BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 4014

By: Weber

Public Education

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Concerns have been raised by some public school employees that their supervisors direct them to make charitable contributions. In some districts, teachers and other school employees are required to attend meetings at which charitable contributions are solicited. Such meetings take away from valuable instructional and lesson-planning time, particularly in light of increasing demands on teachers and other instructional personnel to attend staff development meetings, parent conferences, campus planning sessions, and other administrative meetings. Additionally, a school employee's decision whether to make a charitable contribution should be a private matter.

C.S.H.B. 4014 prohibits a school board or school district employee from requiring or coercing a school employee to make or refrain from making a charitable contribution or attend or refrain from attending a meeting for the purpose of soliciting a charitable contribution.

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. 4014 amends the Education Code to prohibit a school district board of trustees or school district employee from directly or indirectly requiring or coercing any school district employee to make or refrain from making a contribution to a charitable organization or in response to a fund-raiser, or attend or refrain from attending a meeting called for the purpose of soliciting charitable contributions.

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. 4014 differs from the original by protecting all school district employees against a requirement or coercion regarding charitable contributions, whereas the original protects teachers only.  The substitute adds this statutory prohibition against coercion to the chapter governing the rights, duties, and benefits of school district employees and volunteers, whereas the original adds this provision to the chapter governing educators generally.