Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
(a)
Definitions. The following words and terms, when used in this section, shall
have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
(1) Beginning teacher--A classroom teacher in
Texas who has less than two years of teaching experience in the subject or
grade level to which the teacher is assigned.
(2) Classroom teacher--An educator who is
employed by a school district in Texas 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. The term does not include a teacher's aide
or a full-time administrator. For purposes of this section, a classroom teacher
includes an educator who may not yet hold a certificate issued under Texas
Education Code (TEC), Chapter 21, Subchapter B.
(3) Mentor teacher--An individual who serves
or has served as a teacher in Texas who provides effective support to help
beginning teachers successfully transition into the teaching assignment. The
term does not include an appraiser as defined by TEC, §
21.351.
(4) School district--For the purposes of this
section, the definition of school district includes open-enrollment charter
schools.
(5) Teacher--A
superintendent, principal, supervisor, classroom teacher, school counselor, or
other school district employee who provides direct instructional support to
other teachers.
(6) Teacher of
record--An educator who is employed by a school or district and who teaches in
an academic instructional setting or a career and technical instructional
setting and is responsible for evaluating student achievement and assigning
grades.
(b) Program
requirements. In order for a district mentor program to receive funds through
the mentor program allotment, as described in TEC, §
48.114, the program
must be approved by the commissioner of education using the application and
approval process described in subsection (c) of this section. To be approved by
the commissioner, district mentor programs must comply with TEC, §
21.458, and commit to
meet the following requirements.
(1) Mentor
selection. A district must:
(A) prioritize the
selection of current classroom teachers as mentor teachers using clear
selection criteria, protocols, and hiring processes that align with
requirements of this paragraph and TEC, §
21.458, and retain
documentation of such processes locally; and
(B) select mentor teachers who:
(i) complete a research-based mentor and
induction training program approved by the commissioner;
(ii) complete a mentor training program
provided by the district;
(iii)
have at least three complete years of teaching experience with a superior
record of assisting students, as a whole, in achieving improvement in student
performance. Districts may use the master, exemplary, or recognized
designations under TEC, §
21.3521, to fulfill
this requirement;
(iv) demonstrate
interpersonal skills, instructional effectiveness, and leadership
skills;
(v) have expertise, to the
extent practicable, in effective instructional practices specifically for the
grade levels and subjects to which the beginning teacher is assigned;
and
(vi) have experience as a
classroom teacher in the past three years.
(2) Mentor assignment. School districts must
agree to assign no more than:
(A) two
beginning teachers to a mentor who serves as a teacher of record for, on
average, four or more hours per instructional day;
(B) four beginning teachers to a mentor who
serves as a teacher of record for, on average, less than four hours per
instructional day; or
(C) fifteen
beginning teachers to an individual who serves as a full-time mentor.
(3) District mentor training
program. A school district must:
(A) provide
training to mentor teachers and any appropriate district and campus employees,
including principals, assistant principals, and instructional coaches, who work
with a beginning teacher or supervise a beginning teacher;
(B) ensure that mentor teachers and any
appropriate district and campus employees are trained before the beginning of
the school year;
(C) provide
supplemental training that includes best mentorship practices to mentor
teachers and any appropriate district and campus employees throughout the
school year, minimally once per semester; and
(D) provide training for a mentor assigned to
a beginning teacher who is hired after the beginning of the school year by the
45th day of employment of the beginning teacher.
(4) District roles and responsibilities. A
school district must designate a specific time during the regularly contracted
school day for meetings between mentor teachers and the beginning teachers they
mentor, which must abide by the mentor and beginning teachers' entitled
planning and preparation requirements in TEC, §
21.404, and the
provisions of paragraph (5)(A) of this subsection.
(5) Meetings between mentors and beginning
teachers. A mentor teacher must:
(A) meet with
each beginning teacher assigned to the mentor not less than 12 hours each
semester, with observations of the mentor teacher or other highly effective
teachers by the beginning teacher being mentored or observations of the
beginning teacher being mentored by the mentor teacher counting toward the 12
hours each semester; and
(B)
address the following topics in mentoring sessions with the beginning teacher
being mentored:
(i) orientation to the
context, policies, and practices of the school district, including:
(I) campus-wide student culture
routines;
(II) district and campus
teacher evaluation systems;
(III)
campus curriculum and curricular resources, including formative and summative
assessments; and
(IV) campus
policies and practices related to lesson planning or lesson
internalization;
(ii)
data-driven instructional practices;
(iii) specific instructional coaching cycles,
including coaching regarding conferences between parents and the beginning
teacher;
(iv) professional
development; and
(v) professional
expectations.
(c) Application approval process. The Texas
Education Agency (TEA) will provide an application and approval process for
school districts to apply for mentor program allotment funding. Funding will be
limited based on availability of funds. The application shall address the
requirements of TEC, §
21.458, and include:
(1) the timeline for application and
approval;
(2) approval criteria,
including the minimum requirements necessary for an application to be eligible
for approval; and
(3) criteria used
to determine which districts would be eligible for funding.
(d) Ongoing verification of
compliance with program requirements.
(1) Each
year, participating districts will be required to submit or participate in a
verification of compliance with program requirements through a process to be
described in the application form. The verification of compliance will include:
(A) an annual compliance report, submitted by
the district, attesting to compliance with authorizing statute and commissioner
rule. The report is to include the number of beginning teachers for whom the
district used funds received under TEC, §
48.114; and
(B) surveys administered not more than twice
yearly that may include the district's beginning teachers, mentor teachers, and
any appropriate district and campus employees who work with beginning teachers
for whom funds were used under TEC, §
48.114. The surveys
will be used to gather data on program implementation and teacher
perceptions.
(2) Failure
to comply with TEC, §
21.458, and this
section after receiving an allotment may result in TEA rescinding eligibility
of a district's current or future mentor program allotment funding.
(e) Allowable expenditures. Mentor
program allotment funds may only be used for the following:
(1) mentor teacher stipends;
(2) release time for mentor teachers and
beginning teachers limited to activities in accordance with this section;
and
(3) mentoring support through
providers of mentor training.
(f) District mentor program review. School
districts awarded mentor program allotment funds must agree to submit all
information requested by TEA through periodic activity/progress reports, which
will occur at least once per year. Reports will be due no later than 45
calendar days after receipt of the information request and must contain all
requested information in the format prescribed by the commissioner.
(g) Final decisions. Commissioner decisions
regarding eligibility for mentor program allotment funds are final and appeals
to the commissioner regarding such decisions will not be considered.
