1-1     By:  Cain                                             S.B. No. 1726
 1-2           (In the Senate - Filed March 9, 2001; March 14, 2001, read
 1-3     first time and referred to Committee on Education; April 19, 2001,
 1-4     reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 8, Nays 0;
 1-5     April 19, 2001, sent to printer.)
 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-7                                   AN ACT
 1-8     relating to employment contract requirements for certain public
 1-9     school teachers.
1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11           SECTION 1.  Subsection (a), Section 21.102, Education Code,
1-12     is amended to read as follows:
1-13           (a)  Except as provided by Section 21.202(b), a [A] person
1-14     who is employed as a teacher by a school district for the first
1-15     time, or who has not been employed by the district for two
1-16     consecutive school years subsequent to August 28, 1967, shall be
1-17     employed under a probationary contract.
1-18           SECTION 2.  Section 21.202, Education Code, is amended to
1-19     read as follows:
1-20           Sec. 21.202.  PROBATIONARY CONTRACT REQUIRED.  (a)  Except as
1-21     provided by Subsection (b), before [Before] a teacher may be
1-22     employed under a term contract, the teacher must be employed under
1-23     a probationary contract for the period provided by Subchapter C.
1-24           (b)  A school district may employ a person as a teacher under
1-25     a term contract if the person has at least three years of
1-26     experience as a public school teacher within the last 10 years,
1-27     regardless of whether the person is being employed by the school
1-28     district for the first time or whether a probationary contract
1-29     would otherwise be required under Section 21.102.
1-30           SECTION 3.  This Act applies beginning with the 2001-2002
1-31     school year.
1-32           SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
1-33     a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
1-34     provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
1-35     Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
1-36     Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
1-37                                  * * * * *