By: Huberty, Guillen, Raymond, Morales H.B. No. 3904
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to public school accountability, including certain
performance standards and sanctions, to providing alternative
methods to satisfy certain public high school graduation
requirements, and to public school class size limits.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
ARTICLE 1. PUBLIC SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY
SECTION 1.01. Section 11.174(f), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(f) This subsection applies only to a district campus
subject to a contract described by Subsection (a) that received an
overall performance rating of unacceptable under Subchapter C,
Chapter 39, for the school year before operation of the district
campus under the contract began. The commissioner may not impose a
sanction or take action against the campus under Chapter 39A
[Section 39.107(a) or (e)] for failure to satisfy academic
performance standards during the first two school years of
operation of a district campus under Subsection (a). The overall
performance rating received by the campus during those first two
school years is not included in calculating consecutive school
years and is not considered a break in consecutive school years
under Chapter 39A. The performance of a campus subject to this
subsection may not be included in determining the performance of
the district during the period the campus is exempt from sanctions
under Chapter 39A [Section 39.107(a) or (e)].
SECTION 1.02. Section 39.0241, Education Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (a-2) to read as follows:
(a-2) This subsection applies only to an assessment
instrument authorized under Section 39.025(a-2) for use as a
substitute assessment instrument for purposes of satisfying the
requirements concerning an end-of-course assessment instrument.
The commissioner shall designate for student performance on each
substitute assessment instrument subject to this subsection a level
of performance considered to be satisfactory and a level of
performance necessary to indicate college readiness in the same
manner as the commissioner designates those standards for student
performance on each end-of-course assessment instrument listed in
Section 39.023(c). The commissioner shall designate the level of
performance that indicates college readiness on a substitute
assessment as "masters grade-level performance."
SECTION 1.03. Section 39.053(c), Education Code, as amended
by Chapters 807 (H.B. 22), 842 (H.B. 2223), and 1088 (H.B. 3593),
Acts of the 85th Legislature, Regular Session, 2017, is reenacted
and amended to read as follows:
(c) School districts and campuses must be evaluated based on
three domains of indicators of achievement adopted under this
section that include:
(1) in the student achievement domain, indicators of
student achievement that must include:
(A) for evaluating the performance of districts
and campuses generally:
(i) an indicator that accounts for the
results of assessment instruments required under Sections
39.023(a), (c), and (l), as applicable for the district and campus,
including the results of assessment instruments required for
graduation retaken by a student, aggregated across grade levels by
subject area, including:
(a) for the performance standard
determined by the commissioner under Section 39.0241(a), the
percentage of students who performed satisfactorily on the
assessment instruments, aggregated across grade levels by subject
area; and
(b) for the college readiness
performance standard as determined under Section 39.0241, the
percentage of students who performed satisfactorily on the
assessment instruments, aggregated across grade levels by subject
area; and
(ii) an indicator that accounts for the
results of assessment instruments required under Section
39.023(b), as applicable for the district and campus, including the
percentage of students who performed satisfactorily on the
assessment instruments, as determined by the performance standard
adopted by the agency, aggregated across grade levels by subject
area; [and]
(B) for evaluating the performance of high school
campuses and districts that include high school campuses,
indicators that account for:
(i) students who satisfy the Texas Success
Initiative (TSI) college readiness benchmarks prescribed by the
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board under Section 51.334 on
an assessment instrument in reading or mathematics designated by
the coordinating board under that section;
(ii) students who satisfy relevant
performance standards on advanced placement tests or similar
assessments;
(iii) students who earn a three-hour [dual]
course credit [credits] in a [the] dual credit course in any subject
[courses];
(iv) students who enlist in the armed
forces of the United States;
(v) students who complete coherent
sequences of courses required to earn industry certifications;
(vi) students admitted into postsecondary
industry certification programs that require as a prerequisite for
entrance successful performance at the secondary level;
(vii) students whose successful completion
of a course or courses under Section 28.014 indicates the student's
preparation to enroll and succeed, without remediation, in an
entry-level general education course for a baccalaureate degree or
associate degree;
(viii) students who successfully met
standards on a composite of indicators that through research
indicates the student's preparation to enroll and succeed, without
remediation, in an entry-level general education course for a
baccalaureate degree or associate degree;
(ix) high school graduation rates, computed
in accordance with standards and definitions adopted in compliance
with the Every Student Succeeds Act (20 U.S.C. Section 6301 et seq.)
subject to the exclusions provided by Subsections (g), (g-1),
(g-2), and (g-3);
(x) students who successfully completed an
OnRamps dual enrollment course; [and]
(xi) [the percentage of] students who
successfully completed a practicum or internship approved by the
State Board of Education;
(xii) students who are awarded an associate
[associate's] degree;
(xiii) students who participate in
extracurricular activities, including University Interscholastic
League A+ academic events and foreign language, chess, and robotics
clubs; and
(xiv) ninth grade students who are
academically on track to graduate with their ninth grade cohort;
and
(C) for evaluating the performance of middle and
junior high school and elementary school campuses and districts
that include those campuses, indicators that account for:
(i) students who participate in full-day
prekindergarten programs;
(ii) students who participate in
elementary literacy and mathematics academies; and
(iii) students who participate in
extracurricular activities, including University Interscholastic
League A+ academic events and foreign language, chess, and robotics
clubs;
(2) in the school progress domain, indicators for
effectiveness in promoting student learning, which must include:
(A) for assessment instruments, including
assessment instruments under Subdivisions (1)(A)(i) and (ii), the
percentage of students who met the standard for improvement, as
determined by the commissioner; and
(B) for evaluating relative performance, the
performance of districts and campuses compared to similar districts
or campuses; and
(3) in the closing the gaps domain, the use of
disaggregated data to demonstrate the differentials among students
from different racial and ethnic groups, socioeconomic
backgrounds, and other factors, including:
(A) students formerly receiving special
education services;
(B) students continuously enrolled; and
(C) students who are mobile.
SECTION 1.04. Section 39.053, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (c-4) to read as follows:
(c-4) The commissioner shall determine a method by which:
(1) a student's performance under Subsection
(c)(1)(B)(v) may be included in determining the performance of a
district or campus under Section 39.054 if the student successfully
completed the courses but did not receive the industry
certification until after the student graduated; and
(2) a student's performance described by Subdivision
(1) is assigned equal credit under the college, career, and
military readiness component calculation as a student who earned an
industry certification before the student graduated.
SECTION 1.05. Section 39.054, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (a-5) and (a-6) to read as follows:
(a-5) For purposes of assigning each district and campus a
domain performance rating under Section 39.053(c), the
commissioner may not attribute more than 50 percent of any domain
performance rating to the results of assessment instruments
required under Sections 39.023(a), (b), (c), and (l).
(a-6) For purposes of assigning each district and campus a
domain performance rating for the student achievement domain under
Section 39.053(c)(1), the commissioner shall attribute:
(1) 30 percent of the performance rating to the
indicators under Section 39.053(c)(1)(A) relating to assessment
instrument results;
(2) 40 percent of the performance rating to the
indicator under Section 39.053(c)(1)(B)(ix) relating to high
school graduation rates; and
(3) 30 percent of the performance rating to the
indicators under Section 39.053(c)(1)(B) relating to college,
career, and military readiness.
SECTION 1.06. Section 39.0548, Education Code, is amended
by amending Subsections (a) and (d) and adding Subsections (a-1),
(e), (f), and (g) to read as follows:
(a) For purposes of evaluating performance under Section
39.053(c), the commissioner shall designate as a dropout recovery
school a school district or an open-enrollment charter school or a
campus of a district or of an open-enrollment charter school:
(1) that serves students in grades 9 through 12 and has
an enrollment of which at least 50 percent of the students are 17
years of age or older as of September 1 of the school year as
reported for the fall semester Public Education Information
Management System (PEIMS) submission; and
(2) that [meets the eligibility requirements for and]
is registered under alternative education accountability
procedures adopted by the commissioner.
(a-1) For purposes of assigning performance ratings under
Section 39.054, the commissioner shall evaluate a dropout recovery
school under alternative education accountability procedures
adopted by the commissioner.
(d) For [Notwithstanding Section 39.053(c), for] purposes
of evaluating a dropout recovery school under the alternative
education accountability procedures adopted by the commissioner
[to determine the performance rating of the school under Section
39.054], only the best result from the primary administration or
any retake of an assessment instrument administered to a student in
the school year evaluated may be considered in assigning
performance ratings for the school under Section 39.054.
(e) To the extent consistent with or permitted by an
authorized waiver of federal law, the commissioner, for purposes of
evaluating performance of a dropout recovery school under the
alternative education accountability procedures adopted by the
commissioner, shall adopt performance targets for the student
achievement domain under Section 39.053(c)(1) and the school
progress domain under Section 39.053(c)(2) that are based on the
average performance of school districts and campuses registered
under the alternative education accountability procedures for the
preceding school year for those respective domains.
(f) To the extent consistent with or permitted by an
authorized waiver of federal law, the commissioner, for purposes of
assigning an overall performance rating for a dropout recovery
school under Section 39.054, shall attribute not more than 10
percent of that rating to the closing the gaps domain under Section
39.053(c)(3).
(g) To the extent consistent with or permitted by an
authorized waiver of federal law, the commissioner, for purposes of
evaluating performance of a dropout recovery school under the
alternative education accountability procedures adopted by the
commissioner, shall attribute to a dropout recovery school not less
than a minimum scaled score of 60 for the closing the gaps domain
under Section 39.053(c)(3).
SECTION 1.07. (a) Except as otherwise provided by this
section
, this article applies beginning with the 2020-2021 school
year.
(b) Section 39.0548, Education Code, as amended by this Act,
takes effect on any date not later than September 1, 2021, on which
the commissioner of education:
(1) obtains any necessary waiver from the application
of federal law or regulation conflicting with Section 39.0548,
Education Code, as amended by this Act; or
(2) receives written notification from the United
States Department of Education that a waiver is not required.
(c) Section 39.0548, Education Code, as amended by this Act,
applies beginning with the first school year that begins after the
date on which Section 39.0548, Education Code, takes effect under
Subsection (b) of this section.
(d) If the commissioner of education obtains any necessary
waiver or receives written notification as described by Subsection
(b) of this section, the commissioner shall certify that the
commissioner has obtained the waiver or received notification that
a waiver is not required, as applicable, and shall publish notice of
that fact in the Texas Register as soon as practicable after
obtaining the waiver or receiving notification.
ARTICLE 2. INDIVIDUAL GRADUATION COMMITTEES
SECTION 2.01. Sections 12.104(b-2) and (b-3), Education
Code, are amended 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.]
(b-3) An open-enrollment charter school is subject to the
graduation qualification procedure established by the commissioner
under Section 28.02541. [This subsection expires September 1,
2019.]
SECTION 2.02. 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.]
SECTION 2.03. Effective September 1, 2019, Section
28.02541(a), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:
(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
when the student entered the ninth grade;
(3) has not performed satisfactorily on an assessment
instrument or a part of an assessment instrument required for high
school graduation, including an alternate assessment instrument
offered under Section 39.025(c-2) [39.025(c-1)]; and
(4) has been administered the assessment instrument or
the part of the assessment instrument for which the student has not
performed satisfactorily at least three times.
SECTION 2.04. Section 28.02591(a), Education Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(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, [as that section
existed before September 1, 2019,] 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.
SECTION 2.05. Section 39.025(a-2), Education Code, as added
by Chapter 5 (S.B. 149), Acts of the 84th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2015, is redesignated as Section 39.025(a-5), Education
Code, and amended to read as follows:
(a-5) [(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.]
SECTION 2.06. 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.]
SECTION 2.07. Sections 28.02541(g), 28.0258(l), and
28.0259(e), Education Code, are repealed.
ARTICLE 3. CONFLICTS PROVISION; EFFECTIVE DATE
SECTION 3.01. To the extent of any conflict, this Act
prevails over another Act of the 86th Legislature, Regular Session,
2019, relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in
enacted codes.
SECTION 3.02. 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 on the 91st day after the last day of the legislative
session.