LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD Austin, Texas FISCAL NOTE, 76th Regular Session April 18, 1999 TO: Honorable Paul Sadler, Chair, House Committee on Public Education FROM: John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board IN RE: HB1129 by Longoria (Relating to the implementation of a public education curriculum based on scientific research), As Introduced ************************************************************************** * Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for * * HB1129, As Introduced: negative impact of $(6,223,530) through * * the biennium ending August 31, 2001. * * * * The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal * * basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of * * the bill. * ************************************************************************** General Revenue-Related Funds, Five-Year Impact: **************************************************** * Fiscal Year Probable Net Positive/(Negative) * * Impact to General Revenue Related * * Funds * * 2000 $(6,115,265) * * 2001 (108,265) * * 2002 (108,562) * * 2003 (108,265) * * 2004 (108,265) * **************************************************** All Funds, Five-Year Impact: *************************************************************************** *Fiscal Probable Savings/(Cost) from Change in Number of State * * Year General Revenue Fund Employees from FY 1999 * * 0001 * * 2000 $(6,115,265) 2.0 * * 2001 (108,265) 2.0 * * 2002 (108,562) 2.0 * * 2003 (108,265) 2.0 * * 2004 (108,265) 2.0 * *************************************************************************** Fiscal Analysis The bill requires that the state curriculum and graduation requirements be based on scientific research. The State Board of Education (SBOE), Regional Education Service Centers RESC's local school districts, and the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) would all be required to take action to implement the provisions of the legislation. The SBOE is responsible for statewide curriculum development. In order to ensure that the curriculum is based on scientific research, the staff of the Texas Education Agency (TEA) would engage in a comprehensive review of the current curriculum and analyze its components against a review of the literature on scientific education research. RESCs would be responsible for implementing a training program for educators in the new curriculum, and in instructional methods based on scientific research. SBEC would be responsible for ensuring that certification standards for elementary school teachers and principals include a requirement that a knowledge of educational curricula and teaching methods based on scientific research be demonstrated. Finally, local school districts would be required to administer an assessment instrument to students sent to the principal's office for the first time. The legislation requires that the assessment be in reading decoding and comprehension and in mathematics. School districts would also be required to set educational objectives and implement a curriculum based on scientific research. Methodology This estimate assumes that the cost of the assessment instrument would be the responsibility of the state, rather than local school districts. TEA estimates that the cost of developing such an instrument would be $5.5 million. The bill places this testing requirement in Chapter 37 of the Education Code, not under the statewide assessment program in Chapter 39. Therefore, the test cannot be funded as a set aside from the Compensatory Education Allotment, as is the TAAS test. This estimate also assumes that the affected agencies would incur administrative cost to implement the required curriculum and training components of the bill. The requirement for SBEC to amend certification requirements for elementary teachers takes effect on September 1, 2000 and expires on January 1, 2001; it is therefore assumed that most of the cost associated with the SBEC requirements would be borne in the current biennium. This estimate includes cost for two additional full-time staff and other administrative costs for implementation of the legislation. Local Government Impact Local school district, Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Program (JJAEP), and RESC operations could be significantly impacted by this legislation. TEA estimates that the cost to train all teachers in the state in scientific research based techniques could cost $224 million, based on the cost of training recently provided to all kindergarten teachers in the state on a revised kindergarten curriculum. Local school districts pay RESC's for services, so a portion of that cost would be passed on to the districts. The legislation requires that students sent to the principal's office be given a reading and mathematics assessment and, if the student does not demonstrate certain competencies, place that student in a corrective program. Students entering JJAEP's would also be required to take the assessment. Costs for administering the instrument and for the corrective program depend on how many students are sent to the principal's office, or in the case of the JJAEP's, on how many students are not performing at grade level. Source Agencies: 701 Texas Education Agency - Administration LBB Staff: JK, CT, UP