Review of Proposed Revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 241, Principal Certificate
September 18, 2009
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 241, Principal Certificate. The proposed revisions would update the rules to reflect current law and add specificity to educator preparation and certification requirements relating to the principal certificate.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: The statutory authority for the proposed revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 241 is the Texas Education Code (TEC), §§21.003(a), 21.040(4), 21.041(b)(2)-(4), 21.046(b)-(d), and 21.054.
EFFECTIVE DATE: The proposed effective date of the revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 241 would be October 25, 2009.
PREVIOUS BOARD ACTION: None.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND SIGNIFICANT ISSUES: The SBEC rules in 19 TAC Chapter 241 establish requirements for the issuance and renewal of the principal certificate.
The proposed revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 241, shown in Attachment II, would update the rules to reflect current law and add specificity to educator preparation and certification requirements relating to the principal certificate. The proposed revisions reflect discussions held during the February 26, 2009, stakeholder meeting. The following is a description of the proposed changes.
Language in 19 TAC §241.1(d) would be amended to clarify that a principal certificate holder may serve as principal or assistant principal in a Texas public school.
Language would be amended in 19 TAC §241.5(a) to clarify that the accrediting organization must be recognized by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. This change is also proposed in new §241.20(2). Language in §241.5(d) would be deleted and moved to §241.10(c) with no substantive rule text changes.
Language would be added in 19 TAC §241.15(d)(5) to clarify that the evaluation processes would be appropriate to the position held. Also, language would be added in subsection (h)(3) to include guidance and counseling programs and services.
Current 19 TAC §241.20 would be repealed and reorganized as proposed new §241.25 with no substantive rule text changes. Since published as proposed, subsection (b) referring to the principal assessment would be deleted due to the repeal of its statutory authority, TEC, §21.054(b), by House Bill (HB) 200, 81st Texas Legislature, 2009. HB 200 was signed by the governor on June 19, 2009.
Current 19 TAC §241.25 would be repealed and reorganized as proposed new §241.20 and updated to require a valid classroom teaching certificate for the issuance of a standard principal certificate in proposed new paragraph (3). References to SBEC rules that include preparation program requirements would also be updated in the proposed new paragraph (5). In response to public comment received on proposed new 19 TAC §241.20, Requirements for the Issuance of
the Standard Principal Certificate, language has been added in paragraph (2) that would clarify that a candidate would be required to hold, at a minimum, a master's degree.
Language would be amended in 19 TAC §241.30 to add specificity regarding continuing professional education hours in new subsection (b). Current subsection (f) would be updated and reorganized as new subsection (c) to clarify that voluntary compliance with §241.30 is allowed for holders of certificates issued prior to September 1, 1999. Current §241.30(b)-(e) would be deleted since the provisions are obsolete.
Section 241.40 would be repealed because all the implementation dates occurred over six years ago and thus are no longer relevant.
Technical Changes
Throughout Chapter 241, grammatical and technical changes would be made such as replacing the term "district" with the term "school district" and the term "program" or "preparation program" with the term "educator preparation program." Also, statutory citation references would be updated and standardized to reflect current law and Texas Register formatting requirements. Sections would also be restructured for consistency and readability. In addition, references to other SBEC rules would be updated and/or added as part of the proposed revisions to Chapter 241. For example, language in 19 TAC §241.5(c) would be amended to add a reference to 19 TAC Chapter 227, Provisions for Educator Preparation Candidates. Language in §241.10(a) would be amended to add a reference to 19 TAC Chapter 228, Requirements for Educator Preparation Programs.
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: None.
PUBLIC AND STUDENT BENEFIT: The public and student benefit anticipated as a result of the proposed revisions would be the continuation and clarification of requirements for admission to a principal preparation program, preparation program requirements and standards, requirements for the first-time principal in Texas, and requirements for renewal of the principal certificate.
PROCEDURAL AND REPORTING IMPLICATIONS: None.
LOCALLY MAINTAINED PAPERWORK REQUIREMENTS: None.
PUBLIC COMMENTS: In accordance with the SBEC rulemaking process, a summary of comments received by the SBEC on its proposed rules were shared with the SBOE in a separate mailing prior to this SBOE meeting.
ALTERNATIVES: None.
OTHER COMMENTS AND RELATED ISSUES: HB 200 also requires the repeal of 19 TAC §241.35, Assessment Process Definition and Approval of Individual Assessments. However, to comply with Texas Register filing requirements, this repeal must be handled through a separate rulemaking process. It is anticipated that the SBEC will consider action to propose the repeal of §241.35 at a future meeting.
COMMISSIONER'S RECOMMENDATION: I recommend that the State Board of Education:
Take no action on the proposed revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 241, Principal Certificate.
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 Quality and Standards
Karen Loonam, Deputy Associate Commissioner
Educator Certification and Standards
Melva Cardenas, Director
Educator Credentialing
Attachments:I. Statutory Citations
II. Text of Proposed Revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 241, Principal Certificate