Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4117 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87R10510 MLH-F
2	2	By: Talarico H.B. No. 4117
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to providing high-quality tutoring services to public
8	8	school students, including the creation of the Texas Tutor Corps
9	9	program, the establishment of a COVID-19 learning loss and student
10	10	acceleration pilot program, and the use of the compensatory
11	11	education allotment for tutoring services programs.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
14	14	amended by adding Section 29.0841 to read as follows:
15	15	Sec. 29.0841. TEXAS TUTOR CORPS PROGRAM. (a) In this
16	16	section:
17	17	(1) "Hard-to-staff school" means a high-need school
18	18	that has a high rate of teacher turnover or a large concentration of
19	19	teachers in their first or second year of teaching.
20	20	(2) "High-need school" has the meaning assigned by the
21	21	Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6631).
22	22	(3) "Program" means the Texas Tutor Corps program
23	23	established under this section.
24	24	(b) The agency shall establish and administer a Texas Tutor
25	25	Corps program to develop and support a statewide network of tutors
26	26	and to provide grants to school districts and open-enrollment
27	27	charter schools that are hard-to-staff schools or high-need
28	28	schools, for the purpose of establishing local consortia, as
29	29	described by Subsection (e), to collaborate on the provision of
30	30	high-quality tutoring services for students enrolled at the
31	31	district or school. The program must:
32	32	(1) include time for planning and collaboration among
33	33	tutors;
34	34	(2) match tutors with students based on the tutor's
35	35	expertise in a particular subject area or grade level and the
36	36	student's subject area tutoring needs or grade level;
37	37	(3) include high-quality pre-service training and
38	38	ongoing professional support for tutors serving under the program;
39	39	(4) be facilitated by the local consortium established
40	40	by the district or school;
41	41	(5) provide compensation for tutors; and
42	42	(6) prioritize the recruitment and selection of
43	43	individuals enrolled in state-approved educator preparation
44	44	programs to serve as tutors.
45	45	(c) The following individuals may serve as tutors under the
46	46	program:
47	47	(1) certified and retired educators;
48	48	(2) paraprofessionals and teacher's aides;
49	49	(3) recent graduates of educator preparation
50	50	programs; and
51	51	(4) postsecondary students enrolled in educator
52	52	preparation programs.
53	53	(d) Tutoring services provided under the program must:
54	54	(1) be led by a tutor;
55	55	(2) be provided in a one-on-one or small group setting
56	56	with a ratio of not more than one tutor for every four students;
57	57	(3) occur in multiple sessions of sufficient length
58	58	each week to ensure adequate time for delivery of tutoring
59	59	services;
60	60	(4) be provided during the regular school day or
61	61	immediately before or after school and during school vacation
62	62	periods; and
63	63	(5) align with local standards and curriculum.
64	64	(e) For purposes of this section, a local consortium of
65	65	community partners:
66	66	(1) includes the following entities, one of which
67	67	serves as the lead entity of the consortium:
68	68	(A) an educator preparation program under
69	69	Section 21.0442; and
70	70	(B) one or more:
71	71	(i) school districts or district campuses;
72	72	(ii) open-enrollment charter schools or
73	73	charter school campuses; and
74	74	(iii) regional education service centers;
75	75	and
76	76	(2) may include:
77	77	(A) community-based organizations;
78	78	(B) agencies serving children and youth;
79	79	(C) institutions of higher education;
80	80	(D) educator organizations;
81	81	(E) organizations representing education
82	82	professionals;
83	83	(F) local governments and local governmental
84	84	entities;
85	85	(G) student organizations; and
86	86	(H) parent organizations.
87	87	(f) A school district or open-enrollment charter school
88	88	awarded a grant under this section may use the grant money to pay
89	89	for:
90	90	(1) training tutors and placing tutors at district or
91	91	school campuses;
92	92	(2) supporting tutors to work with small groups of
93	93	students;
94	94	(3) matching tutors with students and mentors;
95	95	(4) providing stipends to tutors and mentors;
96	96	(5) purchasing instructional materials and
97	97	connectivity resources, including Internet access and devices
98	98	capable of connecting to the Internet;
99	99	(6) providing transportation for students attending
100	100	the tutoring program;
101	101	(7) providing meals and snacks for students attending
102	102	the tutoring program; and
103	103	(8) providing facilities for conducting the tutoring
104	104	program.
105	105	(g) In awarding grants under this section, the
106	106	commissioner:
107	107	(1) must consider the quality of the tutoring proposed
108	108	to be provided;
109	109	(2) may leverage federal funding to pay for not more
110	110	than 50 percent of the costs under the program, including, to the
111	111	extent authorized by federal law, funds from the Temporary
112	112	Assistance for Needy Families program;
113	113	(3) must consider the amount of funds distributed to
114	114	the school district or open-enrollment charter school under Chapter
115	115	48; and
116	116	(4) must use any funds appropriated or otherwise
117	117	available for the purposes of this program.
118	118	(h) The commissioner may accept gifts, grants, or donations
119	119	from any public or private source for purposes of this section.
120	120	(i) Notwithstanding Subsection (b), the commissioner is
121	121	required to establish the program under this section only if the
122	122	legislature appropriates money specifically for that purpose. If
123	123	the legislature does not appropriate money specifically for that
124	124	purpose, the commissioner may, but is not required to, establish
125	125	the program under this section using other appropriations available
126	126	for that purpose.
127	127	SECTION 2. Section 25.085(d), Education Code, is amended to
128	128	read as follows:
129	129	(d) Unless specifically exempted by Section 25.086, a
130	130	student enrolled in a school district must attend:
131	131	(1) an extended-year program for which the student is
132	132	eligible that is provided by the district for students identified
133	133	as likely not to be promoted to the next grade level or tutorial
134	134	classes required by the district under Section 29.0841 [29.084];
135	135	(2) an accelerated reading instruction program to
136	136	which the student is assigned under Section 28.006(g);
137	137	(3) an accelerated instruction program to which the
138	138	student is assigned under Section 28.0211;
139	139	(4) a basic skills program to which the student is
140	140	assigned under Section 29.086; or
141	141	(5) a summer program provided under Section 37.008(l)
142	142	or Section 37.021.
143	143	SECTION 3. Sections 29.088(b) and (c), Education Code, are
144	144	amended to read as follows:
145	145	(b) Before providing a program under this section, the board
146	146	of trustees of a school district must adopt a policy for:
147	147	(1) determining student eligibility for participating
148	148	in the program that:
149	149	(A) prescribes the grade level or course a
150	150	student must be enrolled in to be eligible; and
151	151	(B) provides for considering teacher
152	152	recommendations in determining eligibility;
153	153	(2) ensuring that parents of or persons standing in
154	154	parental relation to eligible students are provided notice of the
155	155	program;
156	156	(3) ensuring that eligible students are encouraged to
157	157	attend the program;
158	158	(4) ensuring that the program is offered at one or more
159	159	locations in the district that are easily accessible to eligible
160	160	students; [and]
161	161	(5) measuring student progress on completion of the
162	162	program; and
163	163	(6) ensuring that all instruction, intervention, and
164	164	support is provided by an appropriately qualified educator or
165	165	person enrolled in an educator preparation program, including a
166	166	person participating in the Texas Tutor Corps program under Section
167	167	29.0841.
168	168	(c) The commissioner by rule shall:
169	169	(1) prescribe a procedure that a school district must
170	170	follow to apply for and receive funding for a program under this
171	171	section;
172	172	(2) adopt guidelines for determining which districts
173	173	receive funding if there is not sufficient funding for each
174	174	district that applies;
175	175	(3) require each district providing a program to
176	176	report student performance results to the commissioner within the
177	177	period and in the manner prescribed by the rule; [and]
178	178	(4) based on district reports under Subdivision (3)
179	179	and any required analysis and verification of those reports,
180	180	disseminate to each district in this state information concerning
181	181	instructional methods that have proved successful in improving
182	182	student performance in mathematics; and
183	183	(5) require each district providing a program under
184	184	this section to submit a description of the methods by which the
185	185	program will accelerate student learning, including whether the
186	186	district plans to implement a high-quality tutoring program.
187	187	SECTION 4. Sections 29.090(b) and (c), Education Code, are
188	188	amended to read as follows:
189	189	(b) Before providing a program under this section, the board
190	190	of trustees of a school district must adopt a policy for:
191	191	(1) determining student eligibility for participating
192	192	in the program that:
193	193	(A) prescribes the grade level or course a
194	194	student must be enrolled in to be eligible; and
195	195	(B) provides for considering teacher
196	196	recommendations in determining eligibility;
197	197	(2) ensuring that parents of or persons standing in
198	198	parental relation to eligible students are provided notice of the
199	199	program;
200	200	(3) ensuring that eligible students are encouraged to
201	201	attend the program;
202	202	(4) ensuring that the program is offered at one or more
203	203	locations in the district that are easily accessible to eligible
204	204	students; [and]
205	205	(5) measuring student progress on completion of the
206	206	program; and
207	207	(6) ensuring that all instruction, intervention, and
208	208	support is provided by an appropriately qualified educator or
209	209	person enrolled in an educator preparation program, including a
210	210	person participating in the Texas Tutor Corps program under Section
211	211	29.0841.
212	212	(c) The commissioner by rule shall:
213	213	(1) prescribe a procedure that a school district must
214	214	follow to apply for and receive funding for a program under this
215	215	section;
216	216	(2) adopt guidelines for determining which districts
217	217	receive funding if there is not sufficient funding for each
218	218	district that applies;
219	219	(3) require each district providing a program to
220	220	report student performance results to the commissioner within the
221	221	period and in the manner prescribed by the rule; [and]
222	222	(4) based on district reports under Subdivision (3)
223	223	and any required analysis and verification of those reports,
224	224	disseminate to each district in this state information concerning
225	225	instructional methods that have proved successful in improving
226	226	student performance in science; and
227	227	(5) require each district providing a program under
228	228	this section to submit a description of the methods by which the
229	229	program will accelerate student learning, including whether the
230	230	district plans to implement a high-quality tutoring program.
231	231	SECTION 5. Section 29.091(c), Education Code, is amended to
232	232	read as follows:
233	233	(c) To be eligible to participate in the program, a school
234	234	district must:
235	235	(1) have an enrollment of students who are
236	236	educationally disadvantaged that is greater than 50 percent of
237	237	total district enrollment;
238	238	(2) apply to the commissioner in the manner and within
239	239	the time prescribed by commissioner rule; [and]
240	240	(3) provide as part of the application materials a
241	241	plan that is designed to achieve the purposes described by
242	242	Subsections (b)(1) through (5); and
243	243	(4) participate in a local consortium described under
244	244	Section 29.0841 that supports the Texas Tutor Corps program under
245	245	that section.
246	246	SECTION 6. Subchapter C, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
247	247	amended by adding Section 29.0941 to read as follows:
248	248	Sec. 29.0941. COVID-19 LEARNING LOSS AND STUDENT
249	249	ACCELERATION PILOT PROGRAM. (a) In this section, "pilot program"
250	250	means the COVID-19 learning loss and student acceleration pilot
251	251	program established under this section.
252	252	(b) The commissioner by rule shall establish a pilot program
253	253	under which, for the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school years,
254	254	participating school district or open-enrollment charter school
255	255	campuses may provide tutoring intervention to students using a
256	256	high-quality tutoring program that meets the criteria described by
257	257	29.0841(d) to address learning loss due to the disruption in public
258	258	education caused by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
259	259	(c) A campus may apply to the commissioner to participate in
260	260	the pilot program. A campus that submits an application must
261	261	include with the application materials a summary of the campus's
262	262	proposed high-quality tutoring program to the commissioner for
263	263	approval. The commissioner shall prioritize campuses that are part
264	264	of an established local consortium described under Section 29.0841
265	265	and providing tutoring services under the Texas Tutor Corps
266	266	program, including using tutors who are enrolled in state-approved
267	267	educator preparation programs.
268	268	(d) The commissioner shall adopt minimum criteria that a
269	269	program must meet to be selected for use by a participating campus.
270	270	The criteria must include principles and practices consistent with
271	271	best practices related to a scientific understanding of how
272	272	students learn. The commissioner may only approve a program for use
273	273	by a campus under the pilot program that meets the minimum criteria
274	274	established under this section.
275	275	(e) Not later than December 31, 2022, the agency, in
276	276	consultation with each vendor of a high-quality tutoring program
277	277	approved under Subsection (d) and each school district with which
278	278	the vendor contracts under this section, shall provide the
279	279	legislature with a report describing student progress under the
280	280	pilot program.
281	281	(f) The commissioner may accept gifts, grants, or donations
282	282	from any public or private source for purposes of this section.
283	283	(g) Notwithstanding Subsection (b), the commissioner is
284	284	required to establish the pilot program under this section only if
285	285	the legislature appropriates money specifically for that purpose.
286	286	If the legislature does not appropriate money specifically for that
287	287	purpose, the commissioner may, but is not required to, establish
288	288	the pilot program under this section using other appropriations
289	289	available for that purpose.
290	290	(h) The commissioner shall adopt rules necessary to
291	291	implement this section.
292	292	(i) This section expires September 1, 2023.
293	293	SECTION 7. (a) This section takes effect only if the Act of
294	294	the 87th Legislature, Regular Session, 2021, relating to
295	295	nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted codes
296	296	becomes law.
297	297	(b) Section 48.104(j-1), Education Code, is amended to read
298	298	as follows:
299	299	(j-1) In addition to other purposes for which funds
300	300	allocated under this section may be used, those funds may also be
301	301	used to:
302	302	(1) provide child-care services or assistance with
303	303	child-care expenses for students at risk of dropping out of school,
304	304	as described by Section 29.081(d)(1)(E) [29.081(d)(5)]; [or]
305	305	(2) pay the costs associated with services provided
306	306	through a life skills program in accordance with Sections
307	307	29.085(b)(1) and (3)-(7); or
308	308	(3) pay costs associated with tutoring services
309	309	provided under the Texas Tutor Corps program under Section 29.0841.
310	310	SECTION 8. (a) This section takes effect only if the Act of
311	311	the 87th Legislature, Regular Session, 2021, relating to
312	312	nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted codes does
313	313	not become law.
314	314	(b) Section 48.104(j-1), Education Code, is amended to read
315	315	as follows:
316	316	(j-1) In addition to other purposes for which funds
317	317	allocated under this section may be used, those funds may also be
318	318	used to:
319	319	(1) provide child-care services or assistance with
320	320	child-care expenses for students at risk of dropping out of school,
321	321	as described by Section 29.081(d)(5); [or]
322	322	(2) pay the costs associated with services provided
323	323	through a life skills program in accordance with Sections
324	324	29.085(b)(1) and (3)-(7); or
325	325	(3) pay costs associated with tutoring services
326	326	provided under the Texas Tutor Corps program under Section 29.0841.
327	327	SECTION 9. Sections 29.084 and 29.094, Education Code, are
328	328	repealed.
329	329	SECTION 10. This Act applies beginning with the 2021-2022
330	330	school year.
331	331	SECTION 11. This Act takes effect immediately if it
332	332	receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
333	333	house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
334	334	If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
335	335	effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2021.