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Children in public schools in Texas could be taking a redesigned standardized test as early as next year under a proposal filed in the House on Thursday.

House Bill 4, by State Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Salado, would also expand the Texas Education Agency’s powers to sanction school districts. It would allow the agency to take action against districts with low accountability ratings as well as those that sue the state.

The bill would instruct the TEA to reduce the length of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness exam, or STAAR, and modify it to prioritize post-secondary preparation. The bill says the new test should make sure Texas ranks in the top five states in preparing students for post-secondary success within 15 years.

School districts would continue to receive an overall performance rating between A-F. The bill would give the TEA commissioner the power to sanction districts with poor accountability ratings.

The legislation also limits districts’ ability to sue the agency by prohibiting them from paying their attorney until after the case is resolved and only if the district prevails. The provision appears to be in response to a pair of lawsuits school districts have filed in recent years to block the state from releasing school performance ratings over worries that the scores are an inaccurate representation of their work.

Lawmakers expanded the TEA’s enforcement powers in 2015 when they passed a law that requires the agency to increase its oversight of a school district if one of its campuses has a failing grade for five consecutive years. In 2023, the TEA replaced the school board and superintendent of Houston ISD, the largest school district in the state, because of the poor performance of one high school.

This is a developing story; check back for details.

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This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/20/texas-house-staar-standardized-test/.

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