HBA-MPM H.B. 79 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 79 By: Gallego Public Education 4/9/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, the Texas Education Agency determines the number of educationally disadvantaged students in a school district by averaging the best six-month enrollment in the national school lunch program of free or reduced-price lunches for the preceding year. However, this does not take into consideration that districts may have campuses that do not participate in the national school lunch program. House Bill 79 provides that in any district in which one or more campuses do not participate in the national school lunch program the number of educationally disadvantaged students is determined in the manner provided by the commissioner of education. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking authority is expressly delegated to the commissioner of education in SECTION 1 (Section 42.152, Education Code) of this bill. ANALYSIS House Bill 79 amends the Education Code to provide by rule of the commissioner of education that the number of educationally-disadvantaged students in a school district is determined in the manner provided by the rules of the commissioner of education if one or more campuses in the district did not participate in the national school lunch program during the preceding year, or by averaging the best six month's enrollment in the national school lunch program for the preceding year, as set forth in current law. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.