BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1752

By: Patrick, Diane

Higher Education

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

According to interested parties, research has consistently supported the notion that teacher quality is directly linked to student achievement and that students in underserved and economically disadvantaged schools are least likely to have an effective teacher in their classroom, despite having the greatest need. These parties contend that the first step in improving teacher quality and helping hard-to-staff schools and subjects is a strong, comprehensive teacher preparation program that includes wide-ranging field experience.

To that end, C.S.H.B. 1752 seeks to create a Texas Teacher Residency Program at a public institution of higher education that has formed a partnership with an area school district or open-enrollment charter school. The program is based on the medical residency model, which has proven to be a successful approach in teacher recruitment, preparation, and retention in cities such as Boston, Memphis, and Chicago, and is designed to elevate the profession of teaching and to strengthen teacher preparation through competitive admission requirements, integration of pedagogy and classroom practice, master's level coursework and apprenticeship at the partner public school, team mentorship, and support for teacher residents after graduation when they commit to serve in hard-to-staff schools.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the commissioner of higher education in SECTION 1 of this bill.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1752 amends the Education Code to require the commissioner of higher education, not later than March 1, 2014, to establish through a competitive selection process a Texas Teacher Residency Program at a public institution of higher education that has developed a commitment to investing in teacher education. The bill requires the institution of higher education to form a partnership with an area school district or open-enrollment charter school to provide employment to residents in the program. The bill requires the program to be designed to award teaching residents participating in the program a master's degree and lead to certification for participating teaching residents who are not already certified teachers. The bill requires the institution of higher education to reward faculty instructing in the program, identify faculty who can prepare teachers to impact student achievement in high-need schools, provide institutional support of faculty who work with the program by providing time to teach the courses and valuing the faculty's contributions with rewards in the university tenure process, and develop and implement a program that acknowledges and elevates the significance and professional nature of teaching at the primary and secondary levels.

C.S.H.B. 1752 sets out the required components of the program and minimum qualifications for an individual to be eligible to be admitted and hired as a teaching resident under the program. The bill requires the program to establish criteria for selecting individuals to participate in the program and specifies selection criteria that must be included. The bill requires the commissioner of higher education to adopt rules as necessary to implement the bill's provisions and authorizes the commissioner to solicit and accept gifts, grants, and donations from public and private entities for the program.

C.S.H.B. 1752 makes Teach for Texas repayment assistance available to a person who applies for the assistance and who has successfully completed the Texas Teacher Residency Program, has obtained a teacher's certification if the person was not previously certified, and has for at least four years taught full-time at the primary or secondary level in a Texas public school in a community identified by the commissioner of education as experiencing a critical shortage of teachers or in a district eligible for federal funding under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 at a school at which at least 75 percent of the students are educationally disadvantaged.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2013.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 1752 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.

INTRODUCED	HOUSE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
SECTION 1. Chapter 21, Education Code, is amended by adding Subchapter Q to read as follows: SUBCHAPTER Q. TEXAS TEACHER RESIDENCY PROGRAM Sec. 21.801. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM. (a) Not later than March 1, 2014, the commissioner of higher education shall, through a competitive selection process, establish a Texas Teacher Residency Program at an institution of higher education that has developed a commitment to investing in teacher education. (b) The institution of higher education shall form a partnership with an area school district or open-enrollment charter school to provide employment to residents in the program. (c) The program must be designed to: (1) award teaching residents participating in the program a master's degree; and (2) lead to certification under Subchapter B for participating teaching residents who are not already certified teachers. (d) The institution of higher education shall: (1) reward faculty instructing in the teacher residency program; (2) identify faculty who can prepare teachers to impact student achievement in high-need schools; (3) provide institutional support of faculty who work with the teacher residency program by providing time to teach the courses and valuing the faculty's contributions with rewards in the university tenure process; and (4) develop and implement a program that acknowledges and elevates the significance and professional nature of teaching at the primary and secondary levels. Sec. 21.802. PROGRAM COMPONENTS. The teacher residency program shall include: (1) competitive admission requirements with multiple criteria; (2) integration of pedagogy and classroom practice; (3) rigorous master's level course work, while undertaking a guided apprenticeship at the partner area school district or open-enrollment charter school; (4) a team mentorship approach to expose teaching residents to a variety of teaching methods, philosophies, and classroom environments; (5) clear criteria for the selection of mentor teachers based on measures of teacher effectiveness and the appropriate subject area knowledge; (6) measures of appropriate progress through the program; (7) the collaboration with one or more regional education service centers and community experts to provide professional development or other structured learning experiences for teaching residents; (8) a livable stipend for teaching residents; (9) a post-completion commitment by teaching residents to serve at schools that are difficult to staff; (10) job placement assistance for teaching residents; (11) support for teaching residents in the first year of teaching through the provision of mentoring, professional development, and networking opportunities; and (12) demonstration of the integral role and responsibilities of the partner area school district or open-enrollment charter school in fulfilling the purpose of the program. Sec. 21.803. PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY. To be eligible to be admitted and hired as a teaching resident under the program, an individual must: (1) have received the individual's initial teaching certificate not more than two years before applying for a residency and must have less than nine months of full-time equivalency teaching experience as a certified teacher; or (2) hold a bachelor's degree and: (A) be a mid-career professional from outside the field of education, and have strong content knowledge or a record of achievement; or (B) be a noncertified educator such as a substitute teacher or teaching assistant. Sec. 21.804. SELECTION OF PARTICIPANTS. Sec. 21.805. RULES.	SECTION 1. Chapter 21, Education Code, is amended by adding Subchapter Q to read as follows: SUBCHAPTER Q. TEXAS TEACHER RESIDENCY PROGRAM Sec. 21.801. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM. (a) Not later than March 1, 2014, the commissioner of higher education shall, through a competitive selection process, establish a Texas Teacher Residency Program at a public institution of higher education that has developed a commitment to investing in teacher education. (b) The public institution of higher education shall form a partnership with an area school district or open-enrollment charter school to provide employment to residents in the program. (c) The program must be designed to: (1) award teaching residents participating in the program a master's degree; and (2) lead to certification under Subchapter B for participating teaching residents who are not already certified teachers. (d) The public institution of higher education shall: (1) reward faculty instructing in the teacher residency program; (2) identify faculty who can prepare teachers to impact student achievement in high-need schools; (3) provide institutional support of faculty who work with the teacher residency program by providing time to teach the courses and valuing the faculty's contributions with rewards in the university tenure process; and (4) develop and implement a program that acknowledges and elevates the significance and professional nature of teaching at the primary and secondary levels. Sec. 21.802. PROGRAM COMPONENTS. The teacher residency program shall include: (1) competitive admission requirements with multiple criteria; (2) integration of pedagogy and classroom practice; (3) rigorous master's level course work, while undertaking a guided apprenticeship at the partner area school district or open-enrollment charter school; (4) a team mentorship approach to expose teaching residents to a variety of teaching methods, philosophies, and classroom environments; (5) clear criteria for the selection of mentor teachers based on measures of teacher effectiveness and the appropriate subject area knowledge; (6) measures of appropriate progress through the program; (7) the collaboration with one or more regional education service centers or local nonprofit education organizations to provide professional development or other structured learning experiences for teaching residents; (8) a livable stipend for teaching residents; (9) a post-completion commitment by teaching residents to serve four years at schools that are difficult to staff; (10) job placement assistance for teaching residents; (11) support for teaching residents for not less than one year following the resident's completion of the program through the provision of mentoring, professional development, and networking opportunities; (12) demonstration of the integral role and responsibilities of the partner area school district or open-enrollment charter school in fulfilling the purpose of the program; and (13) monetary or in-kind contributions provided by the public institution of higher education, partner area school district, or open-enrollment charter school to demonstrate that the program may be sustained in the absence of grant funds or state appropriations. Sec. 21.803. PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY. To be eligible to be admitted and hired as a teaching resident under the program, an individual must: (1) have received the individual's initial teaching certificate not more than two years before applying for a residency and must have less than 18 months of full-time equivalency teaching experience as a certified teacher; or (2) hold a bachelor's degree and: (A) be a mid-career professional from outside the field of education, and have strong content knowledge or a record of achievement; or (B) be a noncertified educator such as a substitute teacher or teaching assistant. Sec. 21.804. SELECTION OF PARTICIPANTS. Sec. 21.805. RULES. Sec. 21.806. AUTHORITY TO ACCEPT CERTAIN FUNDS. The commissioner of higher education may solicit and accept gifts, grants, and donations from public and private entities to use for the purposes of this subchapter.
SECTION 2. Section 56.353(a), Education Code, is amended.	SECTION 2. Same as introduced version.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.	SECTION 3. Same as introduced version.