JLM H.B. 437 75(R) BILL ANALYSIS PUBLIC EDUCATION H.B. 437 By: Gutierrez 5-2-97 Committee Report (Unamended) BACKGROUND This legislation is an effort to reinstate the Paperwork Reduction Act, a provision of the former education code that limited the amount of paperwork that could be required of teachers. With the passage of Senate Bill 1 during the 74th Legislature, the Paperwork Reduction Act was repealed, and the State Board of Education's power to adopt rules concerning the act was eliminated. Teachers, thus, no longer have statutory protections against excessive paperwork. PURPOSE As proposed, this bill provides for restricting written reports required of public school classroom teachers. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter I, Chapter 21, Education Code, by adding Section 21.410 to read as follows: Section 21.410(a) Establishes that the board of trustees for individual school districts shall adopt policies limiting redundant requests for information, as well as, the number and length of written reports that a classroom teacher is required to prepare. This section also specifies which reports teachers are required to prepare. (b) States that if any information is required under federal or state law, regulation, or rule, and the direct involvement of a classroom teacher is necessary, then the teacher may be required to proved that information. (c) Establishes that the board of trustees shall review paperwork requirements imposed on classroom teachers, and shall, instead, have non-instructional staff complete the requested reports. (d)(1-3) Defines essential information that school districts may collect, in addition to that defined in Subsections (a) and (b), so long as participation is entirely at the discretion of the teacher, and the school district does not directly or indirectly coerce the teacher to participate. A teacher's decision not to participate may not be held against the teacher; and the commissioner must promptly investigate any allegation of the misuse of voluntary information-gathering procedures that burden the teacher and circumvent compliance with the statutory intent for paperwork reduction. SECTION 2. Effective date. SECTION 3. Emergency clause.