Commissioner's Rules
Adopted Amendment to 19 TAC Chapter 153, School District Personnel, Subchapter CC, Commissioner's Rules on Creditable Years of Service, §153.1021, Recognition of Creditable Years of Service
Attachments:
I. Statutory Citations (PDF)
II. Text of Adopted Amendment to 19 TAC Chapter 153, School District Personnel, Subchapter CC, Commissioner's Rules on Creditable Years of Service, §153.1021, Recognition of Creditable Years of Service (PDF)
SUMMARY:
The rule action presented in this item will be filed as adopted with the Texas Register under the commissioner's rulemaking authority. This item adopts an amendment to 19 TAC Chapter 153, School District Personnel, Subchapter CC, Commissioner's Rules on Creditable Years of Service, §153.1021, Recognition of Creditable Years of Service. The adopted amendment implements the requirements of House Bill (HB) 3646 and HB 1365, 81st Texas Legislature, 2009, and clarifies the transferability of state days between certain entities and school districts. The adopted amendment also incorporates clarifying and technical changes. No changes were made to the rule since published as proposed.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY:
Texas Education Code (TEC), §21.403 and §21.4031.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
July 11, 2010.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND SIGNIFICANT ISSUES:
Effective February 1, 1998, the commissioner adopted 19 TAC §153.1021, Recognition of Creditable Years of Service, as authorized by the TEC, §21.403, 75th Texas Legislature, 1997. The provisions of law required the commissioner to adopt rules for determining the experience for which certain professional staff are to be given credit in placement on the state minimum salary schedule.
The existing rule concerning placement on the salary schedule applies only to classroom teachers, full-time librarians, full-time counselors, and full-time nurses. The rule provides appropriate definitions and explains required documents, necessary credentials, and the service record. The rule details the provisions for creditable years of service, including recognized employing entities for service credit.
HB 3646, 81st Texas Legislature, 2009, established increases in the monthly salaries for certain professional staff for the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 school years and included an increase for full-time speech pathologists. HB 1365, 81st Texas Legislature, 2009, added the TEC, §21.4031, which requires a school district that previously employed a teacher, librarian, counselor, or nurse to provide upon request the individual's service record to the next employing school district.
The adopted amendment to 19 TAC §153.1021, Recognition of Creditable Years of Service, updates and clarifies existing provisions, as follows:
In subsection (a), relating to definitions, paragraph (12) was modified to specify classroom teachers instead of teachers. This change states clearly in rule a requirement that has been in practice since initial adoption. New paragraph (18) added a definition for speech pathologists pursuant to HB 3646, 81st Texas Legislature, 2009. The speech pathologist mandated pay raise will expire on September 1, 2011. Subsequent paragraphs were reordered accordingly.
In subsection (d), relating to teacher service record, paragraph (8) was modified to address state personal leave and to include Harris County Department of Education and Dallas County Schools; paragraph (9) was added to clarify the potential purchase of state days for retirement purposes; and paragraph (10) was added to comply with the new mandate, enacted by HB 1365, 81st Texas Legislature, 2009, that districts provide service records to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) upon request. These changes provide clarification on the transferability of state days and the service record requirements.
In subsection (h), relating to requirements for entities recognized for professional personnel, paragraph (1)(A)(i) was modified to specify classroom teachers instead of teachers; paragraph (7)(A) was modified to specify that the requirement applies to private colleges and universities; and paragraph (16)(E) was added to clarify military service requirements. These changes state clearly in rule requirements that have been in practice since initial adoption.
No changes were made to the rule since published as proposed.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The TEA has determined that there are no additional costs to persons or entities required to comply with the rule action. 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:
This adopted amendment clarifies terminology and requirements relating to recognition of creditable years of service for school district personnel.
PROCEDURAL AND REPORTING IMPLICATIONS:
The adopted amendment requires school districts to submit school district personnel service records to the TEA upon request.
LOCALLY MAINTAINED PAPERWORK REQUIREMENTS:
The adopted amendment has no new locally maintained paperwork requirements.
PUBLIC COMMENTS:
The public comment period on the proposal began April 2, 2010, and ended May 3, 2010. No public comments were received.
ALTERNATIVES:
None.
OTHER COMMENTS AND RELATED ISSUES:
None.
Staff Members Responsible:
Raymond 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 and Standards
Tabita Gutierrez, Acting Director, Educator Credentialing
Joseph Mezher, Educator Credentialing
For additional information, email rules@tea.state.tx.us.