The commissioner must create a grow-your-own partnership program for educator preparation. Participating school districts and charter schools may join only if approved, and they must meet program-support, written-agreement, staffing, reporting, and participant-condition requirements.
Sec. 21.906. PREPARING AND RETAINING EDUCATORS THROUGH PARTNERSHIP GROW YOUR OWN PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM. (a) The commissioner shall establish the Preparing and Retaining Educators through Partnership Grow Your Own Partnership Program to enable qualified institutions of higher education and educator preparation programs, as determined by the commissioner, to form partnerships with school districts or open-enrollment charter schools to establish innovative staffing pipelines to ensure the availability of high-quality classroom teachers to benefit future district or school students. (b) The grow your own partnership program must be designed to form partnerships that support: (1) high school students in completing career and technical education courses that help prepare the students to become classroom teachers; or (2) district or school employees who do not hold a teaching certificate in completing a bachelor's degree to enable the person to become a classroom teacher while employed by the district or school. (c) A school district or open-enrollment charter school may participate in a grow your own partnership program only if the district or school has been approved to participate in a partnership preservice program. (d) A school district or open-enrollment charter school participating in the grow your own partnership program shall: (1) for a partnership described by Subsection (b)(1), provide: (A) authentic opportunities, which may be paid or unpaid, for students to practice teaching under the supervision of one or more cooperating teachers; and (B) guidance and other transition supports as a student begins an undergraduate degree program that offers a route to teacher preparation; (2) for a partnership described by Subsection (b)(2), provide for a district or school employee: (A) scheduled release time to support the completion of a bachelor's degree; (B) authentic opportunities to practice teaching under the supervision of one or more cooperating teachers; (C) on-the-job training aligned with the standards for educator certification established by the board; (D) a job assignment that includes instructional support for students enrolled in the district or school; and (E) guidance and other transition supports as the employee begins a program to satisfy the teacher preparation requirements under Section 21.04421, 21.04422, or 21.04423; (3) enter into a written agreement with an institution of higher education or educator preparation program; (4) require an employee participating in a partnership described by Subsection (b)(2) to, as a condition for participation, earn a bachelor's degree and enroll in an educator preparation program within three years of beginning participation in the partnership; and (5) provide any information required by the agency regarding the district's or school's implementation of the grow your own partnership program. (e) A school district or open-enrollment charter school may use money received under Section 48.157 to implement the grow your own partnership program and pay tuition and fees for students or employees participating in the program. (f) A school district or open-enrollment charter school may only pair a student or employee participating in the program with a cooperating teacher who agrees to participate in that role in a grow your own partnership program at the district or school. (g) A student or employee participating in the program may not serve: (1) as a teacher of record; or (2) except as provided by Subsection (h), in a position in which the student or employee has the primary or sole responsibility of providing instruction or supervision to students. (h) A student or employee participating in the program may serve in a position described by Subsection (g)(2) for the limited purpose of gaining experience in the position. The student's or employee's amount of time serving in that position may not exceed the amount of time during which the teacher of record for the students has the primary or sole responsibility of providing instruction or supervision to those students. Added by Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1065 (H.B. 2), Sec. 2.17, eff. June 20, 2025.