Rider 52
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
Texas State Budget
86 Legislative Session (May 2019)

Note: Strategy E.1.5, referenced below, allocates $750,000 for each year of the current biennium for "Bilingual Education Program" under an overall "Industry Workforce" goal.

52. Program to Encourage Certification to Teach Bilingual Education, English as a Second Language, or Spanish. Out of the funds appropriated above in Strategy E.1.5, Bilingual Education Program, the Coordinating Board shall allocate in equal amounts to the University of North Texas, University of North Texas at Dallas, Texas Woman's University, The University of Texas at Dallas, The University of Texas Arlington, Texas A&M Commerce and DFW Tech Teach, in consultation with Texas Tech University, to be used for grants to provide financial incentives in the form of tuition assistance, to encourage students who enroll in an educator preparation program at the university to become certified to teach bilingual education, English as a Second Language, or Spanish in school districts with high critical needs. Any balances on hand at the end of fiscal year 2020 may be carried over to fiscal year 2021 for the same purpose.


The program shall make awards to qualified students admitted to the Teacher Education Program in Bilingual Education or other comparable programs for teacher education in English as a second language or Spanish.

Qualified students must: 1) have demonstrated financial need, as determined by the completion of a Free Application for Federal Student Aid form and the institution's financial aid office; 2) Successfully pass the State Board for Educator Certification Bilingual Target Language Proficiency Test; and 3) Maintain a minimum cumulative 3.0 GPA. The program shall submit a report not later than January 1, 2021, to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board detailing annual information on the following performance measures


  • Student graduation rates from the program;


  • Passage rates for the Texas Examination of Education Standards Bilingual Education Supplemental exam and/or the English as a Second Language Supplemental exam; and Graduate employment data at Texas public school districts.