Review of Proposed Revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 244, Certificate of Completion of Training for Appraisers
September 24, 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 actions that would revise 19 TAC Chapter 244, Certificate of Completion of Training for Appraisers. The proposed revisions would update the rules to reflect current law regarding the certification of appraisers of educators employed in Texas public schools.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: The statutory authority for the proposed revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 244 is the Texas Education Code (TEC), §21.041(b)(10).
EFFECTIVE DATE: The proposed effective date of the revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 244 would be October 31, 2010.
PREVIOUS BOARD ACTION: None.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND SIGNIFICANT ISSUES: The SBEC rules in 19 TAC Chapter 244 address general provisions, conditions for issuing a certificate of completion of training for appraisers of teachers, training for appraisers in districts using locally-developed teacher appraisal systems, and the certification of appraisers of administrators or counselors.
The TEC, §21.351, authorizes the commissioner of education to adopt a recommended appraisal process, the Professional Development and Appraisal System (PDAS), including required qualifications and training for appraisers. The rules in 19 TAC Chapter 150, Commissioner's Rules Concerning Educator Appraisal, state that the commissioner and the regional education service centers (ESCs) administer all aspects of the recommended appraisal process. To avoid unnecessary duplication and possible conflicting rules, the rules in 19 TAC Chapter 244 would be updated to reference appraiser qualifications and training requirements of 19 TAC Chapter 150.
The proposed revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 244, shown in Attachment II, would update the rules to reflect current law. Following is a description of the proposed changes.
Language in 19 TAC §244.1, General Provisions, would be amended to clarify the provisions, reference applicable statutes and commissioner of education rules in 19 TAC Chapter 150 regarding educator appraisal, and remove language that repeats statute.
Section 244.2, Conditions for Issuing a Certificate of Completion of Training for Appraisers of Teachers, would be amended to adopt the certification, qualifications, and required training for appraisers of educators under the recommended PDAS established by commissioner's rules in 19 TAC Chapter 150. The section title would also be updated accordingly. In response to public comment received on the proposed amendment to §244.2(b), language has been further amended to specify that providers of appraiser training would be responsible for verifying completion of the training, and the regional ESC designated by the commissioner of education to serve as the PDAS certification provider for the state would be responsible for maintaining documentation and issuing certification to individuals who have completed PDAS appraiser training.
Section 244.3, Training for Appraisers in Districts Using Locally-Developed Teacher Appraisal Systems, would be amended to clarify that the school district developed appraisal system should identify appraiser qualities and proficiencies to evaluate educators. The section title would also be updated to clarify that the section applies to the training for appraisers of educators not subject to the commissioner's recommended appraisal system as well as appraisers in districts that have elected not to use the commissioner's recommended appraisal system or process.
Section 244.4, Certification of Appraisers of Administrators or Counselors, would be repealed since qualifications and training required for appraisers of all educators are now provided by 19 TAC Chapter 150 and 19 TAC §244.2 and §244.3.
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 rule actions. 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 rule actions would be the prevention of conflicting and duplicative sets of rules relating to the certification and training of appraisers.
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 the comment received by the SBEC on its proposed rules was 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 revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 244, Certificate of Completion of Training for Appraisers.
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
Janice Lopez, Director
Educator Standards
Andrew Allen, Assistant Counsel
Legal Services for Educator Certification, Standards, and
Investigations
Attachments:
I. Statutory Citations
II. Text of Proposed Revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 244, Certificate of Completion of Training for Appraisers