1. (a) A student entering a High School Equivalency Program (HSEP) must take:

   1. (1) prior to entering the program, the following assessments, as applicable:

      1. (A) if the student first enters Grade 9 prior to the 2011-2012 school year, the student must take the Grade 9 Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) assessment in reading and mathematics; or
      2. (B) if the student first enters Grade 9 during or after the 2011-2012 school year, the student must take the end-of-course (EOC) assessments for Algebra I and English I. Released Grade 9 TAKS assessments may be used until the applicable EOC has been released. The local school district shall be responsible for scoring the released assessment;
   2. (2) each TAKS or EOC assessment instrument required to be administered during the period in which the student is enrolled in the program; and
   3. (3) the assessment instruments required by this subsection before taking the high school equivalency examination.
2. (b) A student entering an HSEP by order of the court pursuant to the Code of Criminal Proceedings, Article 45.054, or by order of the Texas Youth Commission (TYC), is exempt from the assessment requirements specified in subsection (a) of this section.
3. (c) The school district or open-enrollment charter school operating an approved HSEP must present to the General Educational Development (GED) testing center, on a form provided by the Texas Education Agency, proof that a student has been administered the assessment instruments required by subsection (a) of this section. GED testing centers will not allow an HSEP student to take the high school equivalency examination without proof from the approved HSEP that the student has been administered the required assessment instruments. A student who is enrolled in an HSEP as described in this section and withdraws from the HSEP before taking the assessment instruments required by this subsection cannot take the GED until after the individual's 18th birthday.
4. (d) The school district or open-enrollment charter school operating an approved HSEP must inform each student who has completed the program of the time and place at which the student may take the high school equivalency examination as authorized by the TEC, §7.111. A student must be over 17 years of age or meet other requirements specified in the TEC, §7.111, to take the high school equivalency examination.

Source Note:The provisions of this §89.1409 adopted to be effective November 27, 2001, 26 TexReg 9620; amended to be effective May 2, 2004, 29 TexReg 3957; amended to be effective September 18, 2006, 31 TexReg 7988; amended to be effective April 28, 2010, 35 TexReg 3259.