By Luna S.B. No. 1222
75R8988 CAS-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to time management and service by certain employees in
1-3 public schools.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 7, Education Code, is
1-6 amended by adding Section 7.058 to read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 7.058. TIME-MANAGEMENT IMPROVEMENT PLAN AWARDS.
1-8 (a) The commissioner shall develop and implement a program to
1-9 evaluate and reward school districts and school campuses for
1-10 time-management improvement plans developed under Section
1-11 21.404(c).
1-12 (b) A district- or campus-level planning and decision-making
1-13 committee under Subchapter F, Chapter 11, may nominate a school
1-14 district or school campus for an award. In making the nomination,
1-15 the committee shall use the procedure and form prescribed by the
1-16 commissioner.
1-17 (c) The commissioner may use not more than $25 million each
1-18 year from funds appropriated for that purpose to distribute to
1-19 districts and campuses that have earned awards under this section.
1-20 SECTION 2. Section 21.401, Education Code, is amended to
1-21 read as follows:
1-22 Sec. 21.401. MINIMUM SERVICE REQUIRED. (a) A contract
1-23 between a school district and an educator must be for a minimum of
1-24 10 months' service.
2-1 (a-1) For the 1995-1996 school year, an educator employed
2-2 under a 10-month contract must provide a minimum of 183 days of
2-3 service. This subsection expires September 1, 1997.
2-4 (a-2) For the 1996-1997 school year, an educator employed
2-5 under a 10-month contract must provide a minimum of 185 days of
2-6 service. This subsection expires September 1, 1997.
2-7 (b) An educator employed under a 10-month contract must
2-8 provide a minimum number of days of service as determined by the
2-9 following formula:
2-11 where:
2-12 "MDS" is the minimum number of days of service;
2-13 "R1" is equal to FSP/ADA as determined under Section 21.402
2-14 for the fiscal year; and
2-15 "R2" is equal to FSP/ADA as determined under Section 21.402
2-16 for the 1994-1995 school year.
2-17 (b-1) Subsection (b) applies beginning with the 1997-1998
2-18 school year. This subsection expires January 1, 1998.
2-19 (c) The result of the formula prescribed by Subsection (b)
2-20 shall be rounded to the nearest whole number.
2-21 (d) If the minimum number of days of service for a school
2-22 year is increased over the minimum number of days of service for
2-23 the preceding school year, the number of days of increase must be
2-24 used in equal proportion for additional days of staff development
2-25 and teacher preparation. For each succeeding school year, days
2-26 added for staff development and teacher preparation purposes under
2-27 this subsection shall continue to be used for those purposes.
3-1 (e) The commissioner, as provided by Section 25.081(b), may
3-2 reduce the number of days of service required by this section. A
3-3 reduction by the commissioner does not reduce an educator's salary.
3-4 SECTION 3. Subchapter I, Chapter 21, Education Code, is
3-5 amended by adding Section 21.4011 to read as follows:
3-6 Sec. 21.4011. MAXIMUM WORK DAY. (a) Except as provided by
3-7 Subsection (b), a work day for a teacher is 30 minutes longer than
3-8 the school day established under Section 25.082.
3-9 (b) A school district may not require a teacher to attend
3-10 more than one school-related meeting or other activity each week
3-11 beyond the teacher work day unless the district compensates the
3-12 teacher for the time spent on the activity. The teacher shall be
3-13 compensated for the time based on a proportionate amount of the
3-14 teacher's daily rate of pay. For purposes of this section, a
3-15 teacher's daily rate of pay is the quotient of the teacher's salary
3-16 for a school year divided by the number of days of service for that
3-17 year as determined under Section 21.401.
3-18 SECTION 4. Section 21.404, Education Code, is amended to
3-19 read as follows:
3-20 Sec. 21.404. PLANNING AND PREPARATION [TIME]. (a) Each
3-21 classroom teacher is entitled to at least 450 minutes within each
3-22 two-week period for instructional preparation, including
3-23 parent-teacher conferences, evaluating students' work, and
3-24 planning. A planning and preparation period under this section may
3-25 not be less than 45 minutes within the instructional day. During a
3-26 planning and preparation period, a classroom teacher may not be
3-27 required to participate in any other activity.
4-1 (b) A teacher may not be required to use a teacher
4-2 preparation day prescribed under Section 21.401(d) for a purpose
4-3 other than performing classroom-related tasks such as planning or
4-4 preparing lessons, grading student work, or performing required
4-5 paperwork. A teacher may not be required to attend a
4-6 school-related meeting or other activity on a teacher preparation
4-7 day.
4-8 (c) In each school district, district and campus
4-9 administrators, in collaboration with the appropriate campus-level
4-10 planning and decision-making committees prescribed under Subchapter
4-11 F, Chapter 11, shall develop a plan to increase the amount of time
4-12 available during the teacher work day as defined by Section 21.4011
4-13 for preparation and for collaboration among teachers through the
4-14 use of strategies such as providing for:
4-15 (1) common planning and preparation periods for
4-16 teachers teaching at the same grade level or in the same
4-17 department;
4-18 (2) an additional conference period each month during
4-19 the teacher work day that is specifically designated for grade
4-20 level or department planning and preparation;
4-21 (3) the availability of an aide or school volunteer
4-22 for each grade level or department in each school facility to
4-23 perform duties such as clerical work, hall monitoring, and school
4-24 bus supervision;
4-25 (4) more efficient use of the regular instructional
4-26 day through block scheduling and reducing time permitted for class
4-27 changes;
5-1 (5) increased teacher access to technology;
5-2 (6) two non-teaching days each school year that a
5-3 teacher may use at the teacher's discretion to perform professional
5-4 duties;
5-5 (7) limiting the reports that teachers may be required
5-6 to prepare; or
5-7 (8) at least one-half day at the end of each grade
5-8 reporting period that a teacher may use for tasks such as
5-9 completing grade reports, performing required paperwork, or
5-10 preparing the classroom for a subsequent unit of study.
5-11 SECTION 5. (a) Sections 2-4 of this Act apply beginning
5-12 with the 1997-1998 school year.
5-13 (b) The commissioner of education shall implement a time
5-14 management improvement plan award program as required by Section
5-15 7.058, Education Code, as added by this Act, not later than
5-16 September 1, 1998.
5-17 SECTION 6. The importance of this legislation and the
5-18 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
5-19 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
5-20 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
5-21 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
5-22 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
5-23 passage, and it is so enacted.