1-1     By:  Gutierrez (Senate Sponsor - Zaffirini)            H.B. No. 106
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House April 25, 2001;
 1-3     April 26, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on
 1-4     Education; May 11, 2001, reported favorably by the following vote:
 1-5     Yeas 6, Nays 1; May 11, 2001, sent to printer.)
 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-7                                   AN ACT
 1-8     relating to restricting written reports required of public school
 1-9     classroom teachers.
1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11           SECTION 1.  Subchapter I, Chapter 21, Education Code, is
1-12     amended by adding Section 21.411 to read as follows:
1-13           Sec. 21.411.  RESTRICTING WRITTEN REPORTS.  (a)  The board of
1-14     trustees of each school district shall adopt a policy to limit
1-15     redundant requests for information and the number and length of
1-16     written reports that a classroom teacher is required to prepare.
1-17     Except as provided by Subsection (b), a classroom teacher may not
1-18     be  required to prepare a written report other than:
1-19                 (1)  a report of a student's grade on a particular
1-20     assignment or examination;
1-21                 (2)  a report of a student's grades at the end of a
1-22     grade reporting period;
1-23                 (3)  a textbook report;
1-24                 (4)  a unit or weekly lesson plan report that outlines,
1-25     in a brief and general manner, the information to be presented
1-26     during each period at the secondary level or in each subject or
1-27     topic at the elementary level;
1-28                 (5)  an attendance report;
1-29                 (6)  a report required for accreditation review;
1-30                 (7)  any other report specifically required by law or
1-31     State Board of Education rule to be prepared by a classroom
1-32     teacher; or
1-33                 (8)  any other report directly related to the
1-34     professional duties of the classroom teacher.
1-35           (b)  If information is required under federal or state law,
1-36     regulation, or rule and the only reasonable manner in which to
1-37     collect the information is with the direct involvement of a
1-38     classroom teacher, the teacher may be required to provide the
1-39     information.
1-40           (c)  The board of trustees shall review paperwork
1-41     requirements imposed on classroom teachers and shall transfer to
1-42     existing noninstructional staff a reporting task that can
1-43     reasonably be accomplished by that staff.
1-44           (d)  This section does not preclude a school district from
1-45     collecting essential information, in addition to information
1-46     specified under Subsection (a) or (b), from a classroom teacher if:
1-47                 (1)  participation is entirely at the discretion of the
1-48     teacher and the school district does not directly or indirectly
1-49     coerce the teacher to participate;
1-50                 (2)  the decision not to participate is not held
1-51     against the teacher; and
1-52                 (3)  the commissioner promptly investigates any
1-53     allegation of the misuse of voluntary information-gathering
1-54     procedures that burdens a teacher and circumvents compliance with
1-55     the statutory intent for paperwork reduction.
1-56           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect immediately and applies
1-57     beginning with the 2001-2002 school year.
1-58                                  * * * * *