HBA-MSH H.B. 1142 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1142 By: Dutton Public Education 3/26/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The size of the Houston Independent School District creates logistical problems in administering such a large district that can affect the quality of instruction and services. According to an HISD survey, 23 percent of district residents said that HISD was worse than other school districts in the area. By some accounts, HISD is losing many students in Northeast Houston as they transfer to better performing schools. House Bill 1142 divides HISD into four subdistricts, each with responsibility for the instructional aspects of the school system. 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. ANALYSIS House Bill 1142 amends the Education Code to require the board of trustees of a school district with an enrollment of over 200,000 students to divide by rule the district into four subdistricts to be known as a unified school system. The bill requires the board of trustees of the district to adopt rules for the transition to a unified school system. The board of trustees of a unified school system consists of one trustee elected from each of the subdistricts and three trustees elected from the district at large who serve staggered fouryear terms. The bill requires the board of a unified school system to adopt rules regulating noninstructional services for each subdistrict and to employ a superintendent to serve as the chief officer of the system. The bill requires the board of a unified school system to collect and levy taxes, issue bonds, and apportion all funding among the subdistricts based on the total number of students enrolled in each subdistrict. The bill specifies that each subdistrict is to be governed by an independent board of trustees. The bill grants each subdistrict board exclusive authority over instructional services provided within the subdistrict, and all the rights and privileges of a board of a school district as necessary to exercise this authority. The bill provides for the election of trustees of the unified system and of the subdistricts. EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2001.