H.B. No. 742
AN ACT
relating to a grant program for certain school districts to provide
summer instruction primarily for students who are educationally
disadvantaged and summer teaching opportunities for
high-performing, new, and student teachers.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 29.091 to read as follows:
Sec. 29.091. GRANT PROGRAM FOR DISTRICTS THAT HAVE HIGH
ENROLLMENT OF EDUCATIONALLY DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS AND THAT
PROVIDE SUMMER INSTRUCTION. (a) In this section:
(1) "New teacher" means a teacher who:
(A) will be teaching for the first time during
the next school year; or
(B) first began teaching:
(i) during the preceding two years; or
(ii) in the school district in which the
teacher is currently employed during the preceding year.
(2) "Program" means the grant program for school
districts to provide summer instruction primarily for students who
are educationally disadvantaged, as established under this
section.
(b) The commissioner shall establish and administer a
competitive program to provide grants to not more than 10 school
districts to use in providing instructional programs to students in
prekindergarten through eighth grade during the period in which
school is recessed for the summer. The program shall be designed to:
(1) encourage participation in the program by a
district's most educationally disadvantaged students;
(2) close the academic achievement gap between
students who are educationally disadvantaged and students who are
not educationally disadvantaged;
(3) ensure that during the period in which school is
recessed for the summer, students participating in the program
retain knowledge and skills learned during the school year and
continue learning;
(4) provide apprenticeship, mentorship, and other
professional development opportunities for new teachers and
student teachers; and
(5) add to the compensation of a district's highest
performing teachers by providing those teachers with summer
employment teaching students, new teachers, and student teachers.
(c) To be eligible to participate in the program, a school
district must:
(1) have an enrollment of students who are
educationally disadvantaged that is greater than 50 percent of
total district enrollment;
(2) apply to the commissioner in the manner and within
the time prescribed by commissioner rule; and
(3) provide as part of the application materials a
plan that is designed to achieve the purposes described by
Subsections (b)(1) through (5).
(d) In selecting from among eligible school districts to
participate in the program, the commissioner shall select those
districts that provide plans under Subsection (c)(3) that are the
most innovative and represent a variety of approaches so that the
effectiveness of various plans can be compared and evaluated.
(e) A grant awarded under this section may be funded only
with money appropriated for the program and any gifts, grants, or
donations made to the agency that may be used for and that the
commissioner applies to funding the program. The commissioner, in
accordance with commissioner rule and based on the amount available
for the program, shall determine the amount of each grant awarded
under this section. A school district awarded a grant under this
section may use the grant only for implementing and administering a
plan as described by Subsection (c)(3), including providing
compensation to teachers in accordance with Subsection (b)(5) and
commissioner rule.
(f) Each school district participating in the program
shall, in the manner and within the time prescribed by commissioner
rule, provide to the agency an annual written report that includes:
(1) a detailed description of the district's plan, as
implemented;
(2) the number and grade levels of participating
students;
(3) demographic information for participating
students, including the percentage of students of each applicable
race and ethnicity, the percentage of educationally disadvantaged
students, the percentage of students of limited English proficiency
as defined by Section 29.052, the percentage of students enrolled
in a school district special education program under Subchapter A,
and the percentage of students enrolled in a district bilingual
education program under Subchapter B;
(4) school attendance rates for participating
students, before, during, and after program participation, as
applicable;
(5) specific information that demonstrates whether
the purposes described by Subsections (b)(2) and (3) have been
achieved, including the results of assessment instruments
administered under Section 39.023 for participating students,
before, during, and after program participation, as applicable;
(6) aggregate results of assessment instruments
administered under Section 39.023 for students of participating
classroom teachers, new teachers, and student teachers, before,
during, and after program participation by the students, as
applicable;
(7) information regarding the manner in which teachers
are selected for participation in the program and the manner in
which teachers are compensated for their participation;
(8) statistical information for participating
classroom teachers, new teachers, and student teachers, including
the number of years employed in the teaching profession, the number
of years teaching in the district in which the program is provided,
the category and class of educator certification held, the highest
level of academic degree earned, race, ethnicity, and gender;
(9) information regarding whether:
(A) the program is provided on a full-day or
half-day basis;
(B) the program is voluntary or mandatory for
educationally disadvantaged students;
(C) the district has partnered with an outside
provider to provide any supplemental service;
(D) the district provides transportation to
participating students; and
(E) the district offers the program to students
who are not educationally disadvantaged and, if so, under what
circumstances;
(10) information on retention in the teaching
profession of the participating teachers, including new teachers
and student teachers; and
(11) any other information required by commissioner
rule.
(g) The agency shall contract with an experienced and
recognized third-party program evaluator to determine and prepare a
report regarding the effectiveness of the program. The evaluator's
report must include the evaluator's best effort to project the cost
and academic effects of implementing the best practices of the
program in school districts throughout this state and must describe
the effectiveness of the program in:
(1) improving academic performance among
participating students;
(2) improving the professional development and
performance of new teachers; and
(3) rewarding and retaining the highest performing
teachers.
(h) Not later than November 1 of each even-numbered year,
the agency shall submit to each member of the legislature a report
specifically describing the results of the program. The report may
be in the form of a summary of the information required under
Subsections (f) and (g).
(i) The commissioner shall adopt rules as necessary to
administer this section.
SECTION 2. The commissioner of education shall establish
the grant program under Section 29.091, Education Code, as added by
this Act, beginning with the 2013-2014 school year.
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, 2013.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 742 was passed by the House on May 9,
2013, by the following vote: Yeas 78, Nays 58, 2 present, not
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
No. 742 on May 24, 2013, by the following vote: Yeas 105, Nays 39,
2 present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 742 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 22, 2013, by the following vote: Yeas 18, Nays
13.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor