By: Hughes S.B. No. 1839
(In the Senate - Filed March 10, 2017; March 23, 2017, read
first time and referred to Committee on Education; May 1, 2017,
reported adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the
following vote: Yeas 11, Nays 0; May 1, 2017, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1839 By: Hughes
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the preparation, certification, and classification of
public school educators.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 21.043, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 21.043. ACCESS TO PEIMS DATA. (a) The agency shall
provide the board with access to data obtained under the Public
Education Information Management System (PEIMS).
(b) The agency shall provide educator preparation programs
with data based on information reported through the Public
Education Information Management System (PEIMS) that enables an
educator preparation program to:
(1) assess the impact of the program; and
(2) revise the program as needed to improve the design
and effectiveness of the program.
(c) The agency in coordination with the board shall solicit
input from educator preparation programs to determine the
information to be reported through the Public Education Information
Management System (PEIMS) and the data to be provided to educator
preparation programs based on that information.
SECTION 2. Section 21.045, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
(d) To assist an educator preparation program in improving
the design and effectiveness of the program in preparing educators
for the classroom, the agency shall provide to each program data
that is compiled and analyzed by the agency based on information
reported through the Public Education Information Management
System (PEIMS) relating to the program.
SECTION 3. Subchapter B, Chapter 21, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 21.0489 to read as follows:
Sec. 21.0489. EARLY CHILDHOOD CERTIFICATION. (a) To
ensure that there are teachers with special training in early
childhood education focusing on prekindergarten through grade
three, the board shall establish an early childhood certificate.
(b) A person is not required to hold a certificate
established under this section to be employed by a school district
to provide instruction in prekindergarten through grade three.
(c) To be eligible for a certificate established under this
section, a person must:
(1) either:
(A) satisfactorily complete the course work for
that certificate in an educator preparation program, including a
knowledge-based and skills-based course of instruction on early
childhood education that includes:
(i) teaching methods for:
(a) using small group instructional
formats that focus on building social, emotional, and academic
skills;
(b) navigating multiple content
areas; and
(c) managing a classroom environment
in which small groups of students are working on different tasks;
and
(ii) strategies for teaching fundamental
academic skills, including reading, writing, and numeracy; or
(B) hold an early childhood through grade six
certificate issued under this subchapter and satisfactorily
complete a course of instruction described by Paragraph (A);
(2) perform satisfactorily on an early childhood
certificate examination prescribed by the board; and
(3) satisfy any other requirements prescribed by the
board.
(d) The criteria for the course of instruction described by
Subsection (c)(1)(A) shall be developed by the board in
consultation with faculty members who provide instruction at
institutions of higher education in educator preparation programs
for an early childhood through grade six certificate.
SECTION 4. Section 21.052, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
(a-1) The commissioner may adopt rules establishing
exceptions to the examination requirements prescribed by
Subsection (a)(3) for an educator from outside the state to obtain a
certificate in this state.
SECTION 5. Section 30A.112(b), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) The state virtual school network may provide or
authorize providers of electronic professional development courses
to provide professional development for:
(1) teachers who are teaching subjects or grade levels
for which the teachers are not certified; or
(2) [teachers who must become highly qualified under
Section 1119, No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (20 U.S.C. Section
6319); or
[(3)] teachers who must become qualified under the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Section 1400
et seq.).
SECTION 6. The following provisions of the Education Code
are repealed:
(1) Section 21.005;
(2) Section 21.052(g); and
(3) Section 21.057(e).
SECTION 7. The State Board for Educator Certification shall
propose rules:
(1) establishing requirements and prescribing an
examination for an early childhood certificate examination as
required by Section 21.0489, Education Code, as added by this Act;
and
(2) establishing standards to govern the approval and
renewal of approval of educator preparation programs for early
childhood certification.
SECTION 8. The commissioner of education is required to
implement Sections 1 and 2 of this Act only if the legislature
appropriates money specifically for that purpose. If the
legislature does not appropriate money specifically for the purpose
of implementing Sections 1 and 2 of this Act, the commissioner of
education may, but is not required to, implement those sections
using other appropriations available for that purpose.
SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.
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