LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD Austin, Texas FISCAL NOTE, 77th Regular Session March 1, 2001 TO: Honorable Teel Bivins, Chair, Senate Committee on Education FROM: John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board IN RE: SB351 by Truan (Relating to computation of the number of educationally disadvantaged students in public school districts without food service.), As Introduced ************************************************************************** * Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for * * SB351, As Introduced: negative impact of $(9,600,000) 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 $(4,800,000) * * 2003 (4,800,000) * * 2004 (4,800,000) * * 2005 (4,800,000) * * 2006 (4,800,000) * **************************************************** All Funds, Five-Year Impact: ***************************************************** * Fiscal Year Probable Savings/(Cost) from * * General Revenue Fund * * 0001 * * 2002 $(4,800,000) * * 2003 (4,800,000) * * 2004 (4,800,000) * * 2005 (4,800,000) * * 2006 (4,800,000) * ***************************************************** Fiscal Analysis This bill authorizes the commissioner to adopt rules that would allow for counting certain students for compensatory education allotment purposes (Texas Education Code 42.152) that are educated in districts or on campuses that do not participate in the national school lunch program. Under current law, the basis for funding most of the compensatory education allotment is the best six-month average of participation in the national school lunch program. Methodology There are 81 school districts or open-enrollment, charter schools eligible for participation in the Foundation School Program that do not participate in the national school lunch program. For the 1999-2000 school year, 1,796 of the 12,795 students enrolled at those school districts and open-enrollment charter schools were reported as low-income. There are also 113 individual campuses that have chosen not to participate in the program in districts that do have some participation. For the 1999-2000 school year, 2,563 of the 18,164 students enrolled at these schools were reported as low-income. Within the Foundation School Program, the average amount allotted by the compensatory education allotment is $569. Because the districts that do not participate in the school lunch program are generally small, an average allotment of $700 is assumed for purposes of this estimate. In addition, each student would generate additional funding through the Tier 2 guaranteed yield program, estimated at approximately $400. This bill specifies the computation of an average or applying the average in other campuses within a district to a particular campus. Because the data available about non-participating districts is not the same as the average indicated in the bill, there may be some variation in the actual cost. Using the low-income students reported in 1999-2000 at campuses and districts not participating in the national school lunch program as a guide for the number of students that would qualify under a commissioner rule, the impact would be approximately $4.8 million in additional state cost per year. Local Government Impact Certain school districts would receive additional state aid as reflected in the state impact table above. Source Agencies: 701 Texas Education Agency LBB Staff: JK, CT, PF, RN