LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD

Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 78TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION

Revision 1

May 12, 2003

TO:	Honorable Florence Shapiro, Chair, Senate Committee on Education
FROM:	John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	SB1181 by West (Relating to student discipline in publc schools. ), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted

Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for SB1181, Committee Report 1st House, Substituted: a negative impact of ($250,836) through the biennium ending August 31, 2005.

General Revenue-Related Funds, Five-Year Impact:

Fiscal Year	Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds
2004	($125,418)
2005	($125,418)
2006	($125,418)
2007	($125,418)
2008	($125,418)

All Funds, Five-Year Impact:

Fiscal Year	Probable (Cost) from GENERAL REVENUE FUND 1	Change in Number of State Employees from FY 2003
2004	($125,418)	2.0
2005	($125,418)	2.0
2006	($125,418)	2.0
2007	($125,418)	2.0
2008	($125,418)	2.0

Fiscal Analysis

The bill would require an open-enrollment charter school that expels a student or removes a student to a disciplinary alternative education program to comply with the provisions of Chapter 37, Education Code.  The bill would also authorize an open-enrollment charter school that enrolls a student who was expelled or placed in a disciplinary alternative education program by another district to continue the expulsion or placement if the charter school complies with Chapter 37, Education Code.

Methodology

The bill would not have any direct implications for foundation school program.  There would be implications for Texas Education Agency (TEA) operations.  The bill would require an electronic risk assessment process and analysis of additional information submitted by districts that are identified as being at high risk for noncompliance with mandatory on-site investigations of those districts whose responses do not change the high-risk determination.  At current staffing levels, TEA's Safe Schools Division would be able to support the electronic assessment, notification, and analysis of district responses.  Additional costs would be incurred to conduct on-site investigations.

TEA estimated that on-site investigations would be required for about 25 districts identified as high-risk per year.  On-site investigations of school district disciplinary alternative education program compliance and/or records for about 25 districts per year would require additional staff at the Agency of about two full-time employees plus associated travel and operating expenses.  This estimate assumes on-site investigations would be conducted by one staff member with average time on-site of three days, with travel costs derived as an average of visits that require driving and visits that require airfare.

Local Government Impact

No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated. School districts could incur additional costs in providing course completion opportunities to students in disciplinary alternative education programs or in-school suspension.  The costs of these activities would be expected to vary widely from district to district depending upon the level to which such opportunities are currently provided and the methods chosen locally to provide the opportunities.

Source Agencies:

665 Juvenile Probation Commission, 701 Central Education Agency

LBB Staff:

JK, CT, UP, PQ, WP