Honorable Dan Huberty, Chair, House Committee on Public Education
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB2649 by Capriglione (Relating to certain meetings of open-enrollment charter schools.), As Introduced
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill's provisions would require charter holders to conduct public meetings within the county in which the school is located or to make video and audio recordings of meeting available on the Internet.
The bill would take effect September 1, 2017, or immediately if passed with the necessary voting margins, and would apply beginning with school year 2018-19.
Local Government Impact
Existing Education Code §12.1051(a) specifies that for the purposes of open meetings and open records, the governing bodies of open enrollment charter schools are considered to be governmental bodies. Governing bodies of charter holders and charter schools that are not able to hold open meetings in the county in which the charter school is located would be required to record, broadcast, and make available audio and video recordings of open meetings on the Internet. There are four charter holders from out of state.
Costs to meet these requirements for out-of-county open meetings could include: additional travel for board members; additional Internet capacity; new software tools; and additional IT and administrative staff requirements. Estimated costs for live on-line streaming are estimated to begin at $9,000, and entry level IT positions are estimated to begin at $30,000 annually.