Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB874 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R321 KKA-D
2	2	By: Sanford H.B. No. 874
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to employment of persons with advanced degrees as public
8	8	school teachers.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 21.003, Education Code, is amended by
11	11	amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as
12	12	follows:
13	13	(a) Except as provided by Subsection (a-1), a [A] person may
14	14	not be employed as a teacher, teacher intern or teacher trainee,
15	15	librarian, educational aide, administrator, educational
16	16	diagnostician, or school counselor by a school district unless the
17	17	person holds an appropriate certificate or permit issued as
18	18	provided by Subchapter B.
19	19	(a-1) Subject to the approval of the principal at the campus
20	20	to which the person is assigned, a person with at least a master's
21	21	degree in a subject may be employed as a teacher by a school
22	22	district to teach that subject to students in grade levels 7 through
23	23	12 regardless of whether the person holds an appropriate
24	24	certificate or permit issued as provided by Subchapter B. For
25	25	purposes of this subsection, a person's degree must be issued by an
26	26	institution accredited by a regional accrediting agency or group
27	27	that is recognized by a nationally recognized accreditation board
28	28	or be an equivalent degree issued by an institution located in a
29	29	foreign country.
30	30	SECTION 2. Section 21.057(d), Education Code, is amended to
31	31	read as follows:
32	32	(d) For purposes of this section, "inappropriately
33	33	certified or uncertified teacher":
34	34	(1) includes:
35	35	(A) an individual serving on an emergency
36	36	certificate issued under Section 21.041(b)(2); or
37	37	(B) an individual who does not hold any
38	38	certificate or permit issued under this chapter and is not employed
39	39	as specified by Subdivision (2)(E) or (G); and
40	40	(2) does not include an individual:
41	41	(A) who is a certified teacher assigned to teach
42	42	a class or classes outside his or her area of certification, as
43	43	determined by rules proposed by the board in specifying the
44	44	certificate required for each assignment;
45	45	(B) serving on a certificate issued due to a
46	46	hearing impairment under Section 21.048;
47	47	(C) serving on a certificate issued pursuant to
48	48	enrollment in an approved alternative certification program under
49	49	Section 21.049;
50	50	(D) certified by another state or country and
51	51	serving on a certificate issued under Section 21.052;
52	52	(E) serving on a school district teaching permit
53	53	issued under Section 21.055; [or]
54	54	(F) employed under a waiver granted by the
55	55	commissioner pursuant to Section 7.056; or
56	56	(G) employed in accordance with Section
57	57	21.003(a-1).
58	58	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
59	59	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
60	60	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
61	61	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
62	62	Act takes effect September 1, 2015.