Texas First Early High School
Diploma Program
Agenda
Overview of Texas First Diploma Program
Graduation Requirements
Required Notification for Students and Parents
PEIMS/TREx
Links to Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
Question and Answer Session
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Overview of Texas First
Diploma Program
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Overview
Texas First Diploma Program
The 87
th
Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill
1888, amending Texas Education Code (TEC)
§28.0253 and creating the Texas First Early
High School Completion Program.
TEC §28.0253 requires the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board (THECB), in
consultation with the Texas Education Agency
(TEA), to establish graduation
requirements for the program.
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Overview
Texas First Scholarship Program
The legislation also established the Texas First
Scholarship Program.
The scholarship program is set forth in TEC
Chapter 56, Subchapter K-1, Texas First
Scholarship Program.
The THECB has adopted rules to implement the
Texas First Scholarship Program.
Texas Administrative Code (TAC), Title 19, Part 1,
Chapter 22, Subchapter T
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Overview
The stated purpose of the legislation is to
promote efficiency in the state public
education system and incentivize the
enrollment of high performing students.
"Permitting high-achieving Texas students to graduate early
from high school and enroll early in Texas public universities
would better serve many of these students and better
position the state to retain these high-performing students."
—SB 1885, Author/Sponsor Statement of Intent
.
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Graduation Requirements
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Minimum Requirements for Texas First Early
High School Completion Program
• 22 high school credits
• Final grade point average (GPA) equivalent to 3.0 on a 4.0 scale
• Earned an overall score in at least the 80
th
percentile on one or
more of the ACT, SAT, PSAT/NMSQT, TSIA/TSIA2, or GED, or, has a
GPA in the top 10% of the student’s current class
• Completed assessment requirements for STAAR
English I or II
Algebra I
Biology
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Minimum Requirements for Texas First Early
High School Completion Program
Students are also required to have shown mastery of each of
the following subject areas:
English Language Arts
Mathematics
Science
Social Studies
Languages Other than English
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Minimum Requirements for Texas First Early
High School Completion Program
Mastery in the subject areas can be shown in the following
ways:
Meeting the STAAR college readiness benchmarks by scoring 4,000
on Algebra II and English III STAAR tests;*
Credit earned in the core curriculum of an institution of higher
education in which the student earned at least a C; or
Meeting the standards outlined in Figure 1 of the rule.
*No longer being offered
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Minimum Requirements for Texas First Early
High School Completion Program
Students who graduate early through the Texas First Early High
School Completion Program are considered to have earned a
diploma with a distinguished level of achievement.
School districts are required to indicate completion of the
distinguished level of achievement on a student's high school
transcript.
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Required Notifications for
Students and Parents
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Required Notification
TEC §28.0253(g) requires school districts and
open-enrollment charter schools to provide
students who are initially enrolling in high
school information about the Texas First
Early High School Completion Program. The
information should include—
• the requirements to earn a high school
diploma under the program; and
• details about the Texas First Scholarship
Program.
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Required Notification
For the 2022-2023 school year, each public
high school must provide a written notification
to each high school student and the student's
parent or guardian listing the eligibility criteria
for the Texas First Early High School Completion
Program and Texas First Scholarship Program.
(19 TAC Part I, §21.54)
After the 2022-2023 school year, the school
must provide the notice to each student and the
student's parent or guardian upon the
student's initial enrollment in high school.
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PEIMS/TREx
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PEIMS/TREx
Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS)
A new data element has been added to the Texas Student Data Standards
(TSDS) for the PEIMS to report students who graduate by completing the Texas
First Early High School Completion Program.
The new data
element will be
reported on the
graduate record in
Submission 1/Fall.
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PEIMS/TREx
The code table associated with the new data element (Code Table 233 or C233)
will identify whether the students graduated less than two semesters early
(01) or two or more semesters early (02).
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PEIMS/TREx
Texas Records Exchange (TREx)
• The State Board of Education (SBOE) considered an
amendment for preliminary approval (first reading) at its
January/February 2023 meeting to require that a student’s
academic achievement record (AAR) indicate the completion of
the Texas First Early High School Completion Program.
• A 30-day public comment period will begin on March 3, 2023.
• The SBOE is scheduled to consider the proposed amendment
for final adoption (second reading) at its April 2023 meeting.
• If adopted, a data element will be added to the TREx data
standards to include the Texas First indicator on the high
school transcript beginning with the 2023-2024 school year.
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Links to Resources
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Links to Resources
1
THECB Texas First Diploma Website
https://www.highered.texas.gov/our-
work/empowering-our-students/the-
texas-first-diploma/
College for All Texans (Scholarship
Information)
http://w ww.collegeforalltexans.com/app
s/fi nancialaid/tofa2.cfm?ID=458
TAC Part I, Chapter 21, Subchapter D
https://texreg.sos.state.tx.us/ p ub l ic/readtac$ext.
ViewTAC?tac_view=5&ti=19&pt=1&ch=21&sch=D
&rl=Y
THECB Flyer
https://reportcenter.highered.texas.gov/agency-
publication/m i scellaneous/texas-first-diploma-
program-flye r/
Frequently Asked Questions
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Frequently Asked Questions
Which colleges/universities are participating in the Texas First
program?
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Frequently Asked Questions
Which colleges/universities are participating in the Texas First
program?
• Texas A&M University
• Texas State University
• Texas Tech University
• The University of Texas at Arlington
• The University of Texas at Austin
• The University of Texas at Dallas
• The University of Texas at El Paso
• The University of Texas at San Antonio
• University of Houston
• University of North Texas
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Frequently Asked Questions
Are students who complete the Texas First Early High School
Completion Program eligible for automatic admission to one of
the participating institutions?
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Frequently Asked Questions
Are students who complete the Texas First Early High School
Completion Program eligible for automatic admission to one of
the participating institutions?
The Texas First Diploma does not guarantee automatic admission for
students. A student should consult their counselor for guidance on
whether the student’s grade point average at graduation qualifies the
student for automatic admission under the state’s top 10 percent law.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Are students who complete the Texas First Early High School
Completion Program automatically eligible to enroll in one of the
participating institutions?
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Frequently Asked Questions
Are students who complete the Texas First Early High School
Completion Program automatically eligible to enroll in one of the
participating institutions?
No. Each college/university establishes its own admission requirements.
Students who graduate under Texas First must also meet the admission
requirements for the specific college or university to which they are
applying.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does a student need to complete the 22 credits outlined in the
SBOE’s foundation high school plan without endorsements?
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does a student need to complete the 22 credits outlined in the
SBOE’s foundation high school plan without endorsements?
No. THECB rules state that students must obtain at least 22 credits to be
eligible to graduate with the Texas First Diploma Program. There are no
specific course credit requirements. Students must obtain 22 high
school credits but must still meet the other graduation requirements for
the program.
Note: Colleges and universities set their own entrance requirements.
Consequently, a student would need to check with the specific
college/university for information regarding admission requirements.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does a student who graduates under the Texas Early High School
Completion Program need to earn credit in Algebra II to earn the
distinguished level of achievement?
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does a student who graduates under the Texas Early High School
Completion Program need to earn credit in Algebra II to earn the
distinguished level of achievement?
No. Students graduating under the Texas First Early High School
Completion Program are considered to have earned a diploma with the
distinguished level of achievement by completing the program
requirements and are not required to complete Algebra II.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are the STAAR assessment requirements for graduation?
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are the STAAR assessment requirements for graduation?
THECB rules state that students must pass either English I or
English II and the Algebra and Biology STAAR tests to be eligible to
graduate under the Texas First Diploma Program.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How does a district indicate on a student’s transcript that a
student has graduated with the Texas First Early High School
Completion Program?
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Frequently Asked Questions
How does a district indicate on a student’s transcript that a
student has graduated with the Texas First Early High School
Completion Program?
In January 2023, the SBOE considered a proposed amendment to its
rules on the high school transcript that would add a designation of
completion of the Texas First Early High School Completion Program
on a student’s transcript. The SBOE will consider the addition for
second reading and final adoption at the April 2023 SBOE meeting. If
adopted, a Texas First Early High School Completion Program data
element will be added to TREx for the 2023-2024 school year.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Will there be a new graduation code to indicate a student has
graduated via the Texas First Early High School Completion
Program?
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Frequently Asked Questions
Will there be a new graduation code to indicate a student has
graduated via the Texas First Early High School Completion
Program?
TEA is exploring an additional graduation code for the TSDS PEIMS Code
Table 62 (C062) to report graduates under the Texas First Early High
School Completion Program. Foundation High School Program
graduation codes include codes 34, 35, and 54−57.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How much is the Texas First scholarship?
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Frequently Asked Questions
How much is the Texas First scholarship?
For the 2022-2023 academic year, an eligible student may
receive up to the maximum annual (two semester) award
amount of the TExAS grant.
The amount of the scholarship depends on the number of
semesters the student graduated early.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How does a student graduating under
the Texas First Diploma Program affect
a district’s accountability rating?
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Frequently Asked Questions
How does a student graduating under
the Texas First Diploma Program affect
a district’s accountability rating?
The Division of Performance Reporting at TEA
does not use diploma plans for accountability
calculations. Students would graduate with a
distinguished level of achievement, which is
considered a higher diploma program and,
therefore, would benefit a district by adding
to its calculation for a distinction.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How will this program affect average daily attendance (ADA)
funding?
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Frequently Asked Questions
How will this program affect average daily attendance (ADA)
funding?
• TEA will increase a district’s average daily attendance for students who graduated
early under the Texas First High School Completion Program and are enrolled at
an eligible institution.
• THECB shall award a grant (state credit) to pay for tuition, mandatory fees, and
other costs of attendance at an institution to each eligible student based on if the
student graduates two or more semesters or less than two semesters or the
equivalent earlier than the expected graduation date of the student's high school
cohort.
• TEA will reduce each district’s Foundation School Program (FSP) entitlement by the
amount granted (state credit) to each eligible student.
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Q & A
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