88R7927 PRL-D
 
  By: Dutton H.B. No. 2358
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the creation of the Texas Teacher Residency Partnership
  Program and a residency partnership allotment under the Foundation
  School Program.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Chapter 21, Education Code, is amended by adding
  Subchapter R to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER R.  TEXAS TEACHER RESIDENCY PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM
         Sec. 21.901.  DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
               (1)  "Board" means the State Board for Educator
  Certification.
               (2)  "Mentor teacher" means a classroom teacher who:
                     (A)  meets the qualifications for assignment as a
  mentor under Section 21.458; and
                     (B)  is employed by a school district or
  open-enrollment charter school participating in a partnership
  program under this subchapter and paired with a partnership
  resident at the district or school.
               (3)  "Partnership program" means a Texas Teacher
  Residency Partnership Program established at a school district or
  open-enrollment charter school in accordance with this subchapter.
               (4)  "Partnership resident" means a person enrolled in
  a qualified educator preparation program participating in a
  partnership program as a candidate for educator certification.
               (5)  "Qualified educator preparation program" means an
  educator preparation program approved by the board in accordance
  with rules proposed under Section 21.903.
         Sec. 21.902.  ESTABLISHMENT OF PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM. (a)
  The commissioner shall establish the Texas Teacher Residency
  Partnership Program to enable qualified educator preparation
  programs to form partnerships with school districts or
  open-enrollment charter schools to provide residency positions to
  partnership residents at the district or school.
         (b)  The partnership program must be designed to:
               (1)  allow partnership residents to receive
  field-based experience working with classroom teachers in
  prekindergarten through grade 12 classrooms; and
               (2)  gradually increase the amount of time a
  partnership resident spends engaging in instructional
  responsibilities, including observation, co-teaching, and
  lead-teaching responsibilities.
         Sec. 21.903.  QUALIFIED EDUCATOR PREPARATION PROGRAMS. The
  board shall propose rules specifying the requirements for board
  approval of an educator preparation program as a qualified educator
  preparation program for purposes of this subchapter.  The rules
  must require an educator preparation program to:
               (1)  use research-based best practices for recruiting
  and admitting candidates into the educator preparation program to
  participate in the partnership program;
               (2)  integrate curriculum, classroom practice, and
  formal observation and feedback;
               (3)  use multiple assessments to measure a partnership
  resident's progress in the partnership program; and
               (4)  ensure a school district or open-enrollment
  charter school with which an educator preparation program partners
  under this subchapter meets the requirements for participating
  districts and schools under Section 21.904.
         Sec. 21.904.  REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATING DISTRICTS AND
  SCHOOLS. (a)  A school district or open-enrollment charter school
  participating in the partnership program shall:
               (1)  enter into a written agreement with a qualified
  educator preparation program to:
                     (A)  provide a partnership resident with at least
  one school year of clinical teaching in a residency position at the
  district or school in the subject area and grade level for which the
  resident seeks certification; and
                     (B)  pair the partnership resident with a mentor
  teacher;
               (2)  only use money received under Section 48.157 to:
                     (A)  implement the partnership program; and
                     (B)  provide compensation to:
                           (i)  partnership residents in residency
  positions at the district or school; and
                           (ii)  mentor teachers who are paired with
  partnership residents at the district or school;
               (3)  pay at least 50 percent of the compensation paid to
  partnership residents using money other than money received under
  Section 48.157; and
               (4)  provide any information required by the agency
  regarding the district's or school's implementation of the program.
         (b)  A school district or open-enrollment charter school may
  only pair a partnership resident with a mentor teacher who agrees to
  participate in that role in a partnership program at the district or
  school partnership program.
         (c)  A partnership resident may not serve as a teacher of
  record, as that term is defined by Section 21.051.
         Sec. 21.905.  RESIDENCY EDUCATOR CERTIFICATE. The board
  shall propose rules specifying the requirements for the issuance of
  a residency educator certificate to a partnership resident who has
  successfully completed the program.  The rules may not require the
  resident to pass a pedagogy examination unless the examination
  tests subject-specific content appropriate for the grade and
  subject area for which the candidate seeks certification.
         Sec. 21.906.  AGENCY SUPPORT. The agency shall provide
  technical assistance, planning, and support to school districts,
  open-enrollment charter schools, and qualified educator
  preparation programs, which must include:
               (1)  providing model forms and agreements a district,
  school, or educator preparation program may use to comply with the
  requirements of this subchapter; and
               (2)  support for district and school strategic staffing
  and compensation models to incentivize participation in a
  partnership program.
         Sec. 21.907.  AUTHORITY TO ACCEPT CERTAIN FUNDS. The
  commissioner may solicit and accept gifts, grants, and donations
  from public and private entities to use for the purposes of this
  subchapter.
         Sec. 21.908.  RULES. (a)  The board shall propose rules
  necessary to implement this subchapter, including rules under
  Sections 21.903 and 21.905.
         (b)  The commissioner shall adopt rules as necessary to
  implement this subchapter.
         SECTION 2.  Subchapter D, Chapter 48, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Section 48.157 to read as follows:
         Sec. 48.157.  RESIDENCY PARTNERSHIP ALLOTMENT. (a)  In this
  section:
               (1)  "Partnership program" and "partnership resident"
  have the meanings assigned by Section 21.901.
               (2)  "Rural campus" has the meaning assigned by Section
  48.112.
         (b)  For each partnership resident employed at a district in
  a residency position under Subchapter R, Chapter 21, the district
  is entitled to an allotment equal to a base amount of $22,000
  increased by the high needs and rural factor, as determined under
  Subsection (c), to an amount not to exceed $42,000.
         (c)  The high needs and rural factor is determined by
  multiplying $5,000 by the lesser of:
               (1)  the average of the point value assigned to each
  student at a district campus under Section 48.112(d); or
               (2)  4.0.
         (d)  In addition to the funding under Subsection (b), a
  district that qualifies for an allotment under this section is
  entitled to an additional $2,000 for each partnership resident
  employed in a residency position at the district who is a candidate
  for special education certification.
         (e)  The Texas School for the Deaf and the Texas School for
  the Blind and Visually Impaired are entitled to an allotment under
  this section.  If the commissioner determines that assigning point
  values under Subsection (c) to students enrolled in the Texas
  School for the Deaf or the Texas School for the Blind and Visually
  Impaired is impractical, the commissioner may use the average point
  value assigned for those students' home districts for purposes of
  calculating the high needs and rural factor.
         SECTION 3.  Subchapter Q, Chapter 21, Education Code, is
  repealed.
         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, 2023.