C.S.H.B. 693 78(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


C.S.H.B. 693
By: Van Arsdale
Public Education
Committee Report (Substituted)



BACKGROUND
 
Current law provides that when a child wishes to participate in the Public
Education Grant (PEG) program the district to which the child chooses to
transfer has the option of rejecting the child for any reason provided the
rejection is not due to discrimination. Many districts have opted not to
accept any children under the PEG even when they have room available.
Consequently,  few children are presently attending a public school under
the PEG. 


PURPOSE

The purpose of C.S.H.B. 693 is to provide an incentive to school districts
to accept students under the PEG program by offering these districts
additional funds from the district in which the student resides. In order
to ease the financial burden to the district in which the PEG student
resides, C.S.H.B. 693 also repeals the existing law to the extent it
requires the PEG student's residing district to provide free
transportation to the school in the accepting district.  


RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

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


ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 693 amends the Education Code to provide that a school district
which accepts a student under the PEG program is entitled to funds from
the district in which the student resides in an amount equal to the
difference between: 125 percent of the amount of state aid that the
accepting district would receive if the student were a resident of the
district; and the amount of state aid that the accepting district receives
as a result of the student's attendance in the accepting district. 

The bill defines "attending district" as the school district in which a
student attends school under the PEG program but does not reside. The bill
defines "residing district" as the school district in which a student
using a PEG resides. 

The bill repeals Section 29.203(f), Education Code requiring free
transportation by the residing district to the accepting district.  


EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2003.


COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 693 modifies the original version by amending Sections 29.203(b)
and 29.203(g) rather than Section 29.203(d), Education Code. C.S.H.B. 693
modifies the original by adding a repeal of  Section 29.203(f) of the
Education Code which requires the residing district to provide free
transportation to the attending district.