79S10081 CAS-D
By: Alonzo H.B. No. 46
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a program to assist certain persons to become certified
to teach in bilingual education programs and to teach in public
schools with a shortage of certified bilingual education teachers.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 21, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter O to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER O. BILINGUAL EDUCATION CERTIFICATION PROGRAM
Sec. 21.701. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "General academic teaching institution," "private
or independent institution of higher education," "public junior
college," and "recognized accrediting agency" have the meanings
assigned by Section 61.003.
(2) "Program" means the Bilingual Education
Certification Program.
Sec. 21.702. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM. The agency shall
establish a program to:
(1) assist persons who have completed at least 60
semester credit hours of course work toward an associate degree at a
junior college to obtain certification to teach in a bilingual
education program in a public elementary or secondary school in
this state; and
(2) facilitate the employment of those persons by a
public elementary or secondary school in this state that has a
shortage of teachers certified to teach in the school's bilingual
education program and that is located in a regional educational
service center region that has a severe shortage of such teachers as
described by Section 21.707(2)(B).
Sec. 21.703. ELIGIBILITY. A person is eligible for the
program only if the person:
(1) has completed at least 60 semester credit hours of
course work toward an associate degree at a public junior college or
a junior college accredited by a recognized accrediting agency;
(2) has been admitted into an educator preparation
program in this state to be prepared for certification to teach in a
bilingual education program;
(3) is able to use, with equal fluency, English and
another language used in a bilingual education program in this
state in a public elementary or secondary school described by
Section 21.707(2);
(4) has stated on the person's application for the
program that the person is willing to enter into an agreement under
Section 21.707; and
(5) satisfies any other criteria for selection jointly
prescribed by the agency and the State Board for Educator
Certification.
Sec. 21.704. INFORMATION AND APPLICATIONS. (a) The agency
shall develop an application for the program.
(b) The application must provide for a statement described
by Section 21.703(4) to be included.
(c) The agency and the State Board for Educator
Certification shall distribute the applications and information
regarding the program.
Sec. 21.705. SELECTION OF PARTICIPANTS. (a) The agency
shall select persons to participate in the program on the basis of
applications submitted to the agency.
(b) Each application must be submitted:
(1) in the form and contain the information the agency
requires; and
(2) in a timely manner.
Sec. 21.706. LIMITATION ON IMPLEMENTATION. The agency may
not select a person to participate in the program unless the agency
has sufficient state appropriations to pay the stipend.
Sec. 21.707. AGREEMENT. A person selected to participate
in the program must enter into a written agreement with the agency
under which the person agrees to:
(1) obtain, within the period the agency by rule
requires, certification to teach in a bilingual education program
in a public elementary or secondary school in this state;
(2) accept, during the first school year that begins
after the date the person becomes certified, an offer of full-time
employment to teach in a bilingual education program in a public
elementary or secondary school in this state that:
(A) has a shortage of teachers certified to teach
bilingual education; and
(B) is located in a regional education service
center region in which at least 25,000 students are students of
limited English proficiency, as defined by Section 29.052, who are
eligible to be enrolled in a bilingual education program under
Subchapter B, Chapter 29, but cannot be served in a bilingual
education program because of a shortage of teachers certified to
teach in a bilingual education program; and
(3) take any action necessary to ensure that the
agency receives any refund to which the agency is entitled under
Section 21.708(c).
Sec. 21.708. GRANT. (a) Subject to Subsection (b), the
agency shall provide for each participant in the program:
(1) if the participant is attending a general academic
teaching institution, a total grant amount equal to the amount of
tuition and mandatory fees for educator preparation program course
work required for the participant to earn a baccalaureate degree
and be certified to teach in a bilingual education program in a
public elementary or secondary school in this state; and
(2) if the participant is attending a private or
independent institution of higher education, a total grant amount
determined by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to be
equal to the average statewide amount of tuition and mandatory fees
that a resident student would be charged under Chapter 54 in an
educator preparation program at a general academic teaching
institution for the course work required for the participant to
earn a baccalaureate degree and be certified to teach in a bilingual
education program in a public elementary or secondary school in
this state.
(b) A grant under this section:
(1) may not provide for payment for more than 30
semester credit hours per academic year; and
(2) is payable until the participant completes the
educator preparation program.
(c) The agency shall provide for making a grant payment
under Subsection (a) directly to the appropriate institution of
higher education. The agency may not make a grant payment for a
number of semester credit hours greater than the number of semester
credit hours for which the student is registered during a semester.
If a program participant does not complete a course for which the
agency paid under the program and the institution of higher
education provides a partial or full refund, the agency is entitled
to the refund. The commissioner and the commissioner of higher
education jointly shall ensure that tuition refunds are paid to the
agency in accordance with this subsection, including jointly
consulting with private or independent institutions of higher
education as necessary.
Sec. 21.709. REIMBURSEMENT. (a) A participant in the
program who fails to obtain certification or employment as required
in the agreement under Section 21.707 or who voluntarily leaves or
is terminated for cause from the employment after teaching for less
than two years in a bilingual education program of a public
elementary or secondary school described by Section 21.707(2) shall
reimburse the agency for the portion of the grant that bears the
same ratio to the amount of the grant as the unserved portion of
required service bears to the two years of required service.
(b) The obligation to reimburse the agency under this
section or to reimburse the agency for any refund improperly paid to
a participant under Section 21.708 is, for all purposes, a debt to
the state. A discharge in bankruptcy under Title 11, United States
Code, does not release a participant from the obligation to
reimburse the agency. The amount owed bears interest at the rate
equal to the highest rate being paid by the United States on the day
the reimbursement is determined to be due for securities that have
maturities of 90 days or less, and the interest accrues from the day
the participant receives notice of the amount due.
(c) For purposes of this section, a participant in the
program is not considered to be in violation of an agreement under
Section 21.707 during any period in which the participant:
(1) is pursuing a full-time course of study related to
the field of teaching at a public or private institution of higher
education approved by the State Board for Educator Certification;
(2) is serving on active duty as a member of the armed
forces of the United States;
(3) is temporarily totally disabled for a period not
to exceed three years as established by sworn affidavit of a
qualified physician;
(4) is unable to secure employment for a period not to
exceed one year because of care required by a disabled spouse;
(5) is seeking and unable to find full-time employment
as a teacher in a bilingual education program in a public elementary
or secondary school described by Section 21.707(2) for a single
period not to exceed 27 months; or
(6) satisfies the provisions of any additional
reimbursement exception adopted by the agency.
(d) A participant is excused from reimbursement under
Subsection (a) if:
(1) the participant becomes permanently totally
disabled as established by sworn affidavit of a qualified
physician; or
(2) the agency waives reimbursement in the case of
extreme hardship to the participant.
Sec. 21.710. RULES. The commissioner shall adopt rules as
necessary to administer this subchapter.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect on the 91st day after the last day of the
legislative session.