By: West S.B. No. 1450
Line and page numbers may not match official copy.
Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E.
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1-1 relating to certificates issued to public school teachers as a
1-2 basis of establishing compensation levels and to attracting new
1-3 teachers to work in public elementary and secondary schools.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 21, Education Code, is
1-6 amended by adding Section 21.057 to read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 21.057. CERTIFICATION CLASSIFICATIONS USED IN
1-8 ESTABLISHING COMPENSATION LEVELS. (a) As a basis for establishing
1-9 compensation levels for teachers under Subchapter I, the board
1-10 shall issue certificates for the following classifications of
1-11 certification:
1-12 (1) teacher;
1-13 (2) staff teacher;
1-14 (3) senior teacher; and
1-15 (4) master teacher.
1-16 (b) The board shall issue a teacher certificate to a person
1-17 who has satisfactorily completed an educator preparation program
1-18 and the internship requirements prescribed by the board and
1-19 performed satisfactorily on an examination under Section 21.048 or
1-20 who has satisfactorily entered an alternative certification
1-21 program. Before a person to whom the board has issued a teacher
1-22 certificate is eligible for a staff teacher certificate, the person
2-1 must:
2-2 (1) teach in an elementary or secondary school in this
2-3 state under supervision prescribed by the board for at least two
2-4 school years; and
2-5 (2) complete any training program prescribed by the
2-6 board and offered by an institution of higher education, school
2-7 district, or regional education service center.
2-8 (c) The board shall issue a staff teacher certificate to a
2-9 person who, as a teacher, satisfactorily completes the requirements
2-10 under this section and those prescribed by the board.
2-11 (d) The board shall issue a senior teacher certificate to a
2-12 person who:
2-13 (1) teaches in a public school on a full-time basis
2-14 under a contract requiring 215 days of service per year;
2-15 (2) satisfies requirements prescribed by the board;
2-16 (3) supervises one or more persons who are teaching as
2-17 teachers;
2-18 (4) conducts staff development training for other
2-19 teachers; or
2-20 (5) teaches in a specialized program specified by the
2-21 board, such as mathematics, science, or reading, and participates
2-22 in continuing education related to the specialized program as
2-23 prescribed by the board.
2-24 (e) The board shall issue a master teacher certificate to a
2-25 person who:
2-26 (1) teaches in a public school for a least 75 percent
3-1 of the school day under a contract requiring 12 months of service;
3-2 (2) performs the duties required of a person who holds
3-3 a senior teacher certificate;
3-4 (3) performs research and evaluation of educational
3-5 programs to the extent required by the board;
3-6 (4) serves as a mentor to one or more other teachers
3-7 to the extent required by the board; and
3-8 (5) satisfies any other requirement prescribed by the
3-9 board.
3-10 (f) The classification of certificates under this section is
3-11 for purposes of compensation under Subchapter I only. A
3-12 certificate issued under this section does not:
3-13 (1) satisfy certification requirements under Section
3-14 21.003; or
3-15 (2) qualify a person to teach a particular course, at
3-16 a particular grade level, or in a particular program.
3-17 (g) The board shall propose rules as necessary to implement
3-18 this section.
3-19 SECTION 2. Section 21.044, Education Code, is amended to
3-20 read as follows:
3-21 Sec. 21.044. Educator Preparation. The board shall propose
3-22 rules establishing the training requirements a person must
3-23 accomplish to obtain a certificate, enter an internship, or enter
3-24 an induction [induction-year] program. The board shall specify the
3-25 minimum academic qualifications required for a certificate.
3-26 SECTION 3. (a) It is the goal of this legislature to
4-1 attract, before September 1, 2004, at least 150,000 well-qualified
4-2 persons to serve as new teachers in the state's public elementary
4-3 and secondary schools. In achieving that goal:
4-4 (1) the State Board for Educator Certification shall:
4-5 (A) expand and, to the extent necessary,
4-6 restructure alternative certification programs authorized under
4-7 Section 21.049, Education Code; and
4-8 (B) propose new rules concerning educator
4-9 preparation programs under Section 21.044, Education Code, as
4-10 necessary to ensure that the programs are designed to prepare
4-11 teachers to meet the needs of students in public schools and the
4-12 mission, goals, and objectives under Chapter 4, Education Code; and
4-13 (2) the Texas Education Agency shall:
4-14 (A) recruit to serve as teachers in public
4-15 elementary and secondary schools:
4-16 (i) persons who are certified to teach in
4-17 this state but who are not employed as teachers in a public
4-18 elementary or secondary school; and
4-19 (ii) persons who are certified to teach in
4-20 another state; and
4-21 (B) monitor staff development that school
4-22 districts provide under Section 21.451, Education Code, to ensure
4-23 that the staff development is designed to train teachers to meet
4-24 the needs of students in public schools and the mission, goals, and
4-25 objectives under Chapter 4, Education Code.
4-26 (b) The State Board for Educator Certification shall monitor
5-1 the success of the efforts of the board and agency under Subsection
5-2 (a) of this section and efforts to provide loans for persons
5-3 enrolled in educator preparation programs and shall report to the
5-4 legislature and school districts in this state not later than
5-5 January 31 of 2001, 2003, and 2005, concerning the success or lack
5-6 of success of those efforts. The board shall also make each report
5-7 available, on request, to a member of the public.
5-8 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
5-9 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
5-10 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
5-11 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
5-12 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
5-13 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
5-14 passage, and it is so enacted.