Gámez Bill Adds Enrichment And Micro-Credentials To School Ratings

The text as introduced · 1,129 words

90R3309 ANG-F

By: Gámez
H.B. No. 741

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to indicators of achievement under the public school

accountability system.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 39.053(c), Education Code, is 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

(iii) an indicator that accounts for

students who successfully complete courses included in the

enrichment curriculum under Section 28.002;

(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 language arts 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 dual course credits

in the dual credit courses;

(iv) students who demonstrate military

readiness:

(a) through verified enlistment in

the armed forces of the United States or the Texas National Guard;

or

(b) by achieving a passing score, set

by the commissioner based on recent passing scores set by the

branches of the armed forces, on the Armed Services Vocational

Aptitude Battery Test and successfully completing a Junior Reserve

Officer Training Corps program;

(v) students who 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), (g-3), and (g-4);

(x) students who successfully completed an

OnRamps dual enrollment course;

(xi) students who successfully completed a

practicum or internship approved by the State Board of Education;

(xii) students who are awarded an associate

degree; [ and ]

(xiii) students who successfully completed

a program of study in career and technical education;

(xiv) students who earn an endorsement

under Section 28.025(c-1); and

(xv) students who earn micro-credentials or

credentials of value as defined by the State Board of Education; and

(C) for evaluating the performance of

elementary, middle, and junior high school campuses and districts

that include those campuses, indicators that account for:

(i) students in grades six, seven, and

eight who successfully complete and receive credit for a course

designated for a grade higher than the grade in which the student is

enrolled; and

(ii) students in grades six, seven, and

eight who successfully complete a career and technology course

approved for purposes of the career and technology education

allotment under Section 48.106;

(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 :

(A) [ , ] the use of disaggregated data to

demonstrate the differentials among students from different racial

and ethnic groups and socioeconomic backgrounds ; and

(B) for evaluating the school quality of

elementary, middle, and junior high school campuses and districts

that include those campuses, indicators described by Subdivisions

(1)(A)(iii) and (1)(C) .

SECTION 2. Section 39.0532(b), Education Code, is amended

to read as follows:

(b) A school district or open-enrollment charter school

may, but is not required to, provide to the agency information

regarding the following indicators at a district or school campus

that serves students in prekindergarten through eighth grade:

(1) an indicator that accounts for the percentage of

students participating in school-sponsored extracurricular or

cocurricular student activities consistent with the findings of the

extracurricular and cocurricular student activity indicator study

required under Section 39.0533, as that section existed immediately

before September 1, 2023;

(2) for campuses that serve students in

prekindergarten, an indicator that accounts for student

participation in full-day prekindergarten programs;

(3) for campuses that serve students in kindergarten

through fifth grade, an indicator that accounts for teacher

completion rates of the literacy achievement academies and

mathematics achievement academies established under Sections

21.4552 and 21.4553; and

(4) [ an indicator that accounts for students in grades

six, seven, and eight who successfully complete a career and

technology course approved for purposes of the career and

technology education allotment under Section 48.106; and

[ (5) ] an indicator that accounts for students who

successfully complete and receive credit for a course designated

for a grade higher than the grade in which the student is enrolled.

SECTION 3. This Act applies beginning with the 2027-2028

school year.

SECTION 4. 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, 2027.