Review of Proposed Amendments to 19 TAC Chapter 244, Certificate of Completion of Training for Appraisers, §244.1, General Provisions, and §244.2, Training for Appraisers of Educators in School Districts Using a Recommended Appraisal Process 

November 20, 2015

COMMITTEE ON SCHOOL INITIATIVES: ACTION
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION: ACTION

SUMMARY: This item provides the State Board of Education (SBOE) an opportunity to review the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) rule actions that would amend 19 TAC Chapter 244, Certificate of Completion of Training for Appraisers, §244.1, General Provisions, and §244.2, Training for Appraisers of Educators in School Districts Using a Recommended Appraisal Process. The proposed amendments to 19 TAC §244.1 and §244.2 would replace references to the old state-recommended teacher appraisal system, the Professional Development and Appraisal System (PDAS), with references to the state-recommended teacher appraisal system and would add language to include training for appraisers of principals using the state-recommended principal appraisal system.

STATUTORY AUTHORITY: The statutory authority for 19 TAC §244.1 and §244.2 is the Texas Education Code, §21.041(b)(10).

EFFECTIVE DATE: The proposed effective date of the proposed amendments to 19 TAC §244.1 and §244.2 would be July 1, 2016, the scheduled date for the implementation of the new state-recommended teacher and principal appraisal systems.

PREVIOUS BOARD ACTION: None.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND SIGNIFICANT ISSUES: The SBEC rules in 19 TAC Chapter 244 establish general provisions relating to the commissioner of education's recommended system for appraisal of teachers and administrators and adopt the commissioner of education's conditions for the issuance of a certificate of completion of training for appraisers of teachers, for the training of appraisers in districts using locally developed teacher appraisal systems, and for the certification of appraisers of administrators. Section 244.1 currently provides general provisions relating to the appraisal of teachers. Currently, 19 TAC §244.2 provides for the requirements for training of appraisers of educators and administrators in school districts using the commissioner of education's recommended appraisal process.

The proposed amendments to 19 TAC §244.1 and §244.2 would replace references to the old state-recommended teacher appraisal system, PDAS, with generic references to the state-recommended teacher appraisal system and add language to include training and certification for appraisers of principals using the state-recommended principal appraisal system, effective July 1, 2016, to coincide with the statewide implementation timeline for the new teacher and principal appraisal systems.

In response to public comment, changes were approved to 19 TAC §244.1 and §244.2 as published. References to specifically named appraisal systems were replaced by more generic references to the recommended teacher and principal appraisal systems.

SBOE Review of Proposed SBEC Rules

Under the TEC, §21.042, the SBEC must submit a written copy of each rule it proposes to adopt to the SBOE for review. The SBOE may reject the proposed rules by a vote of at least two-thirds of the members of the SBOE present and voting, but may not modify a rule. The rules take effect as rules of the SBEC if the SBOE fails to review the rules contained in this item by December 17, 2015, which is the 90th day after the date the SBOE first received the proposed rules.

FISCAL IMPACT: The TEA staff has determined that there is no additional fiscal impact on state and local governments and there are no additional costs to persons or entities required to comply with the proposed amendments. In addition, there is no direct adverse economic impact for small businesses and microbusinesses; therefore, no regulatory flexibility analysis, specified in Texas Government Code, §2006.002, is required.

PUBLIC AND STUDENT BENEFIT: The public and student benefit anticipated as a result of the proposed amendments to 19 TAC §244.1 and §244.2 would be the continued prevention of duplicative and potentially conflicting sets of rules by the commissioner of education and the SBEC that relate to the certification and training of appraisers.

PROCEDURAL AND REPORTING IMPLICATIONS: The proposed amendments would have no additional procedural and reporting implications.

LOCALLY MAINTAINED PAPERWORK REQUIREMENTS: The proposed amendments would have no additional locally maintained paperwork requirements.

PUBLIC COMMENTS: In accordance with the SBEC rulemaking process, a summary of comments received by the SBEC on its proposed rules will be shared with the SBOE under separate cover prior to this SBOE meeting.

ALTERNATIVES: None.

OTHER COMMENTS AND RELATED ISSUES: None.

MOTION TO BE CONSIDERED: The State Board Education:

Take no action on the proposed amendments to 19 TAC Chapter 244, Certificate of Completion of Training for Appraisers, §244.1, General Provisions, and §244.2, Training for Appraisers of Educators in School Districts Using a Recommended Appraisal Process.

Staff Members Responsible:
Ryan Franklin, Associate Commissioner
Educator Leadership and Quality

Tim Regal, Director
Educator Evaluation and Support

Attachments:
I. Statutory Citation (PDF, 11KB)
II. Text of Proposed Amendments to 19 TAC Chapter 244, Certificate of Completion of Training for Appraisers, §244.1, General Provisions, and §244.2, Training for Appraisers of Educators in School Districts Using a Recommended Appraisal Process (PDF, 18KB)