1-1 By: Kitchen, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Ellis) H.B. No. 1475
1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House April 27, 2001;
1-3 April 30, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on
1-4 Education; May 9, 2001, reported adversely, with favorable
1-5 Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0;
1-6 May 9, 2001, sent to printer.)
1-7 COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 1475 By: Cain
1-8 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-9 AN ACT
1-10 relating to master technology teacher certification, grants, and
1-11 stipends.
1-12 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-13 SECTION 1. Subchapter I, Chapter 21, Education Code, is
1-14 amended by adding Section 21.411 to read as follows:
1-15 Sec. 21.411. MASTER TECHNOLOGY TEACHER GRANT PROGRAM. (a)
1-16 The commissioner shall establish a master technology teacher grant
1-17 program to encourage teachers to:
1-18 (1) become certified as master technology teachers;
1-19 and
1-20 (2) work with other teachers and with students in
1-21 order to increase the use of technology in each classroom.
1-22 (b) From funds appropriated for the purpose, the
1-23 commissioner shall make grants to school districts as provided by
1-24 this section to pay stipends to selected certified master
1-25 technology teachers. The commissioner shall give preference to
1-26 teachers who teach at high-need campuses.
1-27 (c) The commissioner shall annually identify each high-need
1-28 campus in a school district using criteria established by the
1-29 commissioner by rule. The commissioner shall also use the criteria
1-30 to rank campuses in order of greatest need.
1-31 (d) A school district may apply to the commissioner for
1-32 grants to be used to pay stipends to certified master technology
1-33 teachers in accordance with this section. Unless reduced under
1-34 Subsection (g) or (i), each grant is in the amount of $5,000. The
1-35 commissioner shall approve the application if the district:
1-36 (1) applies within the period and in the manner
1-37 required by rule adopted by the commissioner; and
1-38 (2) agrees to use each grant only for the purpose of
1-39 paying a year-end stipend to a master technology teacher:
1-40 (A) who holds a certificate issued under Section
1-41 21.0482;
1-42 (B) who teaches in a position prescribed by the
1-43 district;
1-44 (C) whose primary duties include serving as a
1-45 technology training mentor to other teachers for the amount of time
1-46 and in the manner established by the district and by rule adopted
1-47 by the commissioner; and
1-48 (D) who satisfies any other requirements
1-49 established by rule adopted by the commissioner.
1-50 (e) Unless reduced under Subsection (g) or (i), a stipend
1-51 under Subsection (d)(2) is in the amount of $5,000.
1-52 (f) The commissioner shall adopt rules for the distribution
1-53 of grants to school districts in years following the year of the
1-54 initial grant. A district that has been approved for a grant to
1-55 pay a stipend to a certified master technology teacher is not
1-56 required to reapply for a grant for two consecutive school years
1-57 following the year of the initial grant if the district:
1-58 (1) continues to pay a stipend as provided by
1-59 Subsection (g); and
1-60 (2) notifies the commissioner in writing, within the
1-61 period and in the manner prescribed by the commissioner, that the
1-62 circumstances on which the grant was based have not changed.
1-63 (g) The commissioner shall reduce payments to a school
1-64 district proportionately to the extent a teacher does not meet the
2-1 requirements under Subsection (d)(2) for the entire school year. A
2-2 district that employs more certified master technology teachers
2-3 than the number of grants available under this section shall select
2-4 the certified master technology teachers to whom to pay stipends
2-5 based on a policy adopted by the board of trustees of the district,
2-6 except that a district shall pay a stipend for two additional
2-7 consecutive school years to a teacher the district has selected for
2-8 and paid a stipend for a school year, who remains eligible for a
2-9 stipend under Subsection (d)(2), and for whom the district receives
2-10 a grant under this section for those years. A decision of the
2-11 district under this subsection is final and may not be appealed.
2-12 The district may not apportion among teachers a stipend paid for
2-13 with a grant the district receives under this section. The
2-14 district may use local money to pay additional stipends in amounts
2-15 determined by the district.
2-16 (h) A grant a school district receives under this section is
2-17 in addition to any funding the district receives under Chapter 42.
2-18 The commissioner shall distribute funds under this section with the
2-19 Foundation School Program payment to which the district is entitled
2-20 as soon as practicable after the end of the school year as
2-21 determined by the commissioner. A district to which Chapter 41
2-22 applies is entitled to the grants paid under this section. The
2-23 commissioner shall determine the timing of the distribution of
2-24 grants to a district that does not receive Foundation School
2-25 Program payments.
2-26 (i) This section does not create a property right to a grant
2-27 or stipend. A school district is entitled to a grant to carry out
2-28 the purposes of this section only to the extent the commissioner
2-29 makes the grant in accordance with this section and only to the
2-30 extent sufficient state funds are appropriated for those purposes.
2-31 If state funds are appropriated but are insufficient to fully fund
2-32 a grant, the commissioner shall determine the method of
2-33 distributing the funds.
2-34 (j) A decision of the commissioner concerning the amount of
2-35 money to which a school district is entitled under this section is
2-36 final and may not be appealed. Each district shall, in the manner
2-37 and at the time prescribed by the commissioner, provide to the
2-38 commissioner proof acceptable to the commissioner of the master
2-39 technology teacher certification of a teacher to whom the district
2-40 is paying a stipend under this section.
2-41 (k) The commissioner may audit the expenditure of money
2-42 appropriated for purposes of this section. A district's use of the
2-43 money appropriated for purposes of this section shall be verified
2-44 as part of the district audit under Section 44.008.
2-45 (l) A stipend a teacher receives under this section is not
2-46 considered in determining whether the district is paying the
2-47 teacher the minimum monthly salary under Section 21.402.
2-48 (m) The commissioner may adopt other rules as necessary to
2-49 implement this section.
2-50 SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 21, Education Code, is
2-51 amended by adding Section 21.0482 to read as follows:
2-52 Sec. 21.0482. MASTER TECHNOLOGY TEACHER CERTIFICATION. (a)
2-53 To ensure that there are teachers with special training to work
2-54 with other teachers and with students in order to increase the use
2-55 of technology in each classroom, the board shall establish a master
2-56 technology teacher certificate.
2-57 (b) The board shall issue a master technology teacher
2-58 certificate to each eligible person.
2-59 (c) To be eligible for a master technology teacher
2-60 certificate, a person must:
2-61 (1) hold a technology applications or Technology
2-62 Education certificate issued under this subchapter, satisfactorily
2-63 complete the course of instruction prescribed under Subdivision
2-64 (2)(B), and satisfactorily perform on the examination prescribed
2-65 under Subdivision (2)(C); or
2-66 (2) hold a teaching certificate issued under this
2-67 subchapter and:
2-68 (A) have at least three years of teaching
2-69 experience;
3-1 (B) satisfactorily complete a knowledge-based
3-2 and skills-based course of instruction on interdisciplinary
3-3 technology applications and the science of teaching technology that
3-4 includes training in:
3-5 (i) effective technology instruction
3-6 techniques, including applications designed to meet the educational
3-7 needs of students with disabilities;
3-8 (ii) classroom teaching methodology that
3-9 engages student learning through the integration of technology;
3-10 (iii) digital learning competencies,
3-11 including Internet research, graphics, animation, website
3-12 mastering, and video technologies;
3-13 (iv) curriculum models designed to prepare
3-14 teachers to facilitate an active student learning environment; and
3-15 (v) effective professional peer mentoring
3-16 techniques;
3-17 (C) satisfactorily perform on an examination
3-18 developed in cooperation with the Telecommunications Infrastructure
3-19 Fund Board and administered at the conclusion of the course of
3-20 instruction prescribed under Paragraph (B); and
3-21 (D) satisfy any other requirements prescribed by
3-22 the board.
3-23 (d) The board may provide technology applications training
3-24 courses under Subsection (c)(2)(B) in cooperation with:
3-25 (1) regional education service centers; and
3-26 (2) other public or private entities, including any
3-27 state council on technology.
3-28 SECTION 3. Section 822.201(b), Government Code, is amended
3-29 to read as follows:
3-30 (b) "Salary and wages" as used in Subsection (a) means:
3-31 (1) normal periodic payments of money for service the
3-32 right to which accrues on a regular basis in proportion to the
3-33 service performed;
3-34 (2) amounts by which the member's salary is reduced
3-35 under a salary reduction agreement authorized by Chapter 610;
3-36 (3) amounts that would otherwise qualify as salary and
3-37 wages under Subdivision (1) but are not received directly by the
3-38 member pursuant to a good faith, voluntary written salary reduction
3-39 agreement in order to finance payments to a deferred compensation
3-40 or tax sheltered annuity program specifically authorized by state
3-41 law or to finance benefit options under a cafeteria plan qualifying
3-42 under Section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C.
3-43 Section 125), if:
3-44 (A) the program or benefit options are made
3-45 available to all employees of the employer; and
3-46 (B) the benefit options in the cafeteria plan
3-47 are limited to one or more options that provide deferred
3-48 compensation, group health and disability insurance, group term
3-49 life insurance, dependent care assistance programs, or group legal
3-50 services plans;
3-51 (4) performance pay awarded to an employee by a school
3-52 district as part of a total compensation plan approved by the board
3-53 of trustees of the district and meeting the requirements of
3-54 Subsection (e); [and]
3-55 (5) the benefit replacement pay a person earns under
3-56 Subchapter H, Chapter 659, as added by Chapter 417, Acts of the
3-57 74th Legislature, 1995, except as provided by Subsection (c); and
3-58 (6) stipends paid to teachers in accordance with
3-59 Sections [Section] 21.410 and 21.411, Education Code.
3-60 SECTION 4. The State Board for Educator Certification shall
3-61 propose rules establishing requirements and prescribing an
3-62 examination for master technology teacher certification not later
3-63 than September 1, 2003.
3-64 SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
3-65 a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
3-66 provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
3-67 Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
3-68 Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
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