April 2023 Committee on School Initiatives
THURSDAY
April 13, 2023
9:00 a.m.
COMMITTEE ON SCHOOL INITIATIVES – Room 1-111 (WBT) and at Lewisville ISD Administrative Center (Conference Rm), 1565-A West Main Street, Lewisville Texas 75067
Members: Will Hickman, chair; Rebecca Bell-Metereau; Staci Childs; LJ Francis; Julie Pickren. 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 public testimony at State Board of Education committee meetings and general board meetings are provided in SBOE Operating Rules.
Texas Government Code (TGC), §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 adoption of review of 19 Texas Administrative Code (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. Statutory authority for the rule review is TGC, §2001.039. Statutory authority for 19 TAC Chapter 157, Subchapter A, is Texas Education Code (TEC), §31.151 and TGC, §2001.004. Statutory authority for 19 TAC Chapter 157, Subchapter D, is TEC, §21.252.
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 propose an amendment to 19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) Chapter 230, Professional Educator Preparation and Certification, Subchapter C, Assessment of Educators, §230.25, Test Exemptions for Persons with a Hearing Impairment. The proposed amendment would create a carve-out for the Science of Teaching Reading (STR) examination, removing the requirement that a candidate be unable to process only written linguistic information to allow an exemption; would remove the requirement that to qualify for an exemption, a person who is already certified in another state and seeking a one-year certificate in Texas must have a recommendation from an SBEC-approved Texas educator preparation program (EPP); and would eliminate the limitation that persons who qualify for an exemption to one certification examination cannot ever take another certification examination unless they have regained their ability to process written linguistic information. Statutory authority for 19 TAC §230.25 is the Texas Education Code (TEC), §§21.031; 21.041(a) and (b)(1)-(4); 21.045(a)(1); and 21.048(a), (a-2), (b), (c), and (d).
COMMITTEE – ACTION
SBOE – ACTION
3. Review of Proposed Amendments to 19 TAC Chapter 233, Categories of Classroom Teaching Certificates
This item provides the State Board of Education (SBOE) an opportunity to review the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) rule actions that would propose amendments to 19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) Chapter 233, Categories of Classroom Teaching Certificates. The proposed amendments would remove certificates no longer issued by the SBEC; would strike, where applicable, language referencing deadlines for use of test scores for certificate issuance; would add three new special education certificates into rule; would update language specific to licensure requirements for cosmetology certification; and would propose the addition of a new foreign language certificate to the list of credentials issued by the SBEC. Technical changes would also provide clarification and consistent information related to the classroom teacher certificates issued by the SBEC. Statutory authority for 19 TAC Chapter 233 is the Texas Education Code (TEC), §§21.003(a); 21.031; 21.041(b)(1)-(4) and (6); 21.044(e) and (f); 21.0442; 21.048(a) and (a-2); 21.0487; 21.0489; 21.0491; and 22.0831(f)(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 propose revisions to 19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) Chapter 239, Student Services Certificates, Subchapter B, School Librarian Certificate, and Subchapter D, Reading Specialist Certificate. The proposed revisions would update the standards for the School Librarian and Reading Specialist certificates, would provide timelines for transitions for both certificates to the new standards for preparation purposes, and would provide technical edits as necessary. The proposed revisions reflect feedback provided by the SBEC-appointed advisory committees for the School Librarian and Reading Specialist certificates. Statutory authority for 19 TAC Chapter 239, Subchapters B and D, is the Texas Education Code (TEC), §21.031(a); 21.040(2); 21.041(a); 21.041(b)(1)-(4); 21.044; 21.048(a); and 21.054.
COMMITTEE – ACTION
SBOE – ACTION
5. Discussion of Ongoing State Board for Educator Certification Activities
This item provides an opportunity for the committee to receive updates on current and upcoming State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) activities and proposed SBEC rules and amendments. Statutory authority is the Texas Education Code (TEC), §§21.031, 21.035, 21.041, and 21.042.
6. Open-Enrollment Charter School Generation 28 Application Updates
This item provides an opportunity for the committee to receive updates regarding the Generation 28 Open-Enrollment Charter Application cycle. Statutory authority is the Texas Education Code (TEC), §12.101.
COMMITTEE – DISCUSSION
SBOE – NO ACTION
7. School Safety and Security Progress Report
This item provides an opportunity for the committee to receive an update from the Texas School Safety Center (TxSSC) related to the center’s biennial report. Statutory authority is the Texas Education Code (TEC), §37.216.
COMMITTEE – DISCUSSION
SBOE – NO ACTION