1-1     By:  Delisi (Senate Sponsor - Shapiro)                 H.B. No. 704
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House May 11, 2001;
 1-3     May 11, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on
 1-4     Education; May 11, 2001, reported favorably by the following vote:
 1-5     Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 11, 2001, sent to printer.)
 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-7                                   AN ACT
 1-8     relating to the Careers to Classrooms Program.
 1-9           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-10           SECTION 1. Chapter 21, Education Code, is amended by adding
1-11     Subchapter M to read as follows:
1-12                SUBCHAPTER M.  CAREERS TO CLASSROOMS PROGRAM
1-13           Sec. 21.601.  DEFINITIONS.  In this subchapter:
1-14                 (1)  "Institution of higher education" has the meaning
1-15     assigned by 20 U.S.C. Section 1001 and its subsequent amendments.
1-16                 (2)  "Program" means the Careers to Classrooms Program.
1-17           Sec. 21.602.  ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.  The agency shall
1-18     establish a program to:
1-19                 (1)  assist persons in obtaining certification in this
1-20     state as  elementary or secondary school teachers or educational
1-21     aides; and
1-22                 (2)  facilitate the employment of those persons by
1-23     school districts in this state that:
1-24                       (A)  receive grants under 20 U.S.C. Section 6311
1-25     et seq. and its subsequent amendments on the basis of having in the
1-26     district concentrations of children who are educationally
1-27     disadvantaged; and
1-28                       (B)  have a shortage of:
1-29                             (i)  qualified teachers, particularly
1-30     science, mathematics, computer science, or engineering teachers; or
1-31                             (ii)  educational aides.
1-32           Sec. 21.603.  ELIGIBILITY.  A person is eligible for the
1-33     program if:
1-34                 (1)  in the case of a person planning to become
1-35     certified in this state as a public elementary or secondary school
1-36     teacher, the person has received a baccalaureate or advanced degree
1-37     from an institution of higher education; and
1-38                 (2)  in the case of a person planning to become
1-39     certified in this state as an educational aide, the person has
1-40     received an associate, baccalaureate, or advanced degree from an
1-41     institution of higher education.
1-42           Sec. 21.604.  INFORMATION AND APPLICATIONS. (a)  The agency
1-43     shall develop an application for the program.
1-44           (b)  The agency and the State Board for Educator
1-45     Certification shall distribute the applications and information
1-46     regarding the program.
1-47           Sec. 21.605.  SELECTION OF PARTICIPANTS. (a)  The agency
1-48     shall select persons to participate in the program on the basis of
1-49     applications submitted to the agency.
1-50           (b)  Each application must be submitted:
1-51                 (1)  in the form and contain the information the agency
1-52     requires; and
1-53                 (2)  in a timely manner.
1-54           Sec. 21.606.  PREFERENCES.  (a)  In selecting persons to
1-55     participate in the program who are planning to become certified in
1-56     this state as teachers, the agency shall give preference to a
1-57     person who:
1-58                 (1)  has substantial, demonstrated career experience in
1-59     science, mathematics, computer science, or engineering and agrees
1-60     to seek employment  as a teacher in one of those subjects in a
1-61     public elementary or secondary school in this state; or
1-62                 (2)  has substantial, demonstrated career experience in
1-63     a field other than science, mathematics, computer science, or
1-64     engineering  that is identified by the agency as a field important
 2-1     for state educational objectives and agrees to seek employment as a
 2-2     teacher in a subject related to that field in a public elementary
 2-3     or secondary school in this state.
 2-4           (b)  The commissioner shall determine the level of experience
 2-5     considered substantial for purposes of this section.
 2-6           Sec. 21.607.  AGREEMENT.  (a)  A person selected to
 2-7     participate in the program who is planning to become certified as a
 2-8     teacher must enter into a written agreement with the agency under
 2-9     which the person agrees to:
2-10                 (1)  obtain, within the period the agency by rule
2-11     requires, certification in this state as an elementary or secondary
2-12     school teacher; and
2-13                 (2)  accept, during the first school year that begins
2-14     after the date the person becomes certified, an offer of full-time
2-15     employment for at least two school years as an elementary or
2-16     secondary school teacher with a school district described by
2-17     Sections 21.602(2)(A) and (B)(i).
2-18           (b)  A person selected to participate in the program who is
2-19     planning to become certified as an educational aide must enter into
2-20     a written agreement with the agency under which the person agrees
2-21     to:
2-22                 (1)  obtain, within the period the agency by rule
2-23     requires, certification in this state as an educational aide; and
2-24                 (2)  accept, during the first school year that begins
2-25     after the date the person becomes certified, an offer of full-time
2-26     employment for at least two school years as an educational aide
2-27     with a school district described by Sections 21.602(2)(A) and
2-28     (B)(ii).
2-29           Sec. 21.608.  STIPEND.  The agency shall pay to each
2-30     participant in the program a stipend equal to the lesser of:
2-31                 (1)  $5,000; or
2-32                 (2)  an amount equal to the total costs of the type
2-33     described by Paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (8), and (9), 20 U.S.C.
2-34     Section 1087ll, and its subsequent amendments, incurred by the
2-35     person while obtaining certification in this state as a teacher or
2-36     educational aide and employment as a teacher or educational aide at
2-37     a public elementary or secondary school in this state.
2-38           Sec. 21.609.  REIMBURSEMENT.  (a)  A participant in the
2-39     program who fails to obtain certification or employment as required
2-40     by the agreement under Section 21.607 or who voluntarily leaves or
2-41     is terminated for cause from employment after teaching in a public
2-42     elementary or secondary school in this state for less than two
2-43     school years shall reimburse the agency for the portion of the
2-44     stipend that bears the same ratio to the amount of the stipend as
2-45     the unserved portion of required service bears to the two school
2-46     years of required service.
2-47           (b)  The obligation to reimburse the agency under this
2-48     section is, for all purposes, a debt to the state.  A discharge in
2-49     bankruptcy under Title 11, United States Code, does not release a
2-50     participant from the obligation to reimburse the agency.  The
2-51     amount owed bears interest at the rate equal to the highest rate
2-52     being paid by the United States on the day the reimbursement is
2-53     determined to be due for securities that have maturities of 90 days
2-54     or less, and the interest accrues from the day the participant
2-55     receives notice of the amount due.
2-56           (c)  For purposes of this section, a participant in the
2-57     program is not considered to be in violation of an agreement under
2-58     Section 21.607 during any period  in which the participant:
2-59                 (1)  is pursuing a full-time course of study related to
2-60     the field of teaching at an institution of higher education
2-61     approved by the State Board for Educator Certification;
2-62                 (2)  is serving on active duty as a member of the armed
2-63     forces of the United States;
2-64                 (3)  is temporarily totally disabled for a period not
2-65     to exceed three years as established by affidavit of a qualified
2-66     physician;
2-67                 (4)  is unable to secure employment for a period not to
2-68     exceed one year because of care required by a disabled spouse;
2-69                 (5)  is seeking and unable to find full-time employment
 3-1     as a teacher in a public elementary or secondary school for a
 3-2     single period not to exceed 27 months; or
 3-3                 (6)  satisfies the provisions of any additional
 3-4     reimbursement exception adopted by the agency.
 3-5           (d)  A participant is excused from reimbursement under
 3-6     Subsection (a)  if the participant becomes permanently totally
 3-7     disabled as established by affidavit of a qualified physician.  The
 3-8     agency may waive reimbursement for some or all of the amount owed
 3-9     in the case of extreme hardship to the participant.
3-10           Sec. 21.610.  GRANTS TO FACILITATE PLACEMENT. (a)  The agency
3-11     may enter into an agreement as prescribed by Subsection (b) with a
3-12     school district described by Section 21.602(2) that first employs
3-13     as a full-time elementary or secondary school teacher or
3-14     educational aide after certification a person participating in the
3-15     program.
3-16           (b)  An agreement under this section must provide that:
3-17                 (1)  the school district agrees to employ the person
3-18     full-time for at least two school years at a specified salary in a
3-19     district school that:
3-20                       (A)  serves a concentration of children who are
3-21     educationally disadvantaged; and
3-22                       (B)  has an exceptional need for teachers or
3-23     educational aides, as applicable; and
3-24                 (2)  the state shall pay the district for that person
3-25     $5,000 each year for not more than two years.
3-26           Sec. 21.611.  RULES.  The commissioner shall adopt rules to
3-27     implement this subchapter.
3-28           SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
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