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| Bill Number | Bill Author | |
| Bill Description | ||
| TCTA Remarks | ||
| HB 18 | Leibowitz | |
| Authorizes money from DFPS gifts or grants to be used to develop and operate an anti-bullying hotline, in association with the Texas Abuse/Neglect Hotline. The hotline must let public school students report bullying via a toll-free phone number or online; a related website may include information on prevention and education re: unwanted physical or verbal aggression, sexual harassment, and other bullying at school or school-related activities (including on buses and at bus stops). Reports of bullying will be forwarded to the principal of the school at which the accused aggressor is enrolled, or if the aggressor is not enrolled in school, to the appropriate local law enforcement agency. | ||
| HB 41 | Corte | |
| Voucher program limited to the six largest districts as determined by the commissioner in 2010. To be eligible, a child must be educationally disadvantaged, be enrolled in school the previous year or enrolling in pre-K through first grade for the first time, and either have failed the most recent assessment or have been eligible for a PEG transfer but was rejected. Voucher continues through graduation unless the child re-enrolls in public school after receiving a voucher, or moves out of the district. The amount of the voucher is the total average per student M&O funding, both state and local, of the district. The child is included in the ADA of the district. If the private school tuition is lower, the district receives the difference. A participating private school must be accredited, and must administer the assessments that would be required in the public school. The school may not discriminate based on residence, race, national origin, ethnic background, religion, disability, or academic achievement. It can refuse enrollment of a child who has been expelled from public school or has a criminal history. Athletic ability may not be considered. |
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| HB 53 | Branch | |
| Currently, school districts with high property wealth per weighted student have that wealth recaptured for any amounts above $319,500. The exceptions to this are the 6 cents of tax effort (called golden pennies) that districts can raise above the amount to which their taxes were compressed by the last school finance bill (usually, this is one dollar). HB 53 would eliminate that cap and replace it with a floating cap equal to the property wealth per student of the district at the 88th percentile in wealth per student. | ||
| HB 54 | Branch | |
For property-wealthy (Chapter 41) districts, requires that the tax bill/statement must separately state the percentage of the district’s taxes that must be used to enable the district to achieve the equalized wealth level. |
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| HB 68 | Lucio III | |
| The UIL may not select a hosting location for a regional or statewide competition in athletic, academic or musical UIL activities if the location was used for the same competition during the preceding year, unless an alternative location is not available. A hosting location must have sufficient infrastructure and capacity to meet the needs of the competition. Begins with the 2010-11 school year. | ||
| HB 84 | Martinez | |
| Provides an automatic COLA for TRS benefits based on the Consumer Price Index, beginning with the January 2010 payment. | ||
| HB 85 | Martinez | |
| Provides a $4000 pass-through pay raise for teachers, counselors, nurses and librarians. | ||
| HB 86 | Martinez | |
| Requires the commissioner to develop a new 20-step salary schedule for teachers, counselors, nurses and librarians that is consistent with the national average salary, based on experience, beginning with the 2010-11 school year. | ||
| HB 88 | Martinez | |
Allows a municipality or county to use revenue from a tax increment fund to acquire, construct or reconstruct educational facilities. |
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| HB 99 | Brown, Fred | |
| Provides that a district with a high school that provides an early college education program can modify the instructional calendar of the high school, including an exemption from the start date statute, as necessary to conform to the calendar of a college or technical school with which the high school has entered into an articular agreement. | ||
| HB 105 | Strama | |
| A comprehensive campaign finance reform bill. Includes limits on contributions to candidates for statewide office ($2,000), state senator ($1,000), state representative ($500) or State Board of Education ($1,500). The limits are doubled in the case of a candidate who has a primary opponent. | ||
| HB 106 | Phillips | |
| Phases in 15 additional steps on the state minimum salary schedule over a period of 15 years. | ||
| HB 130 | Patrick, Diane | |
Allows a school district to voluntarily operate a full-day pre-kindergarten program; creates a voluntary full-day enhanced prekindergarten program that incorporates a pre-k class size limit of 22 students, requires districts to use 20% of additional funding (source to be determined) to contract with eligible community providers (as defined by the act) through district reimbursement, requires annual reporting by the district, requires the commissioner to contract for an evaluation of effectiveness of the program with certain required reports to the legislature. This program does not create a voucher program. Program expires on Dec. 1, 2012. |
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House Passed (Vote: Y: 106/N:31) |
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| HB 131 | Chisum | |
Provides that a student receiving a GED may not be considered a dropout for AEIS purposes. |
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| HB 136 | Villarreal | |
Requires TEA to work with other state agencies to increase awareness of pre-kindergarten programs through other programs providing public assistance. Districts must report on strategies used to increase local awareness. By January 2010, TEA must conduct a study to identify effective methods to communicate about pre-k availability with parents of eligible children; the student must include research on providing information through public, private and nonprofit institutions that provide public assistance to families with eligible children. By February 2010, TEA must make recommendations to districts based on the study. By December 1, 2010, the agency must report on strategies to the Lt. Gov., speaker, and education committee chairs. |
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House Passed (Vote: Y:78/N:63) |
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| HB 149 | Smith, Todd | |
Reduces the maximum fine for illegally passing a stopped school bus from $1000 to $500. |
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| HB 150 | Smith, Todd | |
| Revises current law regarding school exemptions from sales taxes on food to include concessions at a school event, if the sales benefit the district. | ||
| House Passed (Vote: Y:149/N:0) | ||
| HB 151 | Coleman | |
Requires districts without a full-time nurse for at least 30 consecutive instructional days in the same school year to provide written notice to parents. |
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| HB 153 | Olivo | |
| Revises the current Student Success Initiative (which requires students to pass assessments at grades 3, 5 and 8 in order to be promoted) to address intervention strategies for students who initially fail the required assessment. After the first failure, a Grade Placement Committee (GPC) composed of the principal/designee, parent/guardian and appropriate subject area teacher, must prescribe an educational plan and an accelerated instruction plan, said instruction to include 10:1 student teacher ratios, before the second administration of the test. The district must provide notice to parents of the test failure, the education plan, the opportunity for a second test, and the possibility of retention. After a second failure, the GPC determines whether the student should be promoted. The GPC may approve promotion if the student has demonstrated TEKS competency, based on evidence of satisfactory performance such as grades, portfolios, etc.; and allowing for extenuating circumstances that have adversely affected the student’s participation in the required assessments. If the decision is made to retain (the decision must be unanimous), a third test-taking opportunity will be provided, though the student/parent may decline. Note that under current law, a decision to promote must be unanimous. At any point during a school year, a teacher determining that a student (in 3rd, 5th, or 8th grade) is not performing at grade level, the teacher must notify parents and request a parent conference. Law allowing administration of an alternative assessment after two failures is repealed. |
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| HB 154 | Olivo | |
| Requires the commissioner to create alternative graduation criteria, which must include student GPA, class ranking, performance on assessment instruments (including whether extenuating circumstances might have adversely affected student performance), and overall high school academic performance as evaluated by two or more of the student’s teachers. A committee composed of the HS principal and two certified high school teachers in the district must determine whether a student has met the alternative graduation criteria. Begins with the 2011-12 school year. | ||
| HB 156 | Woolley | |
Eliminates the top 10% rule. |
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| HB 159 | Deshotel | |
Requires at least 20 minutes of unstructured play for elementary students in addition to the existing daily physical activity requirement. The district must consider recommendations from the local health advisory council. |
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| HB 171 | Olivo | |
Revises the code of conduct provisions to require that consideration be given to factors such as self-defense, intent, disciplinary history, or a disability that impairs the capacity of a student to discern wrongfulness, in a decision regarding suspension, removal to a DAEP, or expulsion. |
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House Passed (Vote: Y:93/N:48) |
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| HB 172 | Olivo | |
| Provides that parents are entitled to notice by the district if their child is placed in a DAEP or JJAEP, or expelled. Written notice of the action for delivery to the parent must be provided on the day the action is taken; telephone or in-person notice, or mailed written notice to the last known address, must be provided no later than 5 p.m. of the first business day after the action is taken. |
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| HB 174 | King, Susan | |
| Adopts the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children. This is a multi-state compact that addresses issues such as transfer of records, course sequencing, graduation requirements, exclusions from extra-curricular activities, redundant or missed entrance/exit testing, kindergarten and first grade entrance age variations, and the powers of custodial parents while parents are deployed. A student to which the compact applies would be enrolled in the grade appropriate to his/her previous enrollment in the sending state, regardless of age. The receiving state must honor course/program placement (such as AP courses, gifted/talented, special education, etc.) as in the sending state initially, though the school may perform subsequent evaluations to ensure appropriate placement. The child of an active-duty military parent must be granted additional excused absences at the discretion of the district superintendent to visit with the parent relative to leave or deployment. |
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| HB 180 | Alonzo | |
| Requires UNT-Dallas to establish a program to provide financial incentives such as tuition assistance or student loan repayment to higher education students in the DFW area who agree to enroll in educator preparation programs at UNT-Dallas and obtain ESL, bilingual or Spanish certification; accept an offer of full time employment in those subject areas in the first school year after certification at a DFW-area public school; and teach in one of those subject areas for at least two school years. | ||
| HB 181 | Alonzo | |
| Requires THECB to establish a program to provide financial incentives such as tuition assistance or student loan repayment to assist individuals in obtaining bilingual, ESL or Spanish certification and facilitate their employment in a school with a shortage of teachers certified in those fields. To be eligible, a person must have at least 60 hours of coursework toward an associate’s degree, be admitted into an educator preparation program that prepares students for bilingual, ESL or Spanish certification, and satisfy other criteria established by THECB and SBEC. The person must agree to obtain certification within a prescribed period, accept in the year after certification an offer of full-time employment to teach bilingual, ESL or Spanish in a school with a shortage in those fields, and teach in one of those fields for at least two years. A person not meeting those requirements must reimburse the board for the amount of any assistance received, except in a case of unusual hardship. |
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| HB 182 | Alonzo | |
| Creates a Bilingual Education Certification Program under the auspices of TEA designed to assist persons with at least 60 hours of coursework toward an associate degree at a junior college to earn a bachelors and obtain bilingual certification, and facilitate their employment in a Texas school with a shortage of bilingual teachers in an RESC with a severe bilingual shortage. The person must be admitted into a bilingual certification program, must be able to use English and another language used in a bilingual program with equal fluency, and must be willing to enter into an agreement to obtain bilingual certification within a specified period and accept employment to teach in a bilingual program during the first year after becoming certified. Such employment is limited to a school with a shortage of bilingual teachers that is located in a RESC with at least 25,000 LEP students who are eligible for bilingual but cannot be served because of a shortage of certified teachers. Each program participant in a general academic teaching institution receives a grant to cover tuition and fees for the education preparation coursework; participants in a private or independent college/university will receive a grant equal to the average statewide amount of tuition and fees for the coursework in a general academic teaching institution. Grants are paid directly to the institution of higher education. A person not meeting all requirements must reimburse a prorated amount, with some exceptions, including military duty, inability to find the required full-time employment, or disability. |
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| HB 192 | Alonzo | |
Allows for an excused absence for a student appearing at a governmental office to complete paperwork associated with applying for US citizenship, or for taking part in the naturalization ceremony. |
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House Passed (Vote: Y:142/N:3) |
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| HB 200 | Heflin | |
Repeals current law requiring an assessment of continuing education needs and an individualized professional growth plan for principals. |
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House Passed (Vote: Y:94/N:48) |
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