Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB2401 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	By: Menéndez S.B. No. 2401
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to the administration of state assessments.
7	7	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
8	8	SECTION 1. Section 39.23, Education Code, is amended by a
9	9	adding Subsection (a-14) and (q) and amending (a-11) and (e) to read
10	10	as follows:
11	11	(a-11) Before an assessment instrument adopted or developed
12	12	under Subsection (a) may be administered under that subsection, the
13	13	assessment instrument must, on the basis of empirical evidence, be
14	14	determined to be valid and reliable by an entity that is independent
15	15	of the agency and of any other entity that developed the assessment
16	16	instrument. To the extent practicable, each assessment must also
17	17	be evaluated by an independent group of qualified educators with
18	18	Texas teaching experience for readability within the grade level
19	19	assessed, and each assessment item of sufficient length must be
20	20	separately evaluated for readability within the grade level
21	21	assessed before being field-tested under subsection (d). A
22	22	determination of readability must consider available correlations
23	23	with other assessments commonly used by Texas school districts, and
24	24	shall be verified by an independent group of qualified educators
25	25	with Texas teaching experience. The commissioner shall hold a
26	26	public hearing before making a determination as to readability of
27	27	assessments and before any decision under this section.
28	28	(a-14) Each reading assessment instrument adopted or
29	29	developed under Subsection (a) shall be comprised of assessment
30	30	passages, items or questions that are aligned with the essential
31	31	skills and knowledge established by the State Board of Education
32	32	under Section 39.021 for a course, subject, and grade level, and
33	33	that have been determined to be written at the independent reading
34	34	level based on multiple generally accepted reliable measures of
35	35	readability and as verified by an independent group of qualified
36	36	educators with Texas teaching experience.
37	37	(e) Under rules adopted by the State Board of Education,
38	38	every third year, the agency shall release the questions and answer
39	39	keys to each assessment instrument administered under Subsection
40	40	(a), (b), (c), (d), or (l), excluding any assessment instrument
41	41	administered to a student for the purpose of retaking the
42	42	assessment instrument, after the last time the instrument is
43	43	administered for that school year. To ensure a valid bank of
44	44	questions for use each year, the agency is not required to release a
45	45	question that is being field-tested and was not used to compute the
46	46	student's score on the instrument. The agency shall also release,
47	47	under board rule, each question that is no longer being
48	48	field-tested and that was not used to compute a student's score.
49	49	During the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 school years, the agency shall
50	50	release the questions and answer keys to assessment instruments as
51	51	described by this subsection each year. At the time that the agency
52	52	releases the questions and answer keys for an assessment
53	53	instrument, the agency also shall release the measures of
54	54	readability for each question and reading passage as determined
55	55	under Subsection (a-14).
56	56	(q) The State Board of Education shall periodically review,
57	57	at least once each year, the assessment instruments adopted or
58	58	developed under Subsection (a) and the measure of readability
59	59	determined under Subsection (a-14). Any review of assessment
60	60	instruments and measures of readability that have not been released
61	61	under Subsection (e) may be conducted in closed session.
62	62	SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 39, Education Code, is
63	63	amended by adding Section 39.02302 to read as follows:
64	64	Sec. 39.02302. TRANSITION FOR READABILITY MEASURES. (a) No
65	65	later than November 1, 2019, the commissioner shall complete an
66	66	evaluation of readability within grade level of each assessment
67	67	required under Section 39.023(a) and administered during or
68	68	following the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 school years and provide the
69	69	results of the evaluation to each legislative oversight committee
70	70	and the governor.
71	71	(b) State assessment performance labels and numeric values,
72	72	(including, but not limited to the following: approaches, meets,
73	73	and masters grade level), sanctions, interventions and SSI
74	74	promotion requirements shall not be applied to students, campuses
75	75	or districts based on the results of the 2018-2019 state
76	76	assessments unless:
77	77	(1) a district or campus moves from an unacceptable to
78	78	an acceptable rating; and
79	79	(2) allows a student to comply with a high school
80	80	graduation requirement based on successful performance on an
81	81	assessment.
82	82	(c) State assessment instruments shall not be
83	83	administered during the 2019-2020 or any later school year unless
84	84	they meet the readability standards in section 39.023(a-11) and
85	85	(a-14). If an assessment instrument does not meet the readability
86	86	standards in section 39.023 (a-11) and (a-14), the Commissioner
87	87	shall request a federal waiver, if needed, from the requirements of
88	88	the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)(20 U.S.C. Section 6301 et
89	89	seq.) to comply with this section.
90	90	(d) To the extent a state assessment is not available
91	91	that meets the requirements of section 39.023(a-11) and (a-14) for
92	92	the 2019-2020 school year, the commissioner shall:
93	93	(1) request a waiver as necessary to comply with
94	94	this section;
95	95	(2) except as provided by subsection (3), not
96	96	assign a state district or campus rating, impose any district or
97	97	campus sanction, or require any student promotion condition that is
98	98	based in whole or in part on an assessment not meeting the
99	99	requirements of section 39.023(a-11) and (a-14) unless expressly
100	100	required by federal law and is not waived; and
101	101	(3) assign a district or campus rating based in
102	102	whole or in part on an assessment not meeting the requirements of
103	103	section 39.023(a-11) and (a-14) only to the extent a district or
104	104	campus moves from an unacceptable to an acceptable rating.
105	105	(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the
106	106	ability of a student to comply with a high school graduation
107	107	requirement based on successful performance on an assessment.
108	108	(f) This section expires September 1, 2021.
109	109	SECTION 3. Section 39.0241(a), Education Code, is amended
110	110	to read as follows:
111	111	(a) The commissioner shall determine the level of
112	112	performance considered to be satisfactory on the assessment
113	113	instruments., provided that satisfactory performance shall be
114	114	based on grade level expectations for a course or subject and shall
115	115	be consistent with other indicators of grade level performance,
116	116	including the measures of readability determined under Subsection
117	117	39.023(a-14).
118	118	SECTION 4. This Act applies beginning with the 2019-2020
119	119	school year.
120	120	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
121	121	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
122	122	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
123	123	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
124	124	Act takes effect September 1, 2019.