HBA-MPM H.B. 3237 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3237 By: Denny Public Education 4/21/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The Texas Constitution of 1876 requires "the Legislature of the State to establish and make suitable provision for the support and maintenance of an efficient system of public free schools." The term efficient has been the subject of decades of legislation and numerous special sessions of the legislature. In Edgewood vs. Kirby, 804 S.W.2d 491, (Tex, 1991), the Texas Supreme Court held that the "state procedure for financing primary and secondary education violated the state constitutional requirement that an 'efficient' system of public schools be created so as to provide for 'general diffusion of knowledge'; although the statute provided for a guaranteed revenue per student for each cent of local tax effort over a specified minimum, resulting in a more equitable utilization of state education dollars, it did not change any boundaries of any school districts, the wealthiest of which would continue to draw funds from a tax base roughly 450 times greater than the poorest district, did not change basic funding allocation with approximately half of all education funds still coming from local property taxes rather than state revenue, and made no attempt to equalize access to funds among all districts." In response the 74th Legislature created Subtitle I (School Finance and Fiscal Management), Education Code, setting forth the "policy of this state that the provision of public education is a state responsibility and that a thorough and efficient system be provided and substantially financed through state revenue sources so that each student enrolled in the public school system shall have access to programs and services that are appropriate to the student's educational needs and that are substantially equal to those available to any similar student, notwithstanding varying local economic factors. The public school finance system of this state shall adhere to a standard of neutrality that provides for substantially equal access to similar revenue per student at similar tax effort, considering all state and local tax revenues of districts after acknowledging all legitimate student and district cost differences." This policy is carried out through allotments for each student. A basic allotment for the purposes of Section 42.101 (Basic Allotment), Education Code, that, when combined with the guaranteed yield component provided by Subchapter F (Guaranteed Yield Program), Education Code, represents the cost per student of a regular education program that meets all mandates of law and regulation. In order to fairly fund each school, adjustments designed to reflect the variation in known resource costs and costs of education beyond the control of school districts are made. Appropriate program cost differentials and other funding elements for the programs authorized under Subchapter C (Special Allotments) are considered in providing the maximum guaranteed level of qualified state and local funds per student for the purposes of Subchapter F. Other considerations including the enrichment and facilities tax rate under Subchapter F, the computation of students in weighted average daily attendance under Section 42.302 (Allotment), Education Code, and the amount to be appropriated for the school facilities assistance program under Chapter 46 (Instructional Facilities Allotment), Education Code, help determine the funding for a school district. H.B. 3237 increases the allotment for certain students who are restricted to hospital care for a length of time which requires special arrangements to be made with the school district regarding attendance, who are required to be self-contained on the regular campus for severe physical or emotional problems, and who are nonpublic day school students. This bill also modifies the allotment for students with disabilities that require other special arrangements to be made with the school district. 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 42.151, Education Code, to increase the annual allotment of a hospital class from 3.0 to 5.0; a self-contained, severe, regular campus from 3.0 to 4.0; and a nonpublic day school from 1.7 to 5.0. Requires the funding weight for a special instructional arrangement for students with disabilities residing in facilities other than state schools and whose parents or guardians do not reside in the district providing educational services to be 5.0, rather than 4.0 for those students receiving education service on a local school district campus. Requires a special instructional arrangement for students with disabilities residing in state schools to be established under the rules of the State Board of Education with a funding weight of 5.0, rather than 2.8. SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 1999. SECTION 3. Emergency clause.