|
Senate Bill 8 (1st C.S.) |
Senate Author: Shapiro et al. |
|
Effective: 9-28-11 |
House Sponsor: Eissler |
Senate Bill 8 amends the Education Code to revise and expand the grounds for rendering a school district employee's probationary, continuing, or term contract void on the basis of a failure to meet certain requirements relating to the employee's certification and revises a school district's authority to terminate an employee whose contract is void, suspend the employee with or without pay, or retain the employee for the remainder of the school year on an at-will basis. The bill prohibits a school district from terminating or suspending an employee whose contract is void because of the employee's failure to renew or extend the employee's certificate or permit if the employee requests an extension from the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) to renew, extend, or otherwise validate the certificate or permit and, not later than the 10th day after the date the contract is void, takes necessary measures to renew, extend, or otherwise validate that certificate or permit, as determined by SBEC.
Senate Bill 8 changes the deadline by which a school district board of trustees is required to notify a teacher employed under a probationary contract and a teacher whose contract is about to expire of its decision to terminate the teacher's employment at the end of the contract period or of its intent to renew or not renew the expiring contract, as applicable, and sets out requirements for delivery of such notice. The bill entitles a teacher employed under a probationary contract or a continuing contract to a hearing before a hearing examiner if the teacher is protesting a proposed discharge or suspension without pay and to a hearing either before the board of trustees in the manner provided for a hearing on the nonrenewal of a term contract or before a hearing examiner, as determined by the board, if the teacher is protesting proposed action to terminate the contract before the end of the contract period on the basis of a financial exigency declared by the board that requires a reduction in personnel.
Senate Bill 8 authorizes the board of trustees of a school district with an enrollment of at least 5,000 students to designate a licensed attorney who is neither employed by nor affiliated with the district to hold a hearing on a proposed nonrenewal of a teacher's term contract on the board's behalf, to create a hearing record for the board's consideration and action, and to recommend an action to the board. The bill requires the board to consider the record and recommendation at the first board meeting for which notice can be posted following the receipt of the record and recommendation, unless the parties agree in writing to a different date.
Senate Bill 8 authorizes the board of trustees of a school district, on the basis of a declared financial exigency that requires a reduction in personnel, to amend the terms of the contract of a superintendent employed under a term contract and authorizes a superintendent whose contract is so amended to resign without penalty by providing reasonable notice to the board and to continue employment for that notice period under the prior contract.
Senate Bill 8 authorizes a school district board of trustees to implement a furlough program and reduce the number of days of service otherwise required by law by not more than six days of service during a school year if the commissioner certifies that the district will be provided with less state and local funding for that year than was provided to the district for the 2010-2011 school year. The bill authorizes the board of trustees to reduce the salary of a furloughed employee in proportion to the number of days by which service is reduced; sets out conditions and restrictions applicable to a furlough program; and establishes the required process for the development of a furlough program or other salary reduction proposal. The bill requires a district to reduce the amount of the annual salary paid to each district administrator or other professional employee in an amount relative to the average reduction in teacher salaries if a widespread reduction in the amount of the annual salaries paid to school district classroom teachers is based primarily on district financial conditions rather than on teacher performance.
Senate Bill 8 requires the commissioner, not later than July 1 of each year, to determine for each school district whether the estimated amount of state and local funding per student in weighted average daily attendance to be provided to the district under the Foundation School Program for maintenance and operations for the following school year is less than the amount provided to the district for the 2010-2011 school year and, if the amount is less, to certify the percentage decrease in funding.
Senate Bill 8 authorizes a school district board of trustees to adopt a resolution declaring a financial exigency for the district, limited to the fiscal year during which the declaration is made unless the board adopts a resolution declaring a continuation of the exigency for the following year. The bill requires the board to notify the commissioner each time the board adopts a resolution and requires the commissioner by rule to prescribe the time and manner in which notice must be given and to adopt minimum standards concerning school district financial conditions that must exist for declaration of a financial exigency.
Senate Bill 8 requires a candidate for certification as a teacher of record, before a school district may employ the candidate, to complete at least 15 hours of field-based experience in which the candidate is actively engaged in instructional or educational activities under supervision at a public school campus or private school accredited, recognized, or approved, as applicable, for this purpose by the Texas Education Agency. The bill makes this requirement applicable only to an initial certification issued on or after September 1, 2012; requires SBEC to propose rules relating to field-based experience requirements; and requires the commissioner by rule to adopt procedures and standards for recognizing a private school. The bill changes the manner in which reductions in personnel employed under a continuing contract are to be made by requiring such a reduction to be made based primarily on teacher appraisals in the specific teaching fields and other criteria determined by the board, rather than in reverse seniority. The bill limits a school district's required annual physical fitness assessment of students in grade three or higher to students enrolled in a course that satisfies the curriculum requirements for physical education. The bill authorizes a school district to require a person who requests public information provided by the district to pay the estimated charges for the request before the request is fulfilled.
Senate Bill 8 repeals provisions entitling a classroom teacher, full-time speech pathologist, full-time librarian, full-time certified counselor, or full-time school nurse to a salary that is at least equal to the salary the employee received for the 2010-2011 school year; requiring an open-enrollment charter school to increase the monthly salary of certain professional staff; and requiring certain school districts with a student membership of more than 5,000 that do not provide child-care services to consider and hold a public hearing regarding the need for such services.