82R12361 CAE-D

By: Shapiro S.B. No. 1704

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to educator preparation programs.

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

SECTION 1. Section 21.044, Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 21.044. EDUCATOR PREPARATION. (a) The board shall propose rules establishing the training requirements a person must accomplish to obtain a certificate, enter an internship, or enter an induction-year program. The board shall specify the minimum academic qualifications required for a certificate.

(b) In proposing rules as required by Subsection (a), the board shall provide minimum content standards regarding the content that must be included in an educator preparation program administered by an undergraduate university for the following subject areas:

(1) English language arts;

(2) mathematics;

(3) science; and

(4) social studies.

(c) If the board does not propose rules regarding the minimum content standards for educator preparation programs as required by Subsection (b) on or before June 1, 2012, the minimum content standards recommended by the task force and adopted by the State Board of Education under Section 21.0453 take effect as rules of the State Board for Educator Certification.

SECTION 2. Section 21.045, Education Code, is amended by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:

(d) The agency in cooperation with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall conduct a review of all educator preparation programs at least once each year. Not less than once every three years, the agency and the coordinating board shall conduct a review of an educator preparation program at the program's campus.

SECTION 3. Subchapter B, Chapter 21, Education Code, is amended by adding Sections 21.0453, 21.0454, 21.0455, and 21.0456 to read as follows:

Sec. 21.0453. TASK FORCE ON EDUCATOR PREPARATION PROGRAMS. (a) A task force is established under this section to recommend standards for educator preparation programs and the implementation of those standards.

(b) The commissioner of education and the commissioner of higher education shall jointly appoint a presiding officer of the task force. The Joint Select Committee for Teacher and Principal Excellence established under Section 21.0455 must approve the presiding officer. The presiding officer must:

(1) be a nationally recognized expert in teacher education and preparation;

(2) have served as a presiding officer of a state or national board or task force addressing teachers and the education of teachers; and

(3) be an experienced and effective leader of an educator preparation program or a college of education of a public or private institution of higher education.

(c) The task force consists of members appointed jointly by the commissioner of education and the commissioner of higher education on the recommendation of the presiding officer of the task force. The task force must include representatives of educator preparation programs. The commissioners shall appoint the members of the task force not later than December 1, 2011.

(d) Chapter 2110, Government Code, does not apply to the task force.

(e) The task force shall recommend program standards for educator preparation programs. The standards must include:

(1) educating a prospective teacher in a manner that enables the prospective teacher to graduate with:

(A) an ability to deliver information and instruction to students in a comprehensible manner; and

(B) detailed and specialized knowledge in the academic content the teacher will teach;

(2) providing a range of settings that provide a prospective teacher with an opportunity to practice the art of teaching and receive feedback and coaching on the prospective teacher's effectiveness, including learning in a laboratory setting; and

(3) developing and administering a highly credible and predictive assessment of professional knowledge and skill that ensures each teacher enters the profession with a fundamental capacity for effective performance as a beginning teacher.

(f) The task force shall recommend an implementation plan for the standards adopted under Subsection (e). The plan must include:

(1) developing a cooperative and collaborative response from educator preparation programs for implementation of the new standards;

(2) providing technical assistance to educator preparation programs in implementing the standards;

(3) providing illustrative examples to educator preparation programs for implementing the standards; and

(4) providing methods to evaluate educator preparation programs for compliance with the standards.

(g) The task force shall develop the recommended standards and implementation plan required by Subsections (e) and (f) and, not later than June 1, 2012, shall submit the proposed standards and plan to the State Board of Education for review. The State Board of Education may reject the standards and plan by a vote of at least two-thirds of the members of the board present and voting. If the State Board of Education fails to reject the standards and plan before the 90th day after the date on which it receives the standards and plan, the standards and plan take effect as rules of the State Board for Educator Certification as provided by Chapter 2001, Government Code, except as provided by Section 21.044. The State Board of Education may not modify the standards and plan proposed by the task force.

(h) Not later than January 1, 2013, the task force shall submit to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, the presiding officer of each legislative standing committee with primary jurisdiction over higher education, and the presiding officer of each legislative standing committee with primary jurisdiction over primary and secondary education a written report that contains:

(1) the standards and the implementation plan recommended by the task force and, if applicable, adopted by the State Board of Education; and

(2) task force recommendations concerning statutory changes necessary or appropriate to implement the standards and plan.

(i) This section expires September 1, 2015.

Sec. 21.0454. IMPLEMENTATION OF TASK FORCE STANDARDS. (a) Not later than January 1, 2013, the board shall implement the standards recommended by the task force and adopted by the State Board of Education under Section 21.0453. The board may not propose to the State Board of Education a rule that does not comply with the standards recommended by the task force.

(b) Not later than June 1, 2014, an educator certification program must comply with the standards recommended by the task force and adopted by the State Board of Education under Section 21.0453.

(c) Not later than June 1, 2015, the agency in cooperation with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall conduct a review of all educator preparation programs to determine compliance with the standards implemented under this section. A review under this section must be conducted on the campus of the educator preparation program. Not later than the 90th day after the date a review under this section is completed, the agency and the coordinating board must notify a program whether the program complies with the standards implemented under this section.

(d) An educator preparation program that does not comply with the standards implemented under this section may request a second review. The educator preparation program requesting review is responsible for all costs associated with the second review. Not later than January 1, 2016, an educator preparation program must comply with the standards or the program is assigned an accreditation status of not accredited-revoked and the program shall be closed by the board.

(e) This section expires September 1, 2016.

Sec. 21.0455. JOINT SELECT COMMITTEE FOR TEACHER AND PRINCIPAL EXCELLENCE. (a) In this section, "committee" means the Joint Select Committee for Teacher and Principal Excellence.

(b) The Joint Select Committee for Teacher and Principal Excellence is established to oversee and monitor the implementation of statutes relating to teacher and principal effectiveness.

(c) The committee is composed of 15 members as follows:

(1) the presiding officers of the legislative standing committees of each house of the legislature with primary jurisdiction over public education;

(2) the presiding officers of the legislative standing committees of each house of the legislature with primary jurisdiction over higher education;

(3) the commissioner of education;

(4) the commissioner of higher education;

(5) one dean of a college of education of an institution of higher education, as defined by Section 61.003, one classroom teacher, and one representative from an alternative certification program, each currently employed in this state and each appointed jointly by the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house of representatives;

(6) two educators currently employed in this state and each appointed jointly by the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house of representatives;

(7) one member who represents the business community or the public, appointed by the lieutenant governor;

(8) one member who represents the business community or the public, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives; and

(9) two members who represent the business community or the public, appointed by the governor, one of whom has at least one child who attends a public school in this state.

(d) The governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of representatives shall make the appointments required by Subsection (c) in a timely manner.

(e) The agency shall periodically report to the committee regarding any statutory initiative adopted by the 82nd Legislature, Regular Session, 2011, relating to teacher and principal quality. The report must be:

(1) prepared by the person at the agency charged with overseeing the implementation of the initiative; and

(2) submitted in writing, unless the committee requests the person providing the report to appear in person at a hearing of the committee.

(f) This section expires September 1, 2016.

Sec. 21.0456. TEXAS INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATOR EXCELLENCE. (a) In this section, "institute" means the Texas Institute for Educator Excellence.

(b) The commissioner of education and the commissioner of higher education shall develop and implement the Texas Institute for Educator Excellence.

(c) The commissioners shall adopt a plan for the selection and design of the institute. The plan developed by the commissioners must be submitted for approval to the Joint Select Committee for Teacher and Principal Excellence established under Section 21.0455.

(d) After the plan is adopted and approved as provided by Subsection (c), the commissioners shall issue a request for proposal to select a college of education of an institution of higher education, as defined by Section 61.003, to serve as the institute.

(e) Not later than June 1, 2013, the institute shall implement the standards recommended by the task force and adopted by the State Board of Education under Section 21.0453. The institute will serve as a demonstration site for the educator preparation standards recommended by the task force.

(f) Subsections (c), (d), (e), and this subsection expire September 1, 2016.

(g) After the educator preparation standards are implemented, the institute will serve as the state's center for reform-oriented and innovative practice, high-quality research, and model programs relating to educator quality and effectiveness.

SECTION 4. Subchapter B, Chapter 21, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 21.0501 to read as follows:

Sec. 21.0501. ACCEPTANCE AND GRADUATION IN MASTER'S DEGREE PROGRAM. (a) Before January 1, 2012, the commissioner, in consultation with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, shall evaluate:

(1) admission requirements for master's degree programs in teaching; and

(2) graduation requirements for master's degree programs in teaching.

(b) Before June 1, 2012, the commissioner, in consultation with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, shall adopt rules:

(1) increasing the academic standards for admission to a master's degree program in teaching;

(2) increasing the graduation requirements for a master's degree program in teaching; and

(3) providing for the applicability of the increased standards and requirements to students enrolled in a master's degree program in teaching.

(c) This section expires September 1, 2012.

SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.