H.B. No. 3349

AN ACT

relating to creating an abbreviated certification program and probationary and standard certificates for trade and industrial workforce training.

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

SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 21, Education Code, is amended by adding Sections 21.0442 and 21.0491 to read as follows:

Sec. 21.0442. EDUCATOR PREPARATION PROGRAM FOR PROBATIONARY AND STANDARD TRADE AND INDUSTRIAL WORKFORCE TRAINING CERTIFICATES. (a) The board shall propose rules under this subchapter to create an abbreviated educator preparation program for a person seeking certification in trade and industrial workforce training.

(b) A person is eligible for admission to an educator preparation program created under this section only if the person:

(1) has been issued a high school diploma or a postsecondary credential, certificate, or degree;

(2) has seven years of full-time wage-earning experience within the preceding 10 years in an approved occupation for which instruction is offered;

(3) holds with respect to that occupation a current license, certificate, or registration, as applicable, issued by a nationally recognized accrediting agency based on a recognized test or measurement; and

(4) within the period described by Subdivision (2), has not been the subject of a complaint filed with a licensing entity or other agency that regulates the occupation of the person, other than a complaint that was determined baseless or unfounded by that entity or agency.

(c) In proposing rules for an educator preparation program under this section, the board shall ensure that the program requires at least 80 hours of classroom instruction in:

(1) a specific pedagogy;

(2) creating lesson plans;

(3) creating student assessment instruments;

(4) classroom management; and

(5) relevant federal and state education laws.

Sec. 21.0491. PROBATIONARY AND STANDARD TRADE AND INDUSTRIAL WORKFORCE TRAINING CERTIFICATES. (a) To provide a continuing additional source of teachers to provide workforce training, the board shall establish a probationary trade and industrial workforce training certificate and a standard trade and industrial workforce training certificate that may be obtained through an abbreviated educator preparation program under Section 21.0442.

(b) To be eligible for a probationary certificate under this section, a person must:

(1) satisfactorily complete the course work for that certificate in an educator preparation program under Section 21.0442; and

(2) satisfy any other requirements prescribed by the board.

(c) To be eligible for a standard certificate under this section, a person must:

(1) hold a probationary certificate issued under this section;

(2) be employed by:

(A) a public or private primary or secondary school; or

(B) an institution of higher education or an independent or private institution of higher education as those terms are defined by Section 61.003; and

(3) perform satisfactorily on a standard trade and industrial workforce training certificate examination prescribed by the board.

(d) The limitation imposed by Section 21.048(a-1) on the number of administrations of an examination does not apply to the administration of the standard trade and industrial workforce training certificate examination prescribed by the board.

(e) Notwithstanding any other law, the board may administer the standard trade and industrial workforce training certificate examination to a person who satisfies the requirements of Subsections (c)(1) and (2).

(f) The board shall propose rules to:

(1) specify the term of a probationary certificate and a standard certificate issued under this section; and

(2) establish the requirements for renewal of a standard certificate.

SECTION 2. The State Board for Educator Certification shall propose rules:

(1) establishing requirements for a probationary trade and industrial workforce training certificate as required by Section 21.0491, Education Code, as added by this Act;

(2) prescribing an examination for a standard trade and industrial workforce training certificate examination as required by Section 21.0491, Education Code, as added by this Act; and

(3) establishing standards to govern the approval and renewal of approval of educator preparation programs for certification in trade and industrial workforce training.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect only if a specific appropriation for the implementation of the Act is provided in a general appropriations act of the 85th Legislature.

SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2017.

______________________________ ______________________________

President of the Senate Speaker of the House

I certify that H.B. No. 3349 was passed by the House on May 12, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 141, Nays 1, 1 present, not voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B. No. 3349 on May 26, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 145, Nays 0, 2 present, not voting.

______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House

I certify that H.B. No. 3349 was passed by the Senate, with amendments, on May 24, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.

______________________________ Secretary of the Senate APPROVED: __________________

Date

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Governor