BILL ANALYSIS

S.B. 2185

By: Hinojosa, Adam

Public Education

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The bill sponsor has informed the committee that because certain additional funding for bilingual education is conditioned on bilingual education teachers holding the appropriate certification, the shortage of certified bilingual teachers means that many schools are not receiving the funding. S.B. 2185 seeks to address this issue by authorizing public school districts to receive the additional bilingual education allotment if the districts offer Texas Education Agency-approved alternative language education methods for meeting the needs of their emergent bilingual students.

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

S.B. 2185 amends the Education Code to require the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to review public school districts that offer TEA-approved alternative language education methods for meeting the needs of their emergent bilingual students and to approve such districts to receive a bilingual education allotment provided under the foundation school program 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, to approve eligible districts from a cross-section of Texas to the extent possible. For each student in average daily attendance in an alternative language education method approved by TEA and offered by a district approved to receive the allotment, the bill entitles the district to an annual bilingual education allotment equal to the basic allotment multiplied by the following:

· 0.15 for an emergent bilingual student, defined by reference to state law relating to bilingual education and special language programs, if the student is in an alternative language education method using a dual language immersion/one-way or two-way program model; and

· 0.05 for a student not considered an emergent bilingual student, if the student is in an alternative language education method using a dual language immersion/one-way or two-way program model.

S.B. 2185 replaces salary supplements for teachers with teacher salaries as an expense for which a district may use a bilingual education allocation.

S.B. 2185 authorizes TEA, for purposes of implementing bilingual education allotments under the foundation school program and notwithstanding Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) reporting requirements, to require a district that is granted an exception from the requirement to offer 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 methods used by the district under the PEIMS report as specified by TEA.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2025.