Amend HB 1144 on third reading as follows:
(1) On page 1, between lines 16 and 17, insert the
following new SECTIONS, appropriately numbered:
SECTION __. Subchapter B, Chapter 21, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 21.0482 to read as follows:
Sec. 21.0482. MASTER MATHEMATICS TEACHER CERTIFICATION. (a)
To ensure that there are teachers with special training to work
with other teachers and with students in order to improve student
mathematics performance, the board shall establish:
(1) a master mathematics teacher certificate to teach
mathematics at elementary school grade levels;
(2) a master mathematics teacher certificate to teach
mathematics at middle school grade levels; and
(3) a master mathematics teacher certificate to teach
mathematics at high school grade levels.
(b) The board shall issue the appropriate master mathematics
teacher certificate to each eligible person.
(c) To be eligible for a master mathematics teacher
certificate, a person must:
(1) hold a teaching certificate issued under this
subchapter;
(2) have at least three years of teaching experience;
(3) satisfactorily complete a knowledge-based course
of instruction on the science of teaching children mathematics that
includes training in mathematics instruction and professional peer
mentoring techniques that, through scientific testing, have been
proven effective;
(4) perform satisfactorily on the appropriate master
mathematics teacher certification examination prescribed by the
board; and
(5) satisfy any other requirements prescribed by the
board.
(d) The course of instruction prescribed under Subsection
(c)(3) shall be developed by the board in consultation with
mathematics and science faculty members at institutions of higher
education.
SECTION __. Subchapter I, Chapter 21, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 21.411 to read as follows:
Sec. 21.411. MASTER MATHEMATICS TEACHER GRANT PROGRAM. (a)
The commissioner shall establish a master mathematics teacher grant
program to encourage teachers to:
(1) become certified as master mathematics teachers;
and
(2) work with other teachers and with students in
order to improve student mathematics performance.
(b) From funds appropriated for the purpose, the
commissioner shall make grants to school districts as provided by
this section to pay stipends to selected certified master
mathematics teachers who teach at high-need campuses.
(c) The commissioner shall annually identify each high-need
campus in a school district using criteria established by the
commissioner by rule, including performance on the mathematics
assessment instrument administered under Section 39.023. The
commissioner shall also use the criteria to rank campuses in order
of greatest need.
(d) A school district may apply to the commissioner for
grants for each high-need campus identified by the commissioner to
be used to pay stipends to certified master mathematics teachers in
accordance with this section. Unless reduced under Subsection (g)
or (i), each grant is in the amount of $5,000. The commissioner
shall approve the application if the district:
(1) applies within the period and in the manner
required by rule adopted by the commissioner; and
(2) agrees to use each grant only for the purpose of
paying a year-end stipend to a master mathematics teacher:
(A) who holds the appropriate certificate issued
under Section 21.0482;
(B) who teaches in a position prescribed by the
district at a high-need campus identified by the commissioner;
(C) whose primary duties include:
(i) teaching mathematics; and
(ii) serving as a mathematics teaching
mentor to other teachers for the amount of time and in the manner
established by the district and by rule adopted by the
commissioner; and
(D) who satisfies any other requirements
established by rule adopted by the commissioner.
(e) Unless reduced under Subsection (g) or (i), a stipend
under Subsection (d)(2) is in the amount of $5,000.
(f) The commissioner shall adopt rules for the distribution
of grants to school districts following the year of the initial
grant. A district that has been approved for a grant to pay a
stipend to a certified master mathematics teacher is not required
to reapply for a grant for two consecutive school years following
the year of the initial grant if the district:
(1) continues to pay a stipend as provided by
Subsection (g); and
(2) notifies the commissioner in writing, within the
period and in the manner prescribed by the commissioner, that the
circumstances on which the grant was based have not changed.
(g) The commissioner shall reduce payments to a school
district proportionately to the extent a teacher does not meet the
requirements under Subsection (d)(2) for the entire school year. A
district that employs more certified master mathematics teachers
than the number of grants available under this section shall select
the certified master mathematics teachers to whom to pay stipends
based on a policy adopted by the board of trustees of the district,
except that a district shall pay a stipend for two additional
consecutive school years to a teacher the district has selected for
and paid a stipend for a school year, who remains eligible for a
stipend under Subsection (d)(2), and for whom the district receives
a grant under this section for those years. A decision of the
district under this subsection is final and may not be appealed.
The district may not apportion among teachers a stipend paid for
with a grant the district receives under this section. The
district may use local money to pay additional stipends in amounts
determined by the district.
(h) A grant a school district receives under this section is
in addition to any funding the district receives under Chapter 42.
The commissioner shall distribute funds under this section with the
Foundation School Program payment to which the district is entitled
as soon as practicable after the end of the school year as
determined by the commissioner. A district to which Chapter 41
applies is entitled to the grants paid under this section. The
commissioner shall determine the timing of the distribution of
grants to a district that does not receive Foundation School
Program payments.
(i) This section does not create a property right to a grant
or stipend. A school district is entitled to a grant to carry out
the purposes of this section only to the extent the commissioner
makes the grant in accordance with this section and only to the
extent sufficient state funds are appropriated for those purposes.
If state funds are appropriated but are insufficient to fully fund
a grant, the commissioner shall reduce the grant paid to each
district and the district shall reduce the stipend the district
pays to each teacher under this section proportionately so that
each selected teacher receives the same amount of money.
(j) A decision of the commissioner concerning the amount of
money to which a school district is entitled under this section is
final and may not be appealed. Each district shall, in the manner
and at the time prescribed by the commissioner, provide to the
commissioner proof acceptable to the commissioner of the master
mathematics teacher certification of a teacher to whom the district
is paying a stipend under this section.
(k) The commissioner may audit the expenditure of money
appropriated for purposes of this section. A district's use of the
money appropriated for purposes of this section shall be verified
as part of the district audit under Section 44.008.
(l) A stipend a teacher receives under this section is not
considered in determining whether the district is paying the
teacher the minimum monthly salary under Section 21.402.
(m) The commissioner may adopt other rules as necessary to
implement this section.
SECTION __. Subchapter J, Chapter 21, Education Code, is
amended by adding Sections 21.454 and 21.455 to read as follows:
Sec. 21.454. MATHEMATICS TRAINING. (a) The commissioner
shall develop training materials and other teacher training
resources for a school district to use in assisting mathematics
teachers in developing:
(1) expertise in the appropriate mathematics
curriculum; and
(2) comprehension of the instructional approaches
that, through scientific testing, have been proven effective in
improving student mathematics skills.
(b) The commissioner shall develop materials and resources
under this section in consultation with appropriate faculty members
at institutions of higher education.
(c) The commissioner shall make the training materials and
other teacher training resources required under Subsection (a)
available to mathematics teachers through a variety of mechanisms,
including distance learning, mentoring programs, small group
inquiries, computer-assisted training, and mechanisms based on
trainer-of-trainer models.
(d) The commissioner shall use funds appropriated for the
purpose to administer this section.
Sec. 21.455. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTES IN
MATHEMATICS. (a) The commissioner shall develop and make available
professional development institutes for teachers who provide
instruction in mathematics to students at the fifth through eighth
grade levels.
(b) A professional development institute developed under
this section must address:
(1) the underlying mathematical skills required to be
taught at the relevant grade levels; and
(2) mathematical instruction techniques that, through
scientific testing, have been proven effective.
(c) The commissioner shall develop professional development
institutes under this section in consultation with mathematics and
science faculty members at institutions of higher education.
(d) The commissioner shall adopt criteria for selection of
teachers authorized to attend a professional development institute
developed under this section.
(e) From funds appropriated for the purpose, the
commissioner shall pay a stipend to each teacher who completes a
professional development institute developed under this section.
The commissioner shall determine the amount of the stipend paid
under this subsection.
SECTION __. Subchapter C, Chapter 7, Education Code, is
amended by adding Sections 7.058 and 7.059 to read as follows:
Sec. 7.058. RESEARCH ON MATHEMATICS SKILLS ACQUISITION AND
PROGRAM EFFECTIVENESS. From funds appropriated for the purpose,
the commissioner shall award to one or more institutions that have
demonstrated an ability to conduct science-based research on
effective instructional strategies that improve student performance
in mathematics a grant to be used to:
(1) develop and identify research on mathematics
skills acquisition and student learning in mathematics;
(2) monitor the effectiveness of professional
development institutes under Section 21.455 based on performance in
mathematics by the students of teachers who have attended an
institute;
(3) examine the effect of professional development
institutes on the classroom performance of teachers who have
attended an institute;
(4) identify common practices used at high-performing
school campuses that lead to improved student performance in
mathematics; and
(5) develop research on cognitive development in
children concerning mathematics skills development.
Sec. 7.059. MATHEMATICS HOMEWORK AND GRADING SERVICE. (a)
From funds appropriated for the purpose, the commissioner shall
develop and make available a service that assists teachers in
providing and grading mathematics homework assignments. The
service may also assist teachers in providing and grading student
examinations.
(b) In making the service described by Subsection (a)
available, the commissioner shall consider all methods available
through advanced technology, especially methods using the Internet,
to distribute mathematics homework assignments and to provide
immediate assessment of a student's work on the assignment.
(c) Each homework assignment developed for the service:
(1) must be created with consideration for the
underlying mathematical skills required to be taught at the grade
level for which the assignment is designed;
(2) must be based on a step-by-step procedure for
solving mathematical problems provided by the assignment that may
be adapted to individual student and instructor needs;
(3) must be accompanied by a solution to each
mathematical problem assigned; and
(4) may be accompanied by other pedagogically valuable
material appropriate for a particular student.
SECTION __. Subchapter A, Chapter 28, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 28.007 to read as follows:
Sec. 28.007. MATHEMATICS DIAGNOSIS. (a) Using funds
appropriated for the purpose, the commissioner shall develop and
make available or contract for the development and dissemination of
assessment instruments that a school district may use to diagnose
student mathematics skills. In developing the assessment
instruments, all assessment methods available through advanced
technology, including methods using the Internet or other computer
resources to provide immediate assessment of a student's skills
shall be considered.
(b) The results of assessment instruments developed under
Subsection (a) may not be used for purposes of appraisals and
incentives under Chapter 21 or accountability under Chapter 39.
SECTION __. Subchapter C, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 29.087 to read as follows:
Sec. 29.087. AFTER-SCHOOL AND SUMMER INTENSIVE MATHEMATICS
INSTRUCTION PROGRAMS. (a) A school district may provide an
intensive after-school program or an intensive program during the
period that school is recessed for the summer to provide
mathematics instruction to:
(1) students who are not performing at grade level in
mathematics to assist those students in performing at grade level;
(2) students who are not performing successfully in a
mathematics course to assist those students in successfully
completing the course; or
(3) students other than those described by Subdivision
(1) or (2), as determined by the district.
(b) Before providing a program under this section, the board
of trustees of a school district must adopt a policy for:
(1) determining student eligibility for participating
in the program that:
(A) prescribes the grade level or course a
student must be enrolled in to be eligible; and
(B) provides for considering teacher
recommendations in determining eligibility;
(2) ensuring that parents of or persons standing in
parental relation to eligible students are provided notice of the
program;
(3) ensuring that eligible students are encouraged to
attend the program;
(4) ensuring that the program is offered at one or
more locations in the district that are easily accessible to
eligible students; and
(5) measuring student progress on completion of the
program.
(c) The commissioner by rule shall:
(1) prescribe a procedure that a school district must
follow to apply for and receive funding for a program under this
section;
(2) adopt guidelines for determining which districts
receive funding if there is not sufficient funding for each
district that applies;
(3) require each district providing a program to
report student performance results to the commissioner within the
period and in the manner prescribed by the rule; and
(4) based on district reports under Subdivision (3)
and any required analysis and verification of those reports,
disseminate to each district in this state information concerning
instructional methods that have proved successful in improving
student performance in mathematics.
(d) A program provided under this section shall be paid for
with funds appropriated for that purpose.
(2) On page 6, between lines 9 and 10, insert the following
new SECTIONS, appropriately numbered:
SECTION __. Section 822.201(b), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) "Salary and wages" as used in Subsection (a) means:
(1) normal periodic payments of money for service the
right to which accrues on a regular basis in proportion to the
service performed;
(2) amounts by which the member's salary is reduced
under a salary reduction agreement authorized by Chapter 610;
(3) amounts that would otherwise qualify as salary and
wages under Subdivision (1) but are not received directly by the
member pursuant to a good faith, voluntary written salary reduction
agreement in order to finance payments to a deferred compensation
or tax sheltered annuity program specifically authorized by state
law or to finance benefit options under a cafeteria plan qualifying
under Section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 <(26 U.S.C.
Section 125)>, if:
(A) the program or benefit options are made
available to all employees of the employer; and
(B) the benefit options in the cafeteria plan
are limited to one or more options that provide deferred
compensation, group health and disability insurance, group term
life insurance, dependent care assistance programs, or group legal
services plans;
(4) performance pay awarded to an employee by a school
district as part of a total compensation plan approved by the board
of trustees of the district and meeting the requirements of
Subsection (e); <and>
(5) the benefit replacement pay a person earns under
Subchapter H, Chapter 659, as added by Chapter 417, Acts of the
74th Legislature, 1995, except as provided by Subsection (c); and
(6) stipends paid to teachers in accordance with
Section 21.410 or 21.411, Education Code.
SECTION __. (a) The State Board for Educator Certification
shall propose rules establishing requirements and prescribing an
examination for master mathematics teacher certification as
required by Section 21.0482, Education Code, as added by this Act,
not later than January 1, 2003.
(b) Beginning with the 2003-2004 school year:
(1) the commissioner of education shall pay grants
under Section 21.411, Education Code, as added by this Act; and
(2) school districts receiving grants shall pay
stipends to certified master mathematics teachers under Section
21.411, Education Code, as added by this Act.
(3) Renumber SECTIONS of the bill appropriately.