BILL ANALYSIS |
C.S.H.B. 642 |
By: Patrick, Diane |
Public Education |
Committee Report (Substituted) |
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Under current law, the State Board for Educator Certification establishes continuing education requirements for classroom teachers, principals, and counselors. Interested parties express concern that these requirements are overly broad and often not meaningful for public schools, classrooms, or students. In addition, these parties contend that making data-driven decisions, identifying at-risk students, integrating technology, working with diverse populations, and focusing on one's respective content area will improve classroom effectiveness and student achievement, and that principals and counselors must meet student and teacher needs more effectively to move Texas public education into a strong position to be globally competitive. C.S.H.B. 642 seeks to address these issues by enhancing the continuing education requirements for classroom teachers, principals, and counselors.
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RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the State Board for Educator Certification in SECTION 2 of this bill.
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ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 642 amends the Education Code to require continuing education requirements for a classroom teacher to provide that not more than 25 percent of the training required every five years include instruction regarding collecting and analyzing information that will improve effectiveness in the classroom, recognizing early warning indicators that a student may be at risk of dropping out of school, integrating technology into classroom instruction, educating diverse student populations, and increasing knowledge of the subject area taught by the educator. The bill requires continuing education requirements for a principal to provide that not more than 25 percent of the training required every five years include instruction regarding effective and efficient management, recognizing early warning indicators that a student may be at risk of dropping out of school, integrating technology into campus curriculum and instruction, educating diverse student populations, and providing instructional leadership. The bill requires continuing education requirements for a counselor to provide that not more than 25 percent of training required every five years include instruction regarding assisting students in developing high school graduation plans, implementing dropout prevention strategies, and informing students concerning college admissions and career opportunities. The bill exempts an educator subject to continuing education requirements immediately before the bill's effective date from these requirements for any continuing education requirements period that ends before January 1, 2017.
C.S.H.B. 642 requires continuing education requirements for an educator each year to be linked to any areas identified in the educator's appraisal as needing improvement. The bill exempts an educator subject to continuing education requirements immediately before the bill's effective date from this requirement for any continuing education requirements period that ends before January 1, 2016.
C.S.H.B. 642 requires the State Board for Educator Certification to propose rules implementing the bill's provisions not later than January 1, 2014. The bill's provisions apply beginning with the 2014-2015 school year.
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EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2013.
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COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE
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While C.S.H.B. 642 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following comparison is organized and highlighted in a manner that indicates the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.
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