Given the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic throughout the 2020-2021 school year, the Texas Legislature passed SB 1697. This Senate Bill gives parents/caregivers the opportunity to determine whether their child should repeat a grade or retake a high school course, including:

1. repeating prekindergarten;
2. enrolling in prekindergarten if the child was eligible to enroll in prekindergarten in the previous school year, under TEC, §29.153(b), and has not yet enrolled in kindergarten;
3. repeating kindergarten;
4. enrolling in kindergarten if the child would have enrolled in kindergarten in the previous school year and has not yet enrolled in first grade*; and
5. for grades one through three, repeating the grade the student was enrolled in the previous school year.

The following pertains only to the 2021-2022 school year:

1. for grades four through eight, repeating the grade the student was enrolled in during the 2020-2021 school year; and
2. for courses taken for high school credit, repeating any course in which the student was enrolled during the 2020-2021 school year.

Parents or guardians are required to notify the campus in writing if they elect for their child to retake a grade level or course.

The form to do so can be accessed here in English and Spanish, and should be returned to the campus.

It is important to note that:

• The option is permanent. If a child repeats a grade, this decision cannot be reversed later for any reason.
• If a high school student received a passing grade for the course they will repeat, they will keep their original grade on their transcript.
• If a student performed satisfactorily on the associated STAAR end-of-course tests for a course they are retaking, they are not required to retake the STAAR end-of-course exam.

If parents/caregivers decide that it is best for their child to repeat a grade or course, they must inform their school in writing by Friday, August 20.