Honorable Dan Huberty, Chair, House Committee on Public Education
FROM:
John McGeady, Assistant Director Sarah Keyton, Assistant Director Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB2621 by Bailes (Relating to open-enrollment charter school admission procedures and reporting requirements for certain admission information.), As Introduced
Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for HB2621, As Introduced: a negative impact of ($653,689) through the biennium ending August 31, 2021.
The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of the bill.
Fiscal Year
Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds
2020
($248,894)
2021
($404,795)
2022
($154,444)
2023
($154,444)
2024
($154,444)
Fiscal Year
Probable Savings/(Cost) from General Revenue Fund 1
Change in Number of State Employees from FY 2019
2020
($248,894)
1.0
2021
($404,795)
1.0
2022
($154,444)
1.0
2023
($154,444)
1.0
2024
($154,444)
1.0
Fiscal Analysis
The bill would amend the Education Code to require the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to adopt by rule a common admission application form for open-enrollment charter schools and guidelines for charter schools to use waitlists if they receive more applications from students than they have positions.
The bill would require charter schools to submit information on the number of students enrolled, the enrollment capacity, and the number of students on the waiting list by grade level to TEA by October 1st each year. TEA would be required to compile submitted information and publish such data on its website.
Methodology
This analysis assumes TEA would require 1.0 additional Program Specialist VI to create the common admission application, develop rules for the use of waitlists, and prepare the data for upload to TEA's website each year. Salaries, benefits, and other operating costs for this FTE are assumed to total $103,444 in fiscal year 2020 and $99,444 per fiscal year thereafter. TEA assumes IT costs related to the common application and data reporting requirements would total $145,450 in fiscal year 2020, $305,351 in fiscal year 2021, and $55,000 per year thereafter.
Technology
TEA assumes the provision of the bill requiring charters to report enrollment data to TEA by October 1st each year would require TEA to add a new Texas Student Data System (TSDS) collection. The TSDS would be modified to include one new complex type, 21 new data elements, five new business rules, and one new report. TEA estimates these modifications would cost $83,450 in fiscal year 2020 and $250,351 in fiscal year 2021. Additionally, in fiscal year 2020 TEA assumes it would require $7,000 for software change requests to update the Charter School Tracking System (CSTS).
TEA further assumes it would need to lease new application servers for a cost of $30,000 per year and procure new platform licenses for a cost of $25,000 per year.
Local Government Impact
TEA assumes the bill would have a cost to charter schools to report the required enrollment information to TEA.