By: Powell S.B. No. 2023
(In the Senate - Filed March 12, 2021; April 1, 2021, read
first time and referred to Committee on Education; May 3, 2021,
reported adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the
following vote: Yeas 10, Nays 0; May 3, 2021, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 2023 By: Powell
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to providing high-quality tutoring services to public
school students, including the creation of the Texas Tutor Corps
program, and the use of the compensatory education allotment for
certain tutoring services programs.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 29.0841 to read as follows:
Sec. 29.0841. TEXAS TUTOR CORPS PROGRAM. (a) In this
section:
(1) "Hard-to-staff school" means a high-need school
that has a high rate of teacher turnover or a large concentration of
teachers in their first or second year of teaching.
(2) "High-need school" has the meaning assigned by the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6631).
(3) "Program" means the Texas Tutor Corps program
established under this section.
(b) The agency shall establish and administer a Texas Tutor
Corps program to develop and support a statewide network of tutors,
combat learning loss, and provide grants to school districts and
open-enrollment charter schools that are hard-to-staff schools or
high-need schools, for the purpose of establishing local consortia,
as described by Subsection (e), to collaborate on the provision of
high-quality tutoring services for students enrolled at the
district or school. The program must:
(1) include time for planning and collaboration among
tutors;
(2) match tutors with students based on the tutor's
expertise in a particular subject area or grade level and the
student's subject area tutoring needs or grade level;
(3) include high-quality pre-service training and
ongoing professional support for tutors serving under the program;
(4) be facilitated by the local consortium established
by the district or school; and
(5) provide compensation for tutors.
(c) The following individuals may serve as tutors under the
program:
(1) certified and retired educators;
(2) paraprofessionals and teacher's aides;
(3) recent graduates of educator preparation
programs;
(4) individuals enrolled in state-approved educator
preparation programs; and
(5) postsecondary students enrolled in a certificate
or degree program in the subject area in which the student provides
tutoring under the program.
(d) Tutoring services provided under the program must:
(1) be led by a tutor;
(2) be provided in a one-on-one or small group setting
with a ratio of not more than one tutor for every four students;
(3) occur in multiple sessions of sufficient length
each week to ensure adequate time for delivery of tutoring
services;
(4) be provided during the regular school day or
immediately before or after school and during school vacation
periods; and
(5) align with local standards and curriculum.
(e) For purposes of this section, a local consortium of
community partners:
(1) includes one or more of each of the following
entities, one of which serves as the lead entity of the consortium:
(A) a school district or district campus;
(B) an open-enrollment charter school or charter
school campus; and
(C) a regional education service center; and
(2) may include:
(A) educator preparation programs under Section
21.0442;
(B) community-based organizations;
(C) agencies serving children and youth;
(D) institutions of higher education;
(E) educator organizations;
(F) organizations representing education
professionals;
(G) local governments and local governmental
entities;
(H) student organizations; and
(I) parent organizations.
(f) A school district or open-enrollment charter school
that applies for a grant under this section must include with the
application a description of the methods by which the tutoring to be
provided under the grant will accelerate student learning and
alleviate learning loss resulting from the coronavirus disease
(COVID-19) pandemic. The description must indicate whether the
district or school plans to implement a high-quality tutoring
program.
(g) A school district or open-enrollment charter school
awarded a grant under this section may use the grant money to pay
for:
(1) training tutors and placing tutors at district or
school campuses;
(2) supporting tutors to work with small groups of
students;
(3) matching tutors with students and mentors;
(4) providing adequate compensation to tutors and
mentors;
(5) purchasing instructional materials and
connectivity resources, including Internet access and devices
capable of connecting to the Internet;
(6) providing transportation for students attending
the tutoring program;
(7) providing meals and snacks for students attending
the tutoring program; and
(8) providing facilities for conducting the tutoring
program.
(h) In awarding grants under this section, the
commissioner:
(1) must consider the quality of the tutoring proposed
to be provided;
(2) may leverage federal funding to pay for the costs
under the program;
(3) must consider the amount of funds distributed to
the school district or open-enrollment charter school under Chapter
48;
(4) must use any funds appropriated or otherwise
available for the purposes of this program;
(5) shall prioritize applicants that:
(A) have established a local consortium that
includes an educator preparation program under Section 21.0442;
(B) are hard-to-staff schools;
(C) serve a high percentage of students who
qualify for compensatory education, as determined by the
commissioner; and
(D) place an emphasis on in-person tutoring; and
(6) shall require as a condition of each grant that the
recipient agree to use the grant to supplement and not supplant any
money allocated by the recipient for existing instruction or
tutoring programs.
(h-1) In awarding grants under this section for the
2021-2022 school year, the commissioner may, to the extent
authorized by state and federal law, leverage federal funding
received through the elementary and secondary school emergency
relief fund that is designated for use by the agency under the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Pub. L. No. 116-260), and
the American Rescue Plan of 2021 (Pub. L. No. 117-2). This
subsection expires September 1, 2022.
(i) The commissioner may accept gifts, grants, or donations
from any public or private source for purposes of this section.
(j) Notwithstanding Subsection (b), the commissioner is
required to establish the program under this section only if the
legislature appropriates money specifically for that purpose. If
the legislature does not appropriate money specifically for that
purpose, the commissioner may, but is not required to, establish
the program under this section using other appropriations available
for that purpose.
(k) A tutor providing services under the program is immune
from civil liability to the same extent as a professional employee
of a school district under Section 22.0511.
(l) This section expires September 1, 2023.
SECTION 2. Section 25.085(d), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(d) Unless specifically exempted by Section 25.086, a
student enrolled in a school district must attend:
(1) an extended-year program for which the student is
eligible that is provided by the district for students identified
as likely not to be promoted to the next grade level or tutorial
classes required by the district under Section 29.0841 [29.084];
(2) an accelerated reading instruction program to
which the student is assigned under Section 28.006(g);
(3) an accelerated instruction program to which the
student is assigned under Section 28.0211;
(4) a basic skills program to which the student is
assigned under Section 29.086; or
(5) a summer program provided under Section 37.008(l)
or Section 37.021.
SECTION 3. Section 29.088, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsection (b-1) to
read as follows:
(b) Before providing a program under this section, the board
of trustees of a school district must adopt a policy for:
(1) determining student eligibility for participating
in the program that:
(A) prescribes the grade level or course a
student must be enrolled in to be eligible; and
(B) provides for considering teacher
recommendations in determining eligibility;
(2) ensuring that parents of or persons standing in
parental relation to eligible students are provided notice of the
program;
(3) ensuring that eligible students are encouraged to
attend the program;
(4) ensuring that the program is offered at one or more
locations in the district that are easily accessible to eligible
students; [and]
(5) measuring student progress on completion of the
program; and
(6) ensuring that all instruction, intervention, and
support is provided by an appropriately qualified educator or
person enrolled in an educator preparation program.
(b-1) For a school year before the 2023-2024 school year,
the board of trustees of a school district shall include in the
policy adopted under Subsection (b) an outline of how the program
will combat learning loss caused by the coronavirus disease
(COVID-19) pandemic. This subsection expires September 1, 2023.
(c) The commissioner by rule shall:
(1) prescribe a procedure that a school district must
follow to apply for and receive funding for a program under this
section;
(2) adopt guidelines for determining which districts
receive funding if there is not sufficient funding for each
district that applies;
(3) require each district providing a program to
report student performance results to the commissioner within the
period and in the manner prescribed by the rule; [and]
(4) based on district reports under Subdivision (3)
and any required analysis and verification of those reports,
disseminate to each district in this state information concerning
instructional methods that have proved successful in improving
student performance in mathematics; and
(5) require each district providing a program under
this section to submit a description of the methods by which the
program will accelerate student learning, including whether the
district plans to implement a high-quality tutoring program.
SECTION 4. Sections 29.090(b) and (c), Education Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(b) Before providing a program under this section, the board
of trustees of a school district must adopt a policy for:
(1) determining student eligibility for participating
in the program that:
(A) prescribes the grade level or course a
student must be enrolled in to be eligible; and
(B) provides for considering teacher
recommendations in determining eligibility;
(2) ensuring that parents of or persons standing in
parental relation to eligible students are provided notice of the
program;
(3) ensuring that eligible students are encouraged to
attend the program;
(4) ensuring that the program is offered at one or more
locations in the district that are easily accessible to eligible
students; [and]
(5) measuring student progress on completion of the
program; and
(6) ensuring that all instruction, intervention, and
support is provided by an appropriately qualified educator or
person enrolled in an educator preparation program.
(c) The commissioner by rule shall:
(1) prescribe a procedure that a school district must
follow to apply for and receive funding for a program under this
section;
(2) adopt guidelines for determining which districts
receive funding if there is not sufficient funding for each
district that applies;
(3) require each district providing a program to
report student performance results to the commissioner within the
period and in the manner prescribed by the rule; [and]
(4) based on district reports under Subdivision (3)
and any required analysis and verification of those reports,
disseminate to each district in this state information concerning
instructional methods that have proved successful in improving
student performance in science; and
(5) require each district providing a program under
this section to submit a description of the methods by which the
program will accelerate student learning, including whether the
district plans to implement a high-quality tutoring program.
SECTION 5. Section 29.091, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (c-1) to read as follows:
(c-1) In addition to the requirements provided by
Subsection (c), to be eligible to participate in the program for a
school year before the 2023-2024 school year, a school district
must participate in a local consortium described under Section
29.0841 that supports the Texas Tutor Corps program under that
section. This subsection expires September 1, 2023.
SECTION 6. Section 48.104, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (j-2) to read as follows:
(j-2) In addition to other purposes for which funds
allocated under this section may be used, those funds may also be
used to pay costs associated with tutoring services provided under
the Texas Tutor Corps program under Section 29.0841. This
subsection expires September 1, 2023.
SECTION 7. Sections 29.084 and 29.094, Education Code, are
repealed.
SECTION 8. This Act applies beginning with the 2021-2022
school year.
SECTION 9. The Texas Education Agency is required to
implement this Act only if the legislature appropriates money
specifically for that purpose. If the legislature does not
appropriate money specifically for that purpose, the agency may,
but is not required to, implement this Act using other money
available for that purpose.
SECTION 10. 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, 2021.
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