BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 2871

By: González, Mary

Higher Education

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Despite evidence that enrolling in computer science courses can put students on the path to a position in the fast-growing and high-earning technology industry, few Texas high school students have access to computer science courses in high school. Computer science is a foundational subject area for 21st century students to prepare for a career, college, or the military. Yet in the 2020-2021 school year, the Texas Advanced Computing Center found that only five percent of Texas high school students enrolled in a computer science course when offered at their school. Additionally, data from the Code Advocacy Coalition reveals that only 47 percent of Texas public schools offer a foundational computer science course, which means that as a whole, Texas public schools are not in compliance with the requirement to offer essential educational tools. Furthermore, less than a third of Texas high schools had a certified computer science teacher in the 2019-2020 school year, and both the U.S. Department of Education and the Texas Education Agency report teachers certified in this area have been in shortage for most of the past 25 years.

To encourage more Texas students to enroll in computer science courses and seek jobs in the technology industry, it is critical that additional training and professional development opportunities are offered to prepare teachers to teach those courses. C.S.H.B. 2871 seeks to provide teachers the resources to obtain a computer science certification and continue professional development in coding, computational thinking, and computer science education by creating a professional development grant program.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 2871 amends the Education Code to require The University of Texas at Austin, from money appropriated or otherwise available for the purpose, to design, develop, and implement a computer science education capacity promotion program as soon as practicable after the bill's effective date, to support and streamline computer science education and professional development for educators. The bill requires the university to do the following under the program:

· provide public primary and secondary schools and institutions of higher education with access to evidence-based and accredited computer science professional development resources provided by institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, or other accredited providers;

· recruit educators to the field of computer science education by providing continued professional development for existing and aspiring educators and certification stipends for newly certified educators; and

· provide stipends to educators who gain new skills through professional development or who successfully obtain an accredited or evidence-based computer science education certification.

The bill requires the university to prioritize providing services under the program to educators from public school campuses that lack certified computer science educators and from other underserved geographic locations and demographic communities.

C.S.H.B. 2871 requires the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) to adopt policies for the implementation and administration of the program.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2023.

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 2871 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

Whereas the introduced required the university to design, develop, and implement the program using appropriated funds, the substitute instead requires the university to design, develop, and implement the program from money appropriated or otherwise available for the purpose. The substitute includes a specification absent from the introduced that the purpose of the program is to support and streamline computer science education and professional development for educators.

Whereas the introduced required the university to design, develop, and implement a program connecting local education agencies and institutions of higher education with evidence-based and accredited computer science professional development resources provided by institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, or other accredited providers, the substitute instead requires the university, under the program, to provide public primary and secondary schools and institutions of higher education with access to those resources.

The substitute includes the following provisions that were absent from the introduced:

· a requirement for the THECB to adopt policies for the implementation and administration of the program; and

· a requirement for the university to establish the program as soon as practicable after the bill's effective date.