STAAR graduation requirements eased until 2019,

Some students who fail up to two final state tests can still graduate.

Gov. Greg Abbott has signed into law a bill that continues for two more years a policy enacted in 2015 that makes high school students eligible to graduate even if they fail up to two state standardized tests.

A high school senior who has failed up to two end-of-course State of TexasAssessments of Academic Readiness but has passed all classes and fulfilled other requirements can graduate as long as a committee made up of the stu- dent’s teacher, principal and parents gives unanimous consent.

Students otherwise must pass five end-of-course standardized tests to graduate.

Senate Bill 463, which Abbott signed Friday, will allow the use of high school graduation com-

mittees until 2019.

The bill as originally filed by Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, would have made the policy permanent, but some senators wanted more time to track how well committee graduates do after leaving high school.

The bill will require the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, along with the Texas Education Agency, to track and report data to the Legislature on whether such students enter the workforce, enlist in the armed forces or enroll in programs to earn a college degree or certification.

Business leaders opposed SB 463, saying that the committees have created an easy way for school districts and students to avoid the consequences of doing subpar work and that some graduating students might be unprepared for life after high school.

Proponents of the committees see them as an opportunity for students who are learning English as a second language or have learning disabilities or testing anxiety to still graduate.

According to the Texas Education Agency, 9,000 students graduated through the committees in the 201516 school year — about 3 percent of all graduates.

About 4,000 students were rejected for graduation after going through the committees.

In the 2014-15 school year, the first year the policy was in place, 6,300 students graduated through the committees.

Other education-related bills that Abbott also signed into law include:

Senate Bill 149, which requires public schools to create cyberbullying policies and establish methods for students to anonymously report cyberbullying attacks. It also would make cyberbullying a Class B misdemeanor, rising to a Class A misdemeanor for those previously convicted of cyberbullying or if the bullying was directed toward a victim under age 18 with the intent to provoke suicide or self-harm. The bill is also called David’s Law, named after 16-year-old David Molak of San Antonio, who killed himself last year after being relentlessly bullied.

House Bill 674, which bans schools from suspending students in third grade and below.