Review of Proposed Amendment to 19 TAC Chapter 231, Assignment of Public School
Personnel, §231.1, Criteria for Assignment of Public School Personnel
July 23, 2010
COMMITTEE ON SCHOOL INITIATIVES: ACTION
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION: ACTION
SUMMARY: This item provides the State Board of Education (SBOE) an opportunity to review the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) rule action that would amend 19 TAC Chapter 231, Assignment of Public School Personnel, §231.1, Criteria for Assignment of Public School Personnel. The proposed amendment would update the figure in 19 TAC §231.1(e) as a result of recent revisions to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and course offerings for career and technical education (CTE) mandated by House Bill (HB) 3485, 80th Texas Legislature, 2007. The proposed amendment would also include technical changes that would clarify and update other content areas.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: The statutory authority for the proposed amendment to 19 TAC §231.1 is the Texas Education Code (TEC), §21.031(a) and §21.041(b)(1) and (2).
EFFECTIVE DATE: The proposed effective date of the amendment to 19 TAC §231.1 would be August 29, 2010.
PREVIOUS BOARD ACTION: None.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND SIGNIFICANT ISSUES: Section 231.1 specifies the criteria for assignment of public school personnel and includes a figure that shows a list of assignments with corresponding certificates for each assignment. Section 231.1 provides guidance to school districts with regard to the certificates required for specific assignments of public school educators.
The figure in §231.1(e) is organized into three parts. Part I includes the requirements for assignment of teachers. Part II includes the requirements for teachers certified before 1966 and assigned to Grades 6-12. Part III includes the requirements for assignment of administrators, other instructional and professional support personnel, special education related services personnel, and paraprofessional personnel.
The proposed amendment to 19 TAC §231.1(e), shown in Attachment II, would update the figure to reflect criteria for assignment of public school personnel, including assignments with corresponding certificates in the area of career and technical education as a result of recent revisions to the TEKS and course offerings.
HB 3485 required the SBOE to identify CTE courses that satisfy the fourth mathematics or science credit required for the recommended and distinguished graduation plans. During the review process, the number of CTE courses was reduced from over 600 to 190 by eliminating outdated courses, combining duplicate courses, incorporating innovative courses, and creating new courses. The SBOE approved 19 TAC Chapter 130, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Career and Technical Education, for second reading and final adoption at the July 2009 meeting to be implemented in the 2010-2011 school year.
Also in compliance with HB 3485, the SBOE approved amendments to 19 TAC Chapter 74, Curriculum Requirements, Subchapter F, Graduation Requirements, Beginning with School Year 2007-2008, which added additional courses for a fourth mathematics and science credit and amended requirements for the minimum and advanced high school programs to align with the Recommended High School Program. The new graduation requirements allow Mathematical Applications in Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources, if successfully completed prior to Algebra II; Engineering Mathematics; and Statistics and Risk Management to count for the fourth mathematics credit under the Recommended High School Program. The graduation requirements allow Engineering Mathematics, and Statistics and Risk Management to count for the fourth mathematics credit under the Distinguished Achievement Program. The new graduation requirements also allow Advanced Animal Science, Advanced Biotechnology, Advanced Plant and Soil Science, Food Science, and Forensic Science to count for the fourth science credit under the Recommended High School Program and Distinguished Achievement Program.
The new graduation requirements also allow the CTE Professional Communications course to satisfy the speech graduation requirement and the CTE Principles and Elements of Floral Design course to satisfy the fine arts graduation requirement.
Technical changes would also be made to clarify and update other content areas as discussed with and/or recommended by Texas Education Agency (TEA) curriculum staff. Since an analysis of certification tests standards with the CTE TEKS shows coverage, these assignment rules have been proposed to allow flexibility for school districts in hiring and course offerings. TEA Curriculum staff will be implementing required professional development to address specific course content.
Consideration to school district needs has also impacted assignment rules in English I for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL I) and English II for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL II) as well as a new Speech: Grades 7-12 certificate.
Specifically, the figure in §231.1(e) would be updated to allow school districts the discretion to allow bilingual or English as a second language (ESL) certified teachers to continue teaching ESOL I and ESOL II if assigned prior to June 21, 2009.
In addition, the Speech assignment criteria would be modified to include a new Speech: Grades 7-12 certificate.
In response to public comment received, the assignment area of Lifetime Nutrition and Wellness would be amended. The change on page 68 of the figure in §231.1(e) would add Human Development and Family Studies: Grades 8-12 to the list of certificates for the assignment area.
SBOE Review of Proposed SBEC Rules
Under TEC, §21.042, the SBEC must submit a written copy of each rule it proposes to adopt to the SBOE for review. The SBOE may reject the proposed rules by a vote of at least two-thirds of the members of the SBOE present and voting.
FISCAL IMPACT: The TEA staff have determined that there are no additional costs to persons or entities required to comply with the proposed amendment. In addition, there is no direct adverse economic impact for small businesses and microbusinesses; therefore, no regulatory flexibility analysis, specified in Texas Government Code, §2006.002, is required.
PUBLIC AND STUDENT BENEFIT: The public and student benefit anticipated as a result of the proposed amendment to 19 TAC §231.1 would be updated requirements relating to the assignment of educators in Texas public schools.
PROCEDURAL AND REPORTING IMPLICATIONS: The TEA staff have determined that there are no procedural and reporting implications to school districts and educators.
LOCALLY MAINTAINED PAPERWORK REQUIREMENTS: The TEA staff have determined that there are no locally maintained paperwork requirements to school districts and educators.
PUBLIC COMMENTS: In accordance with the SBEC rulemaking process, a summary of comments received by the SBEC on its proposed rule were shared with the SBOE in a separate mailing prior to this SBOE meeting.
ALTERNATIVES: None.
OTHER COMMENTS AND RELATED ISSUES: None.
COMMISSIONER'S RECOMMENDATION: I recommend that the State Board of Education:
Take no action on the proposed amendment to 19 TAC Chapter 231, Assignment of Public School Personnel, §231.1, Criteria for Assignment of Public School Personnel.
Respectfully submitted,
Robert Scott
Commissioner of Education
Staff Members Responsible:
Raymond F. Glynn, Deputy Commissioner
School District Leadership and Educator Quality
Jerel Booker, Associate Commissioner
Educator and Student Policy Initiatives
Karen Loonam, Deputy Associate Commissioner
Educator Certification, Standards, and Investigations
Tabita Gutierrez, Director
Educator Certification
Attachments:
I. Statutory Citations
II. Text of Proposed Amendment to 19 TAC Chapter 231, Assignment of Public School Personnel, §231.1, Criteria for Assignment of Public School Personnel