81R1773 CAS-D
By: Ellis S.B. No. 157
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the Texas Civil Rights History Teacher Stipend Program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 21, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter P to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER P. TEXAS CIVIL RIGHTS HISTORY TEACHER STIPEND PROGRAM
Sec. 21.751. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Board" means the Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board.
(2) "General academic teaching institution" has the
meaning assigned by Section 61.003.
(3) "Program" means the Texas Civil Rights History
Teacher Stipend Program.
Sec. 21.752. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM; STIPEND. (a) In
accordance with this subchapter and Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board rules adopted in consultation with the agency,
the board shall establish the Texas Civil Rights History Teacher
Stipend Program to award stipends to persons who:
(1) are experienced classroom teachers;
(2) are enrolled in social science or humanities
master's degree programs at general academic teaching
institutions;
(3) while in degree programs described by Subdivision
(2), perform academic research concerning a local aspect of civil
rights history in this state and develop a middle, junior high, or
high school curriculum based on that research; and
(4) agree to teach for a specified period in a public
middle, junior high, or high school in this state.
(b) The amount of a stipend under this subchapter for an
academic year is equal to the lesser of:
(1) the total amount of tuition that the general
academic teaching institution in which the stipend recipient is
enrolled charges the recipient for that academic year for semester
credit hours for which the recipient may, under Subsection (c), use
the stipend to pay tuition; or
(2) $10,000.
(c) A person may use a stipend under this subchapter only to
pay tuition for a semester credit hour that is required for
completion of the social science or humanities degree program in
which the student is enrolled.
Sec. 21.753. ELIGIBILITY. (a) To be eligible to receive a
stipend under this subchapter, a person must:
(1) at the time the initial stipend is paid, have been
employed as a classroom teacher in this state for at least five full
school years;
(2) be enrolled at a general academic teaching
institution in a master's degree program that is considered to be a
social science or humanities degree program under board rule; and
(3) enter into an agreement with the board as provided
by Section 21.756.
(b) If in any year the amount of money available for
stipends under this subchapter is insufficient to award a stipend
to each eligible applicant, the board shall establish criteria to
determine which eligible applicants will be granted stipends as the
board determines appropriate to further the purposes of this
subchapter, including criteria that:
(1) are related to the financial need of an applicant;
and
(2) serve to ensure geographic and ethnic diversity
among scholarship recipients.
Sec. 21.754. INFORMATION AND APPLICATIONS. (a) The board,
in consultation with the agency, shall develop an application for
the program.
(b) The agency shall distribute the applications and
information regarding the program.
Sec. 21.755. SELECTION OF PARTICIPANTS. (a) The board
shall select persons to participate in the program on the basis of
applications submitted to the board.
(b) Each application must be submitted:
(1) in the form and contain the information required
by board rule; and
(2) in a timely manner.
Sec. 21.756. AGREEMENT. (a) To qualify for a stipend under
this subchapter, a person must enter into a written agreement with
the board as provided by this section. The agreement must:
(1) specify the conditions the person must satisfy to
receive the stipend award;
(2) require the person to enroll at a general academic
teaching institution in a master's degree program that is
considered to be a social science or humanities degree program
under board rule;
(3) require the person, while enrolled in a degree
program described by Subdivision (2), to:
(A) perform academic research that satisfies
standards established by board rule on a local aspect of this
state's civil rights history; and
(B) adapt the research into a format that
satisfies State Board of Education rules for inclusion in the
public middle, junior high, or high school social studies
curriculum required under Section 28.002;
(4) require the person to be employed full-time as a
classroom teacher in a public middle, junior high, or high school in
this state during:
(A) the first school year after the person has
successfully completed a master's degree program described by
Subdivision (2); and
(B) the school year following the school year
described by Paragraph (A);
(5) provide that any stipend award the person receives
under this subchapter constitutes an interest-free loan until the
person:
(A) subject to Section 21.758, satisfies the
requirements of the agreement under this section; or
(B) is excused from the repayment obligation in
accordance with law; and
(6) require the person to sign a promissory note
acknowledging the conditional nature of the stipend award received
and promising to repay any unforgiven amount of that award and
reasonable collection costs if the person does not satisfy the
applicable conditions and is not excused from the repayment
obligation in accordance with law.
(b) To satisfy the teaching obligation prescribed by an
agreement under this section, a person must teach a subject in the
social studies curriculum for not less than four hours each school
day.
(c) The board shall determine the terms of the promissory
note required by Subsection (a)(6). To the extent practicable, the
terms must be the same as those applicable to state or federally
guaranteed student loans made at the same time.
Sec. 21.757. EXCEPTIONS TO TEACHING AND REPAYMENT
OBLIGATION. (a) A person is not considered to be in violation of
the teaching obligation in the agreement described by Section
21.756 during any period in which the participant:
(1) is pursuing a full-time course of study related to
the field of teaching at an institution of higher education
approved by the State Board for Educator Certification;
(2) is serving on active duty as a member of the armed
forces of the United States;
(3) is temporarily totally disabled for a period not
to exceed 36 months as established by affidavit of a qualified
physician;
(4) is unable to secure employment for a period not to
exceed 12 months because of care required by a disabled spouse;
(5) is seeking and unable to find full-time employment
as a teacher in a public middle, junior high, or high school for a
single period not to exceed 27 months; or
(6) satisfies the provisions of any additional
teaching exception adopted by the board.
(b) A person is excused from the repayment obligation in a
promissory note described by Section 21.756(a)(6) if:
(1) the participant becomes permanently totally
disabled as established by affidavit of a qualified physician; or
(2) the board waives repayment for some or all of the
amount owed in the case of extreme hardship to the person.
Sec. 21.758. FORGIVENESS OF REPAYMENT OBLIGATION. The
board shall forgive repayment of one-third of the total amount of a
person's stipend awards under this subchapter for:
(1) completing the agreement's academic requirements
under Sections 21.756(a)(3)(A) and (B); and
(2) teaching for a school year in accordance with the
agreement's requirement under Section 21.756(a)(4)(A) or (B) and
Section 21.756(b).
Sec. 21.759. GRANTS, GIFTS, AND DONATIONS. In addition to
money appropriated by the legislature, the board may solicit and
accept grants, gifts, and donations from any public or private
source for the purposes of this subchapter.
Sec. 21.760. RULES. (a) The board, in consultation with
the agency, shall adopt rules to administer this subchapter.
(b) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules
establishing requirements for the format of research adapted to
enable inclusion into the public middle, junior high, or high
school social studies curriculum.
SECTION 2. Not later than December 31, 2009, the Texas
Higher Education Coordinating Board, the State Board of Education,
and the Texas Education Agency shall adopt rules for the Texas Civil
Rights History Teacher Stipend Program under Subchapter P, Chapter
21, Education Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 3. 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.