the score a student receives to provide reliable
37	39		information relating to a student's satisfactory performance for
38	40		each performance standard under Section 39.0241; and
39	41		(2) an appropriate range of performances to serve as a
40	42		valid indication of growth in student achievement.
41	43		(a-2) Except as required by a provision of federal law that
42	44		has not been waived, a student is not required to be assessed in a
43	45		subject otherwise assessed at the student's grade level under
44	46		Subsection (a) if the student:
45	47		(1) is enrolled in a course in the subject intended for
46	48		students above the student's grade level and will be administered
47	49		an assessment instrument adopted or developed under Subsection (a),
48	50		(a-5), (a-6), or (a-7) that aligns with the curriculum for the
49	51		course in which the student is enrolled; or
50	52		(2) is enrolled in a course in the subject for which
51	53		the student will receive high school academic credit and will be
52	54		administered an end-of-course assessment instrument adopted under
53	55		Subsection (c) for the course.
54	56		(a-4) For each assessment instrument administered under
55	57		Subsection (a) or (a-6), the agency shall determine, based on
56	58		available information for that assessment instrument, the minimum
57	59		satisfactory adjusted scale score. The minimum satisfactory
58	60		adjusted scale score is the sum of the scale score that indicates
59	61		satisfactory performance on that assessment instrument, as
60	62		determined by the commissioner under Section 39.0241(a), plus the
61	63		minimum number of points that when added to the scale score produces
62	64		a score that, within a three percent margin of error, is predictive
63	65		that a student achieving that score would achieve satisfactory
64	66		performance on an assessment instrument in the same subject
65	67		administered to the student during the following school year.
66	68		(a-5) A student shall be assessed in grade four in a subject
67	69		for which an assessment instrument is administered under Subsection
68	70		(a) in grade three if, on the final assessment instrument in that
69	71		subject administered under Subsection (a) to the student in grade
70	72		three during the preceding school year, the student did not achieve
71	73		a score equal to or greater than the minimum satisfactory adjusted
72	74		scale score for that assessment instrument, as determined under
73	75		Subsection (a-4).
74	76		(a-6) A student shall be assessed in grade six in a subject
75	77		for which an assessment instrument is administered under Subsection
76	78		(a)(1) or (2) in grade five if, on the final assessment instrument
77	79		in that subject administered under Subsection (a)(1) or (2) to the
78	80		student in grade five during the preceding school year, the student
79	81		did not achieve a score equal to or greater than the minimum
80	82		satisfactory adjusted scale score for that assessment instrument,
81	83		as determined under Subsection (a-4).
82	84		(a-7) A student shall be assessed in grade seven in a
83	85		subject for which an assessment instrument was administered under
84	86		Subsection (a-6) to the student in grade six if, on the final
85	87		assessment instrument in that subject administered to the student
86	88		in grade six during the preceding school year, the student did not
87	89		achieve a score equal to or greater than the minimum satisfactory
88	90		adjusted scale score for that assessment instrument, as determined
89	91		under Subsection (a-4).
90	92		(a-8) A student assessed in mathematics under Subsection
91	93		(a-5), (a-6), or (a-7) shall be assessed without the aid of
92	94		technology.
93	95		(a-9) A school district or open-enrollment charter school
94	96		may, for its own use in determining whether students are performing
95	97		at a satisfactory level, administer to a student at the appropriate
96	98		grade level, other than a student required to be assessed, an
97	99		assessment instrument developed for purposes of Subsection (a-5),
98	100		(a-6), or (a-7). At the request of a district or open-enrollment
99	101		charter school, the agency shall provide, allow for the
100	102		administration of, and score each assessment instrument
101	103		administered under this subsection in the same manner and at the
102	104		same cost as for assessment instruments required to be administered
103	105		under the applicable subsection. The results of an assessment
104	106		instrument administered under this subsection may not be included
105	107		as an achievement indicator under Section 39.053 or any other
106	108		provision.
107	109		(a-10) If there is a conflict between this section and a
108	110		federal law or regulation as a result of forgoing under this section
109	111		certain administration of assessment instruments to students who
110	112		have recently performed successfully on assessment instruments
111	113		assessing the same subject, the commissioner shall seek a waiver
112	114		from the application of the conflicting federal law or regulation.
113	115		In seeking a waiver, the commissioner shall submit all relevant
114	116		data, including data relating to:
115	117		(1) the likelihood that a student who achieves a score
116	118		on an assessment instrument equal to or greater than the minimum
117	119		satisfactory adjusted scale score for that assessment instrument,
118	120		as determined under Subsection (a-4), will, in subsequent years,
119	121		perform satisfactorily on assessment instruments in the same
120	122		subject;
121	123		(2) the costs associated with ongoing assessment of
122	124		students who have proven likely to perform successfully on
123	125		subsequent assessment instruments; and
124	126		(3) the benefit of redirecting resources from
125	127		assessment of students who have proven likely to perform
126	128		successfully on subsequent assessment instruments toward enabling
127	129		lower performing students to perform successfully on assessment
128	130		instruments after one school year.
129	131		(b) The agency shall develop or adopt appropriate
130	132		criterion-referenced alternative assessment instruments to be
131	133		administered to a [each] student in a special education program
132	134		under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, for whom an assessment instrument
133	135		adopted under Subsection (a) or, to the extent applicable,
134	136		Subsection (a-5), (a-6), or (a-7), even with allowable
135	137		accommodations, would not provide an appropriate measure of student
136	138		achievement, as determined by the student's admission, review, and
137	139		dismissal committee, including assessment instruments approved by
138	140		the commissioner that measure growth. The assessment instruments
139	141		developed or adopted under this subsection, including the
140	142		assessment instruments approved by the commissioner, must, to the
141	143		extent allowed under federal law, provide a district with options
142	144		for the assessment of students under this subsection. The agency
143	145		may not adopt a performance standard that indicates that a
144	146		student's performance on the alternate assessment does not meet
145	147		standards if the lowest level of the assessment accurately
146	148		represents the student's developmental level as determined by the
147	149		student's admission, review, and dismissal committee.
148	150		(c-1) To the greatest extent practicable, the [The] agency
149	151		shall develop any assessment instrument required under this section
150	152		in a manner that allows for the measurement of annual improvement in
151	153		student achievement as required by Sections 39.034(c) and (d).
152	154		(c-3) In adopting a schedule for the administration of
153	155		assessment instruments under this section, the State Board of
154	156		Education shall require:
155	157		(1) assessment instruments administered under
156	158		Subsections (a), (a-5), (a-6), and (a-7) [Subsection (a)] to be
157	159		administered on a schedule so that the first assessment instrument
158	160		is administered at least two weeks later than the date on which the
159	161		first assessment instrument was administered under Subsection (a)
160	162		during the 2006-2007 school year; and
161	163		(2) the spring administration of end-of-course
162	164		assessment instruments under Subsection (c) to occur in each school
163	165		district not earlier than the first full week in May, except that
164	166		the spring administration of the end-of-course assessment
165	167		instruments in English I and English II must be permitted to occur
166	168		at an earlier date.
167	169		(e) Under rules adopted by the State Board of Education,
168	170		every third year, the agency shall release the questions and answer
169	171		keys to each assessment instrument administered under Subsection
170	172		(a), (a-5), (a-6), (a-7), (b), (c), (d), or (l), excluding any
171	173		assessment instrument administered to a student for the purpose of
172	174		retaking the assessment instrument, after the last time the
173	175		instrument is administered for that school year. To ensure a valid
174	176		bank of questions for use each year, the agency is not required to
175	177		release a question that is being field-tested and was not used to
176	178		compute the student's score on the instrument. The agency shall
177	179		also release, under board rule, each question that is no longer
178	180		being field-tested and that was not used to compute a student's
179	181		score. [During the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 school years, the
180	182		agency shall release the questions and answer keys to assessment
181	183		instruments as described by this subsection each year.]
182	184		(l) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules for the
183	185		administration of the assessment instruments adopted under
184	186		Subsection (a) and, to the extent applicable, the assessment
185	187		instruments adopted under Subsection (a-5) in Spanish to students
186	188		in grades three, four, and [through] five who are of limited English
187	189		proficiency, as defined by Section 29.052, whose primary language
188	190		is Spanish, and who are not otherwise exempt from the
189	191		administration of an assessment instrument under Section
190	192		39.027(a)(1) or (2). Each student of limited English proficiency
191	193		whose primary language is Spanish, other than a student to whom
192	194		Subsection (b) applies, may be assessed using assessment
193	195		instruments in Spanish under this subsection for up to three years
194	196		or assessment instruments in English under Subsection (a) and, as
195	197		applicable, Subsection (a-5). The language proficiency assessment
196	198		committee established under Section 29.063 shall determine which
197	199		students are administered assessment instruments in Spanish under
198	200		this subsection.
199	201		(m) The commissioner by rule shall develop procedures under
200	202		which the language proficiency assessment committee established
201	203		under Section 29.063 shall determine which students are exempt from
202	204		the administration of the assessment instruments under Section
203	205		39.027(a)(1) or (2). The rules adopted under this subsection shall
204	206		ensure that the language proficiency assessment committee provides
205	207		that the exempted students are administered the assessment
206	208		instruments under Subsections (a) and (c) and, to the extent
207	209		applicable, Subsections (a-5), (a-6), and (a-7) at the earliest
208	210		practical date.
209	211		(n) This subsection applies only to a student who is
210	212		determined to have dyslexia or a related disorder and who is an
211	213		individual with a disability under 29 U.S.C. Section 705(20) and
212	214		its subsequent amendments. The agency shall adopt or develop
213	215		appropriate criterion-referenced assessment instruments designed
214	216		to assess the ability of and to be administered to each student to
215	217		whom this subsection applies for whom the assessment instruments
216	218		adopted under Subsection (a) and, to the extent applicable, the
217	219		assessment instruments adopted under Subsections (a-5), (a-6), and
218	220		(a-7), even with allowable modifications, would not provide an
219	221		appropriate measure of student achievement, as determined by the
220	222		committee established by the board of trustees of the district to
221	223		determine the placement of students with dyslexia or related
222	224		disorders. The committee shall determine whether any allowable
223	225		modification is necessary in administering to a student an
224	226		assessment instrument required under this subsection. The
225	227		assessment instruments required under this subsection shall be
226	228		administered on the same schedule as the assessment instruments
227	229		administered under Subsections (a), (a-5), (a-6), and (a-7), as
228	230		applicable [Subsection (a)].
229	231		(p) On or before September 1 of each year, the commissioner
230	232		shall make the following information available on the agency's
231	233		Internet website for each assessment instrument administered under
232	234		Subsection (a), (a-5), (a-6), (a-7), (c), or (l):
233	235		(1) the number of questions on the assessment
234	236		instrument;
235	237		(2) the number of questions that must be answered
236	238		correctly to achieve satisfactory performance as determined by the
237	239		commissioner under Section 39.0241(a);
238	240		(3) the number of questions that must be answered
239	241		correctly to achieve satisfactory performance under the college
240	242		readiness performance standard as provided by Section 39.0241; and
241	243		(4) the corresponding scale scores.
242	244		SECTION 2. (a) This Act takes effect on any date not later
243	245		than September 1, 2021, on which the commissioner of education:
244	246		(1) obtains any necessary waiver from the application
245	247		of federal law or regulation conflicting with Section 39.023,
246	248		Education Code, as amended by this Act, as required by Section
247	249		39.023(a-10), Education Code, as added by this Act; or
248	250		(2) receives written notification from the United
249	251		States Department of Education that a waiver is not required.
250	252		(b) This Act applies beginning with the first school year
251	253		that begins after the date on which this Act takes effect under
252	254		Subsection (a) of this section.
253	255		(c) If the commissioner of education obtains any necessary
254	256		waiver or receives written notification as described by Subsection
255	257		(a) of this section, the commissioner shall certify that the
256	258		commissioner has obtained the waiver or received notification that
257	259		a waiver is not required, as applicable, and shall publish notice of
258	260		that fact in the Texas Register as soon as practicable after
259	261		obtaining the waiver or receiving notification.