Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB157 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R1773 CAS-D
2	2	By: Ellis S.B. No. 157
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the Texas Civil Rights History Teacher Stipend Program.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Chapter 21, Education Code, is amended by adding
10	10	Subchapter P to read as follows:
11	11	SUBCHAPTER P. TEXAS CIVIL RIGHTS HISTORY TEACHER STIPEND PROGRAM
12	12	Sec. 21.751. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
13	13	(1) "Board" means the Texas Higher Education
14	14	Coordinating Board.
15	15	(2) "General academic teaching institution" has the
16	16	meaning assigned by Section 61.003.
17	17	(3) "Program" means the Texas Civil Rights History
18	18	Teacher Stipend Program.
19	19	Sec. 21.752. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM; STIPEND. (a) In
20	20	accordance with this subchapter and Texas Higher Education
21	21	Coordinating Board rules adopted in consultation with the agency,
22	22	the board shall establish the Texas Civil Rights History Teacher
23	23	Stipend Program to award stipends to persons who:
24	24	(1) are experienced classroom teachers;
25	25	(2) are enrolled in social science or humanities
26	26	master's degree programs at general academic teaching
27	27	institutions;
28	28	(3) while in degree programs described by Subdivision
29	29	(2), perform academic research concerning a local aspect of civil
30	30	rights history in this state and develop a middle, junior high, or
31	31	high school curriculum based on that research; and
32	32	(4) agree to teach for a specified period in a public
33	33	middle, junior high, or high school in this state.
34	34	(b) The amount of a stipend under this subchapter for an
35	35	academic year is equal to the lesser of:
36	36	(1) the total amount of tuition that the general
37	37	academic teaching institution in which the stipend recipient is
38	38	enrolled charges the recipient for that academic year for semester
39	39	credit hours for which the recipient may, under Subsection (c), use
40	40	the stipend to pay tuition; or
41	41	(2) $10,000.
42	42	(c) A person may use a stipend under this subchapter only to
43	43	pay tuition for a semester credit hour that is required for
44	44	completion of the social science or humanities degree program in
45	45	which the student is enrolled.
46	46	Sec. 21.753. ELIGIBILITY. (a) To be eligible to receive a
47	47	stipend under this subchapter, a person must:
48	48	(1) at the time the initial stipend is paid, have been
49	49	employed as a classroom teacher in this state for at least five full
50	50	school years;
51	51	(2) be enrolled at a general academic teaching
52	52	institution in a master's degree program that is considered to be a
53	53	social science or humanities degree program under board rule; and
54	54	(3) enter into an agreement with the board as provided
55	55	by Section 21.756.
56	56	(b) If in any year the amount of money available for
57	57	stipends under this subchapter is insufficient to award a stipend
58	58	to each eligible applicant, the board shall establish criteria to
59	59	determine which eligible applicants will be granted stipends as the
60	60	board determines appropriate to further the purposes of this
61	61	subchapter, including criteria that:
62	62	(1) are related to the financial need of an applicant;
63	63	and
64	64	(2) serve to ensure geographic and ethnic diversity
65	65	among scholarship recipients.
66	66	Sec. 21.754. INFORMATION AND APPLICATIONS. (a) The board,
67	67	in consultation with the agency, shall develop an application for
68	68	the program.
69	69	(b) The agency shall distribute the applications and
70	70	information regarding the program.
71	71	Sec. 21.755. SELECTION OF PARTICIPANTS. (a) The board
72	72	shall select persons to participate in the program on the basis of
73	73	applications submitted to the board.
74	74	(b) Each application must be submitted:
75	75	(1) in the form and contain the information required
76	76	by board rule; and
77	77	(2) in a timely manner.
78	78	Sec. 21.756. AGREEMENT. (a) To qualify for a stipend under
79	79	this subchapter, a person must enter into a written agreement with
80	80	the board as provided by this section. The agreement must:
81	81	(1) specify the conditions the person must satisfy to
82	82	receive the stipend award;
83	83	(2) require the person to enroll at a general academic
84	84	teaching institution in a master's degree program that is
85	85	considered to be a social science or humanities degree program
86	86	under board rule;
87	87	(3) require the person, while enrolled in a degree
88	88	program described by Subdivision (2), to:
89	89	(A) perform academic research that satisfies
90	90	standards established by board rule on a local aspect of this
91	91	state's civil rights history; and
92	92	(B) adapt the research into a format that
93	93	satisfies State Board of Education rules for inclusion in the
94	94	public middle, junior high, or high school social studies
95	95	curriculum required under Section 28.002;
96	96	(4) require the person to be employed full-time as a
97	97	classroom teacher in a public middle, junior high, or high school in
98	98	this state during:
99	99	(A) the first school year after the person has
100	100	successfully completed a master's degree program described by
101	101	Subdivision (2); and
102	102	(B) the school year following the school year
103	103	described by Paragraph (A);
104	104	(5) provide that any stipend award the person receives
105	105	under this subchapter constitutes an interest-free loan until the
106	106	person:
107	107	(A) subject to Section 21.758, satisfies the
108	108	requirements of the agreement under this section; or
109	109	(B) is excused from the repayment obligation in
110	110	accordance with law; and
111	111	(6) require the person to sign a promissory note
112	112	acknowledging the conditional nature of the stipend award received
113	113	and promising to repay any unforgiven amount of that award and
114	114	reasonable collection costs if the person does not satisfy the
115	115	applicable conditions and is not excused from the repayment
116	116	obligation in accordance with law.
117	117	(b) To satisfy the teaching obligation prescribed by an
118	118	agreement under this section, a person must teach a subject in the
119	119	social studies curriculum for not less than four hours each school
120	120	day.
121	121	(c) The board shall determine the terms of the promissory
122	122	note required by Subsection (a)(6). To the extent practicable, the
123	123	terms must be the same as those applicable to state or federally
124	124	guaranteed student loans made at the same time.
125	125	Sec. 21.757. EXCEPTIONS TO TEACHING AND REPAYMENT
126	126	OBLIGATION. (a) A person is not considered to be in violation of
127	127	the teaching obligation in the agreement described by Section
128	128	21.756 during any period in which the participant:
129	129	(1) is pursuing a full-time course of study related to
130	130	the field of teaching at an institution of higher education
131	131	approved by the State Board for Educator Certification;
132	132	(2) is serving on active duty as a member of the armed
133	133	forces of the United States;
134	134	(3) is temporarily totally disabled for a period not
135	135	to exceed 36 months as established by affidavit of a qualified
136	136	physician;
137	137	(4) is unable to secure employment for a period not to
138	138	exceed 12 months because of care required by a disabled spouse;
139	139	(5) is seeking and unable to find full-time employment
140	140	as a teacher in a public middle, junior high, or high school for a
141	141	single period not to exceed 27 months; or
142	142	(6) satisfies the provisions of any additional
143	143	teaching exception adopted by the board.
144	144	(b) A person is excused from the repayment obligation in a
145	145	promissory note described by Section 21.756(a)(6) if:
146	146	(1) the participant becomes permanently totally
147	147	disabled as established by affidavit of a qualified physician; or
148	148	(2) the board waives repayment for some or all of the
149	149	amount owed in the case of extreme hardship to the person.
150	150	Sec. 21.758. FORGIVENESS OF REPAYMENT OBLIGATION. The
151	151	board shall forgive repayment of one-third of the total amount of a
152	152	person's stipend awards under this subchapter for:
153	153	(1) completing the agreement's academic requirements
154	154	under Sections 21.756(a)(3)(A) and (B); and
155	155	(2) teaching for a school year in accordance with the
156	156	agreement's requirement under Section 21.756(a)(4)(A) or (B) and
157	157	Section 21.756(b).
158	158	Sec. 21.759. GRANTS, GIFTS, AND DONATIONS. In addition to
159	159	money appropriated by the legislature, the board may solicit and
160	160	accept grants, gifts, and donations from any public or private
161	161	source for the purposes of this subchapter.
162	162	Sec. 21.760. RULES. (a) The board, in consultation with
163	163	the agency, shall adopt rules to administer this subchapter.
164	164	(b) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules
165	165	establishing requirements for the format of research adapted to
166	166	enable inclusion into the public middle, junior high, or high
167	167	school social studies curriculum.
168	168	SECTION 2. Not later than December 31, 2009, the Texas
169	169	Higher Education Coordinating Board, the State Board of Education,
170	170	and the Texas Education Agency shall adopt rules for the Texas Civil
171	171	Rights History Teacher Stipend Program under Subchapter P, Chapter
172	172	21, Education Code, as added by this Act.
173	173	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
174	174	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
175	175	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
176	176	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
177	177	Act takes effect September 1, 2009.