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