HBA-EDN H.B. 2513 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2513
By: Coleman
Higher Education
3/26/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

The 76th Legislature passed legislation that created the Towards
EXcellence, Access and Success (TEXAS) grant program to provide financial
assistance to students wishing to attend college.  The legislation also
created the Teach for Texas grant program to provide financial incentives
to undergraduate students to attract them to the teaching profession, and
the Teach for Texas alternative certification pilot program to provide
financial incentives to attract working professionals to switch careers to
teaching. Under current law, a student must be receiving a TEXAS grant to
be eligible to receive a Teach for Texas Grant.  Because TEXAS grants are
based on financial need, the Teach for Texas grant may not be as effective
as it could in alleviating the teacher shortage in Texas.  In addition, the
Teach for Texas grant program as originally established was inflexible
regarding the length of the teaching commitment in return for receiving a
grant, which may discourage some students from applying for a grant.  House
Bill 2513 restructures the Teach for Texas grant program to separate it
from the TEXAS grant program and requires the State Board for Educator
Certification to conduct an outreach campaign about the Teach for Texas
Alternative Certification Program.   

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 2513 amends the Education Code to modify provisions relating to
the Teach for Texas grant and alternative certification programs.  The bill
updates all references to the Teach for Texas Alternative Certification
Program (certification program) to reflect that it is no longer a pilot
program.   

The bill requires the State Board for Educator Certification (board), in
conjunction with other state agencies involved in public education matters
as well as other interested public and private entities, to conduct
outreach to educate potential participants about the certification program.
The bill provides that the outreach must emphasize the importance of
teaching as a profession, the short-term commitment to the certification
program required of participants, and the value of the experience offered
by the certification program.  The bill also authorizes the board to
solicit and accept gifts and grants from any public or private source for
outreach purposes (Sec. 21.504). 

The bill provides that the purpose of the Teach for Texas grant program is
to attract to the teaching profession persons who have expressed interest
in teaching and to support the certification of those persons as classroom
teachers by providing tuition grants or stipends on the condition that the
recipient serve as a classroom teacher in the public schools of this state
for a specified period (Sec. 56.352).  Such a tuition grant is available
only to a person who applies for a grant and: 

_is seeking educator certification;

_is enrolled in an eligible institution of higher education as a junior or
senior in a  baccalaureate degree or in the person's first semester in an
educator certification program after receiving a baccalaureate degree; and 

_agrees to teach in a public school in this state for the required period.

The bill removes the provision that a tuition grant is only available to a
person who receives a TEXAS grant.  The bill sets forth provisions relating
to the award of the tuition grants, and teaching obligation for the tuition
grants (Sec. 56.353).  The bill sets forth provisions relating to the
amount of a tuition grant (Sec. 56.354).  The bill authorizes the Texas
Higher Education Coordinating Board (coordinating board) to solicit and
accept gifts and grants from any public or private source and also
authorizes the legislature to appropriate money for the purposes of the
Teach for Texas grant program.  If the coordinating board allocates grants
or money available for those grants to particular institutions in a fiscal
or academic period, the coordinating board is required to make grants or
money not awarded to students at such an institution in the fiscal or
academic period available to eligible applicants at other eligible
institutions on a basis the coordinating board determines to be fair and
reasonable (Sec. 56.357).          

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act
takes effect September 1, 2001.