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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to annual courses on public school finance offered to the |
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public by regional education service centers. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 8.052, Education Code, is amended to |
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read as follows: |
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Sec. 8.052. STATE INITIATIVES. (a) As directed by the |
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commissioner, each regional education service center shall, as |
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necessary, use funds distributed under Section 8.123 to implement |
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initiatives identified by the legislature, including the annual |
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course on public school finance required by Subsection (b). |
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(b) Once each year, each regional education service center |
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shall offer to members of the public who reside within the center's |
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region a course on public school finance. The center may not charge |
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a fee for a course provided under this subsection. The course must |
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include information concerning the following: |
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(1) each source of public money used to finance public |
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primary and secondary education in this state; |
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(2) the factors the board of trustees of a school |
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district generally consider and the process a district generally |
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uses in adopting ad valorem tax rates: |
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(A) for district maintenance and operations; and |
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(B) for purposes of paying the principal of and |
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interest on district bonds; |
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(3) the effect of district spending decisions on |
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district ad valorem tax rates; |
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(4) any reliable data concerning a correlation between |
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the amount of money spent on education and the level of or |
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improvement in student performance; and |
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(5) resources, including Internet websites, that may |
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be useful in researching the amount and purposes of district |
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expenditures. |
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SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |