By Gutierrez                                           H.B. No. 106
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to restricting written reports required of public school
 1-3     classroom teachers.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1.  Subchapter I, Chapter 21, Education Code, is
 1-6     amended by adding Section 21.411 to read as follows:
 1-7           Sec. 21.411.  RESTRICTING WRITTEN REPORTS.  (a)  The board of
 1-8     trustees of each school district shall adopt a policy to limit
 1-9     redundant requests for information and the number and length of
1-10     written reports that a classroom teacher is required to prepare.
1-11     Except as provided by Subsection (b), a classroom teacher may not
1-12     be  required to prepare a written report other than:
1-13                 (1)  a report of a student's grade on a particular
1-14     assignment or examination;
1-15                 (2)  a report of a student's grades at the end of a
1-16     grade reporting period;
1-17                 (3)  a textbook report;
1-18                 (4)  a unit or weekly lesson plan report that outlines,
1-19     in a brief and general manner, the information to be presented
1-20     during each period at the secondary level or in each subject or
1-21     topic at the elementary level;
1-22                 (5)  an attendance report;
1-23                 (6)  a report required for accreditation review;
1-24                 (7)  any other report specifically required by law or
 2-1     State Board of Education rule to be prepared by a classroom
 2-2     teacher; or
 2-3                 (8)  any other report directly related to the
 2-4     professional duties of the classroom teacher.
 2-5           (b)  If information is required under federal or state law,
 2-6     regulation, or rule and the only reasonable manner in which to
 2-7     collect the information is with the direct involvement of a
 2-8     classroom teacher, the teacher may be required to provide the
 2-9     information.
2-10           (c)  The board of trustees shall review paperwork
2-11     requirements imposed on classroom teachers and shall transfer to
2-12     existing noninstructional staff a reporting task that can
2-13     reasonably be accomplished by that staff.
2-14           (d)  This section does not preclude a school district from
2-15     collecting essential information, in addition to information
2-16     specified under Subsection (a) or (b), from a classroom teacher if:
2-17                 (1)  participation is entirely at the discretion of the
2-18     teacher and the school district does not directly or indirectly
2-19     coerce the teacher to participate;
2-20                 (2)  the decision not to participate is not held
2-21     against the teacher; and
2-22                 (3)  the commissioner promptly investigates any
2-23     allegation of the misuse of voluntary information-gathering
2-24     procedures that burdens a teacher and circumvents compliance with
2-25     the statutory intent for paperwork reduction.
2-26           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect immediately and applies
2-27     beginning with the 2001-2002 school year.