HB4545 Handbook

Shelbyville ISD

HB4545 Overview


HB4545 requires all students who do not pass any STAAR or STAAR EOC subject test to have 30 hours of content-specific accelerated learning in that specific subject area. Shelbyville will primarily utilize differentiated instructional time, and in addition, summer school and after-school programs as needed to meet these requirements.


Students in grades 3, 5, and 8, who do not pass STAAR math and/or reading, must have an Accelerated Learning Committee (ALC) meeting to develop an accelerated learning plan (ALP) for the student and to monitor student progress. If these students do not pass the same subject area test in the subsequent year, the committee must continue. At the subsequent ALC meeting, the Superintendent or designee must be present.


Shelbyville Superintendent Designees:

Amber Swearengen


The Shelbyville ISD approach to fulfilling the requirements of HB 4545 is through the use of blended learning software to provide individualized, self-directed learning experiences for students. Student use of these programs will be supported by the teacher of record or other campus designee for progress monitoring purposes.


By fulfilling the personalized accelerated instruction requirements in this way, allows the district to continue to provide additional, small-group accelerated instruction according to the district’s plan. This may occur in the HB 4545 required 1:3 ratio or maybe slightly larger, in which case they would not count toward a student’s accelerated instruction minutes unless a group size waiver is on file.

Students ALC Meeting Requirements

For the purposes of clarifying and planning, students are classified internally into one of two groups. ALL STAAR failures, regardless of grade level and ALC requirements MUST have the 30 hours monitored and tracked. All students who do not pass, regardless of ALC, must have a parent small group waiver form if in a group with more than 3 students.


  • Track 1 Students:

    • STAAR 2021: Students who did not pass the reading and/or math Spring 2021 STAAR assessments in grades 3, 5, and 8. These students are required to have an initial ALC meeting (Summer/ Fall 2021).

    • STAAR 2022: Students who did not pass the reading and/or math Spring 2022 STAAR assessments in grades 3, 5, and 8. These students are required to have an initial ALC meeting (Summer 2022).


  • Track 2 Students:

    • STAAR 2021 students who did not pass the reading and/or math 2021 STAAR assessments in grades 3, 5, and 8 AND did not pass the 2022 STAAR assessment in the same subject in which they did not pass in 2021.

      • 2020-2021: 3rd grader failed STAAR reading spring 2021. ALC was established in summer 2021.

      • 2021-2022: This 4th grade student is monitored and must attend 30 hours of accelerated instruction in reading. This student does not pass the 4th grade reading STAAR spring 2022. This triggers a continuation of the ALC plan with a meeting held with the Superintendent's Designee in summer 2022.

      • 2022-2023: This 5th grade student is monitored and must attend 30 hours of accelerated instruction in reading.


For 2022-2023 School Year-those needing an ALC meeting:

  • 3rd graders-NA (not tested yet)

  • 4th graders-Track 1 only (initial 3rd grade test)

  • 5th graders-Track 2 only for those who failed in 3rd and 4th-same subject (no Track 1 because 4th grade does not trigger an initial ALC)

  • 6th graders-Track 1 only (5th grade initial failure)

  • 7th graders-Track 2 only (failed 5th STAAR and 6th STAAR same subject)

  • 8th graders-None

  • 9th-Track 1 only (8th initial failures)

  • 10th-Track 2 only (failed 8th STAAR and English 1 and/or Algebra same subject failures)

  • 11th-none

  • 12th-none


*Note: For students who did not take the STAAR assessment (ex: absent students), these students will be administered a released STAAR assessment. Planning for accelerated instruction and/or ALCs will begin after the analysis of results from the administration of these assessments. This does not pertain to out of state.

Implementation Timeline


For the 2022-2023 school year, Shelbyville ISD will follow the timeline below to implement the requirements of HB 4545. This timeline is subject to change based on guidance from the Texas Education Agency.

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Accelerated Learning Committee

ALC Members

The members of the Accelerated Learning Committee are:

  • Principal or designee

  • Student’s parent or guardian

  • Teacher of the current subject of the assessment in which the student did not pass

  • Recommended-receiving teacher (if on the same campus)

  • For Track 2 students-must include Superintendent Designee

ALC Documents

The Accelerated Learning Plan (ALP) will be part of DMAC and accessed through the student portfolio (see directions below). ALC documents will be included in the DMAC Learning Plans by uploading to the student’s Learning Plan in DMAC once signatures are collected. Signatures can be noted for phone/zoom meetings.


The available documents that help organize ALC meetings are linked below:

  • Parent notifications

  • Small Group Size Waiver (all students not just ALC) * notice needed for EVERY child that fails any STAAR


2022-2023 Parent Meeting Notice -English


2022-2023 Parent Waiver-Small Group-English (ALL failing students not just ALC students)


ALP DMAC Instructions


Scheduling ALCs

Per TEA, districts must “make attempts to accommodate parents/guardians to participate in ALC meetings.” This may include virtual or phone participation. If a parent/guardian is unable to attend, the information decided in the meeting will need to be shared with them. Be sure to maintain documentation of communication attempts to contact parents/guardians through DMAC ALP.


ALC Meeting Agenda

The structure of an ALC meeting should be as follows: Quick Reference Sheet

  • Introduction

  • Purpose of Meeting (HB 4545 Requirements)

  • Review of Assessment Data

  • Teacher Feedback and/or Questions

  • Parent Feedback and/or Questions

  • Discuss Plan

    • How and when acceleration will occur

    • Roles of school, student and parent

    • Discussion of group size waiver

  • Final Questions and Close

District-Created Accelerated Learning Plans


Accelerated Learning Plans (ALP) will be completed in DMAC by the ALC.

  • Track 1 Students (initial failures)

  • Track 2 Students (subsequent failures)

Group Size Waiver Letter


HB 4545 requires small group accelerated instruction to be delivered at a 3:1 student:teacher ratio or smaller. The group size requirement may be waived if the parent of every student in the small group signs a group size waiver. The flexibility provided by a parent waiver means that all parents should be encouraged to sign the group size waiver for their students. This allows a campus to count all small group tutorials and pullouts toward a student’s 30-hour accelerated instruction requirement.


The Shelbyville ISD Accelerated Instruction Group Size Waiver letter provides:

  1. The requirements of HB 4545

  2. The benefits of waiving the group size requirement for parents

  3. 2022-2023 Parent Waiver-Small Group-English



This letter should be shared with all parents whose students require accelerated instruction under HB 4545 (not only ALC). It should also be a component of all Accelerated Learning Committee meetings. *Once signed, the letter will be uploaded and attached to the Learning Plan in Dmac.

Accelerated Instruction Minutes Tracking Log


Campuses are required to monitor the amount of accelerated instruction provided to every eligible student. This includes time spent in eligible small group instruction, as well as through the use of blended learning software reports. For accelerated time, the following documents are acceptable as documentation: master schedule showing the time (with minutes), student attendance reports, and teacher lesson plans with time and/or adaptive software reports. For after-school programs, a tracking template should be maintained. The 21st Century documentation is acceptable. An optional minutes tracking log template is available in Google Drive for campuses to track accelerated instruction minutes.


Accelerated Instruction Tracking Sheet

Progress Monitoring


Students' progress will be monitored throughout the year through the use of screeners, diagnostic tests, CBAs, adaptive software, benchmarks and formative assessments.

The Role of the ARD Committee


For students served by special education, the ARD committee serves as the accelerated learning committee (ALC). The ARD committee must meet to address the student’s need for accelerated learning, and document how the student will participate in accelerated instruction within the Individualized Education Program (IEP). For additional information on the role of the ARD Committee, please see TEA Webinar 3.

The Role of the LPAC


Per TEA, to ensure equity for emergent bilinguals (EBs) the ALC should convene as directed with the inclusion of an LPAC representative. For additional information on the role of the LPAC, please see TEA Webinar 3.

Learning Programs by Grade Level / Content Area


The district is providing a set of learning tools to be used for accelerated instruction. Please see the table below for the available learning programs that will be used for each grade level / content area.


Grades 3-5

Students in grades 3-5 receive a minimum of 30 minutes of differentiated instruction daily through.


Shelbyville Middle School

Middle School students receive 45 minutes of differentiated instruction each day in one of the core areas one time a week.


Shelbyville High School

High School students enrolled in English, math, science, or social studies academic courses receive 30-60 minutes of differentiated instruction daily through department/course time (based on course assignments).

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HB 4545 Resources


HB 4545 Enrolled Text

TEA: Frequently Asked Questions

TEA Webinar 1: HB 4545 Implementation Overview

TEA Webinar 2: Accelerated Instruction Requirements & Tutoring

TEA Webinar 3: Accelerated Learning Committees & Parent Engagement

TEA Webinar 4: Accelerated Learning Resources

TEA has provided slide decks designed to support the structure of an effective ALC meeting. Links to these customizable decks are provided below, these are not required.

HB 4545 Parent-Teacher Planning Tool (English)

HB 4545 Parent-Teac4545-tea-planning-toolher Planning Tool (Spanish)