LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD Austin, Texas FISCAL NOTE, 77th Regular Session February 13, 2001 TO: Honorable Teel Bivins, Chair, Senate Committee on Education FROM: John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board IN RE: SB165 by Madla (Relating to reimbursement for the costs of transportation of a student to a magnet school.), As Introduced ************************************************************************** * Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for * * SB165, As Introduced: negative impact of $(6,000,000) 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 $(3,000,000) * * 2003 (3,000,000) * * 2004 (3,000,000) * * 2005 (3,000,000) * * 2006 (3,000,000) * **************************************************** All Funds, Five-Year Impact: ***************************************************** * Fiscal Year Probable Savings/(Cost) from * * Foundation School Fund * * 0193 * * 2002 $(3,000,000) * * 2003 (3,000,000) * * 2004 (3,000,000) * * 2005 (3,000,000) * * 2006 (3,000,000) * ***************************************************** Fiscal Analysis This bill amends the current definition of a "regular eligible student" for purposes of regular transportation funding under the Foundation School Program. It adds the qualification "including a magnet school campus" in the description of the campus from which a student must reside two or more miles from in order to be an eligible rider for funding under the state aid formula for transportation. The effect is to make route mileage incurred in transporting students to magnet schools part of the eligible population used in computing the linear density grouping for a school district when the student lives more than two miles from the magnet school to which the student has been assigned. Under current funding guidelines, transportation of a student that voluntarily transfers to attend school at a campus located in another attendance zone or school district is not eligible for transportation allotment purposes. Methodology This fiscal note is based on information provided by the Texas Education Agency (TEA). TEA believes there are at least two significant factors to address in developing this estimate. First, there is no statutory or rule-based definition for a "magnet" school. Second, TEA no longer reviews and approves routes, and does not have specific rule-making authority for transportation services. Transportation for desegregation purposes, which frequently involves magnet schools, has historically been eligible for funding. Transportation for career and technology and other special programs, sometimes because the program is unavailable at the student's assigned campus, can also involve magnet schools. The desegregation component of regular transportation, an analogous purpose to voluntary, magnet schools, had total annual miles of 10.4 million in 1999-2000, involving about 28,500 students, at a cost of about $10.7 million under the formulas. Career and technology transportation services, which generally moves students during the day from a regularly assigned campus to a separate campus or work site, totaled 4.3 million miles in 1999-2000. Reports from districts indicate that transportation services reports may not have been consistent with regard to the treatment of possible magnet school transportation. Because desegregation-related magnet schools have been funded under the formulas, some districts may already have reported magnet schools that are not intended to address desegregation requirements. With the variety of issues expressed above in mind, TEA staff estimate that the additional cost to the state to authorize transportation of students who voluntarily enroll in magnet schools not related to desegregation could initially be between $1 million and $5 million per year. The midpoint value of $3 million is used for the cost estimate. Local Government Impact School districts should experience additional revenue from the state as a result of the bill. Because additional mileage and students could affect the linear density grouping for some districts, there could be an impact on an individual district's funding rate that might offset gains from the additional eligible mileage. Source Agencies: 701 Texas Education Agency LBB Staff: JK, CT, PF, RN