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.