BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.S.B. 892

By: Seliger

Public Education

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Interested parties contend that the law relating to educator preparation programs and teacher certification examinations needs to be modified in order to ensure access and equity.
C.S.S.B. 892 seeks to address these concerns.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.S.B. 892 amends the Education Code to lower from 2.75 to 2.50 the minimum grade point average on a four-point scale or the equivalent required for a person other than a person seeking career and technology education certification to be eligible for admission to an educator preparation program. The bill prohibits the overall grade point average of each incoming class admitted by an educator preparation program, including an alternative educator preparation program, from being less than 3.00 on a four-point scale or the equivalent or a higher overall grade point average prescribed by the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC). The bill authorizes a program, in computing the overall grade point average of an incoming class, to include the grade point average of each person in the incoming class based on all course work previously attempted by the person at a public or private institution of higher education or to include the grade point average of each person in the incoming class based only on the last 60 semester credit hours attempted by the person at a public or private institution of higher education. The bill excludes a person seeking career and technology education certification from the determination of the overall grade point average of such an incoming class.

C.S.S.B. 892 replaces as information required to be contained in an educator preparation program's annual performance report the number of candidates employed in the profession after completing the program with the number of candidates employed as beginning teachers under standard teaching certificates by not later than the first anniversary of completing the program and includes in the required information the amount of time required by candidates employed as beginning teachers under probationary teaching certificates to be issued standard teaching certificates, the ratio of field supervisors to candidates completing student teaching, clinical teaching, or an internship, and any other information necessary to enable SBEC to assess the effectiveness of the program on the basis of teacher retention and success criteria adopted by SBEC. The bill requires SBEC, not later than January 1, 2016, to develop such criteria and to consult with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board in developing the criteria. The bill requires the coordinating board to participate and provide recommendations regarding the criteria.

C.S.S.B. 892 prohibits a person from retaking an educator certification examination more than four times, unless SBEC waives the limitation for good cause as prescribed by SBEC. The bill adds a temporary provision, set to expire September 1, 2018, authorizing a person who initially took an examination before September 1, 2015, to retake the examination up to four times after that date, regardless of the number of times that the person attempted to perform satisfactorily on the examination before that date. The bill removes a statutory provision excluding the certification examination results of an educator who has failed the examination more than five times from the general confidentiality of certification examination results.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2015.

COMPARISON OF SENATE ENGROSSED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.S.B. 892 may differ from the engrossed in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following comparison is organized and formatted in a manner that indicates the substantial differences between the engrossed and committee substitute versions of the bill.

SENATE ENGROSSED	HOUSE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
SECTION 1. Section 21.0441, Education Code, is amended.	SECTION 1. Same as engrossed version.
SECTION 2. Section 21.045(b), Education Code, is amended.	SECTION 2. Same as engrossed version.
SECTION 3. Section 21.048, Education Code, is amended.	SECTION 3. Same as engrossed version.
SECTION 4. Effective September 1, 2016, Section 21.051, Education Code, is amended by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (b-1), (b-2), and (c-1) to read as follows: (b) Before a school district may employ a candidate for certification as a teacher of record, the candidate must complete at least 30 [15] hours of field-based experience in which the candidate is actively engaged in instructional or educational activities in the classroom under supervision at: (1) a public school campus accredited or approved for the purpose by the agency; or (2) a private school recognized or approved for the purpose by the agency. (b-1) The hours of field-based experience required by Subsection (b) may not be provided through use of electronic transmission or other video- or technology-based method. (b-2) Notwithstanding Subsection (b), a candidate may be employed by a school district as a teacher of record before completing the field-based experience required by that subsection if the candidate: (1) is not admitted by an educator preparation program before June 15; (2) is employed by the district on or after June 15 or after the district's school year begins; and (3) completes the required field-based experience not later than the 90th day after the date the candidate receives a teaching assignment. (c-1) Subsections (b), (b-1), and (b-2), as amended and added by S.B. 892, Acts of the 84th Legislature, Regular Session, 2015, apply only to an initial certification issued on or after September 1, 2016. Those provisions do not affect: (1) the validity of a certification issued before September 1, 2016; or (2) the eligibility of a person who holds a certification issued before September 1, 2016, to obtain a subsequent renewal of the certification in accordance with board rule.	No equivalent provision.
SECTION 5. Not later than January 1, 2016, the State Board for Educator Certification shall develop criteria for evaluation of educator preparation programs based on teacher retention and success as required by Section 21.045(b)(3), Education Code, as added by this Act. The State Board for Educator Certification shall consult with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board in developing the criteria, and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall participate and provide recommendations regarding the criteria.	SECTION 4. Same as engrossed version.
SECTION 6. Except as otherwise provided by this Act, this Act takes effect September 1, 2015.	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.