HBA-JRA H.B. 2326 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2326 By: Hardcastle Public Education 4/19/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Current law requires a school district that accepts a transfer student to establish an agreement with the district from which the student came in order to count the student towards its weighted average daily attendance. Several districts in the state are currently providing tuition free services to transfer students, but the agreements between the sending and receiving districts have already expired or will soon expire, making these districts ineligible for state assistance and possibly jeopardizing the districts' ability to accept such students. H.B. 2326 eliminates the requirement that a school district execute an agreement with the school district in which a transferring student resides. This bill also authorizes a school district to include such transfer students in its final weighted average daily attendance and authorizes a school district with a wealth per student that exceeds the equalized wealth level to reduce the district's wealth per student by serving nonresident students who transfer to the district and are educated by the district but who are not charged tuition. 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 Section 41.001(3), Education Code, to redefine "weighted average daily attendance" as it is defined by Section 42.302 (Allotment). Deletes exceptions related to using a modification of the estimate of average daily attendance under Section 42.254 (Estimates Required). SECTION 2. Amends Section 41.003, Education Code, to authorize a district with a wealth per student that exceeds the equalized wealth level to educate, rather than contract for the education of, nonresident students as provided by Subchapter E (Financing the Program). SECTION 3. Amends Subchapter A, Chapter 41, Education Code, by adding Section 41.0031, as follows: Sec. 41.0031. INCLUSION OF ATTENDANCE CREDITS AND NONRESIDENTS IN WEIGHTED AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE. Requires the commissioner of education (commissioner), in determining whether a school district has a wealth per student less than or equal to the equalized wealth level, to use the district's final weighted average daily attendance and the number of attendance credits a district purchases under Subchapter D (Purchase of Attendance Credit) or the number of nonresident students a district educates under Subchapter E for a school year. SECTION 4. Amends Section 41.004(a), Education Code, to require the commissioner to use the estimate of enrollment under Section 42.254 in reviewing the wealth per student of school districts in the state. SECTION 5. Amends Section 41.093, Education Code, by adding Subsection (c), as follows: (c) Provides that the cost of an attendance credit for a school district is computed using the final tax collections of the district. SECTION 6. Amends Subchapter E, Chapter 41, Education Code, by adding Section 41.124, as follows: Sec. 41.124. TRANSFERS. (a) Authorizes the board of trustees of a school district with a wealth per student that exceeds the equalized wealth level to reduce the district's wealth per student by serving nonresident students who transfer to the district and are educated by the district but who are not charged tuition. Provides that a district that exercises this option is not required to execute an agreement with the school district in which a transferring student resides and must certify to the commissioner that the district has not charged or received tuition for the transferring students. (b) Authorizes a school district with a wealth per student that exceeds the equalized wealth level that pays tuition to another school district for the education of students that reside in the district to apply the amount of tuition paid toward the cost of the option chosen by the district to reduce its wealth per student. Prohibits the amount applied under this subsection from exceeding the amount determined under Section 41.093 as the cost of an attendance credit for the district. Authorizes the commissioner to require any reports necessary to document the tuition payments. (c) Prohibits a school district that receives tuition for a student from a school district with a wealth per student that exceeds the equalized wealth level from claiming attendance for that student for purposes of Chapter 42 (Foundation School Program) and Chapter 46 (Instructional Facilities Allotment). SECTION. 7 Amends the heading to Subchapter E, Chapter 42, Education Code, as follows: SUBCHAPTER E. EDUCATION OF NONRESIDENT STUDENTS SECTION 8. Makes application of this Act prospective to the 1999-2000 school year. SECTION 9.Emergency clause. Effective date: upon passage.