BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 2018

By: Strama

Public Education

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Current law provides for each school district to establish a district-level planning and decision-making committee consisting of administrators, teachers, parents, businesses, and community members of the school district.  The purpose of the committee is to make recommendations to the school board on policy issues important to the district. 

Students who are affected on a daily basis by decisions made by the school district administration and the district-level planning and decision-making committee should have a voice in the policy decisions. The committee would benefit from hearing a student’s point of view before making policy recommendations, and the student would have a better understanding of the challenges school districts encounter.  Allowing students to participate on committees would provide students with an opportunity to develop leadership skills.

C.S.H.B. 2018 adds a high school student to the district-level planning and decision-making committee and requires the board of trustees of a school district with at least one high school campus to establish a procedure under which a student representative is included as a member of the district-level committee.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 2018 amends the Education Code to include a student representative on a district-level planning and decision-making committee created to establish and review the district's educational plans, goals, performance objectives, and major classroom instructional programs.  The bill requires the board of trustees of a school district with at least one high school campus to establish a procedure under which a student representative is included as a member of the district-level committee.  The bill requires a school board's policies to provide procedures for the selection of a student representative to the district-level committee.  The bill makes its provisions applicable beginning with the 2009-2010 school year.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the act does not receive the necessary vote, the act takes effect September 1, 2009.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 2018 adds a provision not in the original requiring the board of trustees of a school district that includes a least one high school campus to establish a procedure under which a student representative is included as a member of the district-level committee.