Bill: HB 1373, 84(R) - 2015
Committee
House Public Education
Vote Recommendation
Vote Recommendation |
Economic Freedom |
Property Rights |
Personal Responsibility |
Limited Government |
Individual Liberty |
No |
Neutral |
Neutral |
Neutral |
Negative |
Neutral |
Author(s)
Helen Giddings
Co-Author(s)
Ina Minjarez
Bill Caption
Relating to the assignment of a public school student to an inexperienced or uncertified teacher.
Fiscal Notes
There is no significant fiscal implication to the State. Approximately 175 school districts have an enrollment of 5,000 or more
students and would be subject to the bill's assignment
provisions. Administrative costs to implement the assignment
provisions would vary from district to district and would depend in part
on how many teachers in the district had less than one year of
experience or did not hold appropriate certification that were teaching
the foundation curriculum.
Bill Analysis
HB 1373 would amend the Education
Code to prohibit a student in first through grade six who attends an
elementary school in a school district with an enrollment of 5,000 or more
students from being assigned for two consecutive school years to a teacher
who has less than one year of teaching experience or does not hold the
appropriate teaching certificate. The
bill would authorize the commissioner of education to grant a waiver from the prohibition
to a school district if the commissioner finds that extreme circumstances in
the district warrant the waiver.
Vote Recommendation Notes
This bill abridges the principle of limited government by instituting a mandate for all school districts, instead of allowing a school district to use their discretion on a case by case basis on whether a teacher is qualified to educate a student. Teaching credentials and experience do not necessarily mean the teacher is qualified to education. For this reason, we oppose HB 1373.