Honorable Larry Taylor, Chair, Senate Committee on Education
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB4064 by Bohac (Relating to staff development and continuing education requirements for public school educators regarding digital education methods.), As Engrossed
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill would add digital learning training requirements for candidates in educator preparation programs and would add digital learning and teaching to the list of continuing education options for teachers.
The bill would take effect September 1, 2017, or immediately if passed with the necessary voting margins, and would apply beginning with school year 2017-18.
Local Government Impact
Local governments that are approved Education Preparation Programs (EPPs) currently include school districts, charter schools, county districts, education service centers, community colleges, and public universities. Private universities and businesses are also approved EPPs.
Unless an EPP already has a digital literacy evaluation and curriculum system and/or appropriate staff, an EPP would need to purchase or develop a digital literacy evaluation, a digital literacy curriculum, and/or secure appropriate staff necessary to develop and/or teach the curriculum.
According to TEA, there are currently a number of digital technology evaluation and curriculum systems available for purchase. These range in cost from a $99 annual subscription to a $480 classroom technology specialist certification per teacher candidate. The average number of initial teacher certificates issued over the past five years is 25,756. The estimated annual cost for all EPPs statewide to purchase digital technology evaluation and curriculum systems could range from $2.5 million ($99 x 27,256) to $12.4 million ($480 x 25,756). These costs would be lower to the extent EPPs have already acquired such systems.
According to information provided by TEA, the estimated cost to hire one staff member to develop and teach a digital technology evaluation and curriculum system at the 133 entities approved to offer educator preparation for certificates that require a bachelor's degree at the average weighted salary for all faculty in fiscal year 2015 for Texas public universities ($61,216) would be $8.1 million (133 x $61,216).
These estimates could be lower or higher depending on the number of EPPs that need to purchase a digital technology evaluation and curriculum system, the cost of the selected digital technology evaluation and curriculum system or develop a system, and/or the number of EPPs that develop their own system.
Source Agencies:
701 Texas Education Agency, 710 Texas A&M University System Administrative and General Offices, 720 The University of Texas System Administration, 758 Texas State University System, 768 Texas Tech University System Administration, 781 Higher Education Coordinating Board, 783 University of Houston System Administration