| TO: | Honorable Tracy King, Chair, House Committee on Border & International Affairs |
| FROM: | John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | HB3618 by Raymond (Relating to a coordinated health program for school districts located in the border region.), As Introduced |
| Fiscal Year | Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds |
|---|---|
| 2008 | $0 |
| 2009 | ($850,000) |
| 2010 | $0 |
| 2011 | $0 |
| 2012 | $0 |
| Fiscal Year | Probable Savings/(Cost) from GENERAL REVENUE FUND 1 |
|---|---|
| 2008 | $0 |
| 2009 | ($850,000) |
| 2010 | $0 |
| 2011 | $0 |
| 2012 | $0 |
The bill would require the commissioner of education to adopt criteria to ensure that at least one coordinated health program available for schools is designed to prevent and detect obesity and Type 2 diabetes by taking into account the needs of school districts located in border counties. School districts located in a county on the Texas-Mexico border would be required to implement this coordinated health program. The bill would require that each district's program include the distribution of health curriculum teacher's guides for each grade level, health curriculum student workbooks for each student in each grade level, a physical education activity pad, a cafeteria program instructor's guide and food service staff workbooks, and a newsletter for the family of each student
in the district. The bill would require bilingual program materials.
The bill would require that participating school districts measure the height and weight of each student in grades kindergarten through eight at the beginning of the school year and at another appropriate time during implementation of the program. School districts would be required to track the measurements of the student and the progress of the student under the program through a data entry
system provided over the Internet.
The bill would require affected districts to report student height, weight, and progress during the first year of program implementation to an entity that would administer the program. The administering entity would be required to evaluate and analylze the reported measurements to determine the effectiveness of the program in the first year.
The bill would take effect immediately upon passage by the necessary voting majorities or September 1, 2007.
It is assumed that activities under the bill for FY2008 would primarily consist of actions by the commissioner to ensure that a program meeting the requirements of the bill is adopted and that affected districts are notified of the program's availability and the requirement to implement the program. The first year of program implementation by school districts would be assumed to occur in FY2009.
The Texas Education Agency indicates that approximately sixty-eight public school districts or charter schools are located in counties affected by the bill. The total enrollment in affected districts for the 2005-2007 school year is approximately 569,000 students, with about 382,000 enrolled in grades kindergarten through eight. The districts employ approximately 38,000 teachers at 810 campuses. Data indicate that the same districts employ at least 150 food service workers, however some districts and charter schools may contract for food services. Growth in student, teachers, and food service staff populations is assumed at approximately 2 percent per year.
The bill references an entity administering the program and evaluating program data during the first year of implementation. For the purpose of this fiscal note it is assumed that the data collection and evaluation would be contracted to a third party vendor for an estimated state cost of $850,000 in FY2009. It is assumed that the data collection and evaluation costs would be one-time in nature per language in the bill requiring the activities for the purpose of determining the effectiveness of the program in the first year.
Costs for student, teacher, and employee materials required under the bill and the family newsletter are assumed to be local costs. If the intent were to provide the materials at state cost, fiscal impact to the state would likely approach $4.0 million dollars annually.
Costs for the type of student and employee consumable workbook materials required under the bill are estimated to range from $3 - $10 per workbook. Assuming an average cost of $6.50 per workbook, the estimated annual cost to affected school districts for the required student and food service workers' workbooks would be approximately $3.8 million in FY2009 increasing to $4.0 million by FY2012. Assuming that teacher and instructor guides would be provided at a similar price per copy but would be durable rather than consumable, costs in FY2009 for these materials would be approximately $250,000 with relatively insignificant costs in each subsequent year to provide new teachers and cafeteria program instructors with guides.
To the extent that affected school districts may not currently be measuring the height and weight of students in grades kindergarten through eight and tracking such measurements, local costs associated with workload to support this activity could be incurred.
| Source Agencies: | 537 State Health Services, Department of, 701 Central Education Agency
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| LBB Staff: | JOB, CL, UP, JSp
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