H.B. No. 742
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to a grant program for certain school districts to provide
  summer instruction primarily for students who are educationally
  disadvantaged and summer teaching opportunities for
  high-performing, new, and student teachers.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter C, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Section 29.091 to read as follows:
         Sec. 29.091.  GRANT PROGRAM FOR DISTRICTS THAT HAVE HIGH
  ENROLLMENT OF EDUCATIONALLY DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS AND THAT
  PROVIDE SUMMER INSTRUCTION. (a) In this section:
               (1)  "New teacher" means a teacher who:
                     (A)  will be teaching for the first time during
  the next school year; or
                     (B)  first began teaching:
                           (i)  during the preceding two years; or
                           (ii)  in the school district in which the
  teacher is currently employed during the preceding year.
               (2)  "Program" means the grant program for school
  districts to provide summer instruction primarily for students who
  are educationally disadvantaged, as established under this
  section.
         (b)  The commissioner shall establish and administer a
  competitive program to provide grants to not more than 10 school
  districts to use in providing instructional programs to students in
  prekindergarten through eighth grade during the period in which
  school is recessed for the summer. The program shall be designed to:
               (1)  encourage participation in the program by a
  district's most educationally disadvantaged students;
               (2)  close the academic achievement gap between
  students who are educationally disadvantaged and students who are
  not educationally disadvantaged;
               (3)  ensure that during the period in which school is
  recessed for the summer, students participating in the program
  retain knowledge and skills learned during the school year and
  continue learning;
               (4)  provide apprenticeship, mentorship, and other
  professional development opportunities for new teachers and
  student teachers; and
               (5)  add to the compensation of a district's highest
  performing teachers by providing those teachers with summer
  employment teaching students, new teachers, and student teachers.
         (c)  To be eligible to participate in the program, a school
  district must:
               (1)  have an enrollment of students who are
  educationally disadvantaged that is greater than 50 percent of
  total district enrollment;
               (2)  apply to the commissioner in the manner and within
  the time prescribed by commissioner rule; and
               (3)  provide as part of the application materials a
  plan that is designed to achieve the purposes described by
  Subsections (b)(1) through (5).
         (d)  In selecting from among eligible school districts to
  participate in the program, the commissioner shall select those
  districts that provide plans under Subsection (c)(3) that are the
  most innovative and represent a variety of approaches so that the
  effectiveness of various plans can be compared and evaluated.
         (e)  A grant awarded under this section may be funded only
  with money appropriated for the program and any gifts, grants, or
  donations made to the agency that may be used for and that the
  commissioner applies to funding the program. The commissioner, in
  accordance with commissioner rule and based on the amount available
  for the program, shall determine the amount of each grant awarded
  under this section. A school district awarded a grant under this
  section may use the grant only for implementing and administering a
  plan as described by Subsection (c)(3), including providing
  compensation to teachers in accordance with Subsection (b)(5) and
  commissioner rule.
         (f)  Each school district participating in the program
  shall, in the manner and within the time prescribed by commissioner
  rule, provide to the agency an annual written report that includes:
               (1)  a detailed description of the district's plan, as
  implemented;
               (2)  the number and grade levels of participating
  students;
               (3)  demographic information for participating
  students, including the percentage of students of each applicable
  race and ethnicity, the percentage of educationally disadvantaged
  students, the percentage of students of limited English proficiency
  as defined by Section 29.052, the percentage of students enrolled
  in a school district special education program under Subchapter A,
  and the percentage of students enrolled in a district bilingual
  education program under Subchapter B;
               (4)  school attendance rates for participating
  students, before, during, and after program participation, as
  applicable;
               (5)  specific information that demonstrates whether
  the purposes described by Subsections (b)(2) and (3) have been
  achieved, including the results of assessment instruments
  administered under Section 39.023 for participating students,
  before, during, and after program participation, as applicable;
               (6)  aggregate results of assessment instruments
  administered under Section 39.023 for students of participating
  classroom teachers, new teachers, and student teachers, before,
  during, and after program participation by the students, as
  applicable;
               (7)  information regarding the manner in which teachers
  are selected for participation in the program and the manner in
  which teachers are compensated for their participation;
               (8)  statistical information for participating
  classroom teachers, new teachers, and student teachers, including
  the number of years employed in the teaching profession, the number
  of years teaching in the district in which the program is provided,
  the category and class of educator certification held, the highest
  level of academic degree earned, race, ethnicity, and gender;
               (9)  information regarding whether:
                     (A)  the program is provided on a full-day or
  half-day basis;
                     (B)  the program is voluntary or mandatory for
  educationally disadvantaged students;
                     (C)  the district has partnered with an outside
  provider to provide any supplemental service;
                     (D)  the district provides transportation to
  participating students; and
                     (E)  the district offers the program to students
  who are not educationally disadvantaged and, if so, under what
  circumstances;
               (10)  information on retention in the teaching
  profession of the participating teachers, including new teachers
  and student teachers; and
               (11)  any other information required by commissioner
  rule.
         (g)  The agency shall contract with an experienced and
  recognized third-party program evaluator to determine and prepare a
  report regarding the effectiveness of the program. The evaluator's
  report must include the evaluator's best effort to project the cost
  and academic effects of implementing the best practices of the
  program in school districts throughout this state and must describe
  the effectiveness of the program in:
               (1)  improving academic performance among
  participating students;
               (2)  improving the professional development and
  performance of new teachers; and
               (3)  rewarding and retaining the highest performing
  teachers.
         (h)  Not later than November 1 of each even-numbered year,
  the agency shall submit to each member of the legislature a report
  specifically describing the results of the program. The report may
  be in the form of a summary of the information required under
  Subsections (f) and (g).
         (i)  The commissioner shall adopt rules as necessary to
  administer this section.
         SECTION 2.  The commissioner of education shall establish
  the grant program under Section 29.091, Education Code, as added by
  this Act, beginning with the 2013-2014 school year.
         SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
  a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
  provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
  Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
  Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 742 was passed by the House on May 9,
  2013, by the following vote:  Yeas 78, Nays 58, 2 present, not
  voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
  No. 742 on May 24, 2013, by the following vote:  Yeas 105, Nays 39,
  2 present, not voting.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 742 was passed by the Senate, with
  amendments, on May 22, 2013, by the following vote:  Yeas 18, Nays
  13.
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate   
  APPROVED: __________________
                  Date       
   
           __________________
                Governor