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