Honorable Dan Patrick, Chair, Senate Committee on Education
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB716 by Lucio (Relating to the use of public school counselors' work time.), As Introduced
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill would amend Education Code by limiting the amount of time a counselor spent on duties not related to counseling or guidance to not more than 10 percent of total work time.
The bill would prohibit employment contracts with school counselors that conflicted with the adopted policy. The bill would require a school district selected for an on-site investigation to perform an assessment of the district's compliance with its policy related to counselors' duties and submit the assessment to investigators on or before the date specified by the commissioner.
Based on the information provided by the Texas Education Agency (TEA), it is assumed that the duties and responsibilities associated with implementing the provisions of the bill could be accomplished by utilizing existing resources.
The bill would take effect immediately if passed with the necessary voting margins, or September 1, 2013.
Local Government Impact
Each school district would be required to adopt a policy that established the percentage of total time counselors could spend on activities other than counseling, and district schools would be required to implement the policy. Copies of the policy would have to be maintained in the office of each school in the district and be made available to the public during normal operating hours. School districts could not execute employee contracts that were in conflict with the adopted policy. A school district would be required to document compliance with the provisions of the bill if selected for an on-site investigation.