BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 1934

By: Minjarez

Defense & Veterans' Affairs

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Interested parties contend that military spouses who are teachers need additional flexibility when seeking educator certification in Texas due to the hardship that continuous military-directed moves can pose on the spouses' careers. H.B. 1934 seeks to provide this flexibility by requiring the State Board for Educator Certification to establish procedures to expedite the processing of an application for a certificate by an educator from outside of Texas who is the spouse of an active duty military member.

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 rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the State Board for Educator Certification in SECTION 1 of this bill.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 1934 amends the Education Code to require the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) to propose rules to establish procedures to expedite the processing of an application for a certificate submitted by an educator from outside Texas who is the spouse of a person who is serving on active duty as a member of the U.S. armed forces, including rules for providing the appropriate documentation to establish the educator's status as a spouse of such a person. The bill prohibits the expiration of a temporary certificate issued to such an educator before the third anniversary of the date on which the SBEC completes the review of the educator's credentials and informs the educator of the certification examination or examinations on which the educator must perform satisfactorily to receive a standard certificate.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2017.