80R2785 PAM-D

By: Farabee H.B. No. 517

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the minimum salary schedule for certain public school employees.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Sections 12.133(b), (c), (d), and (e), Education Code, are amended to read as follows:

(b) Each 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 an average compensation increase for classroom teachers, full-time librarians, full-time counselors certified under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, educational diagnosticians certified under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, speech-language pathologists, 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 $2,500.

(c) Each 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 certified under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, educational diagnosticians certified under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, speech-language pathologists, 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) Each 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 product of $2,500 multiplied by the number of classroom teachers, full-time librarians, full-time counselors certified under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, educational diagnosticians certified under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, speech-language pathologists, and full-time school nurses employed by the charter holder at an open-enrollment charter school.

(e) Each 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 certified under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, educational diagnosticians certified under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, speech-language pathologists, and full-time school nurses employed by the charter holder at an open-enrollment charter school.

SECTION 2. Section 19.007(f), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(f) In addition to other amounts received by the district under this section, the district is entitled to state aid in an amount equal to the product of $2,000 multiplied by the number of classroom teachers, full-time librarians, full-time counselors certified under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, educational diagnosticians certified under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, speech-language pathologists, and full-time school nurses who are employed by the district and who would be entitled to a minimum salary under Section 21.402 if employed by a school district operating under Chapter 11.

SECTION 3. Section 19.009(d-1), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(d-1) Each school year, the district shall pay an amount at least equal to $2,000 to each classroom teacher, full-time librarian, full-time counselor certified under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, educational diagnostician certified under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, speech-language pathologist, and full-time school nurse who is employed by the district and who would be entitled to a minimum salary under Section 21.402 if employed by a school district operating under Chapter 11. A payment under this section is in addition to wages the district would otherwise pay the employee during the school year.

SECTION 4. Sections 21.402(a) and (g), Education Code, are amended 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, educational diagnostician certified under Subchapter B, speech-language pathologist, or full-time school nurse not less than the minimum monthly salary, based on the employee's level of experience in addition to 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, including funds provided under Section 42.2516(b)(1)(B), but not funds provided under Section 42.2516(b)(1)(A), (b)(1)(C), (b)(2), or (b)(3), available to a district eligible to receive state assistance under Section 42.302 with a maintenance and operations tax rate per $100 of taxable value equal to the product of the state compression percentage, as determined under Section 42.2516, multiplied by $1.50, 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, Acts of the 77th Legislature, Regular Session, 2001.

(g) The commissioner may adopt rules to govern the application of this section, including rules that:

(1) require the payment of a minimum salary under this section to a person employed in more than one capacity for which a minimum salary is provided and whose combined employment in those capacities constitutes full-time employment; and

(2) specify the credentials a person must hold to be considered a school nurse or speech-language pathologist under this section.

SECTION 5. Sections 21.403(a) and (c), Education Code, are amended to read as follows:

(a) A teacher, librarian, counselor, educational diagnostician, speech-language pathologist, or nurse shall advance one step on the minimum salary schedule under Section 21.402 for each year of experience as a teacher, librarian, counselor, educational diagnostician, speech-language pathologist, or nurse until step 20 is reached.

(c) The commissioner shall adopt rules for determining the experience for which a teacher, librarian, counselor, educational diagnostician, speech-language pathologist, or nurse is to be given credit in placing the teacher, librarian, counselor, educational diagnostician, speech-language pathologist, or nurse on the minimum salary schedule. A district shall credit the teacher, librarian, counselor, educational diagnostician, speech-language pathologist, or nurse for each year of experience without regard to whether the years are consecutive.

SECTION 6. Section 30.102(b), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(b) A classroom teacher, full-time librarian, full-time counselor certified under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, educational diagnostician certified under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, speech-language pathologist, or full-time school nurse employed by the commission is entitled to receive as a minimum salary the monthly salary specified by Section 21.402. A classroom teacher, full-time librarian, full-time counselor certified under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, educational diagnostician certified under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, speech-language pathologist, or full-time school nurse may be paid, from funds appropriated to the commission, a salary in excess of the minimum specified by that section, but the salary may not exceed the rate of pay for a similar position in the public schools of an adjacent school district.

SECTION 7. Section 42.2512(a), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(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, as determined by the commissioner, equal to the difference, if any, between:

(1) an amount equal to the product of $3,000 multiplied by the number of classroom teachers, full-time librarians, full-time counselors certified under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, educational diagnosticians certified under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, speech-language pathologists, and full-time school nurses employed by the district and entitled to a minimum salary under Section 21.402; and

(2) an amount equal to 80 percent of the amount of additional funds to which the district is entitled due to the increases made by Chapter 396 [S.B. No. 4], Acts of the 76th Legislature, Regular Session, 1999, to:

(A) the equalized wealth level under Section 41.002;

(B) the basic allotment under Section 42.101; and

(C) the guaranteed level of state and local funds per weighted student per cent of tax effort under Section 42.302.

SECTION 8. Section 42.2516(b), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(b) Subject to Subsections (g) and (h), but notwithstanding any other provision of this title, a school district is entitled to state revenue necessary to provide the district with the sum of:

(1) the amount of state revenue necessary to maintain state and local revenue per student in weighted average daily attendance in the amount equal to the greater of:

(A) the amount of state and local revenue per student in weighted average daily attendance for the maintenance and operations of the district available to the district for the 2005-2006 school year;

(B) the amount of state and local revenue per student in weighted average daily attendance for the maintenance and operations of the district to which the district would have been entitled for the 2006-2007 school year under this chapter, as it existed on January 1, 2006, or, if the district would have been subject to Chapter 41, as that chapter existed on January 1, 2006, the amount to which the district would have been entitled under that chapter, based on the funding elements in effect for the 2005-2006 school year, if the district imposed a maintenance and operations tax at the rate adopted by the district for the 2005 tax year; or

(C) the amount of state and local revenue per student in weighted average daily attendance for the maintenance and operations of the district to which the district would have been entitled for the 2006-2007 school year under this chapter, as it existed on January 1, 2006, or, if the district would have been subject to Chapter 41, as that chapter existed on January 1, 2006, the amount to which the district would have been entitled under that chapter, based on the funding elements in effect for the 2005-2006 school year, if the district imposed a maintenance and operations tax at the rate equal to the rate described by Section 26.08(i) or (k)(1), Tax Code, as applicable, for the 2006 tax year;

(2) 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, educational diagnosticians certified under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, speech-language pathologists, and full-time school nurses employed by the district and entitled to a minimum salary under Section 21.402; and

(3) an amount equal to the product of $275 multiplied by the number of students in average daily attendance in grades nine through 12 in the district.

SECTION 9. This Act applies beginning with the 2007-2008 school year.

SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2007.