H.B. No. 1603
AN ACT
relating to the use of individual graduation committees and other
alternative methods to satisfy certain public high school
graduation requirements.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. 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, 2023.]
(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,
2023.]
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, 2023.]
SECTION 3. 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, 2023,] 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 4. Sections 39.025(a-3) and (a-5), Education Code,
are 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, 2023.]
(a-5) 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, 2023.]
SECTION 5. Section 39.057(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The commissioner may authorize special accreditation
investigations to be conducted:
(1) when excessive numbers of absences of students
eligible to be tested on state assessment instruments are
determined;
(2) when excessive numbers of allowable exemptions
from the required state assessment instruments are determined;
(3) in response to complaints submitted to the agency
with respect to alleged violations of civil rights or other
requirements imposed on the state by federal law or court order;
(4) in response to established compliance reviews of
the district's financial accounting practices and state and federal
program requirements;
(5) when extraordinary numbers of student placements
in disciplinary alternative education programs, other than
placements under Sections 37.006 and 37.007, are determined;
(6) in response to an allegation involving a conflict
between members of the board of trustees or between the board and
the district administration if it appears that the conflict
involves a violation of a role or duty of the board members or the
administration clearly defined by this code;
(7) when excessive numbers of students in special
education programs under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, are assessed
through assessment instruments developed or adopted under Section
39.023(b);
(8) in response to an allegation regarding or an
analysis using a statistical method result indicating a possible
violation of an assessment instrument security procedure
established under Section 39.0301, including for the purpose of
investigating or auditing a school district under that section;
(9) when a significant pattern of decreased academic
performance has developed as a result of the promotion in the
preceding two school years of students who did not perform
satisfactorily as determined by the commissioner under Section
39.0241(a) on assessment instruments administered under Section
39.023(a), (c), or (l);
(10) when excessive numbers of students eligible to
enroll fail to complete an Algebra II course or any other advanced
course as determined by the commissioner;
(11) when resource allocation practices as evaluated
under Section 39.0821 indicate a potential for significant
improvement in resource allocation;
(12) when a disproportionate number of students of a
particular demographic group is graduating with a particular
endorsement under Section 28.025(c-1);
(13) when an excessive number of students is
graduating with a particular endorsement under Section
28.025(c-1);
(14) in response to a complaint submitted to the
agency with respect to alleged inaccurate data that is reported
through the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS)
or through other reports required by state or federal law or rule or
court order and that is used by the agency to make a determination
relating to public school accountability, including accreditation,
under this chapter;
(15) when 10 percent or more of the students
graduating in a particular school year from a particular high
school campus are awarded a diploma based on the determination of an
individual graduation committee under Section 28.0258;
(16) [(15)] when a school district for any reason
fails to produce, at the request of the agency, evidence or an
investigation report relating to an educator who is under
investigation by the State Board for Educator Certification; or
(17) [(16)] as the commissioner otherwise determines
necessary.
SECTION 6. Sections 28.02541(g), 28.0258(l), and
28.0259(e), Education Code, are repealed.
SECTION 7. 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, 2021.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1603 was passed by the House on April
13, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 148, Nays 0, 1 present, not
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
No. 1603 on May 24, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 145, Nays 0,
1 present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1603 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 18, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays
1.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor