LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas
 
FISCAL NOTE, 78TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION
 
April 19, 2003

TO:
Honorable Kent Grusendorf, Chair, House Committee on Public Education
 
FROM:
John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board
 
IN RE:
HB1988 by Ellis (Relating to assessment of public school students with dyslexia and related disorders.), As Introduced

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

This bill would authorize substitute scores for reading and writing portions of the TAKS for a student with dyslexia or a related disorder who is not otherwise exempt from regular TAKS testing and who is not assessed under Section 39.0239(m) with an instrument specifically designed to assess reading or writing of a student with dyslexia or a related disorder.  The bill would provide for a student with dyslexia or a related disorder to be given extra time to complete any section in an assessment instrument in reading and provided an oral examination for math, science, or social studies sections.

Costs associated with the state assessment system would increase under this bill.  Because the costs of the state’s assessment system are currently funded through a set-aside from the Foundation School Program’s Compensatory Education Allotment, there would be no increased cost at the state level.  However, school districts would lose a corresponding amount of state aid distributed under the Compensatory Education Allotment.


Local Government Impact

No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated. School districts could incur additional costs associated with convening the panel and reporting the scores determined by the panel.  No data are collected at this time that would specifically identify the statewide population of students to whom these provisions might apply.  Due to increases in the set-aside from the Compensatory Education Allotment used to finance the state assessment system, school district revenues would decrease by about $1.75 million each year.


Source Agencies:
701 Central Education Agency
LBB Staff:
JK, CT, UP, PQ