82R6998 PAM-D
	By: Howard of Fort Bend	H.B. No. 1549

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to certification and continuing education requirements
	for certain public education administrators.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Subchapter B, Chapter 21, Education Code, is
	amended by adding Section 21.0461 to read as follows:
	Sec. 21.0461.  TEMPORARY CERTIFICATE FOR SUPERINTENDENT OR
	PRINCIPAL. (a) The board may issue a temporary certificate under
	this section for:
	(1)  assistant principal;
	(2)  principal; or
	(3)  superintendent.
	(b)  A candidate for certification under this section must:
	(1)  hold a baccalaureate or advanced degree from an
	institution of higher education;
	(2)  have significant management and leadership
	experience, as determined by the board of trustees of the school
	district that will employ the person under the temporary
	certificate; and
	(3)  perform satisfactorily on the appropriate
	examination prescribed under Section 21.048.
	(c)  A school district may require that a person who is
	employed by the district and who holds a certificate issued under
	this section complete a training program.
	(d)  A certificate issued to a person under this section is
	valid only in the school district in which the person is initially
	employed after receiving the certificate.
	(e)  A certificate issued under this section:
	(1)  expires on the third anniversary of the date on
	which the certificate was issued; and
	(2)  is not renewable.
	(f)  The board shall issue a standard certificate to a person
	who holds a temporary certificate issued under this section if the
	school district employing the person under the temporary
	certificate:
	(1)  has employed the person for at least three years in
	the capacity for which the person seeks a standard certificate; and
	(2)  has recommended the person to the board and
	favorably reviewed, primarily using objective measures of student
	performance and improvement in the district, the person's
	performance.
	(g)  A school district employing a person who holds a
	temporary certificate issued under this section must provide the
	person with intensive support during the person's first year of
	employment with the district, including:
	(1)  mentoring; and
	(2)  intensive, high-quality professional development.
	(h)  For purposes of this section, the board by rule may
	determine the criteria a school district board of trustees shall
	use to determine whether a candidate for certification under this
	section has significant management and leadership experience.
	SECTION 2.  Section 21.054, Education Code, is amended by
	adding Subsections (b) and (c) to read as follows:
	(b)  As part of a principal's compliance with continuing
	education requirements under this section, a principal must attend
	advanced management training courses or programs as prescribed by
	board rule.
	(c)  The board, in consultation with business schools,
	departments, or programs at institutions of higher education, shall
	propose rules to govern the approval and accountability of advanced
	management training courses or programs required under this
	section. In proposing a rule under this section, the board shall
	require that a person conducting a course or program have
	recognized expertise in business management.
	SECTION 3.  (a)  Section 21.0461, Education Code, as added
	by this Act, applies beginning with the 2011-2012 school year.
	(b)  Sections 21.054(b) and (c), Education Code, as added by
	this Act, apply beginning with the 2012-2013 school year.
	SECTION 4.  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, 2011.