Amend SB 1108, on third reading, by adding the following
appropriately numbered sections and renumbering subsequent
sections of the bill accordingly:
SECTION ___. Subchapter B, Chapter 21, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 21.0484 to read as follows:
Sec. 21.0484. MASTER SCIENCE TEACHER CERTIFICATION. (a)
To ensure that there are teachers with special training to work with
other teachers and with students in order to improve student
science performance, the board shall establish:
(1) a master science teacher certificate to teach
science at elementary school grade levels;
(2) a master science teacher certificate to teach
science at middle school grade levels; and
(3) a master science teacher certificate to teach
science at high school grade levels.
(b) The board shall issue the appropriate master science
teacher certificate to each eligible person.
(c) To be eligible for a master science teacher certificate,
a person must:
(1) hold a teaching certificate issued under this
subchapter;
(2) have at least three years of teaching experience;
(3) satisfactorily complete a knowledge-based course
of instruction on the science of teaching children science that
includes training in science instruction and professional peer
mentoring techniques that, through scientific testing, have been
proven effective;
(4) perform satisfactorily on the appropriate master
science teacher certification examination prescribed by the board;
and
(5) satisfy any other requirements prescribed by the
board.
(d) The course of instruction prescribed under Subsection
(c)(3) shall be developed by the board in consultation with science
faculty members at institutions of higher education.
SECTION ___. Subchapter I, Chapter 21, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 21.413 to read as follows:
Sec. 21.413. MASTER SCIENCE TEACHER GRANT PROGRAM. (a) The
commissioner shall establish a master science teacher grant program
to encourage teachers to:
(1) become certified as master science teachers; and
(2) work with other teachers and with students in
order to improve student science performance.
(b) From funds appropriated for the purpose, the
commissioner shall make grants to school districts as provided by
this section to pay stipends to selected certified master science
teachers who teach at high-need campuses.
(c) The commissioner shall annually identify each high-need
campus in a school district using criteria established by the
commissioner by rule, including performance on the science
assessment instrument administered under Section 39.023. The
commissioner shall also use the criteria to rank campuses in order
of greatest need.
(d) A school district may apply to the commissioner for
grants for each high-need campus identified by the commissioner to
be used to pay stipends to certified master science teachers in
accordance with this section. Unless reduced under Subsection (g)
or (i), each grant is in the amount of $5,000. The commissioner
shall approve the application if the district:
(1) applies within the period and in the manner
required by rule adopted by the commissioner; and
(2) agrees to use each grant only for the purpose of
paying a year-end stipend to a master science teacher:
(A) who holds the appropriate certificate issued
under Section 21.0484;
(B) who teaches in a position prescribed by the
district at a high-need campus identified by the commissioner;
(C) whose primary duties include:
(i) teaching science; and
(ii) serving as a science teaching mentor
to other teachers for the amount of time and in the manner
established by the district and by rule adopted by the
commissioner; and
(D) who satisfies any other requirements
established by rule adopted by the commissioner.
(e) Unless reduced under Subsection (g) or (i), a stipend
under Subsection (d)(2) is in the amount of $5,000.
(f) The commissioner shall adopt rules for the distribution
of grants to school districts following the year of the initial
grant. A district that has been approved for a grant to pay a
stipend to a certified master science teacher is not required to
reapply for a grant for two consecutive school years following the
year of the initial grant if the district:
(1) continues to pay a stipend as provided by
Subsection (g); and
(2) notifies the commissioner in writing, within the
period and in the manner prescribed by the commissioner, that the
circumstances on which the grant was based have not changed.
(g) The commissioner shall reduce payments to a school
district proportionately to the extent a teacher does not meet the
requirements under Subsection (d)(2) for the entire school year. A
district that employs more certified master science teachers than
the number of grants available under this section shall select the
certified master science teachers to whom to pay stipends based on a
policy adopted by the board of trustees of the district, except that
a district shall pay a stipend for two additional consecutive
school years to a teacher the district has selected for and paid a
stipend for a school year, who remains eligible for a stipend under
Subsection (d)(2), and for whom the district receives a grant under
this section for those years. A decision of the district under this
subsection is final and may not be appealed. The district may not
apportion among teachers a stipend paid for with a grant the
district receives under this section. The district may use local
money to pay additional stipends in amounts determined by the
district.
(h) A grant a school district receives under this section is
in addition to any funding the district receives under Chapter 42.
The commissioner shall distribute funds under this section with the
Foundation School Program payment to which the district is entitled
as soon as practicable after the end of the school year as
determined by the commissioner. A district to which Chapter 41
applies is entitled to the grants paid under this section. The
commissioner shall determine the timing of the distribution of
grants to a district that does not receive Foundation School
Program payments.
(i) This section does not create a property right to a grant
or stipend. A school district is entitled to a grant to carry out
the purposes of this section only to the extent the commissioner
makes the grant in accordance with this section and only to the
extent sufficient state funds are appropriated for those purposes.
If state funds are appropriated but are insufficient to fully fund a
grant, the commissioner shall reduce the grant paid to each
district and the district shall reduce the stipend the district
pays to each teacher under this section proportionately so that
each selected teacher receives the same amount of money.
(j) A decision of the commissioner concerning the amount of
money to which a school district is entitled under this section is
final and may not be appealed. Each district shall, in the manner
and at the time prescribed by the commissioner, provide to the
commissioner proof acceptable to the commissioner of the master
science teacher certification of a teacher to whom the district is
paying a stipend under this section.
(k) The commissioner may audit the expenditure of money
appropriated for purposes of this section. A district's use of the
money appropriated for purposes of this section shall be verified
as part of the district audit under Section 44.008.
(l) A stipend a teacher receives under this section is not
considered in determining whether the district is paying the
teacher the minimum monthly salary under Section 21.402.
(m) The commissioner may adopt other rules as necessary to
implement this section.
SECTION ___. Subchapter J, Chapter 21, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 21.457 to read as follows:
Sec. 21.457. SCIENCE TRAINING. (a) The commissioner shall
develop and have approved by the board training materials and other
teacher training resources for a school district to use in
assisting science teachers in developing:
(1) expertise in the appropriate science curriculum;
and
(2) comprehension of the instructional approaches
that, through scientific testing, have been proven effective in
improving student science skills.
(b) To the extent practicable, the training materials and
other teacher training resources required under Subsection (a)
shall address instructional approaches designed to reduce any
identified disparities in student science performance between
groups of students.
(c) The commissioner shall develop materials and resources
under this section in consultation with appropriate faculty members
at institutions of higher education.
(d) The commissioner shall make the training materials and
other teacher training resources required under Subsection (a)
available to science teachers through a variety of mechanisms,
including distance learning, mentoring programs, small group
inquiries, computer-assisted training, and mechanisms based on
trainer-of-trainer models.
(e) The commissioner shall use funds appropriated for the
purpose to administer this section.
SECTION ___. Subchapter C, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 29.089 to read as follows:
Sec. 29.089. AFTER-SCHOOL AND SUMMER INTENSIVE SCIENCE
INSTRUCTION PROGRAMS. (a) A school district may provide an
intensive after-school program or an intensive program during the
period that school is recessed for the summer to provide science
instruction to:
(1) students who are not performing at grade level in
science to assist those students in performing at grade level;
(2) students who are not performing successfully in a
science course to assist those students in successfully completing
the course; or
(3) students other than those described by Subdivision
(1) or (2), as determined by the district.
(b) Before providing a program under this section, the board
of trustees of a school district must adopt a policy for:
(1) determining student eligibility for participating
in the program that:
(A) prescribes the grade level or course a
student must be enrolled in to be eligible; and
(B) provides for considering teacher
recommendations in determining eligibility;
(2) ensuring that parents of or persons standing in
parental relation to eligible students are provided notice of the
program;
(3) ensuring that eligible students are encouraged to
attend the program;
(4) ensuring that the program is offered at one or more
locations in the district that are easily accessible to eligible
students; and
(5) measuring student progress on completion of the
program.
(c) The commissioner by rule shall:
(1) prescribe a procedure that a school district must
follow to apply for and receive funding for a program under this
section;
(2) adopt guidelines for determining which districts
receive funding if there is not sufficient funding for each
district that applies;
(3) require each district providing a program to
report student performance results to the commissioner within the
period and in the manner prescribed by the rule; and
(4) based on district reports under Subdivision (3)
and any required analysis and verification of those reports,
disseminate to each district in this state information concerning
instructional methods that have proved successful in improving
student performance in science.
(d) A program provided under this section shall be paid for
with funds appropriated for that purpose.
SECTION ___. (a) If the Act of the 78th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2003, relating to renumbering or relettering certain
provisions of enacted codes takes effect, Section 822.201(b),
Government Code, as amended by Chapters 118, 834, and 1301, Acts of
the 77th Legislature, Regular Session, 2001, is reenacted and
amended to read as follows:
(b) "Salary and wages" as used in Subsection (a) means:
(1) normal periodic payments of money for service the
right to which accrues on a regular basis in proportion to the
service performed;
(2) amounts by which the member's salary is reduced
under a salary reduction agreement authorized by Chapter 610;
(3) amounts that would otherwise qualify as salary and
wages under Subdivision (1) but are not received directly by the
member pursuant to a good faith, voluntary written salary reduction
agreement in order to finance payments to a deferred compensation
or tax sheltered annuity program specifically authorized by state
law or to finance benefit options under a cafeteria plan qualifying
under Section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, if:
(A) the program or benefit options are made
available to all employees of the employer; and
(B) the benefit options in the cafeteria plan are
limited to one or more options that provide deferred compensation,
group health and disability insurance, group term life insurance,
dependent care assistance programs, or group legal services plans;
(4) performance pay awarded to an employee by a school
district as part of a total compensation plan approved by the board
of trustees of the district and meeting the requirements of
Subsection (e);
(5) the benefit replacement pay a person earns under
Subchapter H, Chapter 659, [as added by Chapter 417, Acts of the
74th Legislature, 1995,] except as provided by Subsection (c);
(6) stipends paid to teachers in accordance with
Section 21.410, 21.411, 21.412, or 21.413, Education Code;
(7) amounts by which the member's salary is reduced or
that are deducted from the member's salary as authorized by
Subchapter J, Chapter 659; and
(8) a merit salary increase made under Section 51.962,
Education Code.
(b) If the Act of the 78th Legislature, Regular Session,
2003, relating to renumbering or relettering certain provisions of
enacted codes does not take effect, Section 822.201(b), Government
Code, as amended by Chapters 118, 834, and 1301, Acts of the 77th
Legislature, Regular Session, 2001, is reenacted and amended to
read as follows:
(b) "Salary and wages" as used in Subsection (a) means:
(1) normal periodic payments of money for service the
right to which accrues on a regular basis in proportion to the
service performed;
(2) amounts by which the member's salary is reduced
under a salary reduction agreement authorized by Chapter 610;
(3) amounts that would otherwise qualify as salary and
wages under Subdivision (1) but are not received directly by the
member pursuant to a good faith, voluntary written salary reduction
agreement in order to finance payments to a deferred compensation
or tax sheltered annuity program specifically authorized by state
law or to finance benefit options under a cafeteria plan qualifying
under Section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, if:
(A) the program or benefit options are made
available to all employees of the employer; and
(B) the benefit options in the cafeteria plan are
limited to one or more options that provide deferred compensation,
group health and disability insurance, group term life insurance,
dependent care assistance programs, or group legal services plans;
(4) performance pay awarded to an employee by a school
district as part of a total compensation plan approved by the board
of trustees of the district and meeting the requirements of
Subsection (e);
(5) the benefit replacement pay a person earns under
Subchapter H, Chapter 659, [as added by Chapter 417, Acts of the
74th Legislature, 1995,] except as provided by Subsection (c);
(6) stipends paid to teachers in accordance with
Section 21.410, Education Code; Section 21.411, Education Code, as
added by Chapter 834, Acts of the 77th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2001; Section 21.411, Education Code, as added by Chapter
1301, Acts of the 77th Legislature, Regular Session, 2001; or
Section 21.413, Education Code;
(7) amounts by which the member's salary is reduced or
that are deducted from the member's salary as authorized by
Subchapter J, Chapter 659; and
(8) a merit salary increase made under Section 51.962,
Education Code.
SECTION ___. (a) The State Board for Educator Certification
shall propose rules establishing requirements and prescribing an
examination for master science teacher certification as required by
Section 21.0484, Education Code, as added by this Act, not later
than January 1, 2005.
(b) Beginning with the 2005-2006 school year:
(1) the commissioner of education shall pay grants
under Section 21.413, Education Code, as added by this Act; and
(2) school districts receiving grants shall pay
stipends to certified master science teachers under Section 21.413,
Education Code, as added by this Act.