By Flores H.C.R. No. 121
75R7924 JLZ-D
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
1-1 WHEREAS, Texas' rapidly growing student population is
1-2 increasing the demand for qualified teachers in our public schools;
1-3 this demand, however, is exceeding the supply of well-trained and
1-4 certified teachers; and
1-5 WHEREAS, According to a report presented to the Texas Higher
1-6 Education Coordinating Board in January 1997, more than 25 percent
1-7 of public schools in the state had vacancies that could not be
1-8 filled with qualified teachers; and
1-9 WHEREAS, To fill vacancies caused by the shortage of
1-10 qualified teachers, school districts often must resort to granting
1-11 emergency teaching permits to individuals who have not been
1-12 certified to teach; according to the same report, 31 percent of the
1-13 state's public school teachers were not certified in the subject
1-14 areas they were hired to teach; and
1-15 WHEREAS, Compounding the problem caused by a growing student
1-16 population and the shortage of qualified teachers is the changing
1-17 demographics of the state's population; some of the fastest growing
1-18 areas of the state are those regions with predominantly minority
1-19 populations, including South Texas, the Rio Grande Valley, and far
1-20 West Texas; and
1-21 WHEREAS, This demographic change increases the demand not
1-22 only for teachers in general but also for minority teachers who can
1-23 relate to, and provide positive role models for, an increasingly
1-24 ethnically diverse student population; and
2-1 WHEREAS, The changing composition of the state's population
2-2 also has significance for the future of public education, since it
2-3 affects the pool of future applicants and aspiring teachers; if the
2-4 state is to have an adequate supply of highly trained and competent
2-5 teachers in the classrooms of tomorrow, it must tap into the vast
2-6 human resources represented by the state's growing minority
2-7 population and depend on an educator workforce that increasingly
2-8 reflects the makeup of the population; and
2-9 WHEREAS, Given this imperative, the state's colleges and
2-10 universities charged with preparing the teachers of tomorrow must
2-11 improve their teacher preparation programs; the same report that
2-12 documented the current teacher shortage also noted that fewer than
2-13 70 percent of those graduates of education programs at public
2-14 colleges and universities with predominantly minority populations
2-15 were able to pass the required Examination for the Certification of
2-16 Educators in Texas (ExCET); and
2-17 WHEREAS, This low passing rate suggests a serious flaw in the
2-18 system that is expected to produce future generations of teachers
2-19 for Texas classrooms; the results suggest either that certain
2-20 education programs are not doing an adequate job of preparing these
2-21 candidates, a criticism that is implicit in the report to the
2-22 coordinating board, or that there is a bias in the ExCET in its
2-23 current form that discriminates against minorities; and
2-24 WHEREAS, The State Board for Educator Certification has the
2-25 responsibility for the administration of the ExCET and the issuance
2-26 of certificates for the classroom workforce; given this duty, it is
2-27 incumbent upon the board to address the issue of low passing rates
3-1 on the examination since the quality of the public education being
3-2 delivered to Texas schoolchildren is directly related to the
3-3 quality of teachers delivering that education; now, therefore, be
3-4 it
3-5 RESOLVED, That the 75th Legislature of the State of Texas
3-6 hereby direct the State Board for Educator Certification to study
3-7 the preparation of teacher candidates at public colleges and
3-8 universities that have large minority populations to determine why
3-9 so few of the graduates of those programs are able to pass the
3-10 Examination for the Certification of Educators in Texas; and, be it
3-11 further
3-12 RESOLVED, That the board also study whether the examination
3-13 discriminates against minority candidates, and if it does, how the
3-14 examination can be improved so that it does not negatively affect
3-15 the scores of minority graduates taking the examination; and, be it
3-16 further
3-17 RESOLVED, That the board submit a full report of its findings
3-18 and recommendations to the 76th Legislature when that legislature
3-19 convenes in January 1999; and, be it further
3-20 RESOLVED, That the secretary of state forward official copies
3-21 of this resolution to the commissioner of education, the
3-22 commissioner of higher education, and the State Board for Educator
3-23 Certification.