By: Rose, Martinez Fischer H.B. No. 4152
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to certification of an educator in Texas who is certified
in another state or country.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 21.052, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (e), (f), (g), and
(h) to read as follows:
(a) The board may issue a certificate to an educator who
applies for a certificate and:
(1) holds:
(A) a degree issued by an institution accredited
by a regional accrediting agency or group that is recognized by a
nationally recognized accreditation board; or
(B) a degree issued by an institution located in
a foreign country, if the degree is equivalent to a degree described
by Paragraph (A);
(2) holds an appropriate certificate or other
credential issued by another state or country; and
(3) performs satisfactorily on:
(A) the examination prescribed under Section
21.048; or
(B) if the educator holds a certificate or other
credential issued by another state or country, an examination
similar to and at least as rigorous as that described by Paragraph
(A) administered to the educator under the authority of that state.
(e) An educator who receives a certificate as provided by
Subsection (a) must perform satisfactorily on the examination
prescribed under Section 21.048 not later than the first
anniversary of the date the certificate under Subsection (a) was
issued.
(f) The board shall post on the board's Internet website the
procedures for obtaining a certificate under Subsection (a).
(g) The commissioner shall provide guidance to school
districts that employ an educator certified as provided by
Subsection (a) on procedures to classify the educator as a highly
qualified teacher in a manner consistent with the No Child Left
Behind Act of 2001 (20 U.S.C. Section 6301 et seq.).
(h) This subsection applies only to an applicant who holds a
certificate or other credential issued by another state or country
in mathematics, science, special education, or bilingual
education, or another subject area that the commissioner determines
has a shortage of teachers. In any state fiscal year, the board
shall accept or reject, not later than the 14th day after the date
the board receives the completed application, at least 90 percent
of the applications the board receives for a certificate under this
subsection, and shall accept or reject all completed applications
the board receives under this subsection not later than the 30th day
after the date the board receives the completed application. An
applicant under this subsection must submit:
(1) a letter of good standing from the state or country
in which the teacher is certified on a form determined by the board;
(2) information necessary to complete a national
criminal history record information review; and
(3) an application fee as required by the board.
SECTION 2. 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, 2009.