C.S.H.B. 912 78(R) BILL ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 912 By: Madden Public Education Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND Under current law, the board of trustees of a school district is required to provide each term contract teacher with a copy of his or her contract along with a copy of the board's employment policies. School districts now have various dissemination tools available, including the Internet, which are efficient and timely. However, school districts are still required to dedicate staff time and funds to the distribution of a paper copy of the board's employment policies. This requirement can be a paperwork burden for school districts. PURPOSE C.S.H.B. 912 requires school districts to distribute a paper copy of the board's employment policies on the teacher's request. The purpose of this bill is to provide financial relief to school districts by reducing the amount of paperwork and staff work dedicated to printing and distributing readily available information in their efforts curb expenditures. 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. 912 amends the Education Code by requiring the board of trustees to provide each teacher, under a term contract, with a copy of the board's employment policies on the teacher's request. The bill requires the school district to place the board's employment policies on the district website, if applicable. The bill requires the board to make a copy of the employment policies available at each school in the district. EFFECTIVE DATE Upon passage, or, if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2003. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 912 modifies the original version by reinstating the provision requiring a board of trustees to provide each teacher with a copy of the board's employment policies. C.S.H.B. 912 modifies the original by adding that providing each teacher with a copy of the board's employment policies be done at the teacher's request. C.S.H.B. 912 modifies the original by adding provisions relating to the posting of employment policies on the district website and making employment policies available at each school in the district.