By: West S.B. No. 1511
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the preparation, certification and working conditions
of educators.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 21.044, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 21.044. EDUCATOR PREPARATION. (a) The board shall
propose rules establishing the training requirements a person must
accomplish to obtain a certificate, enter an internship, or enter
an induction-year program. The board shall specify the minimum
academic qualifications required for a certificate.
(b) A person may not be admitted to an educator preparation
program, including an undergraduate university program,
alternative certification program, or postbaccalaureate program,
unless the person:
(1) has an overall grade point average of at least 2.75
on a four-point scale or the equivalent;
(2) demonstrates, in the manner determined by the
board, basic skills in reading, writing, and mathematics; and
(3) has successfully completed a minimum of 18
semester credit hours in the subject-specific content area for the
certification sought, a passing score on a content certification
examination, or a passing score on a content examination
administered by a vendor on the Texas Education Agency (TEA) -
approved vendor list published by the commissioner of education for
the calendar year during which the person seeks admission.
(c) The requirement in Subsection (b)(3) applies only to a
person seeking an initial certificate.
(d) An educator preparation program may admit a person to
the program who does not have at least the grade point average
required by Subsection (b)(1) if the person's work, business, or
career experience demonstrates achievement. The person must submit
satisfactory documentation regarding the person's experience to
the program director, and the program must maintain the
documentation and make it available to the board on request. The
number of persons admitted under this subsection in an academic
year may not exceed five percent of the total number of program
candidates admitted to the program in that year.
(e) An educator preparation program may not recommend any
person for a standard classroom teacher certificates, including
special education certificates, career and technical education
certificates, and endorsement areas, unless the person has
maintained an overall grade point average of at least 2.75 on a
four-point scale or the equivalent while enrolled in the program.
An educator preparation program may waive this requirement only in
extraordinary circumstances and for no more than five percent of
the cohort of candidates recommended by the program for
certification in that year.
(f) An educator preparation program may impose requirements
in addition to the requirements imposed under this section.
(g) The board shall propose rules to implement this Section.
SECTION 2. Section 21.048(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 21.048. CERTIFICATION EXAMINATIONS. (a) The board
shall propose rules prescribing comprehensive examinations for
each class of certificate issued by the board. The board shall
determine the satisfactory level of performance required for each
certification examination. For the issuance of a generalist or
multi-subject certificate, the board shall require satisfactory
performance in each of subject areas of English Language Arts and
Reading, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies
SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 21, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 21.008 to read as follows:
Sec. 21.008. BIENNIAL REPORT ON EDUCATORS. (a) Not later
than December 1 of each even-numbered year, the agency shall
prepare, publish, and submit to the legislature a report regarding
public school staffing and the working conditions for public school
educators. The report also shall be posted on the agency's Website.
(b) The report must contain staffing information for each
campus, including at least the following:
(1) the percentage of teachers assigned to teach
subjects outside their areas of expertise or certification;
(2) the percentage of teachers employed under
emergency certificates;
(3) teacher turnover rates; and
(4) the number and percentage of teachers who have
less than one year of experience as a teacher.
(c) The report must contain information regarding working
conditions in each district based on a statewide survey conducted
by the agency of certified educators. To encourage the uninhibited
participation of educators, the survey should be designed to
prevent the disclosure of the identities of individual respondents
in the report. Based upon the results of the survey, the agency
should include recommendations to for improving the working
conditions at schools identified as having poor working conditions.
SECTION 4. Section 21.044(b)-(e), Education Code, as added
by this Act, applies only to a person who is admitted to an educator
preparation program on or after January 1, 2012.
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.