LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas
FISCAL NOTE, 77th Regular Session
March 27, 2001
TO: Honorable Paul Sadler, Chair, House Committee on Public
Education
FROM: John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE: HB801 by Longoria (Relating to the implementation of a
public education curriculum based on scientific
research.), As Introduced
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* Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for *
* HB801, As Introduced: negative impact of $(6,408,550) 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. *
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General Revenue-Related Funds, Five-Year Impact:
****************************************************
* Fiscal Year Probable Net Positive/(Negative) *
* Impact to General Revenue Related *
* Funds *
* 2002 $(6,294,275) *
* 2003 (114,275) *
* 2004 (114,275) *
* 2005 (114,275) *
* 2006 (114,275) *
****************************************************
All Funds, Five-Year Impact:
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*Fiscal Probable Savings/(Cost) from Change in Number of State *
* Year General Revenue Fund Employees from FY 2001 *
* 0001 *
* 2002 $(6,294,275) 2.0 *
* 2003 (114,275) 2.0 *
* 2004 (114,275) 2.0 *
* 2005 (114,275) 2.0 *
* 2006 (114,275) 2.0 *
***************************************************************************
Fiscal Analysis
The bill requires the State Board of Education to establish curriculum
and graduation requirements based on scientific research. The Texas
Education Agency (TEA) would be obliged to develop additional strategies
for improvement of student performance that include instructional methods
for addressing the needs of student groups not achieving their full
potential, and staff development in reading, spelling, and mathematics
for professional staff of the district. Education Service Centers ESC's
would provide training to teachers in each subject area using methods
based on scientific research.
The bill requires that the first time a student is referred to the
principal's office the student be given a reading and math placement test
based on scientific research. The results of the test would then be
used to place the student in a corrective educational program.
The bill requires that a curriculum based on scientific research be used
in juvenile justice alternative education programs (JJAEP's) and in adult
education programs.
The bill requires school districts to provide a description of the
educational methods based on scientific research used in the district to
all parents.
Methodology
TEA assumes that one study would be conducted on a contracted basis at a
cost of $500,000 and an annual $114,275 would be needed for additional
employees to assemble, review, and summarize all the relevant research so
that it could be used to develop a curriculum based on "scientific
research".
The cost of developing the reading and math tests to be administered to a
student the first time that he/she is sent to the principal's office is
estimated to be $5.5 million. This cost is based on estimated costs for
developing other standardized tests in the state testing program. Because
this test is contained in Chapter 37 of the Education Code, and is not
part of the statewide assessment program under Chapter 39 of the
Education Code, it cannot be funded as a set aside from the compensatory
education allotment. The cost of the study and the cost of test
development are one-time expenditures for fiscal year 2002.
TEA would also incur costs associated with convening curriculum-writing
teams to develop the scientifically-based education curriculum. The
agency would have one team for each subject area - reading, spelling,
and mathematics -- and a related one time cost of $180,000 in fiscal
year 2002.
Local Government Impact
TEA estimates that the cost to education service centers ESC's to provide
training to the state's approximately 273,000 teachers, that would need
to occur under this bill, to be at least $232 million. Some of this cost
would be passed on to local school districts, which pay ESC's for their
services.
Districts may also incur some local costs in administering the reading
and math assessment tests. The number of tests administered will depend
upon the number of students in the district who are referred to the
principal's office.
Source Agencies: 665 Texas Juvenile Probation Commission, 705
State Board for Educator Certification, 701 Texas
Education Agency
LBB Staff: JK, CT, PF, RN