By:  Ellis                                            S.B. No. 1473

         Line and page numbers may not match official copy.

         Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E.

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

                                       AN ACT

 1-1     relating to the establishment of faculty classroom teaching load

 1-2     standards for general academic teaching institutions.

 1-3           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-4           SECTION 1.  Chapter 51, Subchapter H, Education Code, is

 1-5     amended by adding a Section 51.406 to read as follows:

 1-6           Sec. 51.406.  CLASSROOM TEACHING LOAD STANDARDS.  (a)  No

 1-7     later than the beginning of the summer session of 1998 for each

 1-8     general academic teaching institution, the Coordinating Board shall

 1-9     establish general standards for academic faculty classroom teaching

1-10     loads for all general academic teaching institutions.  The

1-11     development of such classroom teaching load standards shall include

1-12     both lectures and seminars.  The term general academic teaching

1-13     institutions shall be as defined in Section 61.003(3), of the

1-14     Education Code.  The classroom teaching load standards shall apply

1-15     to professors, associate professors, and assistant professors.

1-16     Beginning fiscal year 2000, the classroom teaching load standards

1-17     established by the Coordinating Board shall be used to reduce the

1-18     funding base for affected general academic teaching institutions.

1-19     Funds saved from such reduction to the funding base shall be

1-20     deposited to the general revenue fund.  Until such time as the

1-21     classroom teaching load standards are established, the Coordinating

 2-1     Board shall use those standards as developed by the Comptroller's

 2-2     Texas Performance Review division, as set forth in the

 2-3     Comptroller's report to the Legislature titled, "Disturbing the

 2-4     Peace:  The Challenge of Change in Texas Government," Issue ED-12,

 2-5     and except for the University of Houston-Downtown, Texas A&M

 2-6     University at Galveston, and Sul Ross State University-Rio Grande

 2-7     College.

 2-8           (b)  The Coordinating Board shall identify annually those

 2-9     general academic teaching institutions that fail to satisfy the

2-10     classroom teaching load standards.  Beginning fiscal year 1998,

2-11     formula-funded general appropriations revenue shall be reduced for

2-12     those general academic teaching institutions that fail to satisfy

2-13     the minimum classroom teaching load standards.  Such reductions

2-14     shall be in proportion to the difference between actual and the

2-15     minimum required classroom teaching load standard, and until fiscal

2-16     year 2002, they shall be applied solely to the ten program areas as

2-17     recommended by the Texas Performance Review.  Funds saved from such

2-18     reduction shall be deposited to the general revenue fund.

2-19           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

2-20           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-21     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-22     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

2-23     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

2-24     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,

2-25     and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its

 3-1     passage, and it is so enacted.