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79S30505 BDH-D
By: Eissler H.B. No. 54
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the compensation and benefits of and programs for
public school employees.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 12, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 12.133 to read as follows:
Sec. 12.133. WAGE INCREASE FOR CERTAIN PROFESSIONAL STAFF.
(a) This section applies to a charter holder that on January 1,
2006, operated an open-enrollment charter school.
(b) For the 2006-2007 school year, using state funds
received by the charter holder for that purpose under Subsection
(d), a charter holder that participated in the program under
Chapter 1579, Insurance Code, for the 2005-2006 school year shall
provide employees of the charter holder, other than administrators,
compensation in the form of annual salaries, incentives, or other
compensation determined appropriate by the charter holder that
results in average compensation increases as follows:
(1) for classroom teachers, full-time librarians,
full-time counselors, and full-time school nurses who are employed
by the charter holder and who would be entitled to a minimum salary
under Section 21.402 if employed by a school district, an average
increase at least equal to $2,500;
(2) for full-time employees other than employees
described by Subdivision (1), an average increase at least equal to
$500; and
(3) for part-time employees, an average increase at
least equal to $250.
(c) For the 2006-2007 school year, using state funds
received by the charter holder for that purpose under Subsection
(e), a charter holder that did not participate in the program under
Chapter 1579, Insurance Code, for the 2005-2006 school year shall
provide employees of the charter holder, other than administrators,
compensation in the form of annual salaries, incentives, or other
compensation determined appropriate by the charter holder that
results in an average compensation increase for classroom teachers,
full-time librarians, full-time counselors, and full-time school
nurses who are employed by the charter holder and who would be
entitled to a minimum salary under Section 21.402 if employed by a
school district, in an amount at least equal to $2,000.
(d) For the 2006-2007 school year, in addition to any
amounts to which a charter holder is entitled under this chapter, a
charter holder that participated in the program under Chapter 1579,
Insurance Code, for the 2005-2006 school year is entitled to state
aid in an amount, as determined by the commissioner, equal to the
sum of:
(1) the product of $2,500 multiplied by the number of
classroom teachers, full-time librarians, full-time counselors,
and full-time school nurses employed by the charter holder at an
open-enrollment charter school;
(2) the product of $500 multiplied by the number of
full-time employees other than employees described by Subdivision
(1); and
(3) the product of $250 multiplied by the number of
part-time employees.
(e) For the 2006-2007 school year, in addition to any
amounts to which a charter holder is entitled under this chapter, a
charter holder that did not participate in the program under
Chapter 1579, Insurance Code, for the 2005-2006 school year is
entitled to state aid in an amount, as determined by the
commissioner, equal to the product of $2,000 multiplied by the
number of classroom teachers, full-time librarians, full-time
counselors, and full-time school nurses employed by the charter
holder at an open-enrollment charter school.
(f) A payment under this section is in addition to wages the
charter holder would otherwise pay the employee during the school
year.
(g) This section expires September 1, 2007.
SECTION 2. Section 21.402, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (c), and (d) and adding Subsections (c-1)
and (c-2) to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (d), (e), or (f), a
school district must pay each classroom teacher, full-time
librarian, full-time counselor certified under Subchapter B, or
full-time school nurse not less than the minimum monthly salary,
based on the employee's level of experience or other factors, as
determined by commissioner rule, determined by the following
formula:
MS = SF x FS
where:
"MS" is the minimum monthly salary;
"SF" is the applicable salary factor specified by Subsection
(c); and
"FS" is the amount, as determined by the commissioner under
Subsection (b), of state and local funds per weighted student
available to a district eligible to receive state assistance under
Section 42.302 with an enrichment tax rate, as defined by Section
42.302, equal to the maximum rate authorized under Section 42.303,
except that the amount of state and local funds per weighted student
does not include the amount attributable to the increase in the
guaranteed level made by Chapter 1187 [H.B. No. 3343], Acts of the
77th Legislature, Regular Session, 2001.
(c) The salary factors per step are as follows:
YearsExperience 0 1 2 3 4
2000-2001] school
year is, as long as the employee is employed by the same district,
entitled to a salary that is at least equal to the salary the
employee received for the 2006-2007 [2000-2001] school year.
SECTION 3. Subchapter I, Chapter 21, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 21.415 to read as follows:
Sec. 21.415. EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS. (a) A school district
shall provide in employment contracts that qualifying employees may
receive an incentive payment under an awards program established
under Subchapter N or O if the district participates in the program.
(b) The district shall indicate that any incentive payment
distributed is considered a payment for performance and not an
entitlement as part of an employee's salary.
SECTION 4. Subchapter J, Chapter 21, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 21.458 to read as follows:
Sec. 21.458. MENTORS. (a) Each school district may assign
a mentor teacher to each classroom teacher who has less than two
years of teaching experience. A teacher assigned as a mentor must:
(1) teach in the same school;
(2) to the extent practicable, teach the same subject
or grade level, as applicable; and
(3) meet the qualifications prescribed by
commissioner rules adopted under Subsection (b).
(b) The commissioner shall adopt rules necessary to
administer this section, including rules concerning the duties and
qualifications of a teacher who serves as a mentor. The rules
concerning qualifications must require that to serve as a mentor a
teacher must:
(1) complete a research-based mentor and induction
training program approved by the commissioner;
(2) complete a mentor training program provided by the
district; and
(3) have at least three complete years of teaching
experience with a superior record of assisting students, as a
whole, in achieving improvement in student performance.
(c) From the funds appropriated to the agency for purposes
of this section, the commissioner shall adopt rules and provide
funding to school districts that assign mentor teachers under this
section. Funding provided to districts under this section may be
used only for providing:
(1) mentor teacher stipends;
(2) scheduled time for mentor teachers to provide
mentoring to assigned classroom teachers; and
(3) mentoring support through providers of mentor
training.
(d) In adopting rules under Subsection (c), the
commissioner shall rely on research-based mentoring programs that,
through external evaluation, have demonstrated success.
SECTION 5. Chapter 21, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapters N and O to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER N. AWARDS FOR STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT PROGRAM
Sec. 21.651. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "program"
means the awards for student achievement program.
Sec. 21.652. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM. (a) The
commissioner by rule shall establish an awards for student
achievement program under which an eligible campus may receive a
grant from the agency in the manner provided by this subchapter.
(b) In establishing the program, the commissioner shall
adopt program guidelines in accordance with this subchapter for a
campus to follow in developing a campus incentive plan under
Section 21.654.
Sec. 21.653. CAMPUS ELIGIBILITY. (a) Except as provided by
Subsection (b), a campus is eligible to apply for and may receive a
program grant if the campus:
(1) is ranked by the agency in the top half of this
state's elementary school campuses, middle or junior high school
campuses, high school campuses, or campuses for students of all
grade levels, as applicable, in the percentage of educationally
disadvantaged students enrolled at the campus; and
(2) is rated exemplary or recognized under Section
39.072 or ranked in the top quartile of campuses in comparable
improvement, as defined by Section 39.051(c), in mathematics or
reading.
(b) This subsection applies only to a registered
alternative education campus that has a student enrollment of at
least 30 students and is rated under alternative education
accountability procedures. A campus to which this subsection
applies is eligible to apply for and may receive a program grant if
the campus is ranked by the agency in the top third of elementary
school campuses, middle or junior high school campuses, high school
campuses, or campuses for students of all grade levels, as
applicable, in the percentage of educationally disadvantaged
students enrolled at the campus who perform successfully, as
determined under Section 39.024, on assessment instruments
administered under Section 39.023.
Sec. 21.654. CAMPUS INCENTIVE PLAN. (a) A campus-level
decision-making body, such as the campus-level planning and
decision-making committee established under Subchapter F, Chapter
11, for each eligible campus that intends to participate in the
program shall develop a campus incentive plan for the campus that:
(1) is designed to reward teachers who have a positive
impact on improving student achievement;
(2) meets all program guidelines adopted by the
commissioner under Section 21.652; and
(3) describes how grant funds will be distributed.
(b) A district-level committee, such as the district-level
planning and decision-making committee established under
Subchapter F, Chapter 11:
(1) must approve the campus incentive plan developed
under Subsection (a) before the plan is submitted to the agency; and
(2) shall approve the plan if the district-level
committee determines that the plan meets program guidelines adopted
by the commissioner under Section 21.652.
(c) A school district shall, on behalf of an eligible
campus, submit a campus incentive plan to the agency for approval.
The plan must be submitted together with:
(1) evidence of significant classroom teacher
involvement in the development of the plan presented through the
campus-level decision-making body's meeting attendance records or
minutes or other appropriate means;
(2) letters from at least three classroom teachers
assigned to the eligible campus describing the teachers' support
for and involvement in developing the plan; and
(3) evidence that the plan:
(A) has been made available for public viewing;
and
(B) has been presented to the public at a
regularly scheduled board of trustees meeting or will be presented
at a regularly scheduled board meeting on a date specified, as
applicable.
(d) The agency may approve only a campus incentive plan that
meets program guidelines adopted by the commissioner under Section
21.652 and satisfies this section. The agency may negotiate with a
school district to ensure that activities proposed in the campus
incentive plan the district submits meet program guidelines.
Sec. 21.655. AMOUNT OF PROGRAM GRANT AWARD. (a) Each
eligible campus whose campus incentive plan is approved by the
agency under Section 21.654 is entitled to a grant award in an
amount determined by the commissioner.
(b) Grants from funds appropriated for the program shall be
awarded beginning with the 2006-2007 school year and may not exceed
$100 million in the 2006-2007 school year except as expressly
authorized by the General Appropriations Act or other law. This
subsection expires September 1, 2007.
Sec. 21.656. INCENTIVE PAYMENTS TO CLASSROOM TEACHERS. (a)
An eligible campus must use 75 percent of a grant award received
under Section 21.655 to provide incentive payments to classroom
teachers assigned to the campus. To the extent practicable, the
campus shall pay a classroom teacher an incentive payment in an
amount of not less than $3,000 or more than $10,000.
(b) In distributing incentive payments to classroom
teachers under this section, an eligible campus:
(1) may distribute an incentive payment only to a
classroom teacher who:
(A) demonstrates success in improving student
achievement using objective, quantifiable measures, such as local
benchmarking systems, portfolio assessments, end-of-course
assessments, and value-added assessments; and
(B) successfully collaborates with other faculty
and with staff in a manner that contributes to improving overall
student achievement at the campus; and
(2) may consider a classroom teacher's:
(A) assignment to teach a subject that:
(i) has been designated by the commissioner
as a subject historically experiencing a critical shortage of
teachers or a high teacher turnover rate; or
(ii) is a subject for which the district in
which the campus is located has a shortage of teachers; or
(B) demonstration of ongoing initiative,
commitment, professionalism, and involvement in an activity that
directly results in improved student achievement, including
working with students outside of assigned class hours, creating a
program that involves parents, and personalizing the learning
environment for each student.
Sec. 21.657. DISTRIBUTION OF OTHER PROGRAM FUNDS. (a) An
eligible campus must use 25 percent of a grant award received under
Section 21.655 to provide for:
(1) incentive payments to campus employees other than
classroom teachers, such as principals, assistant principals,
teachers who are not eligible for an incentive payment under
Section 21.656, counselors, speech therapists, instructional
coaches, teacher's aides, nurses, librarians, members of the
custodial staff, or other campus employees who have contributed to
improved student achievement;
(2) professional development for classroom teachers
who:
(A) do not receive an incentive payment under
Section 21.656; and
(B) would benefit from professional development
to develop or enhance skills and behaviors described under Section
21.656(b);
(3) reimbursement or funding for a professional
development activity that directly contributes to improved
classroom instruction and student achievement;
(4) signing bonuses for classroom teachers new to the
campus who are teaching subjects that have been designated by the
commissioner as historically experiencing a critical shortage of
teachers;
(5) a teacher mentoring program that meets the
requirements of Section 21.458;
(6) an activity that supports new teacher induction
programs, including:
(A) common planning time and collaboration;
(B) a professional development activity; and
(C) standards-based evaluations;
(7) an activity that supports common planning time and
curriculum development;
(8) a program that has been proven to recruit and
retain highly effective teachers;
(9) an activity that creates or furthers the goals of
an incentive system designed to improve student achievement;
(10) stipends for teachers who participate in an
after-school or Saturday program that directly contributes to
improved classroom instruction and student achievement;
(11) additional funding for feeder campuses that,
because they are not assigned performance ratings under Chapter 39,
do not qualify to participate in the program, such as campuses that
serve kindergarten through grade two, to implement an activity
described by this section; and
(12) any other program that directly contributes to
improved student achievement.
(b) A campus may not use any of a grant award received under
Section 21.655 to provide for an incentive payment to an employee
whose primary responsibility, as determined in accordance with
commissioner rule, is supervision of an athletic activity.
Sec. 21.658. RULES. The commissioner shall adopt rules
necessary to administer this subchapter.
SUBCHAPTER O. EDUCATOR EXCELLENCE AWARDS PROGRAM
Sec. 21.701. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "program"
means the educator excellence awards program.
Sec. 21.702. EDUCATOR EXCELLENCE AWARDS PROGRAM. (a) The
commissioner by rule shall establish an educator excellence awards
program under which school districts, in accordance with local
awards plans approved by the commissioner, receive program grants
from the agency for the purpose of providing awards to district
employees in the manner provided by Section 21.705.
(b) In establishing the program, the commissioner shall
adopt program guidelines in accordance with this subchapter for a
school district to follow in developing a local awards plan under
Section 21.704.
Sec. 21.703. EDUCATOR EXCELLENCE FUND; AMOUNT OF GRANT
AWARD. (a) Each state fiscal year, the commissioner shall deposit
the sum of $1,000 multiplied by the number of classroom teachers in
this state to the credit of the educator excellence fund in the
general revenue fund. Each state fiscal year, the agency shall use:
(1) not more than $100 million of the funds in the
educator excellence fund to provide grant awards under the awards
for student achievement program established under Subchapter N; and
(2) any remaining funds in the educator excellence
fund to provide a qualifying school district a grant in an amount
determined by:
(A) dividing the amount of remaining money
available for distribution in the educator excellence fund by the
total number of students in average daily attendance in qualifying
districts for that fiscal year; and
(B) multiplying the amount determined under
Paragraph (A) by the number of students in average daily attendance
in the district.
(b) Subsection (a) applies beginning with the state fiscal
year beginning September 1, 2008. In the state fiscal year
beginning September 1, 2007, the commissioner shall deposit $840
multiplied by the number of classroom teachers in this state to the
credit of the educator excellence fund in the general revenue fund.
The agency shall use:
(1) not more than $100 million of the funds in the
educator excellence fund to provide grant awards under the awards
for student achievement program established under Subchapter N; and
(2) any remaining funds in the educator excellence
fund to provide a qualifying school district a grant in an amount
determined by:
(A) dividing the amount of remaining money
available for distribution in the educator excellence fund by the
total number of students in average daily attendance in qualifying
districts for that fiscal year; and
(B) multiplying the amount determined under
Paragraph (A) by the number of students in average daily attendance
in the district.
(c) Subsection (b) and this subsection expire September 1,
2008.
Sec. 21.704. LOCAL AWARDS PLANS. (a) A district-level
committee for a school district that intends to participate in the
program, such as the district-level planning and decision-making
committee established under Subchapter F, Chapter 11, shall develop
a local awards plan for the district. The local awards plan may
provide for all campuses in the district to participate in the
program or only certain campuses selected by the district-level
committee. A majority of classroom teachers assigned to a campus
that is selected by the district-level committee to participate in
the program must approve participation to be included in the local
awards plan.
(b) If appropriate, the district-level committee may use a
campus incentive plan developed for a campus in the district under
Subchapter N in whole or in part as part of the local awards plan
submitted under this section. Notwithstanding Section 21.705, the
commissioner by rule shall allow a campus that receives funding
under Subchapter N and that is included in a district's local awards
plan under this section to use grant funds received under this
subchapter as additional money to be spent in the manner provided by
Subchapter N.
(c) A school district shall submit a local awards plan to
the agency for approval. The plan must be submitted together with
evidence of significant teacher involvement in the development of
the plan.
(d) The agency may approve only a local awards plan that
meets program guidelines adopted by the commissioner under Section
21.702 and that satisfies this section and Section 21.705.
(e) The agency shall make model local awards plans available
to school districts that wish to participate in the program.
(f) A school district whose local awards plan is approved by
the agency to receive a program grant under this subchapter may
renew the plan for three consecutive school years without
resubmitting the plan to the agency for approval. A school district
may amend a local awards plan for approval by the agency for each
school year the district receives a program grant.
Sec. 21.705. AWARD PAYMENTS. A school district must use at
least 60 percent of grant funds awarded to the district under this
subchapter to directly award classroom teachers who effectively
improve student achievement as determined by meaningful, objective
measures. The remaining funds must be used only to:
(1) provide stipends to effective mentors or teacher
coaches;
(2) provide stipends to classroom teachers who are
certified in a subject that is designated by the commissioner as
commonly experiencing a critical shortage of teachers;
(3) provide stipends to classroom teachers with proven
records of success for improving student performance who are
assigned to campuses at which the district has experienced
difficulty assigning or retaining teachers;
(4) provide awards to principals who effectively
increase student performance as determined by objective measures;
(5) provide awards to other campus employees who
demonstrate excellence; or
(6) implement the components of a Teacher Advancement
Program (TAP), including:
(A) an instructionally focused accountability
system; and
(B) the adjustment of teaching schedules to
permit ongoing applied professional growth.
Sec. 21.706. RULES. The commissioner shall adopt rules
necessary to administer this subchapter.
SECTION 6. Subchapter D, Chapter 22, Education Code, as
added by Chapters 899 and 1359, Acts of the 79th Legislature,
Regular Session, 2005, is reenacted and amended to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER D. HEALTH CARE [COMPENSATION] SUPPLEMENTATION
Sec. 22.101. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Cafeteria plan" means a plan as defined and
authorized by Section 125, Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
(2) "Employee" means an active, contributing member of
the Teacher Retirement System of Texas who:
(A) is employed by a district, other educational
district whose employees are members of the Teacher Retirement
System of Texas, participating charter school, or regional
education service center;
(B) is not a retiree eligible for coverage under
the program established under Chapter 1575, Insurance Code;
(C) is not eligible for coverage by a group
insurance program under Chapter 1551 or 1601, Insurance Code; and
(D) is not an individual performing personal
services for a district, other educational district that is a
member of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, participating
charter school, or regional education service center as an
independent contractor.
(3) "Participating charter school" means an
open-enrollment charter school established under Subchapter D,
Chapter 12, that participates in the program established under
Chapter 1579, Insurance Code.
(4) "Regional education service center" means a
regional education service center established under Chapter 8.
Sec. 22.102. AUTHORITY TO ADOPT RULES; OTHER AUTHORITY.
(a) The agency may adopt rules to implement this subchapter.
(b) The agency may enter into interagency contracts with any
other agency of this state for the purpose of assistance in
implementing this subchapter.
Sec. 22.103. DESIGNATION OF COMPENSATION AS HEALTH CARE
SUPPLEMENTATION. (a) An employee of a school [ELIGIBILITY;
WAITING PERIOD. A person is not eligible for a monthly distribution
under this subchapter before the 91st day after the first day the
person becomes an employee.
[Sec. 22.104. DISTRIBUTION BY AGENCY. Subject to the
availability of funds, each month the agency shall deliver to each]
district, [including a district that is ineligible for state aid
under Chapter 42, each] other educational district that is a member
of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, [each] participating
charter school, or [and each] regional education service center may
elect to designate a portion of the employee's compensation to be
used as health care supplementation under this subchapter.
(b) The amount designated under this section may not exceed
the amount permitted under applicable federal law.
(c) This section does not apply to:
(1) an employee who is not covered by a cafeteria plan
or who is not eligible to pay health care premiums through a premium
conversion plan; or
(2) an administrator, as defined by the trustee,
employed by a school district, another educational district, a
participating charter school, or a regional education service
center [state funds in an amount, as determined by the agency, equal
to the product of the number of eligible employees employed by the
district, school, or service center multiplied by the amount
specified in the General Appropriations Act for purposes of this
subchapter and divided by 12. The agency shall distribute funding
to only one entity for employees who are employed by more than one
entity listed in this section].
Sec. 22.104 [22.105]. FUNDS HELD IN TRUST. All funds
received by a district, other educational district, participating
charter school, or regional education service center under this
subchapter are held in trust for the benefit of the employees on
whose behalf the district, school, or service center received the
funds.
Sec. 22.105. WRITTEN ELECTION REQUIRED. Each school year,
an active employee must elect in writing whether to designate a
portion of the employee's compensation to be used as health care
supplementation under this subchapter.
Sec. 22.106. [RECOVERY OF DISTRIBUTIONS. The agency is
entitled to recover from a district, other educational district,
participating charter school, or regional education service center
any amount distributed under this subchapter to which the district,
school, or service center was not entitled.
[Sec. 22.107. DETERMINATION BY AGENCY FINAL. A
determination by the agency under this subchapter is final and may
not be appealed.
[Sec. 22.108. DISTRIBUTION BY SCHOOL. Each month, each
district, other educational district that is a member of the
Teacher Retirement System of Texas, participating charter school,
and regional education service center must distribute to its
eligible employees the funding received under this subchapter. To
receive the monthly distribution, an individual must meet the
definition of an employee under Section 22.101 for that month.
[Sec. 22.109.] USE OF DESIGNATED [SUPPLEMENTAL]
COMPENSATION. An employee may use compensation designated for
health care supplementation [a monthly distribution received]
under this subchapter for any employee benefit, including
depositing the designated amount [of the distribution] into a
cafeteria plan in which[, if] the employee is enrolled [in a
cafeteria plan,] or using the designated amount [of the
distribution] for health care premiums through a premium conversion
plan. [The employee may take the amount of the distribution as
supplemental compensation.
[Sec. 22.110. SUPPLEMENTAL COMPENSATION. An amount
distributed to an employee under this subchapter must be in
addition to the rate of compensation that:
[(1) the district, other educational district,
participating charter school, or regional education service center
paid the employee in the preceding school year; or
[(2) the district, school, or service center would
have paid the employee in the preceding school year if the employee
had been employed by the district, school, or service center in the
same capacity in the preceding school year.]
Sec. 22.107. WAGE INCREASE FOR SUPPORT STAFF. (a) For the
2006-2007 school year, a school district shall pay each full-time
district employee, other than an administrator or an employee
subject to the minimum salary schedule under Section 21.402, an
amount at least equal to $500.
(b) For the 2006-2007 school year, a school district shall
pay each part-time district employee, other than an administrator,
an amount at least equal to $250.
(c) A school district employee entitled to a wage increase
under this section may elect to receive a portion of the person's
annual wages as health care supplementation as provided by this
subchapter.
(d) A payment under this section is in addition to wages the
district would otherwise pay the employee during the school year.
(e) This section expires September 1, 2007.
SECTION 7. Subchapter E, Chapter 42, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 42.2513 to read as follows:
Sec. 42.2513. ADDITIONAL STATE AID FOR PROFESSIONAL STAFF
SALARY INCREASES. (a) A school district, including a school
district that is otherwise ineligible for state aid under this
chapter, is entitled to state aid in an amount equal to the product
of $2,500 multiplied by the number of classroom teachers, full-time
librarians, full-time counselors certified under Subchapter B,
Chapter 21, and full-time school nurses employed by the district
and entitled to a minimum salary under Section 21.402.
(a-1) For the 2006-2007 school year, a school district,
including a school district that is otherwise ineligible for state
aid under this chapter, is entitled to state aid in an amount equal
to the sum of:
(1) the product of $500 multiplied by the number of
full-time district employees, other than administrators or
employees subject to the minimum salary schedule under Section
21.402; and
(2) the product of $250 multiplied by the number of
part-time district employees, other than administrators.
(a-2) Subsection (a-1) and this subsection expire September
1, 2007.
(b) A determination by the commissioner under this section
is final and may not be appealed.
(c) The commissioner may adopt rules to implement this
section.
SECTION 8. Sections 822.201(b) and (c), Government Code,
are 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, 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; and
(9) amounts received under the awards for student
achievement program under Subchapter N, Chapter 21, Education Code,
the educator excellence awards program under Subchapter O, Chapter
21, Education Code, or a mentoring program under Section 21.458,
Education Code.
(c) Excluded from salary and wages are:
(1) expense payments;
(2) allowances;
(3) payments for unused vacation or sick leave;
(4) maintenance or other nonmonetary compensation;
(5) fringe benefits;
(6) deferred compensation other than as provided by
Subsection (b)(3);
(7) compensation that is not made pursuant to a valid
employment agreement;
(8) payments received by an employee in a school year
that exceed $5,000 for teaching a driver education and traffic
safety course that is conducted outside regular classroom hours;
(9) the benefit replacement pay a person earns as a
result of a payment made under Subchapter B or C, Chapter 661;
(10) any compensation designated as health care
supplementation [amount received] by an employee under Subchapter
D, Chapter 22, Education Code;
(11) any amount received by an employee under:
(A) [,] former Article 3.50-8, Insurance Code;
(B) [,] former Chapter 1580, Insurance Code;
(C) Subchapter D, Chapter 22, Education Code, as
that subchapter existed January 1, 2006;[,] or
(D) Rider 9, Page III-39, Chapter 1330, Acts of
the 78th Legislature, Regular Session, 2003 (the General
Appropriations Act); and
(12) [(11)] any compensation not described in
Subsection (b).
SECTION 9. As soon as practicable after the effective date
of this Act, the commissioner of education shall adopt rules for
establishing and administering the awards for student achievement
program under Subchapter N, Chapter 21, Education Code, as added by
this Act, and the educator excellence awards program under
Subchapter O, Chapter 21, Education Code, as added by this Act. The
commissioner shall make the awards for student achievement program
available for campus participation not later than the 2006-2007
school year. The commissioner shall make the educator excellence
awards program available for school district participation
beginning with the 2007-2008 school year.
SECTION 10. Except as otherwise provided by this Act, this
Act applies beginning with the 2006-2007 school year.
SECTION 11. 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.