By: Callegari H.B. No. 3501
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to school district personnel.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 21.401, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (e) to read as
follows:
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (e), an [An] educator
employed under a 10-month contract must provide a minimum of 187
days of service.
(c) The commissioner, as provided by Section 25.081(b), may
reduce the number of days of service required by this section. A
reduction by the commissioner does not reduce an educator's salary.
(d) Subsections (a) and (b) do not apply to a contract
between a school district and an educational diagnostician.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision in this Code, the
board of trustees of a school district may reduce the length of
service required under an educator contract if the board has
determined that a decrease in state funds available per weighted
student necessitates a reduction in the length of the instructional
year or in the number of days of service required by the educator.
The board may reduce the length of service by up to seven
instructional days, non-instructional days, or a combination of the
two. The salary of the educator may be reduced by an amount
corresponding to the reduction in length of service.
SECTION 2. Section 22.003(a)(1), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) A state minimum personal leave program consisting of
five days per year personal leave with no limit on accumulation and
transferable among districts shall be provided for school district
employees. School districts may provide additional personal leave
beyond this minimum. The board of trustees of a school district may
adopt a policy governing an employee's use of personal leave
granted under this subsection, except that the policy may not
restrict:
(1) the purposes for which the leave may be used, except
that the board by local policy may restrict the use of state
personal leave on days designated for furloughs under Section
21.401, Education Code; or
(2) the order in which an employee may use the state minimum
personal leave and any additional personal leave provided by the
school district.
SECTION 3. Section 25.081, Education Code, is amended by to
read as follows:
(a) Except as authorized under Subsections (b) and (c) of
this section, Section 25.084, or Section 29.0821, for each school
year each school district must operate so that the district
provides for at least 180 days of instruction for students.
(b) The commissioner may approve the instruction of
students for fewer than the number of days required under
Subsection (a) if disaster, flood, extreme weather conditions, fuel
curtailment, or another calamity causes the closing of schools.
(c) If the board of trustees of a school district has
determined that a decrease in state funds available per weighted
student necessitates a reduction in the instructional year, the
board may reduce the number of days of instruction required under
Subsection (a). The board may adjust educator contracts as
provided at Section 21.401(e).
SECTION 4. Section 21.402(d), Education Code, is repealed.
SECTION 5. 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, 2011.