LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas
 
FISCAL NOTE, 84TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION
 
March 18, 2015

TO:
Honorable Larry Taylor, Chair, Senate Committee on Education
 
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
 
IN RE:
SB13 by Perry (relating to measures to support public school student academic achievement and career preparation, including measures to improve and support dual credit courses.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

The bill would prohibit any limitation of the number of dual credit courses or dual credit hours in which a high school student could enroll each semester or academic year.

The bill would require the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to develop uniform public outreach materials in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese to explain curriculum changes.
 
The bill would require each school district to provide instruction to each 7th and 8th grade student on how to prepare for high school, college, and a career.

The bill would require dual credit courses to be taught by qualified instructors approved or selected by the public junior college.

The bill could result in an increase in dual credit students at institutions of higher education. This could result in an additional cost to General Revenue due to increased formula costs for higher education beginning in fiscal year 2018. These costs are not considered significant.

The bill has no direct fiscal implications for the Foundation School Program (FSP). TEA indicates that any costs associated with the bill could be absorbed within the agency's existing resources.

Local Government Impact

School districts that currently pay the tuition and fees for students to attend dual credit courses would see increases in their costs if they selected to continue to pay for these costs. These costs could vary widely depending on participation.

Districts that did not cover the cost of tuition and fees may see some administrative cost savings for students that attended additional dual credit courses that were taught by the college and not by district staff.

School districts that implemented middle school courses would likely incur costs for materials, staffing, and developing new courses.

There would be some costs to mail curriculum outreach materials to parents and students.


Source Agencies:
701 Central Education Agency, 320 Texas Workforce Commission, 781 Higher Education Coordinating Board
LBB Staff:
UP, JBi, AW, ED, GO, EH