BILL ANALYSIS

S.B. 27

By: Creighton

Public Education

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Supporting teachers is crucial to supporting public education. The Teacher Vacancy Task Force has highlighted many ways to better support our teachers. S.B. 27 seeks to support teachers by codifying many of the recommendations of the task force.

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 rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the State Board for Educator Certification in SECTION 2 of this bill.

ANALYSIS

S.B. 27 amends the Education Code to revise provisions relating to the rights of public school educators and financial and other assistance provided to educators and to public schools by the Texas Education Agency (TEA).

Independent School District Employment Policies and Requirements

S.B. 27 requires the employment policy adopted by the board of trustees of an independent school district providing for the employment and duties of the independent school district's personnel to provide that, for purposes of determining the amount of a reduction in the salary of a classroom teacher, full-time counselor, or full-time librarian for unpaid leave, the employee's daily rate of pay is computed by dividing the employee's annual salary by the number of days the employee is expected to work for that school year.

S.B. 27 changes from not later than the 10th school day before the date on which an independent district fills a vacant position for which an educator certificate or license is required under state law, other than a position that affects the safety and security of students as determined by the board of trustees, to not later than the fifth school day before that date to which the district's employment policy must provide certain notice and opportunities to each current employee. These provisions apply beginning with the 2025-2026 school year.  

Certification for Certain Educational Services

S.B. 27 requires the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC), for a person applying for a certification in special education, bilingual education, or another area specified by the General Appropriations Act, to waive the following fees notwithstanding a rule adopted by the SBEC relating to the issuance and maintenance of an educator certificate:

· a certification examination fee imposed by the SBEC for the first administration of the examination to the person; and

· a fee associated with the application for certification by the person.

The bill requires the SBEC to pay to a vendor that administers such a certification examination a fee assessed by that vendor for the examination of a person applying for a formerly described certification for the first administration of the examination to the person.

S.B. 27 requires the SBEC to propose rules to allow a person seeking certification as an educator who fails to perform satisfactorily on the Bilingual Target Language Proficiency Test to do the following:

· retake only the sections of the test that include the domains on which the person failed to perform satisfactorily; and

· during a retake of the test, demonstrate the person's language proficiency through the completion of fewer components, including eliminating a component that requires the preparation of a lesson plan for a person who fails to perform satisfactorily on a domain requiring completion of that component.

Educator Contracts

S.B. 27 prohibits the SBEC from imposing a sanction against a teacher who relinquishes a position under a probationary contract, continuing contract, or a term contract, as applicable, and leaves the employment of a public school district after the 45th day before the first day of instruction for the upcoming school year in violation of the contract and without the consent of the district's board of trustees if the teacher's failure to comply was due to any of the following:

· a serious illness or health condition of the teacher or a close family member of the teacher;

· the teacher's relocation because the teacher's spouse or a partner who resides with the teacher changes employers or location of employment;

· a significant change in the needs of the teacher's family in a manner that requires the teacher to do either of the following:

o relocate; or

o forgo employment during a period of required employment under the teacher's contract; or

· the teacher's reasonable belief that the teacher had written permission from the public school district's administration to resign.

S.B. 27 authorizes a hearing examiner to dismiss a hearing before completing the hearing or making a written recommendation if any of the following conditions apply:

· the teacher requests the dismissal;

· the public school district withdraws the proposed decision that is the basis of the hearing; or

· the teacher and public school district request the dismissal after reaching a settlement regarding the proposed decision that is the basis of the hearing.

This authorization applies only to a hearing before a hearing examiner commenced on or after the bill's effective date.

Retired Educator Financial Assistance

S.B. 27 requires the commissioner of education, from money appropriated or otherwise available, to establish and administer a grant program to award money to reimburse a public school district, an open-enrollment charter school, the Windham School District, the Texas School for the Deaf (TSD), or the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI) that hires a teacher who retired before September 1, 2024, for the increased contributions to the Teacher Retirement System associated with hiring the retired teacher. In appropriating money for those grants, the bill authorizes the legislature to provide for, modify, or limit amounts appropriated for that purpose in the General Appropriations Act, including by doing the following:

· providing a date or date range other than September 1, 2024, before which a teacher must have retired for a district, a charter school, the Windham School District, TSD, or TSBVI that hires the teacher to be eligible; or

· limiting eligibility to a district or charter school that hires a retired teacher:

o who holds a certain certification;

o to teach a certain subject or grade;

o in a certain geographical area; or

o to provide instruction to certain students, including to students with disabilities.

The bill requires the commissioner to proportionally reduce the amount of money awarded to districts, charter schools, the Windham School District, TSD, and TSBVI under the grant program if the number of grant applications by eligible public school districts or charter schools exceeds the number of grants the commissioner could award with the money appropriated or otherwise available for the purpose. The bill authorizes a district, charter school, the Windham School District, TSD, or TSBVI to use money received under the program to make required payments under Government Code provisions relating to employer contributions for employed retirees.

S.B. 27 requires the board of trustees of a district, beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, to adopt a policy that provides a classroom teacher employed by the district the option to elect not to take the teacher's paid personal leave concurrently with unpaid leave the teacher is entitled to take under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 for an absence due to pregnancy or the birth or adoption of a child.

Technical Assistance Program

S.B. 27 requires TEA, from money appropriated or otherwise available for the purpose, to develop training for and provide technical assistance to districts and charter schools regarding the following:

· strategic compensation, staffing, and scheduling efforts that improve professional growth, teacher leadership opportunities, and staff retention;

· programs that encourage high school students or other members of the community in the area served by the district to become teachers, including available teacher apprenticeship programs; and

· programs or strategies that school leaders may use to establish clear and attainable behavior expectations while proactively supporting students.

The bill requires TEA to provide grants to districts and charter schools from money appropriated or otherwise available to implement those initiatives.

S.B. 27 requires TEA, from money appropriated or otherwise available for the purpose, to develop and maintain a technical assistance program to support districts and charter schools in the following areas:

· studying how the district's or charter school's staff and student schedules, required noninstructional duties for classroom teachers, and professional development requirements for educators are affecting the amount of time classroom teachers work each week;

· refining the schedules for students or staff as necessary to ensure teachers have sufficient time during normal work hours to fulfill all job duties, including addressing the needs of students; and

· studying how to reduce and streamline the tasks and duties a teacher is required to perform.

The bill requires TEA to periodically make findings and recommendations for best practices publicly available using information from participating districts and charter schools. The bill requires TEA to collect data from districts and charter schools for the purpose of addressing teacher retention and recruitment, including the classifications, grade levels, subject areas, duration, and other relevant information regarding vacant teaching positions at districts and charter schools, and authorizes that data to be collected through the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) or another electronic reporting mechanism specified by TEA.

Educator Rights and Removal of a Student From Class by a Teacher

S.B. 27 requires a grievance procedure adopted by the board of trustees of each district to require that, for a complaint filed against a teacher or other employee, the district provide the following:

· notice of the complaint to the teacher or employee against whom the complaint was filed; and

· sufficient opportunity for the teacher or employee against whom the complaint was filed to submit a written response to the complaint to be included in the record.

S.B. 27 revises provisions authorizing a teacher to remove a student from class, as follows:

· removes the condition that a teacher must document the behavior of a student who repeatedly interferes with the teacher's ability to communicate with the students in the class or with the ability of the student's classmates to learn;

· replaces the provision establishing that a teacher can remove a student whose behavior the teacher determines is so unruly, disruptive, or abusive that it seriously interferes with the teacher's ability to communicate effectively with the students in the class or with the ability of the student's classmates to learn with a provision establishing that a teacher can remove a student who demonstrates behavior that is unruly, disruptive, or abusive toward the teacher, another adult, or another student; and

· authorizes a teacher to remove a student who engages in conduct that constitutes bullying, as defined by statutory provisions relating to bullying prevention policies and procedures.

The bill requires that a teacher, campus behavior coordinator, or other appropriate administrator notify a parent or person standing in parental relation to a student of the removal of a student. Subject to instructional requirements and prohibitions under applicable state law, the bill authorizes a teacher to remove a student from class based on a single incident that authorizes the teacher to take such action.

S.B. 27 revises the conditions that must be met for a principal to return a student removed from class to the teacher's class as follows:

· establishes that the teacher's consent required to be given to the principal for the return of a student removed under those conditions must be a written consent;

· prohibits the principal from returning the student to the teacher's class that removed the student without a conference in which the teacher has been provided an opportunity to participate has been held in accordance with statutory provisions governing conferences, hearings, and review, not later than the third class day after the day on which the student was removed from class;

· prohibits the principal from returning the student to that teacher's class unless the teacher provides written consent for the student's return or a return to class plan has been prepared for that student; and

· limits the principal to designating an employee of the school whose primary duties do not include classroom instruction to create a return to class plan.

The bill requires such a return to class plan to be created before or at the conference in which the teacher is provided an opportunity to participate, and requires a plan created before the conference to be discussed at that conference. The bill requires the commissioner to adopt a model return to class plan for use by a district in creating a return to class plan for a student removed by a teacher.

S.B. 27 similarly establishes that the teacher's consent required to be given to the principal for the return of a student removed for purposes of a disciplinary alternative education program or for expulsion also be written and prohibits the principal from returning the student to the teacher's class without a conference in which the teacher has been provided an opportunity to participate has been held in accordance with statutory provisions governing conferences, hearings, and review.

S.B. 27 authorizes a student to appeal the student's removal from class to the following entities:

· the school's placement review committee established under applicable state law; or

· the safe and supportive school team established under statutory provisions relating to threat assessment and that team, in accordance with a district policy providing for such an appeal to be made to the team.

The bill requires the principal, campus behavior coordinator, or other appropriate administrator, at the conference, to notify a student who has been removed from class and the parent of or person standing in parental relation to the student of the student's right to appeal. The bill makes statutory provisions relating to the placement of students with disabilities applicable to the removal or placement under these provisions of a student with a disability who receives special education services.

Threat Assessment and Safe and Supportive School Program and Team

S.B. 27 requires the policies and procedures established by the board of trustees of a district for the threat assessment and safe and supportive school team to require that, as soon as safe and practicable after an administrator or team for a district campus receives information regarding a threat made against that campus, including through social media, the administrator or team immediately provide to each member of the teaching staff, including teacher's aides, who may be directly affected by the threat notice that includes the following:

· a statement of the existence of the threat;

· the nature of the threat; and

· any other pertinent details to ensure student and staff safety.

Repealed Provisions

S.B. 27 repeals Section 825.4092(f), Government Code, which establishes that a reporting employer is ultimately responsible for payment of the amounts required to be contributed under the teacher retirement system of Texas and prohibits the employer from directly or indirectly passing that cost on to the retiree through payroll deduction, by imposition of a fee, or by any other means designed to recover the cost.

Prevailing Provisions

S.B. 27 establishes that, to the extent of any conflict, the bill's provisions prevail over another Act of the 89th Legislature, Regular Session, 2025, relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted codes.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2025.