S.B. No. 1839
AN ACT
relating to the preparation, certification, and classification of
and professional development for public school educators.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 21.001, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 21.001. DEFINITIONS [DEFINITION]. In this chapter:
(1) "Commissioner"[, "commissioner"] includes a
person designated by the commissioner.
(2) "Digital learning" means any type of learning that
is facilitated by technology or instructional practice that makes
effective use of technology.
(3) "Digital literacy" means having the knowledge and
ability to use a range of technology tools for varied purposes. The
term includes the capacity to use, understand, and evaluate
technology for use in education settings.
SECTION 2. 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 data to
be provided to educator preparation programs.
SECTION 3. Section 21.044, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (c-2) and (f-1) to read as follows:
(c-2) Any minimum academic qualifications for a certificate
specified under Subsection (a) that require a person to possess a
bachelor's degree must also require that the person receive, as
part of the training required to obtain that certificate,
instruction in digital learning, including a digital literacy
evaluation followed by a prescribed digital learning curriculum.
The instruction required must:
(1) be aligned with the International Society for
Technology in Education's standards for teachers;
(2) provide effective, evidence-based strategies to
determine a person's degree of digital literacy; and
(3) include resources to address any deficiencies
identified by the digital literacy evaluation.
(f-1) Board rules addressing ongoing educator preparation
program support for a candidate seeking certification in a
certification class other than classroom teacher may not require
that an educator preparation program conduct one or more formal
observations of the candidate on the candidate's site in a
face-to-face setting. The rules must permit each required formal
observation to occur on the candidate's site or through use of
electronic transmission or other video-based or technology-based
method.
SECTION 4. 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 5. 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 6. Section 21.051, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (b-1) to read as
follows:
(b) Before a school district may employ a candidate for
certification as a teacher of record and, except as provided by
Subsection (b-1), after the candidate's admission to an educator
preparation program, the candidate must complete at least 15 hours
of field-based experience in which the candidate is actively
engaged in instructional or educational activities under
supervision at:
(1) a public school campus accredited or approved for
the purpose by the agency; or
(2) a private school recognized or approved for the
purpose by the agency.
(b-1) A candidate may satisfy up to 15 hours of the
field-based experience requirement under Subsection (b) by serving
as a long-term substitute teacher as prescribed by board rule.
Experience under this subsection may occur after the candidate's
admission to an educator preparation program or during the two
years before the date the candidate is admitted to the program. The
candidate's experience in instructional or educational activities
must be documented by the educator preparation program and must be
obtained at:
(1) a public school campus accredited or approved for
the purpose by the agency; or
(2) a private school recognized or approved for the
purpose by the agency.
SECTION 7. Section 21.052, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (a-1) and amending Subsection (e) 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.
(e) An educator who has submitted all documents required by
the board for certification and who receives a temporary
certificate as provided by Subsection (c) [(a)] must perform
satisfactorily on the examination prescribed under Section 21.048
not later than the first anniversary of the date the board completes
the review of the educator's credentials and informs the educator
of the examination or examinations under Section 21.048 on which
the educator must perform successfully to receive a standard
certificate.
SECTION 8. Sections 21.054(d) and (e), Education Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(d) Continuing education requirements for a classroom
teacher must provide that not more than 25 percent of the training
required every five years include instruction regarding:
(1) collecting and analyzing information that will
improve effectiveness in the classroom;
(2) recognizing early warning indicators that a
student may be at risk of dropping out of school;
(3) digital learning, digital teaching, and
integrating technology into classroom instruction; and
(4) educating diverse student populations, including:
(A) students with disabilities, including mental
health disorders;
(B) students who are educationally
disadvantaged;
(C) students of limited English proficiency; and
(D) students at risk of dropping out of school.
(e) Continuing education requirements for a principal must
provide that not more than 25 percent of the training required every
five years include instruction regarding:
(1) effective and efficient management, including:
(A) collecting and analyzing information;
(B) making decisions and managing time; and
(C) supervising student discipline and managing
behavior;
(2) recognizing early warning indicators that a
student may be at risk of dropping out of school;
(3) digital learning, digital teaching, and
integrating technology into campus curriculum and instruction; and
(4) educating diverse student populations, including:
(A) students with disabilities, including mental
health disorders;
(B) students who are educationally
disadvantaged;
(C) students of limited English proficiency; and
(D) students at risk of dropping out of school.
SECTION 9. Subchapter B, Chapter 21, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 21.0543 to read as follows:
Sec. 21.0543. CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDIT FOR INSTRUCTION
RELATED TO DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY. The board shall propose rules
allowing an educator to receive credit toward the educator's
continuing education requirements for completion of education
courses that:
(1) use technology to increase the educator's digital
literacy; and
(2) assist the educator in the use of digital
technology in learning activities that improve teaching,
assessment, and instructional practices.
SECTION 10. Section 21.451, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsection (d-3) to read as
follows:
(d) The staff development:
(1) may include training in:
(A) technology;
(B) conflict resolution;
(C) discipline strategies, including classroom
management, district discipline policies, and the student code of
conduct adopted under Section 37.001 and Chapter 37; [and]
(D) preventing, identifying, responding to, and
reporting incidents of bullying; and
(E) digital learning;
(2) subject to Subsection (e) and to Section 21.3541
and rules adopted under that section, must include training that is
evidence-based [based on scientifically based research], as
defined by Section 8101, Every Student Succeeds Act [9101, No Child
Left Behind Act of 2001] (20 U.S.C. Section 7801), that:
(A) relates to instruction of students with
disabilities; and
(B) is designed for educators who work primarily
outside the area of special education; and
(3) must include suicide prevention training that must
be provided:
(A) on an annual basis, as part of a new employee
orientation, to all new school district and open-enrollment charter
school educators; and
(B) to existing school district and
open-enrollment charter school educators on a schedule adopted by
the agency by rule.
(d-3) The digital learning training provided by Subsection
(d)(1)(E) must:
(1) discuss basic technology proficiency expectations
and methods to increase an educator's digital literacy; and
(2) assist an educator in the use of digital
technology in learning activities that improve teaching,
assessment, and instructional practices.
SECTION 11. 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 12. The following provisions of the Education Code
are repealed:
(1) Section 21.005; and
(2) Section 21.052(g).
SECTION 13. 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 14. The commissioner of education is required to
implement Sections 21.043(b) and (c) and 21.045(d), Education Code,
as added by this Act, only if the legislature appropriates money
specifically for that purpose. If the legislature does not
appropriate money specifically for that purpose, the commissioner
of education may, but is not required to, implement those sections
using other appropriations available for the purpose.
SECTION 15. This Act applies beginning with the 2017-2018
school year.
SECTION 16. 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, 2017.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1839 passed the Senate on
May 4, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 1; May 25, 2017,
Senate refused to concur in House amendments and requested
appointment of Conference Committee; May 26, 2017, House granted
request of the Senate; May 28, 2017, Senate adopted Conference
Committee Report by the following vote: Yeas 29, Nays 1.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1839 passed the House, with
amendments, on May 23, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 137,
Nays 7, one present not voting; May 26, 2017, House granted request
of the Senate for appointment of Conference Committee;
May 28, 2017, House adopted Conference Committee Report by the
following vote: Yeas 138, Nays 8, two present not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
______________________________
Date
______________________________
Governor