1-1 By: Bivins S.B. No. 1327
1-2 (In the Senate - Filed March 8, 2001; March 13, 2001, read
1-3 first time and referred to Committee on Education; April 3, 2001,
1-4 reported adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the
1-5 following vote: Yeas 7, Nays 0; April 3, 2001, sent to printer.)
1-6 COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1327 By: Bivins
1-7 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-8 AN ACT
1-9 relating to improvement of the mathematics skills of public school
1-10 students.
1-11 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-12 SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 21, Education Code, is
1-13 amended by adding Section 21.0482 to read as follows:
1-14 Sec. 21.0482. MASTER MATHEMATICS TEACHER CERTIFICATION.
1-15 (a) To ensure that there are teachers with special training to
1-16 work with other teachers and with students in order to improve
1-17 student mathematics performance, the board shall establish a master
1-18 mathematics teacher certificate.
1-19 (b) The board shall issue a master mathematics teacher
1-20 certificate to each eligible person.
1-21 (c) To be eligible for a master mathematics teacher
1-22 certificate, a person must:
1-23 (1) hold a teaching certificate issued under this
1-24 subchapter;
1-25 (2) have at least three years of teaching experience;
1-26 (3) satisfactorily complete a knowledge-based and
1-27 skills-based course of instruction on the science of teaching
1-28 children mathematics that includes training in mathematics
1-29 instruction and professional peer mentoring techniques that,
1-30 through scientific testing, have been proven effective;
1-31 (4) perform satisfactorily on the master mathematics
1-32 teacher certification examination prescribed by the board; and
1-33 (5) satisfy any other requirements prescribed by the
1-34 board.
1-35 (d) The course of instruction prescribed under Subsection
1-36 (c)(3) shall be developed by the board in consultation with
1-37 appropriate faculty members at institutions of higher education.
1-38 SECTION 2. Subchapter I, Chapter 21, Education Code, is
1-39 amended by adding Section 21.411 to read as follows:
1-40 Sec. 21.411. MASTER MATHEMATICS TEACHER GRANT PROGRAM.
1-41 (a) The commissioner shall establish a master mathematics teacher
1-42 grant program to encourage teachers to:
1-43 (1) become certified as master mathematics teachers;
1-44 and
1-45 (2) work with other teachers and with students in
1-46 order to improve student mathematics performance.
1-47 (b) From funds appropriated for the purpose, the
1-48 commissioner shall make grants to school districts as provided by
1-49 this section to pay stipends to selected certified master
1-50 mathematics teachers who teach at high-need campuses.
1-51 (c) The commissioner shall annually identify each high-need
1-52 campus in a school district using criteria established by the
1-53 commissioner by rule, including performance on the mathematics
1-54 assessment instrument administered under Section 39.023. The
1-55 commissioner shall also use the criteria to rank campuses in order
1-56 of greatest need.
1-57 (d) A school district may apply to the commissioner for
1-58 grants for each high-need campus identified by the commissioner to
1-59 be used to pay stipends to certified master mathematics teachers in
1-60 accordance with this section. Unless reduced under Subsection (g)
1-61 or (i), each grant is in the amount of $5,000. The commissioner
1-62 shall approve the application if the district:
1-63 (1) applies within the period and in the manner
1-64 required by rule adopted by the commissioner; and
2-1 (2) agrees to use each grant only for the purpose of
2-2 paying a year-end stipend to a master mathematics teacher:
2-3 (A) who holds a certificate issued under Section
2-4 21.0482;
2-5 (B) who teaches in a position prescribed by the
2-6 district at a high-need campus identified by the commissioner;
2-7 (C) whose primary duties include:
2-8 (i) teaching mathematics; and
2-9 (ii) serving as a mathematics teaching
2-10 mentor to other teachers for the amount of time and in the manner
2-11 established by the district and by rule adopted by the
2-12 commissioner; and
2-13 (D) who satisfies any other requirements
2-14 established by rule adopted by the commissioner.
2-15 (e) Unless reduced under Subsection (g) or (i), a stipend
2-16 under Subsection (d)(2) is in the amount of $5,000.
2-17 (f) The commissioner shall adopt rules for the distribution
2-18 of grants to school districts following the year of the initial
2-19 grant. A district that has been approved for a grant to pay a
2-20 stipend to a certified master mathematics teacher is not required
2-21 to reapply for grant for two consecutive school years following the
2-22 year of the initial grant if the district:
2-23 (1) continues to pay a stipend as provided by
2-24 Subsection (g); and
2-25 (2) notifies the commissioner in writing, within the
2-26 period and in the manner prescribed by the commissioner, that the
2-27 circumstances on which the grant was based have not changed.
2-28 (g) The commissioner shall reduce payments to a school
2-29 district proportionately to the extent a teacher does not meet the
2-30 requirements under Subsection (d)(2) for the entire school year. A
2-31 district that employs more certified master mathematics teachers
2-32 than the number of grants available under this section shall select
2-33 the certified master mathematics teachers to whom to pay stipends
2-34 based on a policy adopted by the board of trustees of the district,
2-35 except that a district shall pay a stipend for two additional
2-36 consecutive school years to a teacher the district has selected for
2-37 and paid a stipend for a school year, who remains eligible for a
2-38 stipend under Subsection (d)(2), and for whom the district receives
2-39 a grant under this section for those years. A decision of the
2-40 district under this subsection is final and may not be appealed.
2-41 The district may not apportion among teachers a stipend paid for
2-42 with a grant the district receives under this section. The
2-43 district may use local money to pay additional stipends in amounts
2-44 determined by the district.
2-45 (h) A grant a school district receives under this section is
2-46 in addition to any funding the district receives under Chapter 42.
2-47 The commissioner shall distribute funds under this section with the
2-48 Foundation School Program payment to which the district is entitled
2-49 as soon as practicable after the end of the school year as
2-50 determined by the commissioner. A district to which Chapter 41
2-51 applies is entitled to the grants paid under this section. The
2-52 commissioner shall determine the timing of the distribution of
2-53 grants to a district that does not receive Foundation School
2-54 Program payments.
2-55 (i) This section does not create a property right to a grant
2-56 or stipend. A school district is entitled to a grant to carry out
2-57 the purposes of this section only to the extent the commissioner
2-58 makes the grant in accordance with this section and only to the
2-59 extent sufficient state funds are appropriated for those purposes.
2-60 If state funds are appropriated but are insufficient to fully fund
2-61 a grant, the commissioner shall reduce the grant paid to each
2-62 district and the district shall reduce the stipend the district
2-63 pays to each teacher under this section proportionately so that
2-64 each selected teacher receives the same amount of money.
2-65 (j) A decision of the commissioner concerning the amount of
2-66 money to which a school district is entitled under this section is
2-67 final and may not be appealed. Each district shall, in the manner
2-68 and at the time prescribed by the commissioner, provide to the
2-69 commissioner proof acceptable to the commissioner of the master
3-1 mathematics teacher certification of a teacher to whom the district
3-2 is paying a stipend under this section.
3-3 (k) The commissioner may audit the expenditure of money
3-4 appropriated for purposes of this section. A school district's use
3-5 of the money appropriated for purposes of this section shall be
3-6 verified as part of the district audit under Section 44.008.
3-7 (l) A stipend a teacher receives under this section is not
3-8 considered in determining whether the school district is paying the
3-9 teacher the minimum monthly salary under Section 21.402.
3-10 (m) The commissioner may adopt other rules as necessary to
3-11 implement this section.
3-12 SECTION 3. Subchapter J, Chapter 21, Education Code, is
3-13 amended by adding Sections 21.454 and 21.455 to read as follows:
3-14 Sec. 21.454. MATHEMATICS TRAINING. (a) The commissioner
3-15 shall develop training materials and other teacher training
3-16 resources for a school district to use in assisting mathematics
3-17 teachers in developing:
3-18 (1) expertise in the appropriate mathematics
3-19 curriculum; and
3-20 (2) comprehension of the instructional approaches
3-21 that, through scientific testing, have been proven effective in
3-22 improving student mathematics skills.
3-23 (b) The commissioner shall develop materials and resources
3-24 under this section in consultation with appropriate faculty members
3-25 at institutions of higher education.
3-26 (c) The commissioner shall make the training materials and
3-27 other teacher training resources required under Subsection (a)
3-28 available to mathematics teachers through a variety of mechanisms,
3-29 including distance learning, mentoring programs, small group
3-30 inquiries, computer-assisted training, and mechanisms based on
3-31 trainer-of-trainer models.
3-32 (d) The commissioner shall use funds appropriated for the
3-33 purpose to administer this section.
3-34 Sec. 21.455. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTES IN
3-35 MATHEMATICS. (a) The commissioner shall develop and make
3-36 available professional development institutes for teachers who
3-37 provide instruction in mathematics to students at the fifth through
3-38 eighth grade levels.
3-39 (b) A professional development institute developed under
3-40 this section must address:
3-41 (1) the underlying mathematical skills required to be
3-42 taught at the relevant grade levels; and
3-43 (2) mathematical instruction techniques that, through
3-44 scientific testing, have been proven effective.
3-45 (c) The commissioner shall develop professional development
3-46 institutes under this section in consultation with appropriate
3-47 faculty members at institutions of higher education.
3-48 (d) The commissioner shall adopt criteria for selection of
3-49 teachers authorized to attend a professional development institute
3-50 developed under this section.
3-51 (e) From funds appropriated for the purpose, the
3-52 commissioner shall pay a stipend to each teacher who completes a
3-53 professional development institute developed under this section.
3-54 The commissioner shall determine the amount of the stipend paid
3-55 under this subsection.
3-56 SECTION 4. Subchapter C, Chapter 7, Education Code, is
3-57 amended by adding Section 7.058 to read as follows:
3-58 Sec. 7.058. RESEARCH ON MATHEMATICS SKILLS ACQUISITION AND
3-59 PROGRAM EFFECTIVENESS. From funds appropriated for that purpose,
3-60 the commissioner shall award to one or more institutions that have
3-61 demonstrated an ability to conduct science-based research on
3-62 effective instructional strategies that improve student performance
3-63 in mathematics a grant to be used to:
3-64 (1) develop and identify research on mathematics
3-65 skills acquisition and student learning in mathematics;
3-66 (2) monitor the effectiveness of professional
3-67 development institutes under Section 21.455 based on performance in
3-68 mathematics by the students of teachers who have attended an
3-69 institute;
4-1 (3) examine the effect of professional development
4-2 institutes on the classroom performance of teachers who have
4-3 attended an institute;
4-4 (4) identify common practices used at high-performing
4-5 school campuses that lead to improved student performance in
4-6 mathematics; and
4-7 (5) develop research on cognitive development in
4-8 children concerning mathematics skills development.
4-9 SECTION 5. Subchapter A, Chapter 28, Education Code, is
4-10 amended by adding Section 28.007 to read as follows:
4-11 Sec. 28.007. MATHEMATICS DIAGNOSIS. (a) Using funds
4-12 appropriated for the purpose, the commissioner shall develop and
4-13 make available or contract for the development and dissemination of
4-14 assessment instruments that a school district may use to diagnose
4-15 student mathematics skills. In developing the assessment
4-16 instruments, all assessment methods available through advanced
4-17 technology, including methods using the Internet or other computer
4-18 resources to provide immediate assessment of a student's skills
4-19 shall be considered.
4-20 (b) The results of assessment instruments required under
4-21 Subsection (a) may not be used for purposes of appraisals and
4-22 incentives under Chapter 21 or accountability under Chapter 39.
4-23 SECTION 6. Subsection (b), Section 822.201, Government Code,
4-24 is amended to read as follows:
4-25 (b) "Salary and wages" as used in Subsection (a) means:
4-26 (1) normal periodic payments of money for service the
4-27 right to which accrues on a regular basis in proportion to the
4-28 service performed;
4-29 (2) amounts by which the member's salary is reduced
4-30 under a salary reduction agreement authorized by Chapter 610;
4-31 (3) amounts that would otherwise qualify as salary and
4-32 wages under Subdivision (1) but are not received directly by the
4-33 member pursuant to a good faith, voluntary written salary reduction
4-34 agreement in order to finance payments to a deferred compensation
4-35 or tax sheltered annuity program specifically authorized by state
4-36 law or to finance benefit options under a cafeteria plan qualifying
4-37 under Section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 [(26 U.S.C.
4-38 Section 125)], if:
4-39 (A) the program or benefit options are made
4-40 available to all employees of the employer; and
4-41 (B) the benefit options in the cafeteria plan
4-42 are limited to one or more options that provide deferred
4-43 compensation, group health and disability insurance, group term
4-44 life insurance, dependent care assistance programs, or group legal
4-45 services plans;
4-46 (4) performance pay awarded to an employee by a school
4-47 district as part of a total compensation plan approved by the board
4-48 of trustees of the district and meeting the requirements of
4-49 Subsection (e); [and]
4-50 (5) the benefit replacement pay a person earns under
4-51 Subchapter H, Chapter 659, as added by Chapter 417, Acts of the
4-52 74th Legislature, 1995, except as provided by Subsection (c); and
4-53 (6) stipends paid to teachers in accordance with
4-54 Section 21.410 or 21.411, Education Code.
4-55 SECTION 7. (a) The State Board for Educator Certification
4-56 shall propose rules establishing requirements and prescribing an
4-57 examination for master mathematics teacher certification as
4-58 required by Section 21.0482, Education Code, as added by this Act,
4-59 not later than January 1, 2003.
4-60 (b) Beginning with the 2003-2004 school year:
4-61 (1) the commissioner of education shall pay grants
4-62 under Section 21.411, Education Code, as added by this Act; and
4-63 (2) school districts receiving grants shall pay
4-64 stipends to certified master mathematics teachers under Section
4-65 21.411, Education Code, as added by this Act.
4-66 SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
4-67 * * * * *