| TO: | Honorable Florence Shapiro, Chair, Senate Committee on Education |
| FROM: | John S O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | SB1704 by Shapiro (Relating to educator preparation programs.), As Introduced |
| Fiscal Year | Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds |
|---|---|
| 2012 | ($705,539) |
| 2013 | ($959,400) |
| 2014 | ($923,590) |
| 2015 | ($2,366,080) |
| 2016 | ($923,590) |
| Fiscal Year | Probable Savings/(Cost) from General Revenue Fund 1 |
Change in Number of State Employees from FY 2011 |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | ($705,539) | 6.0 |
| 2013 | ($959,400) | 10.0 |
| 2014 | ($923,590) | 10.0 |
| 2015 | ($2,366,080) | 18.0 |
| 2016 | ($923,590) | 10.0 |
The bill would expand the requirements related to the Educator Preparation Program (EPP) and establish a task force to develop and recommend EPP standards no later than June 1, 2010.
The bill would require that the Texas Education Agency (TEA), in cooperation with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), review all EPPs annually and conduct on-site reviews once every three years. The bill would require the TEA and THECB to conduct on campus reviews of all EPPs no later than June 1, 2015.
The bill would establish a 15-member Joint Select Committee for Teacher and Principal Excellence to oversee and monitor the implementation of the standards developed by the task force.
The bill would require the Commissioner of Education and the Commissioner of Higher Education to develop and implement the Texas Institute of Educator Excellence (TIEE) to serve as the state’s center for educator preparation programs.
The bill would require the Commissioner of Education and the Commissioner of Higher Education to evaluate admission and graduation requirements for master's degree programs in teaching by January 1, 2012.
The bill would require an on-site review by the TEA, in cooperation with the THECB, of each of the 178 EPPs in the state at least once every three years, or approximately 59 on-site reviews per year. The TEA assumes that each on-site review would require two program specialists to travel to conduct a three-day review. It is assumed that, in addition to existing staff at the TEA, the agency would require 3 program specialist full-time equivalents (FTEs) and the THECB would require 2 program specialist FTEs to conduct these reviews, at a combined cost of approximately $432,000 in fiscal year 2012 and $391,728 each year thereafter, inclusive of salary, benefits and other operating expenses, along with $114,000 in annual travel costs.
The bill also would require the TEA, in cooperation with the THECB, to conduct an on-site review of all 178 EPPs once between June 2014 and June 2015 to determine compliance with the new EPP standards. This would require on-site review of the 119 programs not already scheduled for review that year. The TEA assumes that it would contract for these reviews. At 2 contract employees per three-day review, it is assumed that the agency would contract for 8 additional FTEs in fiscal year 2015, at an estimated professional services cost of $1,120,000 and $332,500 in travel costs.
The TEA estimates that the development and implementation of the TIEE would require one director, two program specialists, and one administrative assistant, at a cost of $336,151, inclusive of salary, benefits and other operating costs starting in fiscal year 2013, and $304,131 each year thereafter.
According to TEA, the newly created 15-member Task Force on Educator Preparation Programs would meet quarterly for a two-year period to develop EPP standards and an implementation plan by June, 2012. The TEA estimates that travel costs for a 15-member task force, assuming four meetings per year at $635 per person, would cost $38,100 per year.
According to the TEA, a newly created 15-member Joint Select Committee for Teacher and Principal Excellence would need to meet quarterly through fiscal year 2016 to monitor the implementation of the new EPP standards. The TEA estimated travel costs for a 15-member joint select committee, assuming four meetings per year at $460 per person, would cost $27,600 per year.
The TEA estimates that it would require one program supervisor to evaluate the requirements and prose and adopt rules regarding master's degree programs in teaching, at a cost of $94,319, inclusive of salary, benefits, and other operating expenses in fiscal year 2012. The agency assumes that this position would be ongoing to provide support to maintain rules and provide technical support related to admission and graduation requirements, as well as management and technical support of the task force and joint select committee.
| Source Agencies: | 701 Central Education Agency, 781 Higher Education Coordinating Board
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| LBB Staff: | JOB, LXH, JGM, JW
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