C.S.H.B. 511 78(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


C.S.H.B. 511
By: Castro
Public Education
Committee Report (Substituted)



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, school districts are not required to monitor the postsecondary
education plans of graduating high school seniors.  According to the Texas
Higher Education Enrollment Survey, from 1990 to 2000, the overall
enrollment of the total population in institutions of higher education has
declined from 5.3% to 4.9%. Without surveying students' postsecondary
plans, school districts cannot set goals for  improvement. C.S.H.B. 511
establishes a voluntary survey for counselors at participating schools to
use for the purpose of tracking graduating seniors' postsecondary
education plans.  


RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any
additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or
institution. 


ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 511 amends the Education Code to require the Texas Education
Agency (agency) to develop a postsecondary education survey that a public
high school may use to monitor the postsecondary education plans of high
school seniors at the high school. The bill requires the agency to post
the survey on their website by January 1, 2004.  The bill requires the
agency to notify school districts located in municipalities with a
population of at least one million of the availability of the survey. The
bill authorizes a counselor at each participating school to administer a
survey to seniors. The bill authorizes a high school counselor to
administer the survey and provides that the survey must include questions
to obtain whether a student will or has applied to a postsecondary
educational institution, the name of any institution applied to, the name
of any institution accepted to, and the name of the institution to which
the student is planning to attend.  

The bill provides that this section expires August 1, 2006.


EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2003. 


COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 511 modifies the original by clarifying the agency's role in
creating the survey, rather than monitoring the program. C.S.H.B. 511
modifies the original by requiring the agency to post the survey on its
website and to notify certain school districts of the survey's
availability.  C.S.H.B. 511 modifies the original by removing the
requirements that counselors administer the survey within a certain time
period and mail or deliver the survey results to the agency. C.S.H.B. 511
modifies the original by removing the requirement that the agency include
the results in the comprehensive annual reports. C.S.H.B. 511 modifies the
original by  removing the provision which grants rulemaking authority to
the agency. C.S.H.B. 511 modifies the original by changing the expiration
date to August 1,  2006.