82R4201 PAM-D
 
  By: Shapiro S.B. No. 570
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to beginning teacher induction and mentoring programs for
  public schools.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Chapter 21, Education Code, is amended by adding
  Subchapter N to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER N. BEGINNING TEACHER INDUCTION AND MENTORING PROGRAMS
         Sec. 21.651.  DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
               (1)  "Beginning teacher" means a classroom teacher who:
                     (A)  has less than two complete years of
  experience teaching the subject or grade level to which the teacher
  is assigned; or
                     (B)  has less than three complete years of
  experience teaching the subject or grade level to which the teacher
  is assigned and is identified as in need of assistance under an
  appraisal system developed under Section 21.351 or 21.352.
               (2)  "Program" means the beginning teacher induction
  and mentoring program established under this subchapter.
         Sec. 21.652.  BEGINNING TEACHER INDUCTION AND MENTORING
  PROGRAM. (a)  To enable establishment of sustainable district-wide
  high-quality beginning teacher induction and mentoring, the
  commissioner by rule shall establish a beginning teacher induction
  and mentoring program under which school districts may participate,
  in accordance with local plans approved by the commissioner that
  are based on guidelines adopted under this subchapter.  A
  participating district receives program grants from the agency from
  funds appropriated to the agency for the purpose of planning for and
  providing high-quality induction and mentoring to beginning
  teachers in the manner provided by this subchapter.  A district is
  not required to participate in the program, but each district
  should ensure that beginning teachers have access to high-quality
  induction and mentoring consistent with the guidelines established
  under Section 21.653(a).
         (b)  In establishing the program, the commissioner, in
  consultation with the committee established under Subsection (c),
  shall adopt program guidelines in accordance with Section
  21.653(a), and the commissioner shall adopt program guidelines in
  accordance with Section 21.653(b) for a school district to follow
  in developing a local plan.
         (c)  To assist the commissioner in developing program
  guidelines under Section 21.653(a), the commissioner shall appoint
  a committee of interested persons, including agency staff,
  education policy makers, representatives of educator preparation
  programs and educator associations, and educators who work with
  beginning teachers under beginning teacher induction programs, as
  determined appropriate by the commissioner.
         (d)  In adopting rules under this section, the commissioner
  shall provide for participating school districts to receive
  technical assistance and planning and program guidance.
         Sec. 21.653.  PROGRAM GUIDELINES. (a) The program
  guidelines must establish quality indicators for each of the
  following required components of the program:
               (1)  research-based program standards, including:
                     (A)  assigning a district-level coordinator to
  administer the program at the district level;
                     (B)  establishing a local advisory committee of
  teachers and other educators to assist in implementing the program
  in the school district;
                     (C)  establishing district administrative policy
  roles and responsibilities for persons involved in the program;
                     (D)  establishing, for each beginning teacher in
  the program, a support team composed of:
                           (i)  the campus principal or the beginning
  teacher's appraiser;
                           (ii)  an educator preparation program field
  supervisor; and
                           (iii)  the beginning teacher's mentor
  provided by the district;
                     (E)  requiring each beginning teacher and that
  teacher's support team members described by Paragraph (D) to meet
  at least three times each school year; and
                     (F)  providing training for support team members
  described by Paragraph (D);
               (2)  mentoring standards to ensure high-quality
  mentoring, including:
                     (A)  requiring each district to assign a mentor
  teacher to each beginning teacher;
                     (B)  requiring each teacher who is assigned as a
  mentor to:
                           (i)  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;
                           (ii)  teach the same subject or grade level,
  as applicable, as the beginning teacher the mentor teacher is
  mentoring;
                           (iii)  teach in the same school as the
  beginning teacher the mentor teacher is mentoring, to the extent
  practicable; and
                           (iv)  complete a research-based mentoring
  and induction training program approved by the commissioner and
  provided by the district;
                     (C)  providing for release time from classroom
  instruction duties for the mentor teacher, as applicable, and the
  beginning teacher the mentor teacher is mentoring in order to meet,
  conduct observations, and engage in other activities focused on
  enhancing the student achievement of the beginning teacher's
  students;
                     (D)  providing, to the extent practicable, for
  common planning time for the mentor teacher and the beginning
  teacher the mentor teacher is mentoring;
                     (E)  limiting the assignment to two beginning
  teachers for each mentor teacher who is a classroom teacher; and
                     (F)  providing for stipends for mentor teachers;
               (3)  performance standards aligned with the criteria
  for the recommended appraisal process adopted by the commissioner
  under Section 21.351;
               (4)  ongoing professional development requirements,
  including required training for:
                     (A)  participating program administrators
  regarding successful implementation and administration of the
  program; and
                     (B)  participating school administrators, mentor
  teachers, and beginning teachers;
               (5)  standards-based formative assessments; and
               (6)  provisions for partnership and collaboration,
  including consistent and regular collaboration between
  participating districts and appropriate educator preparation
  programs.
         (b)  The commissioner shall adopt guidelines for funding the
  program, including requiring a participating school district to
  provide matching funds in an amount determined by the commissioner.
         Sec. 21.654.  LOCAL 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
  beginning teacher induction and mentoring plan for the district.  
  The local plan may provide for participation in the program by all
  campuses in the district or only those campuses selected by the
  district-level committee.  A local plan that does not provide for
  participation in the program by all campuses in the district must
  include an analysis and timeline for future district-wide
  implementation.
         (b)  A majority of classroom teachers assigned to a campus
  that is proposed for selection to participate in the program must
  approve participation to be included in the local plan.
         (c)  A school district must submit a local 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 plan that meets
  program guidelines adopted under Section 21.653.
         (e)  The agency shall make model local plans available to
  school districts that intend to participate in the program.
         (f)  A school district whose local plan is approved by the
  agency may renew the plan for three consecutive school years
  without resubmitting the plan to the agency for approval.  A
  district may amend a local plan for approval by the agency for each
  school year the district receives a program grant.
         Sec. 21.655.  PROGRAM EVALUATION. The commissioner shall:
               (1)  provide for the periodic evaluation of the program
  by surveying program participants and by any other means determined
  by the commissioner; and
               (2)  based on the evaluation, modify the program as
  necessary.
         Sec. 21.656.  REQUIRED COMPONENTS OF BEGINNING TEACHER
  INDUCTION AND MENTORING PROGRAM. Regardless of whether a school
  district participates in the program established under this
  subchapter, any beginning teacher induction and mentoring program
  adopted by a district shall include the following components:
               (1)  research-based program standards;
               (2)  mentoring standards to ensure high-quality
  mentoring;
               (3)  performance standards aligned with the criteria
  for the recommended appraisal process adopted by the commissioner
  under Section 21.351;
               (4)  ongoing professional development requirements;
               (5)  standards-based formative assessments; and
               (6)  provisions for partnership and collaboration,
  including consistent and regular collaboration between the
  district and educator preparation programs.
         Sec. 21.657.  RULES. The commissioner shall adopt rules as
  necessary to administer this subchapter.
         SECTION 2.  Section 21.458, Education Code, is repealed.
         SECTION 3.  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, 2011.