By Price                                        H.B. No. 2486

      75R7146 ESH-D                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to a pilot program to provide salary supplements for

 1-3     experienced public school teachers at certain campuses.

 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Subchapter I, Chapter 21, Education Code, is

 1-6     amended by adding Section 21.4031 to read as follows:

 1-7           Sec. 21.4031.  SALARY SUPPLEMENT PROGRAM FOR EXPERIENCED

 1-8     TEACHERS AT CERTAIN CAMPUSES.  (a)  From money appropriated to the

 1-9     agency for that purpose, the commissioner shall distribute to

1-10     school districts money to provide a salary supplement to each

1-11     eligible teacher at each district campus selected by the

1-12     commissioner.

1-13           (b)  The commissioner shall select campuses for participation

1-14     in the program based on factors determined by the commissioner.

1-15     The factors may include:

1-16                 (1)  the number of educationally disadvantaged

1-17     students;

1-18                 (2)  the number of students who fail to perform

1-19     satisfactorily on an assessment instrument under Subchapter B,

1-20     Chapter 39;

1-21                 (3)  the average number of years of experience of the

1-22     teachers; and

1-23                 (4)  the average number of years each teacher at a

1-24     campus has worked at that campus.

 2-1           (c)  To apply for participation in the program, a school

 2-2     district must comply with application requirements adopted by the

 2-3     commissioner.

 2-4           (d)  Each eligible teacher at a campus selected for

 2-5     participation in the program is entitled to an annual salary

 2-6     supplement of $10,000.  The commissioner shall pay the supplement

 2-7     to the employing district in a manner that permits the district to

 2-8     pay the supplement to the teachers in equal installments with each

 2-9     regular salary payment.  A school district may not reduce the

2-10     salary paid by the district to a teacher who receives a salary

2-11     supplement under this section and shall provide the teacher each

2-12     salary increase to which the teacher is otherwise entitled.

2-13           (e)  A teacher is eligible for a salary supplement if the

2-14     teacher has at least seven and not more than 17 years of teaching

2-15     experience, regardless of whether the experience was gained in the

2-16     district participating in the program.  A teacher who has less than

2-17     17 years of teaching experience at the time the campus is selected

2-18     for participation in the program or at the time the teacher is

2-19     assigned to the campus does not become ineligible for a salary

2-20     supplement when the teacher acquires more than 17 years of teaching

2-21     experience.

2-22           (f)  A school district may transfer a teacher to or from a

2-23     campus selected for participation in the program but may not

2-24     dismiss a teacher solely because the teacher is not eligible for a

2-25     salary supplement.

2-26           (g)  The commissioner shall evaluate the benefits of the

2-27     salary supplement program and shall report the results of the

 3-1     evaluation to the 76th and 77th legislatures.  This section expires

 3-2     August 31, 2001.

 3-3           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

 3-4           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

 3-5     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

 3-6     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

 3-7     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

 3-8     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.