80R4747 JRJ-D

By: Giddings H.B. No. 2657

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to a pilot project to lower teacher turnover rates in high-need public school districts.

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

SECTION 1. Subchapter I, Chapter 21, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 21.419 to read as follows:

Sec. 21.419. SALARY SUPPLEMENTS FOR TEACHERS IN HIGH-NEED PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICTS; PILOT PROJECT. (a) The commissioner shall establish a pilot project in school districts selected by the commissioner to pay salary supplements to teachers who commit to teach in one of the districts for at least three years.

(b) In selecting school districts under Subsection (a), the commissioner shall select districts that:

(1) include a substantial geographical area with a low-income population;

(2) have a substantial number of campuses considered academically unacceptable under Section 39.132; and

(3) have high teacher turnover rates.

(c) From amounts appropriated to the agency, the commissioner shall award grants to school districts that participate in the program. A grant under this section must be in an amount sufficient to pay the costs to the district of participating in the program, as determined by the commissioner. A determination of the commissioner is final and may not be appealed.

(d) A school district may use a grant awarded under Subsection (c) to pay a salary supplement to a teacher who commits to teach in the district for three years beginning with the 2007-2008 school year. The salary supplement is payable only at the end of the teacher's three-year commitment to the district. A teacher who does not fulfill the three-year commitment is not entitled to any portion of the salary supplement.

(e) 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 a grant under this section. The commissioner shall determine the timing of the distribution of a grant to a district that does not receive Foundation School Program payments. An open-enrollment charter school is not eligible for a grant under this section.

(f) This section does not create a property right to a grant or salary supplement. 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 salary supplement the district pays to each teacher under this section proportionately so that each selected teacher receives the same amount of money.

(g) 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 appropriate certification of a teacher to whom the district is paying a salary supplement under this section.

(h) 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.

(i) A salary supplement 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.

(j) The commissioner may adopt any rules necessary to implement this section.

(k) The agency shall report to the legislature describing the agency's activities under the pilot project, the effect of the project on the teacher turnover rate and the academic performance level for each school district participating in the project, and the recommendations arising from the project. The agency shall submit an interim report under this subsection not later than January 1, 2009, and a final report not later than January 1, 2011.

(l) This section expires January 1, 2011.

SECTION 2. Section 21.419, Education Code, as added by this Act, applies beginning with the 2007-2008 school year.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2007.