Amend SB 2185 on third reading by striking the recital to SECTION 1 of the bill, amending Section 29.054, Education Code, and substituting the following:
SECTION 1. Section 29.054, Education Code, is amended by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (b-1) and (e) to read as follows:
(b) An application for an exception may be filed with the agency when a district is unable to hire a sufficient number of teachers with teaching certificates appropriate for bilingual education instruction to staff the required program. The application must be accompanied by:
(1) documentation showing that the district has taken all reasonable affirmative steps to secure teachers with teaching certificates appropriate for bilingual education instruction and has failed;
(2) documentation showing that the district has affirmative hiring policies and procedures consistent with the need to serve emergent bilingual students;
(3) documentation showing that, on the basis of district records, no teacher having a teaching certificate appropriate for bilingual instruction or emergency credentials has been unjustifiably denied employment by the district within the past 12 months; and
(4) a plan detailing specific measures to be used by the district to eliminate the conditions that created the need for an exception, including:
(A) recruitment efforts;
(B) the use of funds to provide salary stipends;
(C) certification training and technical assistance offered by the district;
(D) reassignment of staff, as needed; and
(E) program innovations to address the affective, linguistic, and cognitive needs of emergent bilingual students.
(b-1) Each district shall annually update the plan and submit a progress report to the agency describing the district's implementation of the measures described by Subsection (b)(4) in the preceding year.