LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
                              Austin, Texas
                                     
                    FISCAL NOTE, 77th Regular Session
  
                               May 10, 2001
  
  
          TO:  Honorable Teel Bivins, Chair, Senate Committee on
               Education
  
        FROM:  John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board
  
       IN RE:  HB3313  by Dunnam (Relating to elementary class size
               limits in public schools.), As Engrossed
  
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*  No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.        *
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Local Government Impact
  
Districts that do not meet either the bill's fast growth criteria or
small district criteria would be required to comply with class size
limitations after second consecutive semester waiver for any one campus.


Districts would be required to provide communication to parents of
students covered by class size waivers.  It is presumed for purposes of
this fiscal note that this communication could be included with other
regular communications so long as it done no later than 31 days after the
waiver is granted.

For the spring semester of the 2000-2001 school year about 192 campuses
in 20 districts received their third consecutive class size waiver and
would not have been exempt due to fast growth or small district size.
Of the 192 campuses, 154 are located in Houston ISD.  For the purpose of
this estimate it is assumed that if these 192 campuses had been
ineligible for the third consecutive waiver, the affected districts
would have had to hire one additional teacher per affected campus and
purchase one portable classroom per affected campus.  At an average
salary of $37,600 and portable classroom cost of $50,000 the annualized
statewide cost associated with the limitation on consecutive class size
waivers would be about $16.8 million.
  
  
Source Agencies:   701   Texas Education Agency
LBB Staff:         JK, CT, PF, RN