Source: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index4.aspx?ekfxmen_noscript=1&id=4395&ekfxmensel=e9f6cb525_620_634
Timestamp: 2013-05-18 09:48:33
Document Index: 214382972

Matched Legal Cases: ['§249', '§249', '§249', '§232', '§249', '§21', '§249', '§249', '§232', '§249', '§249', '§21', '§21', '§53', '§53', '§232', '§21', '§249', '§21', '§249', '§21', '§249', '§21', '§21', '§53', '§21', '§249', '§232', '§249', '§249', '§249', '§249', '§249', '§249', '§249', '§21', '§249', '§249', '§249', '§21', '§249', '§249', '§249', '§232', '§249', '§249', '§249', '§232']

Texas Education Agency - 09 May 21 SchInit item 4
09 May 21 SchInit item 4
Review of Proposed Amendment to 19 TAC Chapter 249, Disciplinary Proceedings, Sanctions, and Contested Cases, §249.16, Eligibility of Persons with Criminal Convictions for a Certificate under Articles 6252-13c and 6252-13d, Revised Civil Statutes, including technical edits to 19 TAC §249.3, Definitions, §249.15, Disciplinary Action by State Board for Educator Certification, and §232.830, Requirements for Certificate RenewalMay 22, 2009 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 action that would amend 19 TAC Chapter 249, Disciplinary Proceedings, Sanctions, and Contested Cases, Subchapter B, Enforcement Actions and Guidelines, §249.16, Eligibility of Persons with Criminal Convictions for a Certificate under Articles 6252-13c and 6252-13d, Revised Civil Statutes. The proposed amendment would update the current rule to reflect current law and delineate crimes other than those listed in the Texas Education Code (TEC), §21.060, as being related to the duties and responsibilities of the education profession. In addition, this item provides the SBOE an opportunity to review the SBEC rule actions that would amend 19 TAC §249.3, Definitions, §249.15, Disciplinary Action by State Board for Educator Certification, and §232.830, Requirements for Certificate Renewal. The proposed amendments would be necessary to update the current rules to reflect the proposed section title for 19 TAC §249.16. STATUTORY AUTHORITY: The statutory authority for the proposed amendments to 19 TAC §§249.3, 249.15, and 249.16 is the TEC, §21.041(b)(7) and (8) and §21.060; and Texas Occupations Code, §53.021(a) and §53.025. The statutory authority for the proposed amendment to 19 TAC §232.830 is the TEC, §21.041(b)(7) and (8). EFFECTIVE DATE: The proposed effective date of the amendments to 19 TAC §§249.3, 249.15, 249.16, and 232.830 would be June 21, 2009. PREVIOUS BOARD ACTION: None. BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND SIGNIFICANT ISSUES: The TEC, §21.041(b)(7) and (8), authorize the SBEC to adopt rules providing for disciplinary proceedings and enforcing the educator's code of ethics. At the July 2007 SBEC meeting, the SBEC requested that the amendment to 19 TAC §249.16 be pulled from the proposed rule changes to 19 TAC Chapter 249 for filing with the Texas Register so that an Attorney General's opinion could be requested regarding the meaning of the TEC, §21.060, added by Senate Bill 9, 80th Texas Legislature, 2007. The question submitted to the Attorney General was whether the proposed amendment to 19 TAC §249.16 would be in conflict with the TEC, §21.060. Subsequently, the Attorney General issued Opinion No. GA-0614 ruling that the list of crimes deemed to be related to the duties and responsibilities of the education profession is nonexclusive in the TEC, §21.060. Therefore, the SBEC has the authority, pursuant to the Texas Occupations Code, §53.025, to list crimes other than those listed in the TEC, §21.060, as being related to the duties and responsibilities of the education profession. As a result, changes to 19 TAC §§249.3, 249.15, and 249.16, as shown in Attachment II, and 19 TAC §232.830, as shown in Attachment III, were presented to the SBEC. The changes are similar to the changes originally presented to the SBEC in July 2007, with the exception of an additional revision to §249.16(b)(3) that would include only felony possession of or conspiracy to possess illegal drugs while retaining the inclusion of all convictions for transfer, sale, or distribution of illegal drugs. The SBEC took action at the February 2009 meeting to approve proposed amendments to 19 TAC §§249.3, 249.15, 249.16, and 232.830, for filing as proposed with the Texas Register. Following the public comment period, the SBEC took action in April 2009 to approve for adoption, subject to SBOE review, the proposed amendments to 19 TAC §§249.3, 249.15, 249.16, and 232.830, with an additional change to §249.16, Eligibility of Persons with Criminal Convictions for a Certificate under Articles 6252-13c and 6252-13d, Revised Civil Statutes, shown in Attachment II. Following is a description of the proposed amendments. In §249.16(b)(7), the standard for alcohol-related crimes and crimes that relate to the duties and responsibilities of the education profession would be revised to include felony driving while intoxicated (DWI), rather than the previous standard which focused on two or more offenses within any 12-month period. Since published as proposed, language in §249.16(b)(7) would be modified further to eliminate the provision for felony driving under the influence after it was determined by Texas Education Agency staff that the provision is not applicable under Texas criminal law. In §249.16, language would be added in proposed new subsection (d) to state that the remedies found in the TEC, §21.060, added by Senate Bill 9, 80th Texas Legislature, 2007, are cumulative with the remedies found in the Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 53. Both provisions apply to criminal acts committed by certificate holders. In §249.16, grammatical and technical changes would also be made, such as the replacement of the terms "Agency" and "executive director" with the term "TEA staff" and the replacement of the term "Board" with the term "State Board for Educator Certification." Also, statutory citation references would be updated and standardized to reflect current law and Texas Register formatting requirements. Technical edits would also be made to §§249.3, 249.15, and 232.830 to update references to the proposed section title for 19 TAC §249.16, as well as statutory citations. SBOE Review of Proposed SBEC Rules Under 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. FISCAL IMPACT: None. PUBLIC AND STUDENT BENEFIT: The public benefit anticipated as a result of the proposed amendments would be implementing a more efficient and less costly process of resolving less serious educator misconduct complaints and redirecting resources to deal with more serious disciplinary complaints against educators. PROCEDURAL AND REPORTING IMPLICATIONS: The proposed amendments would modify the current process for resolving ethical disputes, resulting in a more efficient resolution process. LOCALLY MAINTAINED PAPERWORK REQUIREMENTS: None. PUBLIC COMMENTS: None. ALTERNATIVES: None. OTHER COMMENTS AND RELATED ISSUES: None. COMMISSIONER'S RECOMMENDATION: I recommend that the State Board of Education: Take no action on the proposed amendments to 19 TAC Chapter 249, Disciplinary Proceedings, Sanctions, and Contested Cases, §249.3, Definitions; §249.15, Disciplinary Action by State Board for Educator Certification; and §249.16, Eligibility of Persons with Criminal Convictions for a Certificate under Articles 6252-13c and 6252-13d, Revised Civil Statutes; and 19 TAC Chapter 232, General Certification Provisions, §232.830, Requirements for Certificate Renewal. Respectfully submitted, Robert Scott Commissioner of Education Staff Members Responsible:Raymond F. Glynn, Deputy Commissioner School District Leadership and Educator Quality Jerel Booker, Associate Commissioner Educator Quality and Standards Karen Loonam, Deputy Associate Commissioner Educator Certification and Standards Andrew Allen, Assistant Counsel Legal Services for Educator Certification and Standards Attachments:I. Statutory Citations II. Text of Proposed Amendments to 19 TAC Chapter 249, Disciplinary Proceedings, Sanctions, and Contested Cases, Subchapter A, General Provisions, §249.3, Definitions, and Subchapter B, Enforcement Actions and Guidelines, §249.15, Disciplinary Action by State Board for Educator Certification, and §249.16, Eligibility of Persons with Criminal Convictions for a Certificate under Articles 6252-13c and 6252-13d, Revised Civil Statutes III. Text of Proposed Amendment to 19 TAC Chapter 232, General Certification Provisions, Subchapter B, Certificate Renewal and Continuing Professional Education Requirements, §232.830, Requirements for Certificate Renewal Page last modified on 4/25/2010.