Bill Text: TX HB4508 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Relating to bilingual education in public schools.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-03-22 - Referred to Public Education [HB4508 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-HB4508-Introduced.html

---

88R14428 DIO-D
By: Guerra H.B. No. 4508

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to bilingual education in public schools.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter J, Chapter 21, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 21.4572 to read as follows:
Sec. 21.4572. TRAINING FOR SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS:
BILINGUAL EDUCATION AND DUAL LANGUAGE IMMERSION. The commissioner,
in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, shall develop and make
available training materials and other training resources to
increase school administrators' understanding of and improve
student outcomes for:
(1) bilingual education programs offered under
Section 29.053; and
(2) dual language immersion programs described by
Section 28.0051.
SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 28, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 28.028 to read as follows:
Sec. 28.028. TEXAS STATE SEAL OF BILINGUALISM AND
BILITERACY. (a) In this section, "seal" means the Texas State Seal
of Bilingualism and Biliteracy established under Subsection (b).
(b) The agency shall establish a seal to recognize high
school graduates who have attained a high level of proficiency in
comprehending, speaking, reading, and writing in both English and a
language other than English.
(c) The agency, in consultation with appropriate
stakeholders, shall:
(1) determine minimum requirements for earning the
seal, which:
(A) must be sufficiently rigorous to indicate to
an employer or postsecondary institution that a student who has
earned the seal is biliterate;
(B) may include completion of a project,
activity, or portfolio; and
(C) may not condition receipt of the seal on an
examination created for that purpose; and
(2) prepare and deliver to each school district an
insignia that can be affixed or stamped on the diploma of and adopt
a designation to be included on the transcript of a student who has
satisfied requirements for earning the seal.
(d) Each school district shall:
(1) maintain appropriate records to identify students
who have earned the seal; and
(2) for each student who has satisfied requirements
for earning the seal:
(A) affix the seal's insignia to the student's
diploma; and
(B) include in the student's transcript that the
student earned the seal.
(e) The commissioner shall adopt rules as necessary to
administer this section.
SECTION 3. Section 29.054, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
(e) Notwithstanding Section 29.066(c), the agency may
require, for purposes of implementing Section 48.105, a school
district that is granted an exception under this section to:
(1) include in the district's Public Education
Information Management System (PEIMS) report additional
information specified by the agency and relating to the alternative
language education methods used by the district; and
(2) classify the alternative language education
method used by the district under the Public Education Information
Management System (PEIMS) report as specified by the agency.
SECTION 4. Section 29.066(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A school district that is required to offer bilingual
education or special language programs shall include the following
information in the district's Public Education Information
Management System (PEIMS) report:
(1) demographic information, as determined by the
commissioner, on students enrolled in district bilingual education
or special language programs;
(2) the number and percentage of students enrolled in
each instructional model of a bilingual education or special
language program offered by the district; [and]
(3) the number and percentage of students identified
as emergent bilingual students who do not receive specialized
instruction; and
(4) any other information required by the agency under
Section 29.068(b).
SECTION 5. Subchapter B, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 29.068 to read as follows:
Sec. 29.068. AGENCY MONITORING. (a) The agency shall adopt
rules providing for robust monitoring of bilingual education and
special language programs. The rules must require the agency to:
(1) review bilingual education and special language
program requirements to ensure those requirements prioritize
meeting student needs and closing learning gaps for emergent
bilingual students; and
(2) engage directly with school districts offering
bilingual education or special language programs to improve
outcomes for emergent bilingual students, including by identifying
districts offering programs with deficiencies and providing
technical assistance to those districts.
(b) Rules adopted under Subsection (a) may include
requiring school districts that offer bilingual education or
special language programs to provide additional information
relevant to the programs through the Public Education Information
Management System (PEIMS) under Section 29.066.
SECTION 6. Subchapter F, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 29.1831 to read as follows:
Sec. 29.1831. PROGRAM OF STUDY IN BILINGUAL EDUCATION,
ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE, AND SPANISH. (a) The agency shall
develop a program of study for use in career and technology
education programs that prepares and assists students in pursuing a
career teaching:
(1) bilingual education;
(2) English as a second language; or
(3) Spanish.
(b) The agency shall post on the agency's Internet website
information regarding:
(1) the program of study developed under this section;
and
(2) the financial incentive program to prepare
teachers to obtain certification to teach bilingual education,
English as a second language, or Spanish administered by the Texas
Higher Education Coordinating Board under Subchapter SS, Chapter
61.
SECTION 7. Section 33.007(b), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) During the first school year a student is enrolled in a
high school or at the high school level in an open-enrollment
charter school, and again during each year of a student's
enrollment in high school or at the high school level, a school
counselor shall provide information about postsecondary education
to the student and the student's parent or guardian. The
information must include information regarding:
(1) the importance of postsecondary education;
(2) the advantages of earning an endorsement and a
performance acknowledgment and completing the distinguished level
of achievement under the foundation high school program under
Section 28.025;
(3) the disadvantages of taking courses to prepare for
a high school equivalency examination relative to the benefits of
taking courses leading to a high school diploma;
(4) financial aid eligibility;
(5) instruction on how to apply for federal financial
aid;
(6) the center for financial aid information
established under Section 61.0776;
(7) the automatic admission of certain students to
general academic teaching institutions as provided by Section
51.803;
(8) the eligibility and academic performance
requirements for the TEXAS Grant as provided by Subchapter M,
Chapter 56;
(9) the availability of programs in the district under
which a student may earn college credit, including advanced
placement programs, dual credit programs, joint high school and
college credit programs, and international baccalaureate programs;
(10) the availability of education and training
vouchers and tuition and fee waivers to attend an institution of
higher education as provided by Section 54.366 for a student who is
or was previously in the conservatorship of the Department of
Family and Protective Services; [and]
(11) the availability of college credit awarded by
institutions of higher education to veterans and military
servicemembers for military experience, education, and training
obtained during military service as described by the informational
materials developed under Section 302.0031(h), Labor Code; and
(12) the availability of programs that prepare
students for teaching bilingual education, English as a second
language, or Spanish, including:
(A) the program of study developed under Section
29.1831; and
(B) the financial incentive program administered
by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board under Subchapter
SS, Chapter 61.
SECTION 8. Section 48.105(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) For each student in average daily attendance in a
bilingual education or special language program under Subchapter B,
Chapter 29, or an alternative language method offered by a school
district and approved by the agency under Section 29.054(d), a
district is entitled to an annual allotment equal to the basic
allotment multiplied by:
(1) for an emergent bilingual student, as defined by
Section 29.052:
(A) 0.1; or
(B) 0.15 if the student is in a bilingual
education program or an alternative language method offered by a
school district and approved by the agency under Section 29.054(d)
using a dual language immersion/one-way or two-way program model;
and
(2) for a student not described by Subdivision (1),
0.05 if the student is in a bilingual education program or an
alternative language method offered by a school district and
approved by the agency under Section 29.054(d) using a dual
language immersion/two-way program model.
SECTION 9. Chapter 61, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter SS to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER SS. FINANCIAL INCENTIVE PROGRAM TO PREPARE TEACHERS IN
BILINGUAL EDUCATION, ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE, AND SPANISH
Sec. 61.99991. ESTABLISHMENT AND ADMINISTRATION OF
PROGRAM. (a) The board shall establish a program to provide
financial incentives such as tuition assistance or student loan
repayment to:
(1) assist persons in obtaining certification to teach
bilingual education, English as a second language, or Spanish in a
public elementary or secondary school in this state; and
(2) facilitate the employment of those persons by a
public elementary or secondary school in this state that has a
shortage of teachers certified to teach in those fields.
(b) In administering the program, the board shall give
priority to awarding financial incentives to those eligible persons
who demonstrate the greatest financial need.
Sec. 61.99992. ELIGIBILITY. To be eligible to receive
financial incentives under this subchapter, a person must:
(1) apply to the board in the form and manner
prescribed by board rule;
(2) be admitted into an educator preparation program
at an institution of higher education or at a private or independent
institution of higher education that prepares students for
certification to teach bilingual education, English as a second
language, or Spanish;
(3) enter into an agreement with the board as provided
by Section 61.99993; and
(4) satisfy any other criteria jointly prescribed by
the board and the State Board for Educator Certification.
Sec. 61.99993. AGREEMENT. To qualify for financial
incentives under this subchapter, a person must enter into a
written agreement with the board as provided by this section. The
agreement must require the person to:
(1) obtain, within the period prescribed by board
rule, certification to teach bilingual education, English as a
second language, or Spanish in a public elementary or secondary
school in this state;
(2) accept, during the first school year that begins
after the date the person becomes certified as provided by
Subdivision (1), an offer of full-time employment to teach
bilingual education, English as a second language, or Spanish in a
public elementary or secondary school in this state that has a
shortage of teachers certified to teach in one or more of those
fields; and
(3) teach bilingual education, English as a second
language, or Spanish at that school for at least two school years.
Sec. 61.99994. FINANCIAL INCENTIVES. The board shall award
financial incentives such as tuition assistance or student loan
repayment to each participant in the program to assist with the cost
of payment of mandatory tuition and fees for courses required to
obtain certification to teach bilingual education, English as a
second language, or Spanish.
Sec. 61.99995. REIMBURSEMENT; EXCEPTIONS. (a) A program
participant who fails to meet the requirements of Section 61.99993
shall reimburse the board for the amount of any assistance received
by the participant under this subchapter.
(b) The board by rule shall establish exceptions to the
reimbursement requirement under this section for participants who
are unable to meet the requirements of Section 61.99993 as a result
of an unusual hardship.
Sec. 61.99996. GIFTS, GRANTS, AND DONATIONS. In addition
to money appropriated by the legislature, the board may solicit and
accept gifts, grants, and donations for the purposes of this
subchapter.
Sec. 61.99997. RULES. The board shall adopt rules
necessary for the administration of this subchapter, including a
rule that sets the maximum amount of financial assistance that a
person may receive under this subchapter in one year.
SECTION 10. The Texas Education Agency shall develop the
program of study for use in a school district's career and
technology education program to teach bilingual education, English
as a second language, or Spanish as required by Section 29.1831,
Education Code, as added by this Act, beginning not later than the
2024-2025 school year.
SECTION 11. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
shall adopt rules for the administration of Subchapter SS, Chapter
61, Education Code, as added by this Act, as soon as practicable
after this Act takes effect.
SECTION 12. 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, 2023.