Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1883 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	H.B. No. 1883
2	2
3	3
4	4	AN ACT
5	5	relating to the administration of assessment instruments to public
6	6	school students on religious holy days.
7	7	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
8	8	SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 39, Education Code, is
9	9	amended by adding Section 39.0238 to read as follows:
10	10	Sec. 39.0238. CONSIDERATION OF RELIGIOUS HOLY DAYS IN
11	11	SCHEDULING ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENTS. (a) In this section,
12	12	"religious holy day or period of observance" means a holy day or a
13	13	period of holy days observed by a religion whose places of worship
14	14	would be exempt from property taxation under Section 11.20, Tax
15	15	Code.
16	16	(b) The board of trustees of a school district or the
17	17	governing body of an open-enrollment charter school may consider
18	18	the dates of religious holy days or periods of observance likely to
19	19	be observed by the students enrolled in the district or school
20	20	during the period set by the State Board of Education for the
21	21	administration of assessment instruments required under Section
22	22	39.023 in establishing:
23	23	(1) the district's or school's calendar for that
24	24	school year; and
25	25	(2) the instructional days within that period on which
26	26	district or school students are administered the required
27	27	assessment instruments, provided that the board of trustees or
28	28	governing body may not exclude more than two instructional days
29	29	from that period based solely on the occurrence of a single
30	30	religious holy day or period of observance.
31	31	(c) In establishing a school calendar as described in
32	32	Subsection (b), the board of trustees of a school district or the
33	33	governing body of an open-enrollment charter school shall provide
34	34	for alternative dates for the administration of assessment
35	35	instruments required under Section 39.023 to a student who is
36	36	absent from school to observe a religious holy day or period of
37	37	observance on the date an assessment instrument is administered.
38	38	(d) The agency may adopt rules as necessary to ensure a
39	39	student may be administered an assessment instrument on an
40	40	alternative date as necessary to comply with this section.
41	41	SECTION 2. This Act applies beginning with the 2023-2024
42	42	school year.
43	43	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
44	44	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
45	45	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
46	46	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
47	47	Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
48	48	______________________________ ______________________________
49	49	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
50	50	I certify that H.B. No. 1883 was passed by the House on May 2,
51	51	2023, by the following vote: Yeas 110, Nays 36, 1 present, not
52	52	voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
53	53	No. 1883 on May 25, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 101, Nays 38,
54	54	1 present, not voting.
55	55	______________________________
56	56	Chief Clerk of the House
57	57	I certify that H.B. No. 1883 was passed by the Senate, with
58	58	amendments, on May 22, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
59	59	0.
60	60	______________________________
61	61	Secretary of the Senate
62	62	APPROVED: __________________
63	63	Date
64	64	__________________
65	65	Governor