By Chavez H.C.R. No. 135
77R5040 JLZ-D
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
1-1 WHEREAS, One of the greatest challenges facing public
1-2 schools, both nationwide and in Texas, is the critical shortage of
1-3 qualified teachers; and
1-4 WHEREAS, Although exact figures vary from year to year, the
1-5 State Board for Educator Certification reports that Texas public
1-6 schools post about 63,000 new teacher openings each year, while the
1-7 board certifies only about 22,000 new teachers annually, leaving
1-8 schools with an annual deficit of about 41,000 teachers; and
1-9 WHEREAS, To address this shortcoming, many school districts
1-10 are forced to fill classroom vacancies by hiring permanent
1-11 substitutes or issuing temporary or emergency certificates to
1-12 individuals who have not received formal training as educators and
1-13 who sometimes possess only the most minimal qualifications; and
1-14 WHEREAS, Although the overall shortage is a serious problem,
1-15 it is especially severe in subject areas such as mathematics and
1-16 science and in program areas such as special education and
1-17 bilingual education; one result of these specific shortages is a
1-18 phenomenon known as out-of-field teaching where districts reassign
1-19 teachers to classrooms where they must teach subjects not covered
1-20 by their certificates; and
1-21 WHEREAS, These shortages are the result of several converging
1-22 trends that, if they continue unabated, will exacerbate a problem
1-23 that already has reached crisis proportions in some areas; rising
1-24 student enrollments combined with school reforms such as lower
2-1 class-size limits that reduce student-teacher ratios have created a
2-2 growing demand for teachers in our public schools; and
2-3 WHEREAS, At the same time that these two trends create a
2-4 demand for more teachers, Texas educators' ranks are thinning as a
2-5 sizable generation of longtime teachers reaches or nears retirement
2-6 age while substantial numbers of younger teachers with classroom
2-7 experience leave each year for more lucrative careers; and
2-8 WHEREAS, Not only has demand outpaced the current supply of
2-9 qualified teachers, the deficit will only worsen as the traditional
2-10 pipeline for that supply, namely, the teacher preparation programs
2-11 in our colleges and universities, struggles to keep up with the
2-12 demand, not attracting enough students in the first place and not
2-13 graduating enough candidates for certification; and
2-14 WHEREAS, Of the 22,000 certificates issued by the state board
2-15 each year, only 12,000 are issued to graduates of Texas
2-16 university-based teacher preparation programs; another 3,000
2-17 teachers are certified by the state through alternative
2-18 certification programs, and the remaining 7,000 recipients are
2-19 out-of-state teachers receiving Texas certification; and
2-20 WHEREAS, Addressing the problem requires an approach that
2-21 incorporates three related strategies with the ultimate goal of
2-22 making the teaching profession more attractive to both current and
2-23 prospective educators; in short, the state must make every effort
2-24 to improve teacher recruitment, preparation, and retention; and
2-25 WHEREAS, For recruitment efforts to be successful, they must
2-26 begin by identifying as early as possible talented individuals with
2-27 an interest in teaching; in fact, Section 21.004 of the Texas
3-1 Education Code requires the Texas Education Agency, the State Board
3-2 for Educator Certification, and the Texas Higher Education
3-3 Coordinating Board to develop and implement programs that identify
3-4 and recruit talented high school and undergraduate college
3-5 students, among others, into the teaching profession; and
3-6 WHEREAS, While these agencies may be able to identify high
3-7 school students interested in becoming teachers, recruitment
3-8 becomes more effective if those students can take productive steps
3-9 preparing for such careers as early as possible, while they are
3-10 still in high school; and
3-11 WHEREAS, One of the most successful innovations in recent
3-12 years has been the creation of magnet schools by many of our
3-13 independent school districts; these schools attract some of the
3-14 brightest and most talented young men and women in a particular
3-15 district by offering a curriculum that is both challenging and, in
3-16 some cases, specifically oriented to their career goals; and
3-17 WHEREAS, Given the critical need for teachers, particularly
3-18 in mathematics, science, bilingual education, special education,
3-19 and other specialized fields, school districts would perform an
3-20 invaluable public service by creating magnet schools or career
3-21 academies for prospective teachers, ensuring an adequate cadre of
3-22 first-rate educators to serve our schoolchildren for generations to
3-23 come; now, therefore, be it
3-24 RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas
3-25 hereby urge school districts to establish magnet schools that would
3-26 provide an early, appropriate, and rigorous academic foundation for
3-27 students interested in pursuing careers as public school teachers;
4-1 and, be it further
4-2 RESOLVED, That the Texas Education Agency, the State Board
4-3 for Educator Certification, and the Texas Higher Education
4-4 Coordinating Board be encouraged to support school district efforts
4-5 by helping to identify and recruit high school students interested
4-6 in pursuing careers in education and by providing technical and
4-7 financial assistance in the implementation of appropriate teacher
4-8 recruitment programs in accordance with Section 21.004 of the Texas
4-9 Education Code; and, be it further
4-10 RESOLVED, That the secretary of state forward official copies
4-11 of this resolution to the commissioner of education, the chair of
4-12 the State Board for Educator Certification, and the chair of the
4-13 Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.