Honorable Dan Huberty, Chair, House Committee on Public Education
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB1278 by Taylor, Larry (Relating to educator preparation programs.), As Engrossed
Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for SB1278, As Engrossed: a negative impact of ($631,120) through the biennium ending August 31, 2019.
Fiscal Year
Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds
2018
($315,560)
2019
($315,560)
2020
$0
2021
$0
2022
$0
Fiscal Year
Probable Savings/(Cost) from General Revenue Fund 1
2018
($315,560)
2019
($315,560)
2020
$0
2021
$0
2022
$0
Fiscal Analysis
The bill would amend the Education Code related to the educator preparation program (EPP) standards established by the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC). The bill would require the results of certification examinations prescribed under Section 21.048(a) not be included for EPP accountability in subject areas identified by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to be a teacher shortage area. The bill would require the exclusion of certain unsuccessful attempts made by alternative certification candidates on a content certification examination in teacher shortage area subjects for the purposes of EPP accountability under certain circumstances.
The bill would require that SBEC rules on field supervision for classroom teacher candidates to allow at least three of the required visits to be through video, the internet, or another remote technological method, and limit the number of field supervisor support visits for classroom teacher candidates during the course of an internship to five. The bill would require those audio or video recordings of support visits to be confidential and would not require a school district employee to obtain parental consent for such a video prior to the required support visit.
The bill would amend the requirement related to the field-based experience required of a candidate for certification as a teacher of record. The bill would allow the candidate to complete the 15 hour minimum requirement either after the candidate's admission to an EPP or during the two years preceding admission. The bill would allow the field-based experience requirement to be satisfied by serving as a substitute teacher or teacher's aide for at least five school days, or by being actively engaged in instructional or educational activities.
Methodology
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) indicates the Information and Technology Services division would need to develop and implement changes to the Educator Certification Online System (ECOS) to allow for tracking of observations by video or in person as required under the provisions of the bill. Based on information provided by TEA, the cost associated with making the required changes to ECOS would total $315,560 in fiscal year 2018 and $315,560 in fiscal year 2019 for the initial development. This estimate assumes the agency can use existing full-time equivalent positions to provide ongoing support and maintenance to ECOS.
Technology
The Texas Education Agency estimates initial development costs associated with developing a report that will compare video or in person observations to accountability ratings; changing observation upload processing, manual processing, and reporting; and adding an additional PASS/RATE report that will reflect percentages that support teacher shortage areas with defined tests excluded from an educator preparation program's accountability.
Local Government Impact
Approved educator preparation programs (EPPs) considered units of local government include school districts, charter schools, and county districts. According to TEA, EPPs considered local governments could incur costs associated with using technology-based supervisor visits. Costs to EPP could include selecting, testing, and resolving any issues with video and audio equipment; testing and resolving any issues with network access to viewing platform; testing and resolving any network abilities to handle video; developing policies and security measures to protect the privacy of students and teacher candidates; developing step-by-step procedures for setup, filming, uploading, and sharing observations; training teacher candidates and field supervisors; and providing ongoing technical support. Costs would vary depending on the EPP.