BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center	S.B. 1087
88R8665 DIO-F	By: Schwertner
	Education
	4/11/2023
	As Filed

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

Current law allows reimbursement for industry-based certification (IBC) exams for one exam per student per year and only cybersecurity certification reimbursement for teachers. In a career and technology education (CTE) program of study, students may earn between one and three industry-based certifications. School districts struggle to fund these additional certifications because CTE programs are limited on flexible operating funds with 90 percent of direct CTE allotments currently funding teacher salaries. This results in students and teachers facing financial barriers to earning entry-level certifications that stack within one or multiple programs of study.

S.B. 1087 would simply expand the reimbursement eligibility for all IBC exams for high performing students who earn multiple certifications. It will also expand the reimbursement for all IBC programs for CTE teachers who have to earn a certification to teach a specific course or sequence of courses.

As proposed, S.B. 1087 amends current law relating to authorization and reimbursement for certain examination fee subsidies paid for public school teachers and students.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Sections 29.190(a-1) and (b), Education Code, as follows:

(a-1) Authorizes a student to receive, rather than prohibits a student from receiving, more than one subsidy under Section 29.190 (Subsidy for Certification Examination).

(b)  Provides that a teacher is entitled to a subsidy under this section if the teacher passes a certification examination related to career and technology education, rather than an examination related to cybersecurity.

SECTION 2. Amends Section 48.156, Education Code, as follows:

Sec. 48.156.  CERTIFICATION EXAMINATION REIMBURSEMENT.� Provides that a school district is entitled to reimbursement for the amount of a subsidy paid by the district for each certification examination, rather than for a student's certification examination, under Section 29.190(a) (relating to entitling certain students to receive a subsidy for a certification examination) as provided by Section 29.190(c) (relating to requiring the Texas Education Agency to pay each school district a certain amount for the certification examination).

SECTION 3. Effective date: September 1, 2023.