HBA-JEK H.B. 723 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 723 By: Turner, Sylvester Public Education 4/8/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Educators often face unexpected expenses that are directly related to classroom instruction. While schools provide furniture and supplies to teachers, these items often meet only the most basic needs of educators. Many districts are financially unable to provide their teachers with all the supplies that teachers need in their classrooms. House Bill 723 provides each school district teacher with an allotment to purchase supplies for classroom use. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill expressly delegates rulemaking authority to the commissioner of education in SECTION 1 (Section 42.159, Education Code). ANALYSIS House Bill 723 amends the Education Code to entitle each school district to an annual allotment of $400 for each of its full-time equivalent teachers. A school district must use this money to provide each full-time teacher with $400 to purchase classroom supplies for use in the teacher's class or course. The bill authorizes the teacher to select the supplies and the supplier, and prohibits the district from requiring a teacher to use this allotment for supplies traditionally provided by the district. H.B. 723 entitles a teacher who is employed for less than a full school year or on a part-time basis and certain substitute teachers and student teachers to receive an allotment proportionate to the amount of the school year that the teacher teaches as compared to a full school year. The bill authorizes the district to administer the allotment as it determines best meets the needs of the district, and authorizes the district to require a teacher to provide receipts for the items purchased with the allotment. The bill authorizes the commissioner of education to adopt rules to implement these provisions, including establishing reporting requirements or determining the number of full-time equivalent teachers in a district. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.