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.