82R4201 PAM-D
By: Shapiro S.B. No. 570
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to beginning teacher induction and mentoring programs for
public schools.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 21, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter N to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER N. BEGINNING TEACHER INDUCTION AND MENTORING PROGRAMS
Sec. 21.651. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Beginning teacher" means a classroom teacher who:
(A) has less than two complete years of
experience teaching the subject or grade level to which the teacher
is assigned; or
(B) has less than three complete years of
experience teaching the subject or grade level to which the teacher
is assigned and is identified as in need of assistance under an
appraisal system developed under Section 21.351 or 21.352.
(2) "Program" means the beginning teacher induction
and mentoring program established under this subchapter.
Sec. 21.652. BEGINNING TEACHER INDUCTION AND MENTORING
PROGRAM. (a) To enable establishment of sustainable district-wide
high-quality beginning teacher induction and mentoring, the
commissioner by rule shall establish a beginning teacher induction
and mentoring program under which school districts may participate,
in accordance with local plans approved by the commissioner that
are based on guidelines adopted under this subchapter. A
participating district receives program grants from the agency from
funds appropriated to the agency for the purpose of planning for and
providing high-quality induction and mentoring to beginning
teachers in the manner provided by this subchapter. A district is
not required to participate in the program, but each district
should ensure that beginning teachers have access to high-quality
induction and mentoring consistent with the guidelines established
under Section 21.653(a).
(b) In establishing the program, the commissioner, in
consultation with the committee established under Subsection (c),
shall adopt program guidelines in accordance with Section
21.653(a), and the commissioner shall adopt program guidelines in
accordance with Section 21.653(b) for a school district to follow
in developing a local plan.
(c) To assist the commissioner in developing program
guidelines under Section 21.653(a), the commissioner shall appoint
a committee of interested persons, including agency staff,
education policy makers, representatives of educator preparation
programs and educator associations, and educators who work with
beginning teachers under beginning teacher induction programs, as
determined appropriate by the commissioner.
(d) In adopting rules under this section, the commissioner
shall provide for participating school districts to receive
technical assistance and planning and program guidance.
Sec. 21.653. PROGRAM GUIDELINES. (a) The program
guidelines must establish quality indicators for each of the
following required components of the program:
(1) research-based program standards, including:
(A) assigning a district-level coordinator to
administer the program at the district level;
(B) establishing a local advisory committee of
teachers and other educators to assist in implementing the program
in the school district;
(C) establishing district administrative policy
roles and responsibilities for persons involved in the program;
(D) establishing, for each beginning teacher in
the program, a support team composed of:
(i) the campus principal or the beginning
teacher's appraiser;
(ii) an educator preparation program field
supervisor; and
(iii) the beginning teacher's mentor
provided by the district;
(E) requiring each beginning teacher and that
teacher's support team members described by Paragraph (D) to meet
at least three times each school year; and
(F) providing training for support team members
described by Paragraph (D);
(2) mentoring standards to ensure high-quality
mentoring, including:
(A) requiring each district to assign a mentor
teacher to each beginning teacher;
(B) requiring each teacher who is assigned as a
mentor to:
(i) have at least three complete years of
teaching experience with a superior record of assisting students,
as a whole, in achieving improvement in student performance;
(ii) teach the same subject or grade level,
as applicable, as the beginning teacher the mentor teacher is
mentoring;
(iii) teach in the same school as the
beginning teacher the mentor teacher is mentoring, to the extent
practicable; and
(iv) complete a research-based mentoring
and induction training program approved by the commissioner and
provided by the district;
(C) providing for release time from classroom
instruction duties for the mentor teacher, as applicable, and the
beginning teacher the mentor teacher is mentoring in order to meet,
conduct observations, and engage in other activities focused on
enhancing the student achievement of the beginning teacher's
students;
(D) providing, to the extent practicable, for
common planning time for the mentor teacher and the beginning
teacher the mentor teacher is mentoring;
(E) limiting the assignment to two beginning
teachers for each mentor teacher who is a classroom teacher; and
(F) providing for stipends for mentor teachers;
(3) performance standards aligned with the criteria
for the recommended appraisal process adopted by the commissioner
under Section 21.351;
(4) ongoing professional development requirements,
including required training for:
(A) participating program administrators
regarding successful implementation and administration of the
program; and
(B) participating school administrators, mentor
teachers, and beginning teachers;
(5) standards-based formative assessments; and
(6) provisions for partnership and collaboration,
including consistent and regular collaboration between
participating districts and appropriate educator preparation
programs.
(b) The commissioner shall adopt guidelines for funding the
program, including requiring a participating school district to
provide matching funds in an amount determined by the commissioner.
Sec. 21.654. LOCAL PLANS. (a) A district-level committee
for a school district that intends to participate in the program,
such as the district-level planning and decision-making committee
established under Subchapter F, Chapter 11, shall develop a local
beginning teacher induction and mentoring plan for the district.
The local plan may provide for participation in the program by all
campuses in the district or only those campuses selected by the
district-level committee. A local plan that does not provide for
participation in the program by all campuses in the district must
include an analysis and timeline for future district-wide
implementation.
(b) A majority of classroom teachers assigned to a campus
that is proposed for selection to participate in the program must
approve participation to be included in the local plan.
(c) A school district must submit a local plan to the agency
for approval. The plan must be submitted together with evidence of
significant teacher involvement in the development of the plan.
(d) The agency may approve only a local plan that meets
program guidelines adopted under Section 21.653.
(e) The agency shall make model local plans available to
school districts that intend to participate in the program.
(f) A school district whose local plan is approved by the
agency may renew the plan for three consecutive school years
without resubmitting the plan to the agency for approval. A
district may amend a local plan for approval by the agency for each
school year the district receives a program grant.
Sec. 21.655. PROGRAM EVALUATION. The commissioner shall:
(1) provide for the periodic evaluation of the program
by surveying program participants and by any other means determined
by the commissioner; and
(2) based on the evaluation, modify the program as
necessary.
Sec. 21.656. REQUIRED COMPONENTS OF BEGINNING TEACHER
INDUCTION AND MENTORING PROGRAM. Regardless of whether a school
district participates in the program established under this
subchapter, any beginning teacher induction and mentoring program
adopted by a district shall include the following components:
(1) research-based program standards;
(2) mentoring standards to ensure high-quality
mentoring;
(3) performance standards aligned with the criteria
for the recommended appraisal process adopted by the commissioner
under Section 21.351;
(4) ongoing professional development requirements;
(5) standards-based formative assessments; and
(6) provisions for partnership and collaboration,
including consistent and regular collaboration between the
district and educator preparation programs.
Sec. 21.657. RULES. The commissioner shall adopt rules as
necessary to administer this subchapter.
SECTION 2. Section 21.458, Education Code, is repealed.
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, 2011.