HBA-MPM H.B. 1104 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1104 By: Dunnam Public Education 3/5/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE One of the stated objectives for public education found in Chapter 4, Education Code, is for parents to be full partners with educators in the education of their children. Although state law requires that each public school campus have a campus-level decision-making committee which should include parent members, these committees have shown mixed results in promoting parental involvement. H.B. 1104 requires the Texas Education Agency (agency) to evaluate each school district every two years to determine if the district involves parents in planning and decision making. This bill also requires the commissioner of education to assign each district a certain rating based on the evaluation and criteria the commissioner establishes, some of which must regard the objective that parents be full partners in their children's education, and to make these ratings known to the public through a newspaper. Furthermore, this bill requires a district with an unacceptable rating to submit an improvement plan to the agency no later than 60 days after receiving its ratings and for the agency to monitor the district's compliance with its plan. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter F, Chapter 11, Education Code, by adding Section 11.255, as follows: Sec. 11.255. STATE EVALUATION OF PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT. (a) Requires the Texas Education Agency (agency), at least every two years, to evaluate each school district to determine if the district is involving parents in district and campus-level planning and decision making. (b) Requires the commissioner of education (commissioner) to assign each district a rating of excellent, acceptable, or unacceptable, based on the evaluation and criteria the commissioner establishes. Specifies that this criteria must reflect the objective stated in Section 4.001 (Public Education Mission and Objectives), Education Code, that parents be full partners in their children's education. (c) Requires the agency to make district ratings and evaluations available to the public and requires a district, no later than the 60th day after it receives its rating, to publish the rating and the evaluation summary in a newspaper of general circulation in the district at least once weekly for two consecutive weeks. (d) Requires a district that receives an unacceptable rating to submit a plan for improving parental involvement to the agency no later than the 60th day after it receives its rating. Requires the agency to monitor a district's compliance with the plan and the requirements relating to parental involvement. SECTION 2. Emergency clause. Effective date: upon passage.