September 2015 Committee on School Initiatives
THURSDAY
September 10, 2015
9 a.m.
COMMITTEE ON SCHOOL INITIATIVES - Room 1-111
Members: Marty Rowley, Chair; Martha M. Dominguez, Vice Chair; Donna Bahorich; Erika Beltran; Ruben Cortez, Jr. A quorum of the State Board of Education may attend the committee meeting and discuss items on the committee agenda.
Public Testimony - Individual testimony will be taken at the time the related item comes up for committee discussion or action. The procedures for registering and taking public testimony at State Board of Education committee meetings and general board meetings are provided online.
This item provides an opportunity for board consideration of appointments to the board of trustees of the Fort Sam Houston Independent School District. The appointments are necessary due to the vacancies of office for three board members. Statutory authority for this action is the Texas Education Code (TEC), §11.352, and 19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) §61.2.
COMMITTEE - ACTION
SBOE - CONSENT
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 231, Requirements for Public School Personnel Assignments, Subchapter C, Grades 6-8 Assignments, and Subchapter E, Grades 9-12 Assignments. The proposed amendments to 19 TAC §§231.49, 231.65, 231.71, 231.73, 231.75, 231.77, 231.211, 231.213, 231.241, 231.573, and 231.591 and proposed new 19 TAC §§231.81, 231.193, 231.195, 231.395, 231.579, and 231.581 would clarify the appropriate credential for placement in a particular teaching assignment. The statutory authority for 19 TAC Chapter 231, Subchapters C and E, is the Texas Education Code (TEC), §21.031(a) and §21.041(b)(1) and (2).
COMMITTEE - ACTION
SBOE - ACTION
This item provides the State Board of Education (SBOE) an opportunity to review the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) rule actions that would amend 19 TAC Chapter 249, Disciplinary Proceedings, Sanctions, and Contested Cases. The proposed amendments would clarify requirements for superintendents reporting the resignation of educators when there is evidence of educator wrongdoing and clarify that the SBEC may sanction an educator for a violation of the Texas Education Code (TEC), §22.085. The proposed amendments would also modernize and clarify the description of the procedures SBEC follows for final orders and make minor corrections to statutory citations. The statutory authority for 19 TAC Chapter 249 is the TEC, §§21.006(b-1), as amended by House Bill (HB) 1783, 84th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2015, effective September 1, 2015, and (g); 21.007; 21.031(a); 21.035, as amended by HB 2205, 84th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2015, effective September 1, 2015; 21.040(6) and (7); 21.041(a) and (b)(1), (4), (7), and (8); 21.044(a); 21.058; 21.060, 21.105(c); 21.160(c); 21.210(c); 22.082; 22.0831; 22.085; 22.087, as amended by HB 1783, 84th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2015, effective September 1, 2015; and 57.491(g); Texas Government Code, §§411.087, as amended by Senate Bill (SB) 1902, 84th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2015, effective September 1, 2015; 411.090; and 2001.058(e); Texas Family Code, §261.308(d) and (e) and §261.406(a) and (b), as amended by SB 206, 84th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2015, effective September 1, 2015; and Texas Occupations Code, §§53.021(a), as amended by HB 2299, 84th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2015, effective January 1, 2017; 53.022; 53.023; 53.024; 53.025; 53.051; and 53.052.
COMMITTEE - ACTION
SBOE - ACTION
4. Long-Range Plan for Public Education
This item provides the board with the ability, if needed, to update the process for developing the long-range plan for public education or to begin work on the plan. Statutory authority for this action is the Texas Education Code (TEC), §7.102(c).
COMMITTEE - ACTION
SBOE - ACTION
5. Acceptance of Gifts and Donations for the Long-Range Plan on Public Education
The State Board of Education is seeking private funding to cover the cost of producing a new long-range plan for public education. If funding is found, the board must vote to accept the specific donation or gift. Statutory authority for this action is the Texas Education Code (TEC), §7.102(a)(3).
COMMITTEE - ACTION
SBOE - ACTION
The director of the Charter School Administration Division will present to the committee any updates on the timeline for the Generation Twenty-One Open-Enrollment Charter School Application. Statutory authority is the Texas Education Code (TEC), §7.102 and §12.101.
COMMITTEE - DISCUSSION
SBOE - NO ACTION
Texas Government Code, §2001.039, establishes a four-year rule review cycle for all state agency rules, including State Board of Education (SBOE) rules. This item presents the review of 19 TAC Chapter 157, Hearings and Appeals, Subchapter A, General Provisions for Hearings Before the State Board of Education, and Subchapter D, Independent Hearing Examiners. Subchapter A establishes the procedures for appeals heard by the SBOE regarding administrative penalties for violations of textbook requirements. Subchapter D sets forth the certification criteria for independent hearing examiners who conduct due process termination, nonrenewal, and suspension without pay hearings at the school district level. The statutory authority for the rule review is the Texas Government Code, §2001.039. The statutory authority for 19 TAC Chapter 157, Subchapter A, is the Texas Education Code (TEC), §31.151, and the Texas Government Code, §2001.004. The statutory authority for Subchapter D is the TEC, §21.252.
COMMITTEE - DISCUSSION
SBOE - NO ACTION