BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Research Center S.B. 817
81R2050 CAE-F By: Shapleigh et al.
AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT
Communities in Schools (CIS) is an exemplary stay-in-school program that works in association with local school districts. First funded in the early 1980s, using discretionary federal Job Training Partnership Act funds available to the governor, CIS has been funded by the Texas Legislature since 1989 and is the largest and most effective dropout prevention program in the state. In the early 1990s, its funding was expanded with funds from the compensatory education fund. Since that time, the majority of funding for CIS has come from this fund, but the Education Code does not specify that the funds have to be set aside for CIS. Since the creation of CIS, other programs that have specific statutory setasides have been funded from compensatory education funds.
The 28 local CIS programs are Section 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations established to support schools by working with at-risk students in order to decrease the dropout rate. Unlike most Texas Education Agency (TEA) programs, CIS has undergone a rigorous evaluation and has been proven to be effective at reducing dropout rates and increasing graduation rates. The 80th Legislature, Regular Session, 2007, appropriated $300,000 for TEA to conduct an effectiveness review of CIS. This evaluation was recently released and found, amongst other things, that CIS "provides the necessary services to address risk factors for school dropout." Additionally, TEA released a report on best practices in dropout prevention, citing CIS as one of the three dropout programs with the most potential for success: "Only one program (CIS) reported meaningful effects on both reducing dropout and increasing graduation."
As proposed, S.B. 817 requires the commissioner of education to withhold not less than $30 million for CIS programs from the total amount of funds appropriated for allotments under Section 42.152 (Compensatory Education Allotment), Education Code.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Amends Section 42.152(u), Education Code, as follows:
(u) Requires the commissioner of education (commissioner), from the total amount of funds appropriated for allotments under this section, each fiscal year, to withhold an amount to be determined by the commissioner, but not less than $30 million, rather than an amount determined by appropriation, for prekindergarten through high school programs under Subchapter E (Communities in Schools Program), Chapter 33, and to distribute that amount as provided by Section 33.156 (Funding; Expansion of Participation). Requires the commissioner, after deducting the amount withheld under this subsection from the total amount appropriated for the allotment under Subsection (a) (regarding compensatory education allotment for certain students), to reduce each district's tier one allotments in the same manner described for a reduction in allotments under Section 42.253 (Distribution of Foundation School Fund) and to allocate funds to each district accordingly.
SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 2009.