On Friday, Texas AFT Legislative Counsel, Patty Quinzi, testified against a new State Board of Educator Certification (SBEC) rule, which would remove due process protections for teachers who are wanting to retire or change positions.
The Texas Education code says SBEC can sanction a teacher if they resign less than 45 days before the start of a school year, but the recently passed HB 2519 requires SBEC to consider mitigating factors to a teacher’s resignation and to consider alternatives to sanctions. SBEC staff proposed a rule with automatic minimum sanctions, but during a work session on Thursday, the SBEC requested revisions to the proposed rule to more closely comply with HB 2519.
Quinzi testified to the SBEC on Friday and asked them to review untimely resignations on a case-by-case basis, as intended by HB 2519. The Board requested a letter of legislative intent from the author of HB 2519, Rep. Drew Darby (R-San Angelo), before proposing new rule language at their October meeting.. Click here to view the full clip of Quinzi’s testimony.