HBA-NLM C.S.H.B. 618 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 618
By: Dukes
Public Education
5/4/1999
Committee Report (Substituted)



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, a school district is not required to report the certification
status of teachers in the district. C.S.H.B. 618 provides that, if a
superintendent anticipates that a course will, or if in fact allows a
course to, be taught by an inappropriately certified or uncertified person
for 30 or more consecutive instructional days, the superintendent  must at
that time notify in writing the parents of each student enrolled in the
course. 

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. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Subchapter B, Chapter 21, Education Code, by adding
Section 21.057, as follows: 

Sec. 21.057.  NOTICE TO PARENT OF CERTIFICATION STATUS. Defines
"inappropriately certified or uncertified person" and "parent." Provides
that, if a superintendent anticipates that a course will, or if in fact
allows a course to, be taught by an inappropriately certified or
uncertified person for 30 or more consecutive instructional days, the
superintendent  must at that time notify in writing the parents of each
student enrolled in the course. Provides that the superintendent must make
a good faith effort to provide the notice in English and the parent's
primary language, if the primary language of the parent receiving notice
under this section is a language other than English.  Specifies that a
superintendent providing notice under this section must retain copies of
the notice on file for public inspection. 

SECTION 2.  Provides that this Act applies beginning with the 1999-2000
school year. 

SECTION 3.  Emergency clause.
  Effective date: upon passage.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 618 modifies the original in the caption to provide that this Act
relates to written notice from superintendents, rather than school
districts, to parents on whether teachers are appropriately certified by
the state. 

C.S.H.B. 618 modifies the original in  SECTION 1 (Section 28.022, Education
Code) by removing the proposed amendment, which provided that the school
district shall adopt a policy that requires the district to give written
notice to a parent of the certification status under Subchapter B, Chapter
21, Education Code (Certification of Educators), of the student's teacher
in each class or subject.  The original also provided a new section title
to read "Notice to Parent of Student Performance." 

C.S.H.B. 618 modifies the original by adding a new  SECTION 1 (Section
21.057, Education Code) to define "inappropriately certified or uncertified
person" and "parent."  The substitute provides that,  if a superintendent
anticipates that a course will, or if in fact allows a course to, be taught
by an inappropriately certified or uncertified person for 30 or more
consecutive instructional days, the superintendent  must at that time
notify in writing the parents of each student enrolled in the course. In
addition, the substitute provides that the superintendent must make a good
faith effort to provide the notice in English and the parent's primary
language, if the primary language of the parent receiving notice under this
section is a language other than English. The substitute specifies that a
superintendent providing notice under this section must retain copies of
the notice on file for public inspection.