| (a) General provisions.
(1) Definitions. The following words and terms, when
used in this section, have the following meanings, unless the context
clearly indicates otherwise.
(A) Beginning of course--The first nine weeks of a
year-long course or the first six weeks of a semester course.
(B) Charter school--A Texas public school that meets
one of the following criteria:
(i) is operated by a charter holder under an open-enrollment
charter granted either by the State Board of Education or commissioner
of education pursuant to Texas Education Code (TEC), §12.101,
identified with its own county district number;
(ii) has a charter granted under TEC, Chapter 12, Subchapter
C, and is eligible for benefits under TEC, §11.174 and §48.252;
(iii) has a charter granted under TEC, §29.259,
and Human Resources Code, §221.002; or
(iv) has a charter granted under TEC, §11.157(b).
(C) Classroom teacher--An educator, as defined by TEC, §5.001,
who is employed by a school district and who, not less than an average
of four hours each day, teaches in an academic instructional setting
or a career and technical instructional setting. This term does not
include an educational aide or a full-time administrator.
(D) Data capture year--The school year in which the
teacher observation and student growth measure data is collected based
on the proposed local teacher designation system.
(E) Designated teacher--An exemplary, master, or recognized
teacher.
(F) Eligible teaching assignment--An assignment based
on campus, subject taught, or grade taught.
(G) End of course--The last twelve weeks of a year-long
course or the last six weeks of a semester course.
(H) National Board certification-- Certification issued
by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
(I) Provisional approval--Conditional approval of a
school district local optional teacher designation system that would
require resubmission of system review, data validation, additional
required documentation, video submission, and/or other technical assistance
for further data submission.
(J) Reliability--The degree to which an instrument
used to measure teacher performance and student growth produces stable
and consistent results.
(K) Rural--A campus within a school district with fewer
than 5,000 enrolled students that is categorized as a rural, non-metropolitan:
stable, or non-metropolitan: fast growing district type by the Texas
Education Agency (TEA); a campus within a school district with fewer
than 5,000 enrolled students categorized as rural by the National
Center for Education Statistics; or a campus defined in TEC, §48.112(a)(1).
(L) School district--The definition of a school district
includes charter schools as defined in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph.
(M) Student growth--Student academic progress achieved
in response to the pedagogical practices of teachers, as measured
at the individual teacher level by one or more measures of student
growth aligned to the standards of the course.
(N) Teacher category--One or more eligible teaching
assignments evaluated with the same teacher observation rubric, student
growth measure, and optional components and weighting as defined in
a district's local designation system.
(O) Teacher observation--One or more observations of
a teacher instructing students for a minimum of 45 minutes or multiple
observations that aggregate to at least 45 minutes.
(P) Texas Student Data System (TSDS)--Data collected
annually during the Class Roster Winter Submission.
(Q) Validity--The degree to which an instrument used
to measure teacher performance and student growth measures what it
is intended to measure.
(2) Fees for teacher incentive allotment teacher designation
and system renewal. A school district requesting approval of a teacher
designation system or renewal of such a system shall pay the applicable
fees listed in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this paragraph. The following
fees must be paid by the district and cannot be paid by the teachers
submitted for designation:
(A) a $500 fee for each teacher submitted for designation
to TEA; and
(B) a $2,500 system renewal fee for districts where
all campuses meet the definition of rural pursuant to paragraph (1)(K)
of this subsection the year prior to renewal application submission
or a $10,000 system renewal fee for districts where not all campuses
meet the definition of rural pursuant to paragraph (1)(K) of this
subsection.
(b) Teacher eligibility.
(1) Teachers eligible to earn or receive designations
under an approved local optional teacher designation system must meet
the following requirements:
(A) the teacher is employed by the recommending school
district or charter partner pursuant to subsection (a)(1)(B)(ii) or
(iv) of this section in a role ID coded as 087 (Teacher) and corresponding
class roles of 01, 02, or 03, if applicable, in TSDS for 90 days at
100% of the day (equivalent to four and one-half months or a full
semester) or 180 days at 50-99% of the day and compensated for that
employment. A charter partner operating under subsection (a)(1)(B)(ii)
or (iv) of this section is required to report teacher-level data in
TSDS or provide teacher-level data to its partner school district
for reporting by the district in TSDS;
(B) the teacher was employed by the recommending school
district or charter partner pursuant to subsection (a)(1)(B)(ii) or
(iv) of this section during the year the teacher's effectiveness was
collected in alignment with the recommended designation;
(C) the teacher is not currently designated under a
local optional teacher designation system, unless the teacher is being
recommended for a higher designation; and
(D) the teacher does not have a suspension, revocation,
permanent surrender, or surrender of a certificate issued by the State
Board for Educator Certification and is not found on the registry
of persons not eligible for employment in public schools under TEC, §22.092,
and Chapter 153, Subchapter EE, of this title (relating to Commissioner's
Rules Concerning Registry of Persons Not Eligible for Employment in
Public Schools).
(2) School districts are eligible to receive funding
for each designated teacher if the teacher meets the requirements
in paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection for each district. TEA may
exercise administrative discretion to determine the eligibility of
a teacher if a district disputes TSDS data. Disputes must be received
by TEA by the second Friday in May each year; however, TEA may exercise
administrative discretion to allow disputes to be considered outside
of this timeline.
(c) Application procedures and approval process.
(1) The following provisions apply to applications
submitted under this section.
(A) If TEA determines that an application is incomplete,
TEA may provide the applicant with notice of the deficiency and an
opportunity to submit missing required information. If the missing
required information is not submitted within seven business days after
the original submission deadline, the application will be denied.
(B) If TEA determines that a system application does
not meet the standards established under TEC, §21.3521, and this
section, TEA shall permit the applicant to resubmit the application
by June 30. If no resubmission is made by the deadline, the application
will be denied.
(C) Applicants that are determined to meet the standards
established under TEC, §21.3521 and §48.112, and the requirements
of the statutorily based framework provided in the figure in this
subparagraph shall be approved.
Attached Graphic
(D) Applications that are determined to meet the standards
established under TEC, §21.3521 and §48.112, and this section
shall be approved for an initial term of five years. Applications
that are determined to need ongoing support may result in provisional
approval.
(2) The application shall include the following for
each eligible teaching assignment:
(A) components of a local system for issuing designations,
including:
(i) a teacher observation component that contains:
(I) a plan for calibration, using the rubric approved
under subclause (II) of this clause, that includes congruence among
appraisers, a review of teacher observation data and the correlation
between teacher observation and student growth data, and implementation
of next steps; and
Cont'd... |
