HBA-JRA H.B. 1451 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1451 By: Delisi Public Education 3/10/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The federal Troops to Teachers program, a result of military downsizing, was designed to assist retiring or separating active duty military personnel in beginning a new career in public education. Federal funding of the program was discontinued in 1996, and as of October 1999, the program will be abolished. Since the inception of the program in January 1994, nearly 3,000 service members nationwide have made the transition from the military to the classroom. According the Texas Education Agency, over 350 veterans have begun teaching careers with the help of the program in Texas and a majority of the veterans are teaching in areas that historically experience staffing shortages. H.B. 1451 creates a Texas Troops to Teachers program to facilitate the employment of eligible individuals with school districts experiencing a shortage of teachers. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking authority is expressly delegated to the Texas Education Agency in SECTION 1 (Section 21.508, Education Code) and the commissioner of education in SECTION 1 (Section 21.511, Education Code) of this bill. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Chapter 21, Education Code, by adding Subchapter K, as follows: SUBCHAPTER K. TEXAS TROOPS TO TEACHERS PROGRAM Sec. 21.501. DEFINITIONS. Defines "program" to mean the Texas Troops to Teachers Program in this subchapter. Sec. 21.502. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM. Requires the Texas Education Agency (agency) to establish a program to assist persons who have served in the armed forces of the United States and are separated from active duty to obtain certification as an elementary or secondary school teacher in this state and to facilitate their employment by school districts that have a shortage of teachers. Sec. 21.503. ELIGIBILITY. Provides that a person is eligible for the program if the person has served in the armed forces of the United States; is honorably discharged, retired, or released from active duty on or after October 1, 1990, immediately after at least six years of continuous active duty service; has received a baccalaureate or advanced degree from an institution of higher education accredited by a regional accrediting agency or group that is recognized by a nationally recognized accreditation board; and satisfies any other criteria for selection jointly prescribed by the agency and the State Board for Educator Certification. Sec. 21.504. INFORMATION AND APPLICATIONS. Requires the agency to develop an application for the program. Requires the agency and the State Board for Educator Certification to distribute the applications and information regarding the program. Sec. 21.505. SELECTION OF PARTICIPANTS. (a) Requires the agency to select persons to participate in the program on the basis of applications submitted to the agency. (b) Provides that each application must be timely submitted in the form and contain the information the agency requires. (c) Provides that an application is considered timely if it is submitted before October 5, 1999, in the case of an applicant discharged, retired, or released from active duty before January 19, 1999, or before the first anniversary of the applicant's discharge, retirement, or release from active duty, or release from active duty. Sec. 21.506. LIMITATION ON IMPLEMENTATION. Prohibits the agency from selecting a person to participate in the program unless the agency has sufficient state appropriations to pay the stipend provided by Section 21.509 at the time of the selection. Sec. 21.507. PREFERENCES. Requires the agency, in selecting persons to participate in the program, to give preference to a person with significant educational or military experience in science, mathematics, engineering, or a field identified by the agency as important for state educational objectives, and who agrees to seek employment as a teacher in one of those subjects in a public elementary or secondary school in this state. Requires the commissioner of education (commissioner) to determine the level of experience considered significant for purposes of this section. Sec. 21.508. AGREEMENT. Provides that a person selected to participate in the program must enter into a written agreement with the agency under which the person agrees to obtain certification as an elementary or secondary school teacher in this state within the period required, by rule, by the agency and accept an offer of full-time employment as an elementary or secondary school teacher with a school district in this state during the first school year that begins after the person becomes certified. Sec. 21.509. STIPEND. Requires the agency to pay each program participant a stipend of $5,000. Sec. 21.510. REIMBURSEMENT. (a) Requires a program participant who fails to obtain certification or employment as required or who voluntarily leaves or is terminated for cause from the employment after teaching in a public elementary or secondary school in this state for less than five school years to reimburse the agency a portion of the stipend proportionate to the unserved portion of required service. (b) Provides that the obligation to reimburse the agency under this section is, for all purposes, a debt to the state. Provides that a discharge in bankruptcy under Title 11, United State Code, does not release a participant from the obligation to reimburse the agency. Provides that the amount owed bears interest at the rate equal to the highest rate being paid by the United States for securities that have maturities of 90 days or less on the day the reimbursement is determined to be due and that the interest accrues from the day the participant receives notice of the amount due. (c) Provides that, for purposes of this section, a program participant is not considered to be in violation of an agreement under Section 21.508 during any period in which the participant is pursuing a full-time course of study related to the field of teaching at an institution of higher education approved by the State Board for Educator Certification, is serving on active duty as a member of the armed forces of the United States, is temporarily totally disabled for a period of less than three years as established by sworn affidavit of a qualified physician, is unable to secure employment for a period of less than one year because of care required by a disabled spouse, is seeking and unable to find fulltime employment as a teacher in a public elementary or secondary school for a single period of less than 27 months, or satisfies the provisions of any additional reimbursement exception adopted by the agency. (d) Provides that a participant is excused from reimbursement if the participant becomes permanently totally disabled as established by sworn affidavit of a qualified physician or the agency waives reimbursement in the case of extreme hardship to the participant. Sec. 21.511. Requires the commissioner to adopt rules to implement this subchapter. SECTION 2. Requires the commissioner to discontinue the Texas Troops to Teachers Program and file notice of that discontinuation with the secretary of state to be published in the Texas Register if the commissioner determines that federal funds are available for a federal program with the general purposes of Subchapter K, Chapter 21, Education Code, as added by this Act. SECTION 3.Emergency clause. Effective date: upon passage.