| 1 | 1 | | 84R20058 PAM-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Aycock H.B. No. 1843 |
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| 3 | 3 | | Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1843: |
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| 4 | 4 | | By: Aycock C.S.H.B. No. 1843 |
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| 5 | 5 | | |
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| 6 | 6 | | |
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| 7 | 7 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 8 | 8 | | AN ACT |
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| 9 | 9 | | relating to providing training academies for public school teachers |
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| 10 | 10 | | who provide reading instruction to students in prekindergarten |
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| 11 | 11 | | through grade three. |
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| 12 | 12 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 13 | 13 | | SECTION 1. Subchapter J, Chapter 21, Education Code, is |
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| 14 | 14 | | amended by adding Section 21.4552 to read as follows: |
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| 15 | 15 | | Sec. 21.4552. TEACHER LITERACY ACHIEVEMENT ACADEMIES. (a) |
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| 16 | 16 | | The commissioner shall develop and make available literacy |
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| 17 | 17 | | achievement academies for teachers who provide instruction to |
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| 18 | 18 | | students at the prekindergarten, kindergarten, or first, second, or |
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| 19 | 19 | | third grade level. |
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| 20 | 20 | | (b) A literacy achievement academy developed under this |
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| 21 | 21 | | section must include training in effective and systematic |
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| 22 | 22 | | instructional practices in reading, including phonemic awareness, |
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| 23 | 23 | | phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and research-based |
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| 24 | 24 | | practices to address the needs of students with reading disorders. |
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| 25 | 25 | | (c) The commissioner shall adopt criteria for selecting |
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| 26 | 26 | | teachers who may attend a literacy achievement academy. In |
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| 27 | 27 | | adopting selection criteria under this subsection, the |
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| 28 | 28 | | commissioner shall: |
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| 29 | 29 | | (1) include teachers, including special education |
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| 30 | 30 | | teachers, who instruct students with reading disorders; and |
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| 31 | 31 | | (2) require granting a priority to teachers employed |
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| 32 | 32 | | by school districts in which 50 percent or more of the students |
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| 33 | 33 | | enrolled are educationally disadvantaged. |
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| 34 | 34 | | (d) From funds appropriated for that purpose, a teacher who |
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| 35 | 35 | | attends a literacy achievement academy is entitled to receive a |
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| 36 | 36 | | stipend in the amount determined by the commissioner. A stipend |
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| 37 | 37 | | received under this subsection is not considered in determining |
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| 38 | 38 | | whether a district is paying the teacher the minimum monthly salary |
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| 39 | 39 | | under Section 21.402. |
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| 40 | 40 | | (e) On request of the commissioner, regional education |
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| 41 | 41 | | service centers shall assist the commissioner and agency with |
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| 42 | 42 | | training and other activities relating to the development and |
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| 43 | 43 | | operation of literacy achievement academies. |
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| 44 | 44 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 45 | 45 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 46 | 46 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 47 | 47 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 48 | 48 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |
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