LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas
 
FISCAL NOTE, 83RD LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION
 
May 25, 2013

TO:
Honorable David Dewhurst, Lieutenant Governor, Senate
Honorable Joe Straus, Speaker of the House, House of Representatives
 
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
 
IN RE:
HB2012 by Villarreal (Relating to public school educators and certain other professional employees of school districts.), Conference Committee Report

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

The bill would require TEA to collect employee salary data from school districts through the Public Education Information Management System and provide information on the agency's website that indicates, by school district, the average salaries of classroom teachers by subject and grade level.

TEA would be required to analyze the cost of living in each region of the state to determine if teacher salaries were comparable to salaries of comparable professionals in that region, post the analysis results to its website, and provide the analysis results to members of the legislature by December 1, 2014. The Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) currently conducts studies related to school employee salaries. The required data collection and analysis of salaries could be accomplished in coordination with TASB. No additional costs to the state are anticipated to complete this requirement. 

The bill would require the commissioner of education to develop an online teaching and learning conditions survey to be administered statewide at least biennially to school district employees who are required to hold a certificate. The bill would require the commissioner to contract with a third party to administer the survey. The commissioner would be required to make the survey results available to the public, school districts, and campuses after the administration of each survey.

The bill would stipulate certain requirements for admissions to educator preparation programs amd alternative educator preparation programs, including minimum grade point average requirements for previous higher education coursework and minimum required credit hours in the area of certification.

The bill would require that TEA conduct periodic audits of professional development requirements for educators to eliminate conflicting and duplicative provisions among state, local, and federal requirements.

The bill would require TEA to produce an annual report on the effectiveness of educator mentoring programs and would establish an advisory committee including members appointed by the Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker of the House to develop guidelines related to teacher induction and mentoring. The bill directs that TEA provide administrative support for the committee.

The bill would require TEA, the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC), and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) to jointly review standards applicable to educator preparation programs and develop and implement modifications to reflect current teaching standards.

To the extent that provisions related to admissions requirements for educator preparation programs results in decreased enrollment at institutions of higher education, those institutions would have a decrease in tuition revenue and there could be general revenue savings associated with the formula.

This analysis assumes that any costs related to implementing the provisions of the bill could be absorbed within existing resources.


Local Government Impact

No fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.


Source Agencies:
701 Central Education Agency
LBB Staff:
UP, JBi, JSc