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BILL ANALYSIS |
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By: Zaffirini |
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Under current law, a teacher must have acquired five years of experience prior to participating in the Mathematics, Science, and Technology Teacher Preparation Academies (academies) administered by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) at institutions of higher education. Teachers with less than five years of experience are denied the chance to seek to improve their instructional skills by taking part in academies. This reduces the participant pool and relinquishes opportunities to retain more math and science teachers.
Additionally, the law grants THECB the ability to establish academies at institutions of higher education. This power, however, is found in the public education title of the Education Code rather than the higher education title.
As proposed, S.B. 2262 reduces the number of years of experience a teacher is required to possess to participate in academies. This bill also cleans up the Education Code by reorganizing related sections of the code.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
ANALYSIS
S.B. 2262 transfers Section 21.462, Education Code, to Subchapter C, Chapter 61, Education Code, redesignates it as Section 61.0766, and amends it to require the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), from funds appropriated for that purpose, to establish academies at institutions of higher education to improve the instructional skills of teachers certified under Subchapter B (Certification of Educators), Chapter 21 (Educators), and train students enrolled in a teacher preparation program to perform at the highest levels in mathematics, science, and technology. The bill authorizes THECB to adopt rules as necessary to administer this section and makes conforming and nonsubstantive changes.
The bill requires an institution of higher education, before it establishes an academy under this section, to take certain actions. The bill requires an institution of higher education to have a teacher preparation program approved by the State Board of Educator Certification or be affiliated with a program approved by the State Board of Educator Certification and makes conforming changes.
The bill requires that a participant in an academy program be an experienced teacher who meets certain criteria, including having at least two, rather than five, years experience teaching mathematics, science, or technology in assignments for which the teacher met all certification requirements.
S.B. 2262 amends Section the Education Code to require THECB, from funds appropriated, to allocate $8.75 million each year to establish mathematics, science, and technology teacher preparation academies under Section 61.0766, rather than Section 21.462, and implement and administer the program under Section 29.098 (Intensive Summer Programs) and makes a conforming change.
The bill amends the Education Code to delete Section 21.462 from the list of sections required to be included in the progress report prepared and delivered to certain persons by the commissioner of education.
EFFECTIVE DATE
Upon passage, or, if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2009.