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House Bill 2646 |
House Author: Rose |
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Effective: Vetoed |
Senate Sponsor: Watson |
House Bill 2646 amends the Education Code to allow a school district to use the portion of its grant funds from the Educator Excellence Awards Program that is not allocated for rewards to individual teachers who improve student achievement to provide stipends to classroom teachers who have obtained national board certification through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
Reason Given for Veto: "The legislature appropriated $148 million to the Educator Excellence Awards Program to reward teachers who improve student performance. The program requires that school districts use at least 60 percent of the funds to directly reward classroom teachers who effectively improve student performance. The remaining funds must be used only for certain purposes, including providing stipends to effective mentors and to teachers with proven records of improving student performance assigned to campuses having difficulty retaining teachers. House Bill No. 2646 would add to the list of allowable uses for these funds by amending the program to allow districts to provide stipends to classroom teachers who have obtained certification through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS).
"By allowing stipends only for NBPTS certification, House Bill No. 2646 essentially is a vendor‑specific bill that would put NBPTS at a distinct advantage over competing certification programs, including the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence, which is currently under pilot and may soon be available in Texas. There is no reason to preference NBPTS certification over other worthwhile programs that recognize teachers who consistently improve student performance.
"In addition, the state's significant investment in teacher incentives should be used toward fulfilling our goal of raising student achievement through supporting teacher participation in programs proven to have a real impact on teacher effectiveness."