79(R) SB 83 Introduced version

All Funds, Five-Year Impact:

Fiscal Year	Probable Savings/(Cost) from GENERAL REVENUE FUND 1
2006	($830,600)
2007	($1,830,600)
2008	($2,830,600)
2009	($3,830,600)
2010	($4,830,600)

Fiscal Analysis

The bill would establish the 21st Century Educational Excellence Program for National Certification. The program would provide financial assistance to gain certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) for up to 500 eligible teachers. An eligible teacher would be employed by a public school district and would be certified by the State Board for Educator Certification in any of several fields identified as experiencing a critical shortage of teachers in the state in the year in which the teacher applies to the program.

The bill stipulates that the Texas Education Agency (TEA) would provide financial assistance equal to two-thirds of the cost of NBPTS certification and that the school district that employs the candidate for NBPTS certification would provide the remaining one-third of the cost of certification. The bill would enable school districts to pay stipends for teachers who participate in the program and obtain NBPTS certification and would allow TEA to match the district stipend up to $2,000 out of funds appropriated for this purpose.

The bill would also require TEA to establish a statewide staff development plan that uses the skills and knowledge of teachers who would have obtained board certification.

Methodology

Based on the current cost of NBTPS certification of $2,300, the cost to the state of providing two-thirds of the certification costs to 500 teachers per year would be about $770,000 annually. TEA estimates additional costs of $60,600 to fund one full-time equivalent employee and other associated costs to administer the program.

It takes candidates one to three years to earn NBTPS certification. Assuming that 100 percent of program participants earn NBTPS Certification each year, if school districts opted to provide annual stipends of $2,000 to every participant and the state opted to match those stipends at the $2,000 level, the cost to the state of providing annual stipends would be $1 million in fiscal year 2007 and would increase by $1 million each year thereafter as long as the program as proposed is in place.

Local Government Impact

The bill would require school districts employing program participants to pay one-third of the cost of NBTPS certification. Based on the current cost of NBTPS certification of $2,300, the cost to local school districts to pay these costs for 500 teachers per year would be about $384,000 each year.

It takes candidates one to three years to earn NBTPS certification. Assuming that 100 percent of program participants earn NBTPS certification each year, if school districts opted to provide annual stipends of $2,000 to every participant the cost would be $1 million in fiscal year 2007, and would increase by $1 million each year thereafter as long as the program as proposed is in place.

Local administrative costs would vary according to how many teachers within a district participate in the program.

Source Agencies:

701 Central Education Agency, 705 State Board for Educator Certification

LBB Staff:

JOB, SD, CT, UP, JSc

LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 79TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION


February 22, 2005

TO:	Honorable Florence Shapiro, Chair, Senate Committee on Education

FROM:	John S. O'Brien, Deputy Director, Legislative Budget Board

IN RE:	SB83 by Shapleigh (Relating to national certification of certain public school teachers.), As Introduced