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House Bill 1752 |
House Author: Patrick et al. |
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Effective: 9-1-13 |
Senate Sponsor: Seliger |
House Bill 1752 amends the Education Code to require the commissioner of higher education to establish through a competitive selection process a Texas Teacher Residency Program at a public institution of higher education that is committed to investing in teacher education and that will form a partnership with an area school district or open-enrollment charter school to provide employment to residents in the program, which must be designed to award master's degrees to program participants and lead to certification for participants who are not already certified teachers. The bill requires the institution to reward faculty instructing in the program, identify faculty who can prepare teachers to affect student achievement in high-need schools, provide institutional support of faculty working with the program by providing time to teach the courses and valuing the faculty's contributions with rewards in the university tenure process, and develop and implement a program that acknowledges and elevates the significance and professional nature of teaching at the primary and secondary levels.
H.B. 1752 sets out required program components, eligibility criteria for an individual's participation in the program, and requirements for the specific selection criteria to be established by the program for selecting individual program participants. The bill authorizes the commissioner to solicit and accept gifts, grants, and donations from public and private entities for the program and makes the program's establishment and maintenance contingent on the availability of sufficient funds for that purpose.