| TO: | Honorable Kent Grusendorf, Chair, House Committee on Public Education |
| FROM: | John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | SB1108 by Shapiro (Relating to academic achievement in public schools. ), Committee Report 2nd House, Substituted |
Under the bill, the Commissioner of Education is required to develop and maintain a diagnostic and assistance program for each subject on the exit-level TAKS (math, English language arts, social studies, and science), and other academic programs of mututal benefit. Because the bill also directs the commissioner to work with representatives of institutions of higher education and school districts to fulfill the bill requirements, the state would likely be able to take advantage of "Every Child Every Advantage," the online, student-based diagnostic system for all portions of the exit-level TAKS currently being developed by UT TeleCampus at the University of Texas System Administration. The project development is being funded through private foundation resources.
The bill also directs the commissioner to seek private funding to make available and maintain on the Internet these diagnostic and assistance programs, not later than the beginning in the 2004-05 school year.
For the purposes of this fiscal note, it is assumed that the Commissioner could adopt this system, saving development expenses. It is also assumed that the Texas Education Agency would seek private funding for the estimated $250,000 a year needed to make available and maintain the system on the Internet, beginning in 2005.
| Source Agencies: | 701 Central Education Agency
|
| LBB Staff: | JK, CT, UP, JGM
|