SRC-TAG S.B. 766 78(R)   BILL ANALYSIS


Senate Research Center   S.B. 766
78R6930 SLO-DBy: Van de Putte
Subcommittee on Higher Education
3/13/2003
As Filed


DIGEST AND PURPOSE 

Currently, school districts are not required to monitor the post-secondary
educational plans of graduating high school seniors.  According to the
Texas Higher Education Enrollment Survey, the overall enrollment rate in
institutions of higher education declined from 5.3 percent in 1990 to 4.9
percent in 2000.  As proposed, S.B. 766 establishes a voluntary pilot
program for counselors at participating schools to survey graduating
seniors regarding their post-secondary education plans, including whether
a student applies to college, where the student applies, where the student
is accepted, and where the student will attend college.  

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

Rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the Texas Education Agency in
SECTION 1 (Section 7.027(d), Education Code) of this bill.  

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Chapter 7B, Education Code, by adding Section 7.027, as
follows: 

Sec.  7.027.  POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION SURVEY PILOT PROGRAM.  (a) Requires
the Texas Education Agency (TEA)  to establish a post-secondary education
survey pilot program to monitor the post-secondary education plans of
seniors at high schools that participate in the program.  

(b)  Requires TEA, by August 1, 2004, to select five non-charter high
schools to participate in the pilot program.  Authorizes TEA to select
only a school that  is 
willing to participate in the pilot program, and located in a municipality
that contains a least 10 independent school districts. 

(c)  Requires each participating school, during the 2004-2005 and
2005-2006 school years, to administer a survey to each senior, to the
extent practicable, before the last day of the school year.  Requires the
survey to include certain information. 

  (d)  Authorizes TEA to adopt the necessary rules to implement this
section. 

SECTION 2.  Requires TEA to adopt any necessary rules to implement Section
7.027, Education Code, as added by this Act, as soon as practicable after
the effective date of this Act. 

SECTION 3.  Effective date: September 1, 2003.