Bill Text: TX SB837 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to establishing a pilot program under which public schools may use a digital portfolio method to assess student performance in grades three through eight for purposes of accountability and qualification for promotion.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-03-01 - Referred to Education [SB837 Detail]

Download: Texas-2019-SB837-Introduced.html

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86R3422 MM-D
By: West S.B. No. 837

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to establishing a pilot program under which public schools
may use a digital portfolio method to assess student performance in
grades three through eight for purposes of accountability and
qualification for promotion.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 39, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 39.02303 to read as follows:
Sec. 39.02303. DIGITAL PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT PILOT PROGRAM
FOR GRADES THREE THROUGH EIGHT. (a) The commissioner shall
establish a pilot program as provided by this section under which
participating school districts may:
(1) implement a digital portfolio method to assess
students in grades three through eight using the services of an
entity selected by the agency under Subsection (e); and
(2) use student performance under that method as a
percentage of a student's overall performance on assessment
instruments, in addition to the student's performance on assessment
instruments required under Sections 39.023(a), (b), and (l), for
purposes of accountability under this chapter and qualification for
promotion under Section 28.0211.
(b) A school district may apply to participate in the pilot
program established under this section by submitting to the
commissioner for approval not later than May 1, 2020, a plan
described by Subsection (d) and approved by the board of trustees of
the district.
(c) A school district that applies to participate in the
pilot program must create a committee to develop the plan described
by Subsection (d). The committee:
(1) must consist of:
(A) teachers and administrators employed by the
district, including those who have experience serving special
populations;
(B) at least two students enrolled in the
district;
(C) parents of students enrolled in the district;
and
(D) community or business leaders; and
(2) to the extent practicable, may include:
(A) representatives of the regional education
service center that serves the district; and
(B) representatives of institutions of higher
education.
(d) The committee created under Subsection (c) shall
develop a three-year plan that:
(1) specifies the goals and guiding principles for
implementation of the district's digital portfolio assessment
method;
(2) designates for assessment by the digital portfolio
assessment method:
(A) English language arts;
(B) mathematics;
(C) science; or
(D) any other subject as determined by the
committee;
(3) specifies the essential knowledge and skills that
must be addressed by the digital portfolio method of assessment for
each subject designated under Subdivision (2);
(4) designates the grades subject to digital portfolio
assessment;
(5) provides for accommodations and any other support
measures that comply with applicable federal law for students
enrolled in a special education program under Subchapter A, Chapter
29, and students of limited English proficiency, as defined by
Section 29.052;
(6) provides for the digital submission of student
portfolios and identifies the type of student work samples that may
be uploaded into a digital format, which may include written work,
digitally delivered work, an oral defense presentation, or a
combination of those types of work samples; and
(7) includes a schedule for grading digitally
submitted student portfolios.
(e) The agency shall contract with a single entity to
facilitate the use of the digital portfolio method of assessment by
school districts participating in the pilot program. To be
eligible for a contract under this subsection, an entity must
specialize in developing digital portfolios for an educational
purpose and have experience with school districts in the state in
implementing digital portfolio methods to assess students,
including the ability to upload multiple types of student work
samples into a digital format. The contract with the entity must
require that the entity:
(1) provide an appropriate and secure digital platform
that can be accessed by students, teachers, administrators, and
individuals responsible for grading the digitally submitted
student portfolios;
(2) develop a rubric for grading digitally submitted
student portfolios that complies with Subsection (f); and
(3) ensure that:
(A) the platform provided by the entity allows
for:
(i) grading of the digitally submitted
student portfolios by an individual who is not affiliated with the
entity and in conformity with the assignment process adopted under
Subsection (h); and
(ii) delivery of the digitally submitted
student portfolio scores coded by student identification number to
school districts; and
(B) individuals responsible for grading the
digitally submitted student portfolios do not have access to
identifying information about the students.
(f) The entity contracted under Subsection (e) must develop
a rubric for grading digitally submitted student portfolios in
coordination with various stakeholders, including subject matter
experts. The rubric developed under this subsection must:
(1) be capable of being used statewide;
(2) be based on a 100-point scale scoring system;
(3) establish a level of performance considered
satisfactory and a level of performance necessary to indicate
college readiness;
(4) provide for accommodations that comply with
applicable federal law for students enrolled in a special education
program under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, and students of limited
English proficiency as defined by Section 29.052;
(5) be able to be presented in a digital format; and
(6) be approved by the agency.
(g) The agency, in coordination with regional education
service centers, shall adopt rules to establish a process by which
an individual may apply to be approved to grade digitally submitted
student portfolios. The rules must require that the individual:
(1) be a teacher, retired teacher, or other educator;
(2) submit the individual's identifying information,
including providing each school district and campus where the
individual is working or has worked;
(3) submit a copy of the individual's educator
certification issued by the State Board for Educator Certification,
which may include a probationary, current, or expired certificate,
as appropriate, but may not include a revoked certificate; and
(4) submit an electronically signed statement
declaring that the individual will grade each digitally submitted
student portfolio with honesty and integrity, without bias, and
will decline to grade a digitally submitted student portfolio if
the individual is aware of a connection between the individual and
that student as described by Subsection (h).
(h) The agency, in coordination with regional education
service centers, shall adopt rules to develop a process for
assigning individuals to grade digitally submitted student
portfolios. The rules must provide that an individual will not be
responsible for grading the digitally submitted portfolio of a
student who is enrolled at the campus where the individual is
working or has worked or, to the extent practicable, who is enrolled
in the district where the individual is working or has worked. The
agency may use any available revenue, including legislative
appropriations, and may solicit gifts, grants, and donations to
compensate individuals responsible for grading digitally submitted
student portfolios.
(i) Subject to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g), the plan developed under
Subsection (d) may provide for the use of digital portfolio
assessments for other purposes, including to:
(1) assist in developing campus turnaround plans and
other campus improvement initiatives under Chapter 39A;
(2) assist in communicating with the student's parents
regarding the student's academic development; or
(3) provide relevant information in admission,
review, and dismissal committee and language proficiency
assessment committee meetings.
(j) On or before August 1, 2020, the commissioner shall
review and select school districts for participation in the pilot
program based on the plans submitted by school districts under this
section. In making selections for participation in the pilot
program, the commissioner, to the extent feasible, must include at
least one large urban district, one medium-sized district, and one
rural district, all of which provide a student enrollment for the
pilot program that is representative of the economic, linguistic,
racial, ethnic, and geographic diversity of this state. To
participate in the pilot program, a school district must implement
a plan approved by the commissioner under this section beginning
with the 2020-2021 school year.
(k) A student's performance under the digital portfolio
assessment method for a grade and subject shall be combined with the
student's performance on the assessment instrument administered
under Section 39.023(a), (b), or (l), as applicable, for that grade
and subject to determine the student's overall performance. A
student's performance under the digital portfolio assessment
method for a grade and subject is considered as 50 percent of the
student's overall performance for purposes of:
(1) assigning districts and campuses a performance
rating under Section 39.054; and
(2) determining whether a student performed
satisfactorily on an assessment instrument required under Section
28.0211 to qualify for promotion.
(l) For purposes of assigning districts and campuses a
performance rating under Section 39.054, the commissioner shall
consider districts and campuses participating in the pilot program
separately. The commissioner shall adopt rules to substitute a
student's overall performance computed as provided by Subsection
(k) for purposes of accountability for the student's performance on
assessment instruments required under Section 39.023(a), (b), or
(l), as applicable.
(m) A school district that participates in the pilot program
shall provide student performance data to the agency as required by
agency rule. The agency shall periodically review the performance
data submitted under this subsection.
(n) The commissioner shall adopt rules as necessary to
implement this section, including:
(1) rules for submitting to the commissioner for
approval a plan described by Subsection (d) and subsequent
amendments to the plan;
(2) rules for evaluating submitted plans and
amendments described by Subdivision (1); and
(3) any specific rules for school districts or
campuses that are assigned an overall performance rating of F and
selected to participate in the pilot program under this section.
(o) Not later than September 1, 2024, the agency shall
prepare and deliver to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the
speaker of the house of representatives, and the presiding officer
of each legislative standing committee with primary jurisdiction
over primary and secondary education a report that:
(1) evaluates the implementation and performance
results of the pilot program under this section; and
(2) makes recommendations regarding the feasibility
of statewide application of establishing a digital portfolio method
to assess student performance in grades three through eight for
purposes of accountability and qualification for promotion.
(p) This section expires September 1, 2025.
SECTION 2. 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, 2019.