FISCAL NOTE, 85TH LEGISLATURE 1st CALLED SESSION - 2017
July 31, 2017
TO:
Honorable Dan Huberty, Chair, House Committee on Public Education
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB204 by Huberty (Relating to cardiac assessments of high school participants in extracurricular athletic activities sponsored or sanctioned by the University Interscholastic League.), As Introduced
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
Under the bill, a student who is required by a University Interscholastic League (UIL) policy to have a physical examination prior to participating in a UIL event or activity would also be required to have an electrocardiogram or echocardiogram. An electrocardiogram would be required before the student's first year of participation in grade nine or above and another time before the student's subsequent year of participation at the eleventh grade level (if eleventh grade is not the student's first year of participation).
A school district could partner with a nonprofit entity to provide electrocardiograms or echocardiograms at district expense. A district could also elect to pay for the cost of students' electrocardiograms or echocardiograms.
The bill would stipulate hardship circumstances under which a school district could delay a required electrocardiogram or echocardiogram. A school district could waive electrocardiogram or echocardiogram requirements if a student's parent or a person standing in parental relation to the student submits a written request for a waiver for any reason. UIL would be required to adopt rules to administer the bill's requirements.
The bill would take effect December 1, 2017, or immediately if passed with the necessary voting margins, and would apply beginning with school year 2018-19.
According to the University of Texas System, any additional work resulting from the passage of the bill could be reasonably absorbed within current resources. UIL is part of the University of Texas at Austin.
Local Government Impact
According to the Texas Education Agency, while school districts would be required to ensure that affected students receive an electrocardiogram or echocardiogram, any associated costs would likely be minimal. If the school district opts not to partner with a nonprofit entity or pay for electrocardiograms or echocardiograms, costs associated with receiving an electrocardiogram would be the responsibility of the student and the student's family.
Source Agencies:
701 Texas Education Agency, 720 The University of Texas System Administration