HBA-MPM H.B. 106 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 106 By: Gutierrez Public Education 7/9/2001 Enrolled BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE In 1995, the 74th Legislature reenacted and revised part of the Education Code, and in the process, the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) that limited the amount of paperwork required of teachers was repealed. As a result, the power of the State Board of Education to adopt rules regarding PRA was eliminated, and the amount of paperwork required by teachers is no longer regulated by statute. House Bill 106 limits the amount of paperwork that can be required of a public school classroom teacher. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS House Bill 106 amends the Education Code to require the board of trustees of each school district to adopt a policy limiting redundant requests for information and the number and length of written reports a classroom teacher is required to prepare. The bill prohibits requiring a teacher to prepare written reports other than: _a report of a student's grade on a particular assignment or examination; _a report of a student's grades at the end of a grade reporting period; _a textbook report; _a unit or weekly lesson plan report outlining the information to be presented during each period at the secondary level or in each subject or topic at the elementary level; _an attendance report; _a report required for accreditation review; _any other report required by law or State Board of Education rule; or _any other report directly related to the classroom teacher's professional duties. The bill provides that a teacher may be required to provide information that is required under federal or state law, regulation, or rule, if the only reasonable manner in which to collect the information is with the direct involvement of a teacher. The bill requires the board of trustees to review paperwork requirements imposed on teachers and to transfer a reporting task to existing noninstructional staff, if the staff can reasonably accomplish it. In addition to the specific reporting requirements listed, the teacher's involvement in the collection of essential information by a school district is not precluded by this bill if: _the participation is at the teacher's discretion and the district does not coerce participation of the teacher; _the decision not to participate is not held against the teacher; and _the commissioner of education promptly investigates allegations of the misuse of voluntary information-gathering procedures that burden a teacher and do not comply with the statutory intent to reduce paperwork. EFFECTIVE DATE Vetoed.