BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.S.B. 2497

By: Middleton

Public Education

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

In 2019 the legislature passed an omnibus education reform bill, H.B. 3, which increased the funding weight of the bilingual education allotment for students who are enrolled in bilingual education programs that use a dual language immersion/one-way or two-way program model. However, school districts that offer alternative language methods that are approved by TEA and use a dual language immersion model do not benefit from the increased allotment. C.S.S.B. 2497 seeks to remedy this situation by allowing districts that offer TEA-approved alternative language methods that use a dual language immersion model to receive a bilingual education allotment with an increased funding weight.

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. 2497 amends the Education Code to authorize the Texas Education Agency (TEA), for purposes of implementing the bilingual education allotment under the foundation school program, to require a public school district that is granted an exception from implementing a bilingual education program to do the following:

· include in the district's PEIMS report additional information specified by TEA and relating to the alternative language education methods used by the district; and

· classify the alternative language education method used by the district under the PEIMS report as specified by TEA.

C.S.S.B. 2497 requires TEA to review districts that are granted the exception and offer alternative language methods approved by TEA for bilingual education and approve districts to receive the allotment provided by the bill for that biennium in a manner that provides not more than $10 million total under the allotment to districts in each biennium. The bill requires TEA, in approving districts to receive the allotment and to the extent possible, to approve eligible districts from a cross section of Texas.

C.S.S.B. 2497 entitles a district to an annual allotment, for each student in average daily attendance in an alternative language method approved by TEA and offered by the district, equal to the basic allotment multiplied by:

· 0.15 for an emergent bilingual student, defined as a student whose primary language is other than English and whose English language skills are such that the student has difficulty performing ordinary classwork in English, if the student is in an alternative language method using a dual language immersion/one-way or two-way program model; and

· 0.05 for a student other than such an emergent bilingual student, if the student is in an alternative language method using a dual language immersion/one-way or two-way program model.

C.S.S.B. 2497 replaces salary supplements for teachers with teacher salaries as an authorized use of the bilingual education allotment. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2023.

COMPARISON OF SENATE ENGROSSED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.S.B. 2497 may differ from the engrossed in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the engrossed and committee substitute versions of the bill.

While both the engrossed and the substitute entitle a district to an annual allotment equal to the basic allotment multiplied by 0.05 for a student who is not an emergent bilingual student and who is in an alternative language method using a dual language immersion/two-way program model, the substitute also includes among those students for whom a district is entitled to that annual allotment a student who is not an emergent bilingual student and who is in an alternative language method using a dual language immersion/one-way program model.

The substitute replaces salary supplements for teachers with teacher salaries as an authorized use of the bilingual education allotment, whereas the engrossed did not make this replacement.