Fiscal Year	Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds
2024	($684,812,685)
2025	($682,808,131)
2026	($682,614,675)
2027	($683,345,168)
2028	($680,717,052)

Fiscal Year	Probable Savings/(Cost) from Foundation School Fund 193	Probable Savings/(Cost) from Recapture Payments Atten Crdts 8905	Probable (Cost) from General Revenue Fund 1	Change in Number of State Employees from FY 2023
2024	($672,083,733)	$117,709,544	($12,728,952)	46.0
2025	($675,662,523)	$120,952,028	($7,145,608)	46.0
2026	($675,469,067)	$118,250,012	($7,145,608)	46.0
2027	($676,199,560)	$126,263,316	($7,145,608)	46.0
2028	($673,571,444)	$126,867,232	($7,145,608)	46.0

The bill would require the commissioner of education to review and amend rules necessary to ensure that district and charter building standards continue to provide a secure and safe environment. The commissioner would adopt rules from proposals of the Texas School Safety Center (TxSSC) regarding requirements for school district multi-hazard emergency operations plans (EOP) and safety and security audits (SSAs). The Texas Education Agency (TEA) would monitor the implementation and operation of plans, audits, and other related requirements. Monitoring would include intruder detection audits of each school district.

The commissioner would consult with the TxSSC to identify and adopt changes, and would require that new and, to the extent feasible, existing school facilities at least meet amended building standards.

The bill would require school district boards to determine the appropriate number of armed security officers for each campus; ensuring at least one armed security officer at each school campus.

Each school district and public junior college district would adopt and implement a multi-hazard emergency operations plan for use in the district's facilities.

A school district would follow SSA procedures adopted by the commissioner and, unless a district employee conducts the audit, engage a person approved by the commissioner and included in the registry established by the TxSSC to conduct the audit. A public junior college district would, to the extent possible, follow safety and security audit procedures developed by the TxSSC.

TEA would monitor the implementation and operation of EOPs, SSAs and other school district safety and security requirements. Monitoring would include at least one intruder detection audit of each school. Each school district would have at least one Intruder Detection Audit per year, with at least 25.0 percent of the campuses being physically audited.

TEA would establish an office of school safety and security within the agency to coordinate the agency's monitoring of school district safety and security requirements. The agency would provide technical assistance to support implementation of EOPs and SSAs and other school district safety and security requirements.

TEA would require a school district to submit information necessary for the agency to monitor the implementation and operation of school district safety and security requirements. TEA would review school district records as necessary to ensure compliance, and ensure collected information is kept confidential.

Any proceeds from bonds would be used by certain school districts to come into compliance with safety standards before other bond proceeds could be spent.

The bill would require twice annual meetings of school officials and law enforcement in each county coordinated by the sheriff. The sheriffs would be required to submit related reports to the TxSSC, and TxSSC would maintain the reports and make them publicly available on its website.

The bill would require the TxSSC to review and verify school district and public junior college district EOPs.

The bill would require certain monitoring of safety and security requirements by the TxSSC, or for school districts, the center and TEA.

The bill would require TxSSC to receive TEA approval before adding to the registry a person providing school safety or security consulting services to school districts.

The bill would require that, at least once every five years, TxSSC would review the building standards for instructional facilities and make recommendations to the commissioner regarding any changes necessary to ensure that the building standards reflect best practices for student safety. The commissioner would coordinate with municipalities and counties to align building code requirements with safety and security requirements.

TxSSC, in collaboration with the Department of Public Safety (DPS), would be required to provide resources to assist schools with safe firearm storage.

The Department of Information Resources (DIR), in consultation with TxSSC and TEA, would be required to develop a statewide school safety cooperative contract program. TEA would provide grants to participating schools for the purchase of designated technologies under an applicable approved cooperative contract.

The bill would amend the School Safety Allotment under the Foundation School Program (FSP). Under the provisions on the bill, a school district would be entitled to $15,000 per campus and $100 per student in average daily attendance plus $1 per student in average daily attendance for every $50 basic allotment increase. The bill would require that a district enter into an agreement with the Department of Information Resources, TEA, and the Texas School Safety Center to receive the allotment under this section.

TEA assumes that provisions of the bill would impact the agency's staffing of school safety and security. This analysis assumes that implementation of the bill's monitoring and technical assistance provisions would require 45.0 additional full-time-equivalent positions (FTEs) for operational, technology-related, and administrative staff to support new school safety teams. This analysis assumes that the total cost for these office of school safety FTEs, including salaries, benefits, setup costs, and operating costs would be $4.4 million per fiscal year.

This analysis assumes TEA would incur additional costs related travel and the purchase and maintenance of approximately 30 vehicles and, training equipment and supports. These costs would total $3.8 million in fiscal year 2024 and $2.4 million for fiscal years 2025-27.

This analysis assumes costs to public junior colleges to implement updates to multi-hazard operations plans could be absorbed with existing resources. Public junior colleges with early college high school campuses may be required to update safety standards.

This analysis assumes the costs of implementation for TxSSC and DPS would be able to be absorbed with existing resources.

DIR assumes that 1.0 FTE would be needed to oversee the implementation of a school safety cooperative contracts program. Additionally, the agency assumes independent contracting would be needed to develop an interface for the new system as well as to designate and procure the contracting needs of the program. According to the agency, the All Funds cost to develop and implement the program, including all staffing costs and ongoing management would be $2.4 million for the 2024-25 biennium. TEA did not provide estimates of grant costs for the school safety cooperative contracts program; therefore, the cost cannot be determined at this time.

The estimated state cost of amending the School Safety Allotment under the FSP would be $672.1 million in fiscal year 2024, $675.7 million in fiscal year 2025, and $673.6 million in fiscal year 2028. The cost to the FSP includes estimated decreases in Recapture Payments - Attendance Credits of $117.7 million in fiscal year 2024, $121.0 million in fiscal year 2025, increasing to $126.9 million in fiscal year 2028. The decrease in recapture is reflected as a savings in the table above because recapture is appropriated as a method of finance for the FSP in the General Appropriations Act. Because the bill would not require an increase to the basic allotment, this analysis does not include a cost for this provision.

This analysis assumes that districts may experience a fiscal impact implementing provisions of the bill requiring certain security staffing. This impact, while potentially significant, cannot be determined as the bill would require district boards of trustees to determine the appropriate number of armed security officers for each campus; however, they shall ensure an armed security officer is present during regular school hours at each district campus. Districts may also incur significant costs to ensure new, and to the extent feasible, existing instructional facilities meet or exceed the amended building standards.

District may also incur costs related to implementation of provisions of the bill that would update safety and security requirements, including updates or modifications to multi-hazard emergency operations plans and related procedures and training, acquisition of technology from approved vendors, and physical security upgrades.

The bill would provide schools with additional per campus and per student safety funding to implement provisions. Districts would not receive an allotment unless they entered into an agreement with DIR, TEA, and the TxSSC to participate in the statewide school safety cooperative contract program for the purchase of designated technologies.

LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 88TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION


May 11, 2023

TO:	Honorable Brandon Creighton, Chair, Senate Committee on Education

FROM:	Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board

IN RE:	HB3 by Burrows (Relating to the development of, implementation of, and funding for public school safety and security requirements.), As Engrossed