19 Tex. Admin. Code § 74.11 - High School Graduation Requirements
(a) To
receive a high school diploma, a student entering Grade 9 in the 2014-2015
school year and thereafter must complete the following:
(1) in accordance with subsection (d) of this
section, requirements of the Foundation High School Program specified in §
74.12 of this title (relating to
Foundation High School Program);
(2) testing requirements for graduation as
specified in Chapter 101 of this title (relating to Assessment); and
(3) demonstrated proficiency, in Grade 8 or
higher, as determined by the district in which the student is enrolled, in
delivering clear verbal messages; choosing effective nonverbal behaviors;
listening for desired results; applying valid critical-thinking and
problem-solving processes; and identifying, analyzing, developing, and
evaluating communication skills needed for professional and social success in
interpersonal situations, group interactions, and personal and professional
presentations.
(b)
Beginning with students enrolled in Grade 12 during the 2021-2022 school year,
each student in Grade 12 must complete and submit a free application for
federal student aid (FAFSA) or a Texas application for state financial aid
(TASFA) before graduating from high school.
(1) A student may graduate under the
Foundation High School Program without completing a financial aid application
if:
(A) the student's parent or other person
standing in parental relation submits a signed form, approved by the Texas
Education Agency (TEA), indicating that the parent or other person declines to
complete and submit the application or authorizes the student to decline to
complete and submit the financial aid application;
(B) the student signs and submits the form
described by paragraph (1) of this subsection on the student's own behalf if
the student is 18 years of age or older or has been emancipated under Texas
Family Code, Chapter 31; or
(C) a
school counselor authorizes the student to decline to complete and submit the
financial aid application for good cause, as determined by the school
counselor.
(2) A school
counselor may not indicate that a student has not complied with this subsection
if the school district or open-enrollment charter school fails to provide the
form described by paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection to the student or the
student's parent or guardian.
(c) A school district shall clearly indicate
the distinguished level of achievement under the Foundation High School
Program, an endorsement, and a performance acknowledgment on the transcript or
academic achievement record (AAR) of a student who satisfies the applicable
requirements.
(d) A student
entering Grade 9 in the 2014-2015 school year and thereafter shall enroll in
the courses necessary to complete the curriculum requirements for the
Foundation High School Program specified in §
74.12 of this title and the
curriculum requirements for at least one endorsement specified in §
74.13 of this title (relating to
Endorsements).
(e) A student may
graduate under the Foundation High School Program without earning an
endorsement if, after the student's sophomore year:
(1) the student and the student's parent or
person standing in parental relation to the student are advised by a school
counselor of the specific benefits of graduating from high school with one or
more endorsements; and
(2) the
student's parent or person standing in parental relation to the student files
with a school counselor written permission, on a form adopted by the TEA,
allowing the student to graduate under the Foundation High School Program
without earning an endorsement.
(f) A student may earn a distinguished level
of achievement by successfully completing the curriculum requirements for the
Foundation High School Program and the curriculum requirements for at least one
endorsement required by the Texas Education Code (TEC), §28.025(b-15),
including four credits in science and four credits in mathematics to include
Algebra II.
(g) An out-of-state or
out-of-country transfer student (including foreign exchange students) or a
transfer student from a Texas nonpublic school is eligible to receive a Texas
diploma but must complete all requirements of this section to satisfy state
graduation requirements. Any course credit required in this section that is not
completed by the student before he or she enrolls in a Texas school district
may be satisfied through the provisions of §
74.23 of this title (relating to
Correspondence Courses and Distance Learning) and §
74.24 of this title (relating to
Credit by Examination) or by completing the course or courses according to the
provisions of §
74.26 of this title (relating to
Award of Credit).
(h) Elective
credits may be selected from the following:
(1) high school courses not required for
graduation that are listed in the following chapters of this title:
(A) Chapter 110 of this title (relating to
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for English Language Arts and
Reading);
(B) Chapter 111 of this
title (relating to Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for
Mathematics);
(C) Chapter 112 of
this title (relating to Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for
Science);
(D) Chapter 113 of this
title (relating to Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Social
Studies);
(E) Chapter 114 of this
title (relating to Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Languages Other
Than English);
(F) Chapter 115 of
this title (relating to Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Health
Education);
(G) Chapter 116 of this
title (relating to Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Physical
Education);
(H) Chapter 117 of this
title (relating to Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Fine
Arts);
(I) Chapter 127 of this
title (relating to Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Career Development
and Career and Technical Education); and
(J) Chapter 130 of this title (relating to
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Career and Technical
Education);
(2)
state-approved innovative courses as specified in §
74.27 of this title (relating to
Innovative Courses and Programs);
(3) Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps
(JROTC)--one to four credits;
(4)
Driver Education--one-half credit; and
(5) College preparatory English language arts
or mathematics courses developed and offered pursuant to the TEC, §
28.014.
(i) Courses offered for dual
credit at or in conjunction with an institution of higher education that
provide advanced academic instruction beyond, or in greater depth than, the
essential knowledge and skills for the equivalent high school course required
for graduation may satisfy graduation requirements, including requirements for
required courses, advanced courses, and courses for elective credit as well as
requirements for endorsements.
(j)
A student may not be enrolled in a course that has a required prerequisite
unless:
(1) the student has successfully
completed the prerequisite course(s);
(2) the student has demonstrated equivalent
knowledge as determined by the school district; or
(3) the student was already enrolled in the
course in an out-of-state, an out-of-country, or a Texas nonpublic school and
transferred to a Texas public school prior to successfully completing the
course.
(k) A district
may exempt a student from a specific career and technical education (CTE)
course prerequisite for a CTE course that satisfies a mathematics or science
credit if the district determines the student is not using the course to
complete a CTE program of study.
(l) A district may award credit for a course
a student completed without meeting the prerequisites if the student completed
the course in an out-of-state, an out-of-country, or a Texas nonpublic school
where there was not a prerequisite.
(m) A district shall allow a student who
successfully completes AP Computer Science A or IB Computer Science Higher
Level to satisfy both one advanced mathematics requirement and one languages
other than English requirement for graduation.
(n) Each school district shall annually
report to the TEA the names of the locally developed courses, programs,
institutions of higher education, and internships in which the district's
students have enrolled as authorized by the TEC, §
28.002(g-1).
The TEA shall make available information provided under this subsection to
other districts. If a district chooses, it may submit any locally developed
course for approval under §
74.27 of this title as an
innovative course.
(o) Each school
district shall annually report to the TEA the names of cyber security courses
approved by the board of trustees for credit and the institutions of higher
education in which the district's students have enrolled as authorized by the
TEC, §
28.002(g-3).
The TEA shall make available information provided under this subsection to
other districts. If a district chooses, it may submit any locally developed
course for approval under §
74.27 of this title as an
innovative course.
(p) A school
district shall permit a student to comply with the curriculum requirements
under the Foundation High School Program by successfully completing appropriate
courses in the core curriculum of an institution of higher education (IHE). A
student who has completed the core curriculum of an IHE in accordance with TEC,
§
61.822, as certified
by the IHE in accordance with §
4.28 of this title (relating to
Core Curriculum):
(1) is considered to have
earned an endorsement by successfully completing the appropriate courses for
that endorsement;
(2) is considered
to have earned a distinguished level of achievement under the Foundation High
School Program; and
(3) is entitled
to receive a high school diploma.
Notes
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.
No prior version found.