This page will provide information about Individual Graduation Committees.
Amends the Education Code to authorize all 12th grade students for the 2021-2022 school year who have failed to pass one or more end-of-course tests to be awarded a high school diploma as determined by an individual graduation committee
● An individual graduation committee is not required to consider certain criteria relating to the student's performance on an end-of-course test in determining whether the student is qualified to graduate
● Individual Graduation Committee
SB149 amends TEC §28.0258 to allow the use of an Individual Graduation Committee (IGC) for any 12th grade student who has failed to comply with the end of-course assessment instrument performance requirements under TEC §39.025, in not more than two subjects. The legislative amendments outline specific details related to student eligibility, IGC development, and graduation requirements that the IGC may recommend. According to the requirements, as part of the IGC, each student will:
Participate in the IGC to ensure that alternate graduation requirements and expectations are clearly understood, Attend additional hours of remediation as outlined by the IGC,
Complete an approved project or portfolio per EOC that exhibits proficiency in the subject area(s), and
Continue to participate in EOC assessments until meeting with success or successful completion of the IGC requirements resulting in graduation.
Per TEC §39.023(c), students entering high school for the first time beginning in the 2011-2012 school year shall be required to perform satisfactorily on five (5) subject area-specific State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) End of Course (EOC) assessments. The five subject area assessments are: Algebra I, Biology, English I, English II, and U. S. History.
EOC assessment exemptions are no longer available to students, regardless of special program participation
All students must participate in each assessment a minimum of one administration
Texas Administrative Code (TAC) §101.3022 (e)(3) requires school districts to continue to give students the opportunity to retest until they graduate, regardless of their participation in an IGC.
A Special Provision is available to English Language Learners (ELLs) who meet 19 TAC §101.1007 eligibility criteria that allows students to waive participation in English I retest opportunities, but students are still required to participate in the first administration that coincides with course completion.
Graduation requirements for students receiving Special Education Services include the participation in EOC assessments; like non-SPED students, the EOC is to be administered following the subject area course completion. However, the ARD committee is tasked with determining satisfactory performance levels as related to a student’s graduation requirements. Students in Special Education will not need to have a IGC, as the ARD committee will serve as the IGC. Students requirements:
Meet Graduation Requirements
Meet standard on 3 of 5 STAAR EOC assessments
Figure: 19 TAC §101.4002(b) makes provisions for successful performance on substitute assessments to be used in place of specific EOCs in satisfying graduation assessment requirements. It’s worthwhile to note that there is a one-to-one relationship between EOCs and substitute assessments; that is, one set of results from a substitute assessment can only be used to satisfy one of the required EOCs. The following assessments, and the minimum scale score performance levels in parenthesis, have been identified as the expectations for use of substitute assessment results.
Algebra 1: PSAT Math (> 47), PLAN Math (>19), SAT Math (> 500), ACT Math (> 22), or TSI Math (> 350)
Biology: AP Biology (> 3) or IB Biology (> 4)
English I: AP English Language & Composition (> 3), IB Language A (> 4), SAT Reading & Writing (> 500 each), ACT Reading (> 21), or ACT Reading/Writing (> 18)
English II: AP English Language & Composition (> 3), IB Language A (> 4), SAT Reading & Writing (> 500 each), ACT Reading (> 21), ACT Reading/Writing (> 18), TSI Reading/Writing (> 350 MC + 5 essay), or TSI Reading/Writing (> 363 MC + 4 essay)
U. S. History: AP U.S. History (> 3) or IB History of the Americans (> 4)
Individual Graduation Committees (IGCs) may be established for students:
that have failed to meet with success on no more than two (2) EOC subject area assessments and/or
have not met the required score on a substitute assessment allowable by Figure: 19 TAC §101.4002(b).
the IGCs may not be convened sooner than the end of the student’s 11th grade year and
IGC may not be used to graduate students prior to their 12th grade year.
An SB149 Eligibility Flowchart is included within this document (click on hyperlink to go directly to flowchart). The purpose of this flowchart is to assist campus staff with reviewing student EOC assessment data to determine whether or not an IGC may be created for the student. While student acquisition of subject area course credit is not a consideration for establishing the IGC, it should be noted that the IGC does not have the authority to waive graduation plan course credit requirements.
March - April Compile list of students that might graduate under SB 149. Each must have passed at
least 3 of the following EOCs: Eng I, Eng II, Biology, Algebra and US History.
Send notice to committee and begin Individual Graduation Committee for all students
needing up to 2 EOCs.
April-May Initial Individual Graduation Committee meetings complete.
May Final Individual Graduation Committee meetings to certify whether or not all eligible
students satisfied the IGC requirements and are eligible to graduate.
Principal or designee
Counselor
Content Area Teacher
Parent (preferred that student’s parent/guardian is afforded every effort to participate in IGC)
Student
In order to determine the qualifications of students for whom an IGC is established, the IGC is responsible for collecting, discussing, and analyzing evidence of student proficiency and preparedness for postsecondary opportunities. The following list is not intended by be exhaustive, but all of the available data indicated below will be evaluated by the IGC:
Written teacher recommendation from the student’s teacher of record in a subject area course in which the student failed to perform satisfactorily
Course grades associated with the subject area(s) in which the student failed to perform satisfactorily
EOC performance, including scale score and percent correct, on each administration in which the student was assessed and failed to perform satisfactorily
Attendance in academic remediation programs including college preparatory courses or transitional college courses in reading or mathematics
Overall high school attendance record
Advanced coursework performance in a related subject area, including o Dual Credit in the core academic content o Pre-AP, AP, IB
Related college ready assessment performance o Texas Success Initiative Assessment (TSIA) College Ready benchmark o ACT, SAT, ASVAB
English language proficiency as measured by achieving at the Advanced High level on TELPAS
Completion of CTE sequence of courses to obtain an industry-recognized credential or certificate
Any other available academic information related to subject area performance
Overall determination of student preparedness for postsecondary success
Going through the IGC process is not an automatic guarantee of graduation. The IGC must collaboratively review and evaluate the degree to which the student successfully demonstrated his/her content area proficiency level.
The IGC must unanimously affirm that the remediation hours and the demonstration project were completed at a rigorous level that mirrors the TEKS expectations.
Students that have an IGC must continue to participate in EOC testing opportunities until they are awarded a diploma. IGC activities do not waive their EOC assessment participation requirement, only the requirement that they meet with success on all five of the assessments.
IGC Documentation & Files
All IGC documentation needs to be stored in the student’s cum folder so that it can be quickly and easily identified and accessed if needed. Please be sure to maintain all completed:
IGC meeting forms, i.e., Review & Recommendation Meeting and Evaluation Meeting,
teacher recommendation letters, any
additional student academic information that was reviewed that is not already available in the cum folder, documentation of additional remediation,
and any rubrics used to evaluate student portfolios/rubrics.
Student portfolios and/or projects do not need to be maintained in the orange folder.