80R9530 SLO-D

By: Shapleigh S.B. No. 1220

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to national certification of certain public school teachers.

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

SECTION 1. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS. (a) The legislature finds that if Texas is to have world-class schools, then Texas must first have a world-class teaching force.

(b) The legislature also finds that certification by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, developed by teachers for teachers:

(1) is a symbol of and tool for professional teaching excellence;

(2) establishes advanced standards for an experienced teacher by testing the teacher's knowledge against standards of other highly trained teachers throughout the country; and

(3) ensures that teachers meet high professional standards of commitment and competence.

(c) The legislature also finds that an independent, multiyear study of more than 600,000 students in North Carolina found that the students of teachers who were nationally certified experienced an increase in reading and math assessment instrument scores by an average of seven percent.

(d) The legislature also finds that of the approximately 302,000 teachers in Texas, only 317 are nationally certified, compared with 9,234 nationally certified teachers in Florida and 3,655 nationally certified teachers in California.

(e) The legislature also finds that in order for Texas students to compete with students from other states, as Texas moves toward a knowledge-based economy, Texas must encourage teachers to pursue national certification. The 21st Century Educational Excellence Program for National Certification serves that goal by establishing a statewide program to assist Texas teachers in achieving national certification.

SECTION 2. Chapter 21, Education Code, is amended by adding Subchapter Q to read as follows: SUBCHAPTER Q. 21ST CENTURY EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE PROGRAM FOR NATIONAL CERTIFICATION

Sec. 21.801. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "program" means the 21st Century Educational Excellence Program for National Certification.

Sec. 21.802. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM. The agency shall establish the 21st Century Educational Excellence Program for National Certification to encourage teachers in critical subject areas to obtain national certification by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

Sec. 21.803. ELIGIBILITY. (a) A teacher employed by a school district is eligible to participate in the program if the teacher:

(1) is certified by the State Board for Educator Certification in bilingual education, mathematics, science, special education, elementary reading, or another teaching field identified by the commissioner as experiencing a critical shortage of teachers in this state in the year in which the teacher applies to participate in the program; and

(2) has obtained national certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

(b) A teacher employed by an open-enrollment charter school is not eligible to participate in the program.

Sec. 21.804. APPLICATION; SELECTION OF APPLICANTS. (a) The agency shall select not more than 500 eligible teachers to participate in the program each year.

(b) The agency shall adopt:

(1) procedures for submitting an application to participate in the program; and

(2) criteria for the selection of teachers to participate in the program.

Sec. 21.805. STIPEND. (a) An eligible teacher who is selected to participate in the program under Section 21.804 may receive a stipend in the manner provided by this section.

(b) An eligible teacher who is selected to participate in the program and who is assigned to a hard-to-staff campus, as determined by commissioner rule, is entitled to:

(1) an annual stipend of at least $1,500 from the school district; and

(2) an annual stipend of at least $3,500 from the agency.

(c) A school district may provide an eligible teacher who is selected to participate in the program and who is not assigned to a hard-to-staff campus with an annual stipend. The agency shall match the amount a district pays the teacher under this subsection in an amount not to exceed $1,500.

(d) In determining whether a campus is a hard-to-staff campus under this section, the commissioner shall consider for the preceding three-year period:

(1) in the case of teachers who are certified to teach English language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, or foreign languages, or to teach an elementary school grade level, the percentage of teachers at the campus who are assigned to teach the subject or grade level for which they are certified;

(2) teacher turnover rates at the campus;

(3) the percentage of teachers assigned to the campus with less than three years of teaching experience;

(4) the percentage of students at the campus who are at risk of dropping out of school, as defined by Section 29.081; and

(5) if the agency conducts a study of working conditions at campuses in this state, the working conditions at the campus.

(e) A stipend a teacher receives from the agency or a school district under this section is not considered in determining whether the district is paying the teacher the minimum salary under Section 21.402.

Sec. 21.806. STAFF DEVELOPMENT PLAN. The agency shall establish a statewide staff development plan that uses the skills and knowledge of teachers who have obtained national certification.

Sec. 21.807. RULES. The commissioner shall adopt rules as necessary to implement this subchapter.

SECTION 3. Section 822.201(b), Government Code, is 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, or 21.805, 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;

(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.

SECTION 4. The Texas Education Agency and the commissioner of education shall implement the 21st Century Educational Excellence Program for National Certification, as required by Subchapter Q, Chapter 21, Education Code, as added by this Act, as soon as practicable after the effective date of this Act.

SECTION 5. 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 September 1, 2007.