By:  Brown                                   S.B. No. 1496

         97S0461/1                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

                                       AN ACT

 1-1     relating to restricting written reports required of classroom

 1-2     teachers.

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

 1-4           SECTION 1.  Subchapter I, Chapter 21, Education Code, is

 1-5     amended by adding Section 21.410 to read as follows:

 1-6           Sec. 21.410.  RESTRICTING WRITTEN REPORTS.  (a)  The board of

 1-7     trustees of each school district shall adopt policies to limit the

 1-8     number and length of written reports that classroom teachers are

 1-9     required to prepare.  Classroom teachers shall not be required to

1-10     prepare written reports other than the following:

1-11                 (1)  reports of students' grades on specific

1-12     assignments or examinations;

1-13                 (2)  reports of students' grades at the end of each

1-14     grade reporting period;

1-15                 (3)  textbook reports;

1-16                 (4)  unit or weekly lesson plan reports that outline,

1-17     in a brief and general manner, the information to be presented

1-18     during each period at the secondary level or in each subject or

1-19     topic at the elementary level;

1-20                 (5)  attendance reports;

1-21                 (6)  any report or other paperwork specifically

1-22     required by law or State Board of Education rule to be prepared by

1-23     teachers; or

 2-1                 (7)  reports required for accreditation review.

 2-2           (b)  With respect to reports or paperwork described in

 2-3     Subsection (a)(6), districts shall review current requirements

 2-4     imposed on classroom teachers and shall transfer reporting tasks

 2-5     which can reasonably be accomplished by existing noninstructional

 2-6     staff.  If information is needed to comply with federal or state

 2-7     requirements and if there is no reasonable way to collect the

 2-8     information without the direct involvement of the classroom

 2-9     teacher, teachers may be required to provide this information.

2-10           (c)  Redundant requests for information shall be avoided.

2-11           (d)  Nothing in this section shall preclude a school district

2-12     from collecting other essential information from classroom teachers

2-13     on a voluntary basis, provided that:

2-14                 (1)  participation shall be entirely at the discretion

2-15     of each individual teacher and no coercion, either direct or

2-16     indirect, shall be applied to pressure teachers to participate;

2-17                 (2)  a decision not to participate shall in no way be

2-18     held against the teacher; and

2-19                 (3)  the commissioner shall promptly investigate

2-20     allegations of misuse of voluntary information-gathering procedures

2-21     that burden teachers and circumvent compliance with the paperwork

2-22     reduction requirements of this section.

2-23           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

2-24           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-25     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

 3-1     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

 3-2     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

 3-3     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.