By: Powell  S.B. No. 2023
         (In the Senate - Filed March 12, 2021; April 1, 2021, read
  first time and referred to Committee on Education; May 3, 2021,
  reported adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the
  following vote:  Yeas 10, Nays 0; May 3, 2021, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
 
  COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 2023 By:  Powell
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to providing high-quality tutoring services to public
  school students, including the creation of the Texas Tutor Corps
  program, and the use of the compensatory education allotment for
  certain tutoring services programs.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter C, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Section 29.0841 to read as follows:
         Sec. 29.0841.  TEXAS TUTOR CORPS PROGRAM. (a) In this
  section:
               (1)  "Hard-to-staff school" means a high-need school
  that has a high rate of teacher turnover or a large concentration of
  teachers in their first or second year of teaching.
               (2)  "High-need school" has the meaning assigned by the
  Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6631).
               (3)  "Program" means the Texas Tutor Corps program
  established under this section.
         (b)  The agency shall establish and administer a Texas Tutor
  Corps program to develop and support a statewide network of tutors,
  combat learning loss, and provide grants to school districts and
  open-enrollment charter schools that are hard-to-staff schools or
  high-need schools, for the purpose of establishing local consortia,
  as described by Subsection (e), to collaborate on the provision of
  high-quality tutoring services for students enrolled at the
  district or school. The program must:
               (1)  include time for planning and collaboration among
  tutors;
               (2)  match tutors with students based on the tutor's
  expertise in a particular subject area or grade level and the
  student's subject area tutoring needs or grade level;
               (3)  include high-quality pre-service training and
  ongoing professional support for tutors serving under the program;
               (4)  be facilitated by the local consortium established
  by the district or school; and
               (5)  provide compensation for tutors.
         (c)  The following individuals may serve as tutors under the
  program:
               (1)  certified and retired educators;
               (2)  paraprofessionals and teacher's aides;
               (3)  recent graduates of educator preparation
  programs;
               (4)  individuals enrolled in state-approved educator
  preparation programs; and
               (5)  postsecondary students enrolled in a certificate
  or degree program in the subject area in which the student provides
  tutoring under the program.
         (d)  Tutoring services provided under the program must:
               (1)  be led by a tutor;
               (2)  be provided in a one-on-one or small group setting
  with a ratio of not more than one tutor for every four students;
               (3)  occur in multiple sessions of sufficient length
  each week to ensure adequate time for delivery of tutoring
  services;
               (4)  be provided during the regular school day or
  immediately before or after school and during school vacation
  periods; and
               (5)  align with local standards and curriculum.
         (e)  For purposes of this section, a local consortium of
  community partners:
               (1)  includes one or more of each of the following
  entities, one of which serves as the lead entity of the consortium:
                     (A)  a school district or district campus;
                     (B)  an open-enrollment charter school or charter
  school campus; and
                     (C)  a regional education service center; and
               (2)  may include:
                     (A)  educator preparation programs under Section
  21.0442;
                     (B)  community-based organizations;
                     (C)  agencies serving children and youth;
                     (D)  institutions of higher education;
                     (E)  educator organizations;
                     (F)  organizations representing education
  professionals;
                     (G)  local governments and local governmental
  entities;
                     (H)  student organizations; and
                     (I)  parent organizations.
         (f)  A school district or open-enrollment charter school
  that applies for a grant under this section must include with the
  application a description of the methods by which the tutoring to be
  provided under the grant will accelerate student learning and
  alleviate learning loss resulting from the coronavirus disease
  (COVID-19) pandemic.  The description must indicate whether the
  district or school plans to implement a high-quality tutoring
  program.
         (g)  A school district or open-enrollment charter school
  awarded a grant under this section may use the grant money to pay
  for:
               (1)  training tutors and placing tutors at district or
  school campuses;
               (2)  supporting tutors to work with small groups of
  students;
               (3)  matching tutors with students and mentors;
               (4)  providing adequate compensation to tutors and
  mentors;
               (5)  purchasing instructional materials and
  connectivity resources, including Internet access and devices
  capable of connecting to the Internet;
               (6)  providing transportation for students attending
  the tutoring program;
               (7)  providing meals and snacks for students attending
  the tutoring program; and
               (8)  providing facilities for conducting the tutoring
  program.
         (h)  In awarding grants under this section, the
  commissioner:
               (1)  must consider the quality of the tutoring proposed
  to be provided;
               (2)  may leverage federal funding to pay for the costs
  under the program;
               (3)  must consider the amount of funds distributed to
  the school district or open-enrollment charter school under Chapter
  48;
               (4)  must use any funds appropriated or otherwise
  available for the purposes of this program;
               (5)  shall prioritize applicants that:
                     (A)  have established a local consortium that
  includes an educator preparation program under Section 21.0442;
                     (B)  are hard-to-staff schools;
                     (C)  serve a high percentage of students who
  qualify for compensatory education, as determined by the
  commissioner; and
                     (D)  place an emphasis on in-person tutoring; and
               (6)  shall require as a condition of each grant that the
  recipient agree to use the grant to supplement and not supplant any
  money allocated by the recipient for existing instruction or
  tutoring programs.
         (h-1)  In awarding grants under this section for the
  2021-2022 school year, the commissioner may, to the extent
  authorized by state and federal law, leverage federal funding
  received through the elementary and secondary school emergency
  relief fund that is designated for use by the agency under the
  Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Pub. L. No. 116-260), and
  the American Rescue Plan of 2021 (Pub. L. No. 117-2). This
  subsection expires September 1, 2022.
         (i)  The commissioner may accept gifts, grants, or donations
  from any public or private source for purposes of this section.
         (j)  Notwithstanding Subsection (b), the commissioner is
  required to establish the program under this section only if the
  legislature appropriates money specifically for that purpose. If
  the legislature does not appropriate money specifically for that
  purpose, the commissioner may, but is not required to, establish
  the program under this section using other appropriations available
  for that purpose.
         (k)  A tutor providing services under the program is immune
  from civil liability to the same extent as a professional employee
  of a school district under Section 22.0511.
         (l)  This section expires September 1, 2023.
         SECTION 2.  Section 25.085(d), Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (d)  Unless specifically exempted by Section 25.086, a
  student enrolled in a school district must attend:
               (1)  an extended-year program for which the student is
  eligible that is provided by the district for students identified
  as likely not to be promoted to the next grade level or tutorial
  classes required by the district under Section 29.0841 [29.084];
               (2)  an accelerated reading instruction program to
  which the student is assigned under Section 28.006(g);
               (3)  an accelerated instruction program to which the
  student is assigned under Section 28.0211;
               (4)  a basic skills program to which the student is
  assigned under Section 29.086; or
               (5)  a summer program provided under Section 37.008(l)
  or Section 37.021.
         SECTION 3.  Section 29.088, Education Code, is amended by
  amending Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsection (b-1) to
  read as follows:
         (b)  Before providing a program under this section, the board
  of trustees of a school district must adopt a policy for:
               (1)  determining student eligibility for participating
  in the program that:
                     (A)  prescribes the grade level or course a
  student must be enrolled in to be eligible; and
                     (B)  provides for considering teacher
  recommendations in determining eligibility;
               (2)  ensuring that parents of or persons standing in
  parental relation to eligible students are provided notice of the
  program;
               (3)  ensuring that eligible students are encouraged to
  attend the program;
               (4)  ensuring that the program is offered at one or more
  locations in the district that are easily accessible to eligible
  students; [and]
               (5)  measuring student progress on completion of the
  program; and
               (6)  ensuring that all instruction, intervention, and
  support is provided by an appropriately qualified educator or
  person enrolled in an educator preparation program.
         (b-1)  For a school year before the 2023-2024 school year,
  the board of trustees of a school district shall include in the
  policy adopted under Subsection (b) an outline of how the program
  will combat learning loss caused by the coronavirus disease
  (COVID-19) pandemic.  This subsection expires September 1, 2023.
         (c)  The commissioner by rule shall:
               (1)  prescribe a procedure that a school district must
  follow to apply for and receive funding for a program under this
  section;
               (2)  adopt guidelines for determining which districts
  receive funding if there is not sufficient funding for each
  district that applies;
               (3)  require each district providing a program to
  report student performance results to the commissioner within the
  period and in the manner prescribed by the rule; [and]
               (4)  based on district reports under Subdivision (3)
  and any required analysis and verification of those reports,
  disseminate to each district in this state information concerning
  instructional methods that have proved successful in improving
  student performance in mathematics; and
               (5)  require each district providing a program under
  this section to submit a description of the methods by which the
  program will accelerate student learning, including whether the
  district plans to implement a high-quality tutoring program.
         SECTION 4.  Sections 29.090(b) and (c), Education Code, are
  amended to read as follows:
         (b)  Before providing a program under this section, the board
  of trustees of a school district must adopt a policy for:
               (1)  determining student eligibility for participating
  in the program that:
                     (A)  prescribes the grade level or course a
  student must be enrolled in to be eligible; and
                     (B)  provides for considering teacher
  recommendations in determining eligibility;
               (2)  ensuring that parents of or persons standing in
  parental relation to eligible students are provided notice of the
  program;
               (3)  ensuring that eligible students are encouraged to
  attend the program;
               (4)  ensuring that the program is offered at one or more
  locations in the district that are easily accessible to eligible
  students; [and]
               (5)  measuring student progress on completion of the
  program; and
               (6)  ensuring that all instruction, intervention, and
  support is provided by an appropriately qualified educator or
  person enrolled in an educator preparation program.
         (c)  The commissioner by rule shall:
               (1)  prescribe a procedure that a school district must
  follow to apply for and receive funding for a program under this
  section;
               (2)  adopt guidelines for determining which districts
  receive funding if there is not sufficient funding for each
  district that applies;
               (3)  require each district providing a program to
  report student performance results to the commissioner within the
  period and in the manner prescribed by the rule; [and]
               (4)  based on district reports under Subdivision (3)
  and any required analysis and verification of those reports,
  disseminate to each district in this state information concerning
  instructional methods that have proved successful in improving
  student performance in science; and
               (5)  require each district providing a program under
  this section to submit a description of the methods by which the
  program will accelerate student learning, including whether the
  district plans to implement a high-quality tutoring program.
         SECTION 5.  Section 29.091, Education Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (c-1) to read as follows:
         (c-1)  In addition to the requirements provided by
  Subsection (c), to be eligible to participate in the program for a
  school year before the 2023-2024 school year, a school district
  must participate in a local consortium described under Section
  29.0841 that supports the Texas Tutor Corps program under that
  section. This subsection expires September 1, 2023.
         SECTION 6.  Section 48.104, Education Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (j-2) to read as follows:
         (j-2)  In addition to other purposes for which funds
  allocated under this section may be used, those funds may also be
  used to pay costs associated with tutoring services provided under
  the Texas Tutor Corps program under Section 29.0841. This
  subsection expires September 1, 2023.
         SECTION 7.  Sections 29.084 and 29.094, Education Code, are
  repealed.
         SECTION 8.  This Act applies beginning with the 2021-2022
  school year.
         SECTION 9.  The Texas Education Agency is required to
  implement this Act only if the legislature appropriates money
  specifically for that purpose. If the legislature does not
  appropriate money specifically for that purpose, the agency may,
  but is not required to, implement this Act using other money
  available for that purpose.
         SECTION 10.  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, 2021.
 
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