LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas
FISCAL NOTE, 77th Regular Session
April 4, 2001
TO: Honorable Paul Sadler, Chair, House Committee on Public
Education
FROM: John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE: HB660 by Seaman (Relating to career and technology
education and training.), As Introduced
**************************************************************************
* Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for *
* HB660, As Introduced: negative impact of $(17,410,000) through *
* the biennium ending August 31, 2003. *
* *
* The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal *
* basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of *
* the bill. *
**************************************************************************
General Revenue-Related Funds, Five-Year Impact:
****************************************************
* Fiscal Year Probable Net Positive/(Negative) *
* Impact to General Revenue Related *
* Funds *
* 2002 $(4,055,000) *
* 2003 (13,355,000) *
* 2004 (13,355,000) *
* 2005 (13,355,000) *
* 2006 (13,355,000) *
****************************************************
All Funds, Five-Year Impact:
***************************************************************************
*Fiscal Probable Savings/(Cost) from Probable Savings/(Cost) from *
* Year General Revenue Fund Foundation School Fund *
* 0001 0193 *
* 2002 $(1,555,000) $(2,500,000) *
* 2003 (10,855,000) (2,500,000) *
* 2004 (10,855,000) (2,500,000) *
* 2005 (10,855,000) (2,500,000) *
* 2006 (10,855,000) (2,500,000) *
***************************************************************************
Fiscal Analysis
The bill modifies several sections of the Education code related to
career and technology education.
It expands the State Board for Career and Technology Education to include
six additional members of business and industry; directs regional
education service centers to cooperate with institutions of higher
education and local work force development boards to develop academic
and career and technology education programs; requires each school
district to provide instruction in career awareness at middle and junior
high school levels; authorizes the Commissioner of Education to allow
districts to substitute career and technology courses for courses in the
required curriculum, if the courses are substantially identical; creates
a seven-member Career and Technology Education Advisory Board to advise
and assist the Texas Education Agency (TEA) with planning and program
development.; authorizes local school boards to develop certain career
and technology education programs that lead to distinguished achievement
awards of $1,000 each; authorizes property-wealthy school districts to
provide regional career and technology education programs as a means of
reducing property wealth under Chapter 41; provides safeguards to assure
that the expenditures to educate non-resident students are sufficient to
effectively reduce property wealth; and directs the State Board of
Education to adopt new TEKS for career and technology education programs
by March 1, 2002. It also requires school districts to provide the new
programs by the 2002-03 school year.
Methodology
Section 2 expands the State Board of Career and Technology Education to
include six members of business and industry. The members would incur
travel expenses to attend meetings. A travel allocation of $5,000 per
board member per year ($30,000) is estimated for purposes of this note.
Section 3 directs the regional education service centers (ESC's) to
provide certain program development services with respect to academic and
career and technology education in cooperation with local work force
development boards and institutions of higher education. As a state
responsibility, it is expected that each service center would need one
staff position. The expected cost per staff member is expected to be
$75,000, including office and travel expenses. The total for the 20
ESC's is estimated at $1,500,000.
Section 9 permits the commissioner to allow school districts to
substitute career and technology courses for the required curriculum if
the content of the courses is substantially identical. TEA staff believe
that some career and technology courses could possibly substitute for
the current requirements in economics, speech, and, possibly, health with
some modification. There would also likely be an impact on technology
applications areas, since many of the elements of certain career and
technology courses overlap the requirements for certain technology and
business education courses. Local districts would probably substitute
courses as a way to more efficiently utilize career and technology
instructional staff. Current law requires this staff provide at least
four technology applications courses. Because career and technology
courses are funded in the Foundation School Program at a level that is 37
percent higher than traditional academic courses, course substitutions
would have a fiscal effect. Assuming a 10,000 increase in enrollments in
career and technology courses, instead of the required curriculum, would
cost the Foundation School Program $2.5 million per year.
Section 10 creates a seven-member advisory board to assist the agency
with planning and program development activities related to career and
technology. At least five members would require significant travel and
per diem expenses. At the rate of $5,000 per person per year, the
travel-related expenses of the board would cost about $25,000 per year.
Section 11 creates an award system of $1,000 per student for students
graduating under a career and technology program leading to a
distinguished achievement status. This section would require at least
TEA employee to approve proposals for programs and allocate award funds.
At the present time, there are about 93,000 students annually that
either complete a tech/prep program or a coherent sequence of courses. It
is assumed that 10 percent of these students would be given a
distinguished achievement award. Starting in fiscal year 2003, this
would lead to an annual award cost of about $9.3 million.
Section 15 authorizes an arrangement by which property-wealthy districts
subject to Chapter 41 of the Education Code would provide services to
non-resident students in a career and technology program and receive
credit for that service under the Foundation School Program toward the
district's obligations for Chapter 41. This authorization would likely
be fiscally neutral, assuming that the commissioner's rules for Chapter
41 would make a proportionate reduction in the funding of the district of
residence. There may be some data processing implications to this
change, as it will require an adjustment in the method by which student
attendance is reported to TEA.
This fiscal note assumes the requirement that school districts
instruction in career awareness (Section 8 of bill) would not require a
new course but would be incorporated into the existing curriculum.
Local Government Impact
Staff costs might rise for middle and junior high schools for making
career awareness instruction available in those schools, currently not
offering the courses. To the extent that districts are allowed to
substitute courses and a significant number of students enroll in the
career and technology courses rather than the regular courses, districts
would realize additional state aid of about $2.5 million per year.
Source Agencies: 781 Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, 701
Texas Education Agency
LBB Staff: JK, CT, PF, RN