HBA-MSH C.S.H.B. 3570 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 3570
By: George
Pensions & Investments
4/20/2001
Committee Report (Substituted)



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Under current law, certain retired teachers are allowed to continue to
collect retirement benefits if they return to teaching in areas of acute
teacher shortage.  The provision allows understaffed schools to hire
experienced teachers at a competitive salary.  Beginning teachers in
understaffed schools can also benefit from the experience of retired
teachers who serve as mentors.  C.S.H.B. 3570 allows retired teachers to
continue to collect retirement benefits while serving as mentors for
classroom teachers. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 3570 amends the Government Code to prohibit the Employees
Retirement System of Texas from withholding a monthly benefit payment if a
retiree is employed in a Texas public educational institution in a position
as a mentor for a classroom teacher on as much as a full-time basis if the
retiree has retired without reduction for retirement at an early age, is a
certified teacher, and has been separated from service with all public
schools for at least 12 months.  The bill provides that a mentor must have
taught in a public school for at least 10 years and have demonstrated
specified abilities.  The bill prohibits the use of any information
collected in the mentoring process from being used to evaluate the teacher
or to determine whether to dismiss the teacher. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act
takes effect September 1, 2001. 

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 3570 differs from the original by providing that a mentoring
teacher must meet certain requirements and prohibits the information
collected in the mentoring process from being used to evaluate the teacher
or determine whether to dismiss the teacher.