BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Research Center C.S.H.B. 3041
Committee Report (Substituted)
AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT
School districts report data to many entities, including the Texas Education Agency (TEA) as well as other state and federal agencies. They are challenged to be knowledgeable of different reporting requirements and deadlines on various performance measures—educational, financial and operations—that occur throughout the school year and may change periodically. The reporting demand is magnified for smaller districts, which often rely on a limited number of staff to keep informed about reporting requirements and deadlines.
TEA and regional education service centers provide information about many of the reporting requirements. However, TEA does not provide districts with a comprehensive schedule of reporting requirements with deadlines from TEA and other organizations. Without a comprehensive schedule of report deadlines and data requested by TEA and others, districts must maintain their own schedule in order to comply with various regulations and to avoid missing funding opportunities for various educational programs for their students.
This bill amends the Education Code to require TEA, to the extent possible, to develop and maintain a comprehensive schedule that addresses each reporting requirement generally applicable to a school district, including requirements imposed by an entity other than the agency, along with each requirement's deadline for compliance.
C.S.H.B. 3041 amends current law relating to a comprehensive schedule of public school reporting requirements.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter B, Chapter 7, Education Code, by adding Section 7.037, as follows:
Sec. 7.037. REPORTING SCHEDULE. (a) Requires the Texas Education Agency (TEA), to the extent possible, to develop and maintain a comprehensive schedule that addresses each reporting requirement generally applicable to a school district, including requirements imposed by a state agency or entity other than TEA, and that specifies the date by which a school district is required to comply with each requirement.
(b) Requires a state agency that requires a school district to periodically report information to that agency to provide TEA with information regarding the reporting requirement as necessary to enable TEA to develop and maintain the schedule required by Subsection (a).
(c) Requires TEA to determine the appropriate format of the schedule required by Subsection (a) and the manner in which the schedule is made readily accessible to school districts.
SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 2009.