TEXAS STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION CAPITOL OFFICE: TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY 1701 N. CONGRESS AVENUE 512.463.9007 (O) 512.936.4319 (F) marisa.perez@tea.state.tx.us DISTRICT OFFICE: P.O. BOX 276406 SAN ANTONIO, TX 78227 210.317.4651 (O) Marisa B. Perez Board Member District 3 House Bill 5: Proposed Graduation Requirements Per State Board of Education Under the new Foundation High School Plan, a student will be required to complete the following courses: English Language Arts: 4 credits English I English II English III An advanced English course Mathematics: 3 credits Algebra I Geometry An advanced math course Science: 3 credits Biology IPC or an advanced Science course An advanced science course Social Studies: 3 credits U.S. History U.S. Government (one-half credit) Economics (one-half credit) World History or World Geography or combined World History/World Geography course (not yet created) Physical Education: 1 credit Languages Other Than English: 2 credits Fine Arts: 1 credit
*Speech: State Board of Education is currently deliberating as to whether or not to continue to require speech for graduation (as one-half credit to be integrated with another course, or as a stand-alone course). Board would like to have school districts weigh in on this topic. Should it remain a requirement for graduation? How would districts like to see it implemented? Electives: 5 credits **For a total of 22 credits** A student may earn an Endorsement by successfully completing: 4 credits in mathematics 4 credits in science 2 additional elective credits *All curriculum requirements for the endorsement: Again, Board would like some suggestions from districts about what endorsement requirements should look like. Any particular classes? Should there be a number of credits set to obtain each endorsement? If so, would this vary from one endorsement to another? The following suggestions were made by the State Board of Education at the 09/18/13 meeting: 1. State Board of Education must approve/designate 2 more Career and Technical Education (CTE or CATE) courses as substitutes to meet math requirements. Deadline for this is September 2014. 2. Advanced Courses and the Foundation High School Program o All IB and AP courses o Some Board members suggested that all Dual Credit courses should also count as advanced ; however others felt that dual credit may not measure proficiency in a subject area well. (I believe that for some rural and smaller school districts that do not offer AP or IB courses, dual credit may be their only opportunity for meeting advanced measures) o TEA suggested that all advanced courses MUST have TEKS meaning locally developed and innovative courses may not count as advanced o The SBOE has suggested that the following list of courses count as advanced courses : I. English Language Arts: English IV Independent Study in English Literary Genres Creative Writing Research and Technical Writing Humanities Public Speaking III Oral Interpretation III Debate III Independent Study in Journalism
Advanced Broadcast Journalism III AP English Language and Composition AP English Literature and Composition AP International English Language IB Language Studies A1 Standard Level IB Language Studies A1 Higher Level II. III. IV. Mathematics: Algebra II Pre-Calculus Advanced Quantitative Reasoning Independent Study in Mathematics AP Statistics AP Calculus AB AP Calculus BC IB Mathematical Studies Standard Level IB Mathematics Standard Level IB Mathematics Higher Level IB Further Mathematics Higher Level Engineering Mathematics Statistics and Risk Management AP Computer Science A Science: *SBOE is in agreement with the recommendations made by Texas Science Education Leadership Association TSELA Any science course (other than Biology, IPC, Chemistry or Physics) Any Career and Technical Education (CTE) course (approved for science graduation credit) Any AP science course Any IB science course Any Dual Credit science course Social Studies: *No need to define advanced in this subject V. Languages Other Than English AP courses IB courses Students that are not able to successfully complete their 2 nd LOTE course requirement may take another course to substitute for graduation. SBOE will take suggestions for 2 nd course to substitute for LOTE requirement in these cases. In cases in which a student is not able to complete their 2 nd LOTE requirement and will need to substitute the course for another, administrative review and/or ARD committee will need to be involved to make determination. 3. Endorsements o Under each endorsement a student must complete a coherent sequence of 4 courses.
o Courses can be taken concurrently or sequentially. o Under each endorsement a student will have 7 electives (5 required credits under the Foundation Program and an additional two with the endorsement) o SBOE has not specified courses that will fall under each endorsement; however has made the following suggestions for courses and career clusters that fall under the listed endorsements: I. STEM: This simply means that courses can be CTE courses that include two must be from STEM career cluster. Complete Physics, Chemistry and Algebra II Health Science Computer Science II. III. IV. Business and Industry: This simply means that courses can be CTE courses that include two must be from a CTE career cluster: o Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources o Architecture and Construction o Arts, A/V Technology, and Communications o Business Management and Administration o Finance o Hospitality and Tourism o Information Technology o Manufacturing o Marketing o Transportation, Distribution and Logistics Four English elective credits, including three credits in the following areas: o Advanced Broadcast Journalism o Newspaper o Public Speaking Public Service: This simply means that courses can be CTE courses that include two must be from a CTE career cluster: o Education Training o Government and Public Relations o Law, Public Safety, Corrections and Securities o Human Services JROTC Art and Humanities: Art Dance Music Theater AP Social Studies IB Social Studies
LOTE American Sign Language British Literature V. Multidisciplinary: Student who completes 4x4 4 advanced courses from within one endorsement in no particular sequence 4 AP or IB courses to include one credit in each of the four foundational subjects 4. Performance Acknowledgements: o Dual Credit: Completion of how many hours would warrant recognition? 12? What, if any, should be the minimum GPA? 3.0? Completion of an Associates degree? o Bilingualism and Biliteracy: *The proposal for what this could look like has been attached to the e-mail. Please share with attendees and have them share with their bilingual educators in their respective districts. I have worked with the Texas Association of Bilingual Educators to create this document and presented it at the Board meeting on September 18, 2013. o AP/IB: AP score of 4 or above? IB score of 5 or above? o PSAT/Plan/SAT/ACT: SAT score of at least a 1250? ACT score of at least 28? (both proposed scores are above the national average) o Nationally or Internationally Recognized Business or Industry Certifications or Licenses: Tied to exam? National license? The information provided are suggestions that were made by the State Board of Education for the purpose of providing a framework for grad requirements and endorsement expectations; however the board is asking for input from districts about what they feel the grad plan under HB5 should look like. Please share this e-mail address (marisa@marisabperez.com) with any superintendent, administrator, educator, etc. that would like to share their thoughts on the recommendations. Thank you!!!