Bill Text: TX HB4117 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to providing high-quality tutoring services to public school students, including the creation of the Texas Tutor Corps program, the establishment of a COVID-19 learning loss and student acceleration pilot program, and the use of the compensatory education allotment for tutoring services programs.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-03-29 - Referred to Public Education [HB4117 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-HB4117-Introduced.html
87R10510 MLH-F | ||
By: Talarico | H.B. No. 4117 |
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relating to providing high-quality tutoring services to public | ||
school students, including the creation of the Texas Tutor Corps | ||
program, the establishment of a COVID-19 learning loss and student | ||
acceleration pilot program, and the use of the compensatory | ||
education allotment for tutoring services programs. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 29, Education Code, is | ||
amended by adding Section 29.0841 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 29.0841. TEXAS TUTOR CORPS PROGRAM. (a) In this | ||
section: | ||
(1) "Hard-to-staff school" means a high-need school | ||
that has a high rate of teacher turnover or a large concentration of | ||
teachers in their first or second year of teaching. | ||
(2) "High-need school" has the meaning assigned by the | ||
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6631). | ||
(3) "Program" means the Texas Tutor Corps program | ||
established under this section. | ||
(b) The agency shall establish and administer a Texas Tutor | ||
Corps program to develop and support a statewide network of tutors | ||
and to provide grants to school districts and open-enrollment | ||
charter schools that are hard-to-staff schools or high-need | ||
schools, for the purpose of establishing local consortia, as | ||
described by Subsection (e), to collaborate on the provision of | ||
high-quality tutoring services for students enrolled at the | ||
district or school. The program must: | ||
(1) include time for planning and collaboration among | ||
tutors; | ||
(2) match tutors with students based on the tutor's | ||
expertise in a particular subject area or grade level and the | ||
student's subject area tutoring needs or grade level; | ||
(3) include high-quality pre-service training and | ||
ongoing professional support for tutors serving under the program; | ||
(4) be facilitated by the local consortium established | ||
by the district or school; | ||
(5) provide compensation for tutors; and | ||
(6) prioritize the recruitment and selection of | ||
individuals enrolled in state-approved educator preparation | ||
programs to serve as tutors. | ||
(c) The following individuals may serve as tutors under the | ||
program: | ||
(1) certified and retired educators; | ||
(2) paraprofessionals and teacher's aides; | ||
(3) recent graduates of educator preparation | ||
programs; and | ||
(4) postsecondary students enrolled in educator | ||
preparation programs. | ||
(d) Tutoring services provided under the program must: | ||
(1) be led by a tutor; | ||
(2) be provided in a one-on-one or small group setting | ||
with a ratio of not more than one tutor for every four students; | ||
(3) occur in multiple sessions of sufficient length | ||
each week to ensure adequate time for delivery of tutoring | ||
services; | ||
(4) be provided during the regular school day or | ||
immediately before or after school and during school vacation | ||
periods; and | ||
(5) align with local standards and curriculum. | ||
(e) For purposes of this section, a local consortium of | ||
community partners: | ||
(1) includes the following entities, one of which | ||
serves as the lead entity of the consortium: | ||
(A) an educator preparation program under | ||
Section 21.0442; and | ||
(B) one or more: | ||
(i) school districts or district campuses; | ||
(ii) open-enrollment charter schools or | ||
charter school campuses; and | ||
(iii) regional education service centers; | ||
and | ||
(2) may include: | ||
(A) community-based organizations; | ||
(B) agencies serving children and youth; | ||
(C) institutions of higher education; | ||
(D) educator organizations; | ||
(E) organizations representing education | ||
professionals; | ||
(F) local governments and local governmental | ||
entities; | ||
(G) student organizations; and | ||
(H) parent organizations. | ||
(f) A school district or open-enrollment charter school | ||
awarded a grant under this section may use the grant money to pay | ||
for: | ||
(1) training tutors and placing tutors at district or | ||
school campuses; | ||
(2) supporting tutors to work with small groups of | ||
students; | ||
(3) matching tutors with students and mentors; | ||
(4) providing stipends to tutors and mentors; | ||
(5) purchasing instructional materials and | ||
connectivity resources, including Internet access and devices | ||
capable of connecting to the Internet; | ||
(6) providing transportation for students attending | ||
the tutoring program; | ||
(7) providing meals and snacks for students attending | ||
the tutoring program; and | ||
(8) providing facilities for conducting the tutoring | ||
program. | ||
(g) In awarding grants under this section, the | ||
commissioner: | ||
(1) must consider the quality of the tutoring proposed | ||
to be provided; | ||
(2) may leverage federal funding to pay for not more | ||
than 50 percent of the costs under the program, including, to the | ||
extent authorized by federal law, funds from the Temporary | ||
Assistance for Needy Families program; | ||
(3) must consider the amount of funds distributed to | ||
the school district or open-enrollment charter school under Chapter | ||
48; and | ||
(4) must use any funds appropriated or otherwise | ||
available for the purposes of this program. | ||
(h) The commissioner may accept gifts, grants, or donations | ||
from any public or private source for purposes of this section. | ||
(i) Notwithstanding Subsection (b), the commissioner is | ||
required to establish the program under this section only if the | ||
legislature appropriates money specifically for that purpose. If | ||
the legislature does not appropriate money specifically for that | ||
purpose, the commissioner may, but is not required to, establish | ||
the program under this section using other appropriations available | ||
for that purpose. | ||
SECTION 2. Section 25.085(d), Education Code, is amended to | ||
read as follows: | ||
(d) Unless specifically exempted by Section 25.086, a | ||
student enrolled in a school district must attend: | ||
(1) an extended-year program for which the student is | ||
eligible that is provided by the district for students identified | ||
as likely not to be promoted to the next grade level or tutorial | ||
classes required by the district under Section 29.0841 [ |
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(2) an accelerated reading instruction program to | ||
which the student is assigned under Section 28.006(g); | ||
(3) an accelerated instruction program to which the | ||
student is assigned under Section 28.0211; | ||
(4) a basic skills program to which the student is | ||
assigned under Section 29.086; or | ||
(5) a summer program provided under Section 37.008(l) | ||
or Section 37.021. | ||
SECTION 3. Sections 29.088(b) and (c), Education Code, are | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
(b) Before providing a program under this section, the board | ||
of trustees of a school district must adopt a policy for: | ||
(1) determining student eligibility for participating | ||
in the program that: | ||
(A) prescribes the grade level or course a | ||
student must be enrolled in to be eligible; and | ||
(B) provides for considering teacher | ||
recommendations in determining eligibility; | ||
(2) ensuring that parents of or persons standing in | ||
parental relation to eligible students are provided notice of the | ||
program; | ||
(3) ensuring that eligible students are encouraged to | ||
attend the program; | ||
(4) ensuring that the program is offered at one or more | ||
locations in the district that are easily accessible to eligible | ||
students; [ |
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(5) measuring student progress on completion of the | ||
program; and | ||
(6) ensuring that all instruction, intervention, and | ||
support is provided by an appropriately qualified educator or | ||
person enrolled in an educator preparation program, including a | ||
person participating in the Texas Tutor Corps program under Section | ||
29.0841. | ||
(c) The commissioner by rule shall: | ||
(1) prescribe a procedure that a school district must | ||
follow to apply for and receive funding for a program under this | ||
section; | ||
(2) adopt guidelines for determining which districts | ||
receive funding if there is not sufficient funding for each | ||
district that applies; | ||
(3) require each district providing a program to | ||
report student performance results to the commissioner within the | ||
period and in the manner prescribed by the rule; [ |
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(4) based on district reports under Subdivision (3) | ||
and any required analysis and verification of those reports, | ||
disseminate to each district in this state information concerning | ||
instructional methods that have proved successful in improving | ||
student performance in mathematics; and | ||
(5) require each district providing a program under | ||
this section to submit a description of the methods by which the | ||
program will accelerate student learning, including whether the | ||
district plans to implement a high-quality tutoring program. | ||
SECTION 4. Sections 29.090(b) and (c), Education Code, are | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
(b) Before providing a program under this section, the board | ||
of trustees of a school district must adopt a policy for: | ||
(1) determining student eligibility for participating | ||
in the program that: | ||
(A) prescribes the grade level or course a | ||
student must be enrolled in to be eligible; and | ||
(B) provides for considering teacher | ||
recommendations in determining eligibility; | ||
(2) ensuring that parents of or persons standing in | ||
parental relation to eligible students are provided notice of the | ||
program; | ||
(3) ensuring that eligible students are encouraged to | ||
attend the program; | ||
(4) ensuring that the program is offered at one or more | ||
locations in the district that are easily accessible to eligible | ||
students; [ |
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(5) measuring student progress on completion of the | ||
program; and | ||
(6) ensuring that all instruction, intervention, and | ||
support is provided by an appropriately qualified educator or | ||
person enrolled in an educator preparation program, including a | ||
person participating in the Texas Tutor Corps program under Section | ||
29.0841. | ||
(c) The commissioner by rule shall: | ||
(1) prescribe a procedure that a school district must | ||
follow to apply for and receive funding for a program under this | ||
section; | ||
(2) adopt guidelines for determining which districts | ||
receive funding if there is not sufficient funding for each | ||
district that applies; | ||
(3) require each district providing a program to | ||
report student performance results to the commissioner within the | ||
period and in the manner prescribed by the rule; [ |
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(4) based on district reports under Subdivision (3) | ||
and any required analysis and verification of those reports, | ||
disseminate to each district in this state information concerning | ||
instructional methods that have proved successful in improving | ||
student performance in science; and | ||
(5) require each district providing a program under | ||
this section to submit a description of the methods by which the | ||
program will accelerate student learning, including whether the | ||
district plans to implement a high-quality tutoring program. | ||
SECTION 5. Section 29.091(c), Education Code, is amended to | ||
read as follows: | ||
(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; [ |
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(3) provide as part of the application materials a | ||
plan that is designed to achieve the purposes described by | ||
Subsections (b)(1) through (5); and | ||
(4) participate in a local consortium described under | ||
Section 29.0841 that supports the Texas Tutor Corps program under | ||
that section. | ||
SECTION 6. Subchapter C, Chapter 29, Education Code, is | ||
amended by adding Section 29.0941 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 29.0941. COVID-19 LEARNING LOSS AND STUDENT | ||
ACCELERATION PILOT PROGRAM. (a) In this section, "pilot program" | ||
means the COVID-19 learning loss and student acceleration pilot | ||
program established under this section. | ||
(b) The commissioner by rule shall establish a pilot program | ||
under which, for the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school years, | ||
participating school district or open-enrollment charter school | ||
campuses may provide tutoring intervention to students using a | ||
high-quality tutoring program that meets the criteria described by | ||
29.0841(d) to address learning loss due to the disruption in public | ||
education caused by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. | ||
(c) A campus may apply to the commissioner to participate in | ||
the pilot program. A campus that submits an application must | ||
include with the application materials a summary of the campus's | ||
proposed high-quality tutoring program to the commissioner for | ||
approval. The commissioner shall prioritize campuses that are part | ||
of an established local consortium described under Section 29.0841 | ||
and providing tutoring services under the Texas Tutor Corps | ||
program, including using tutors who are enrolled in state-approved | ||
educator preparation programs. | ||
(d) The commissioner shall adopt minimum criteria that a | ||
program must meet to be selected for use by a participating campus. | ||
The criteria must include principles and practices consistent with | ||
best practices related to a scientific understanding of how | ||
students learn. The commissioner may only approve a program for use | ||
by a campus under the pilot program that meets the minimum criteria | ||
established under this section. | ||
(e) Not later than December 31, 2022, the agency, in | ||
consultation with each vendor of a high-quality tutoring program | ||
approved under Subsection (d) and each school district with which | ||
the vendor contracts under this section, shall provide the | ||
legislature with a report describing student progress under the | ||
pilot program. | ||
(f) The commissioner may accept gifts, grants, or donations | ||
from any public or private source for purposes of this section. | ||
(g) Notwithstanding Subsection (b), the commissioner is | ||
required to establish the pilot program under this section only if | ||
the legislature appropriates money specifically for that purpose. | ||
If the legislature does not appropriate money specifically for that | ||
purpose, the commissioner may, but is not required to, establish | ||
the pilot program under this section using other appropriations | ||
available for that purpose. | ||
(h) The commissioner shall adopt rules necessary to | ||
implement this section. | ||
(i) This section expires September 1, 2023. | ||
SECTION 7. (a) This section takes effect only if the Act of | ||
the 87th Legislature, Regular Session, 2021, relating to | ||
nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted codes | ||
becomes law. | ||
(b) Section 48.104(j-1), Education Code, is amended to read | ||
as follows: | ||
(j-1) In addition to other purposes for which funds | ||
allocated under this section may be used, those funds may also be | ||
used to: | ||
(1) provide child-care services or assistance with | ||
child-care expenses for students at risk of dropping out of school, | ||
as described by Section 29.081(d)(1)(E) [ |
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(2) pay the costs associated with services provided | ||
through a life skills program in accordance with Sections | ||
29.085(b)(1) and (3)-(7); or | ||
(3) pay costs associated with tutoring services | ||
provided under the Texas Tutor Corps program under Section 29.0841. | ||
SECTION 8. (a) This section takes effect only if the Act of | ||
the 87th Legislature, Regular Session, 2021, relating to | ||
nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted codes does | ||
not become law. | ||
(b) Section 48.104(j-1), Education Code, is amended to read | ||
as follows: | ||
(j-1) In addition to other purposes for which funds | ||
allocated under this section may be used, those funds may also be | ||
used to: | ||
(1) provide child-care services or assistance with | ||
child-care expenses for students at risk of dropping out of school, | ||
as described by Section 29.081(d)(5); [ |
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(2) pay the costs associated with services provided | ||
through a life skills program in accordance with Sections | ||
29.085(b)(1) and (3)-(7); or | ||
(3) pay costs associated with tutoring services | ||
provided under the Texas Tutor Corps program under Section 29.0841. | ||
SECTION 9. Sections 29.084 and 29.094, Education Code, are | ||
repealed. | ||
SECTION 10. This Act applies beginning with the 2021-2022 | ||
school year. | ||
SECTION 11. 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, 2021. |