Honorable Frank Corte, Jr., Chair, House Committee on Defense Affairs & State-Federal Relations
FROM:
John S. O'Brien, Deputy Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB25 by Delisi (Relating to transition assistance within the public school system for school-age dependents of military personnel.), As Introduced
Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for HB25, As Introduced: a negative impact of ($1,425,542) through the biennium ending August 31, 2007.
The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of the bill.
Fiscal Year
Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds
2006
($712,771)
2007
($712,771)
2008
($712,771)
2009
($712,771)
2010
($712,771)
Fiscal Year
Probable Savings/(Cost) from GENERAL REVENUE FUND 1
Change in Number of State Employees from FY 2005
2006
($712,771)
1.0
2007
($712,771)
1.0
2008
($712,771)
1.0
2009
($712,771)
1.0
2010
($712,771)
1.0
Fiscal Analysis
The bill would require the Texas Education Agency to assist the relocation of military dependents by improving the timely transfer of student records, developing systems to ease transition, promoting practices regarding access to extracurricular programs, establishing procedures for students transferring during their senior year, encouraging and maintaining partnerships between bases and districts, providing services to students applying for admission to postsecondary programs, and providing any other assistance identified at the state or local level or by military personnel.
The bill would require a report of the Agency’s implementation of the above requirements to the presiding officers of legislative standing committees by January 1, 2006.
Methodology
The bill would require of TEA a number of new activities and would affect TEA administrative operations.
The bill would require that the Agency improve the timely transfer of student records. Texas Education Code Section 25.002 currently requires a student’s parent, legal guardian, or school district in which the child most recently attended to provide student records within 30 days of enrollment in a new district. The Agency could improve on this requirement for military dependents by adopting rules directing districts to prioritize the transfer of student records of military dependents, or by requiring districts receiving such students to proactively seek student records from the previous district. The adoption of these rules is not anticipated to have any significant fiscal implications to the Agency. The remaining tasks assigned to TEA are developing systems to ease transition, promoting practices regarding access to extracurricular programs, establishing procedures for students transferring during their senior year, encouraging and maintaining partnerships between bases and districts, providing services to students applying for admission to postsecondary programs, and providing any other assistance identified at the state or local level or by military personnel. Many of these activities would appear to require a type of ongoing coordination and intervention role by TEA. It is assumed that the most practical way to implement these coordination and intervention activities would be through the dedication of staff in some type of ombudsman function. Implementation would require at least one additional professional level employee at the TEA with decentralized support provided on an ongoing basis through grants to each of the three education service centers with the greatest concentration of military installations in the state.
TEA does not currently provide direct services to students. The final two tasks assigned to the TEA are stated as providing services to students applying for admission to postsecondary programs and providing any other assistance identified at the state or local level or by military personnel. These responsibilities have traditionally been assigned to local school district personnel. TEA and education service center staffing and support mechanisms described above would provide a basis for coordination of and technical assistance for direct service providers, but it would not be a practical mechanism to directly assist individual students in applying for admission to postsecondary programs or providing any other direct assistance requested. Were TEA to establish a delivery mechanism to directly serve individual students, a great deal of additional resources would be required. It would not be practical or effective to require military dependents to travel to a service center or to Austin to obtain assistance in completing applications. However, the required services could be provided through itinerant on-site staff or mobile application and assistance labs that circulate on a regular basis through districts serving large numbers of military dependents. Assuming that contracted resources to provide services would equate to roughly ten itinerant service providers plus travel expenses on a statewide basis, it is estimated that state costs for TEA to provide the direct services prescribed by the bill to individual military dependents would be approximately $500,000 annually.
Local Government Impact
Local government fiscal impact will depend on the rules adopted by the agency relating to the timely transfer of student records.