Honorable J. M. Lozano, Chair, House Committee on Higher Education
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB2155 by Howard (Relating to a college readiness memorandum of understanding between a school district and a public institution of higher education.), As Introduced
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill would amend the Education Code as it relates to advanced courses of study. Under the provisions of the bill, each school district would be required to enter into a memorandum of understanding with at least one institution of higher education to coordinate college preparatory efforts. The memorandum would be required to contain certain provisions related to professional development for school counselors and academic advisors, endorsement pathways, pathway tools for school counselors and academic advisors, and cost efficiency and coordination opportunities for related programs.
This analysis assumes there would be some costs to institutions of higher education under the bill to develop and organize these memoranda to the extent they do not already exist. It is assumed these costs could be absorbed within the existing resources of the institutions, including institutional funds, and shared with school districts.
The bill would take effect immediately if it receives a two-thirds vote in each house; otherwise, the bill would take effect September 1, 2017. The bill's provisions would apply beginning with the 2017-18 school year.
Local Government Impact
According to the Texas Education Agency, there would be costs to local school districts and institutions of higher education to develop and implement the required memoranda of understanding. These costs would include teacher time and travel spent on professional development requirements, planning meetings, and developing required tools. These costs would vary greatly by district and based on the content of the memoranda as they relate to selected pathways.
Source Agencies:
701 Texas Education Agency, 710 Texas A&M University System Administrative and General Offices, 719 Texas State Technical College System Administration, 720 The University of Texas System Administration, 758 Texas State University System, 768 Texas Tech University System Administration, 769 University of North Texas System Administration, 781 Higher Education Coordinating Board, 783 University of Houston System Administration