LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
                                   Austin, Texas
         
                                   FISCAL NOTE
                               75th Regular Session
         
                                  February 26, 1997
         
         
      TO: Honorable Teel Bivins, Chair            IN RE:  Senate Bill No. 465
          Committee on Education                              By: Harris
          Senate
          Austin, Texas
         
         
         
         
         FROM:  John Keel, Director    
         
In response to your request for a Fiscal Note on SB465 ( Relating 
to the authority of a school district to charge a fee for transporting 
certain students.) this office has detemined the following:
         
         Biennial Net Impact to General Revenue Funds by SB465-As Introduced
         
No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
         

         
 
          
Bill Summary

The bill would permit local school districts 
to charge a reasonable fee for the transportation of a student 
who lives within two miles of school, except for cases in which 
42.155(d) mandates free transportation for less than two miles 
under hazardous circumstances.  The bill would not permit a 
fee if the district receives transportation funding from the 
state for that student.  

This legislation would take effect 
for the 1997-98 school year.

Administrative Costs to Local 
Government

Local school districts would not incur any net 
costs as a result of this bill.  Districts that are currently 
providing free transportation to students living within two 
miles of their schools would be able to recover some or all 
of the costs of this service, resulting in a relative increase 
in revenue.  The revenue gained depends upon the number of districts 
that currently provide this service without fee and the number 
of these districts that elect to impose a fee.  According to 
research conducted under the direction of Texas Center for Educational 
Research (TCER), fewer than 5% of the state's school districts 
are providing free transportation for students who live within 
two miles of school.  

Any school districts that initiate 
transportation services to students living within two miles 
of their schools as a result of this legislation would be expected 
to recoup the cost of the service, resulting in no fiscal impact 
to these districts.  

The marginal revenue gain to districts 
that begin collecting a fee is approximately $1,310.40 per student 
per year.  This figure is derived through the following calculation: 
 Average cost per mile in 1995-96 ($1.82) x distance (4 miles 
round trip maximum) x number of days per school year (180 days). 
 

Continuing Fiscal Implications - Local

The fiscal implications 
described above would be likely to continue beyond 2002.
          
   Source:            Agencies:   701   Texas Education Agency - Administration
                                         TCE    Texas Center for Educational Research
                                         
                      LBB Staff:   JK ,LP ,DH ,GJ