HBA-LJP C.S.H.B. 1804 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 1804 By: Salinas Higher Education 4/4/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Comprehensive information on the performance of students statewide could help educators to create curriculums that improve the performance of students who are performing below grade level standards. The Educational Productivity Council in the College of Education at The University of Texas at Austin (council) is a group of university researchers that work with public school personnel to improve education at all levels. C.S.H.B. 1804 authorizes the council to have access to information on the performance of students from kindergarten through higher education. 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 C.S.H.B. 1804 amends the Education Code to authorize the Educational Productivity Council (council) in the College of Education at The University of Texas at Austin to have access to information on the performance of students attending public primary and secondary schools and institutions of higher education (institutions) that can be used to: _assist public school teachers and instructors at institutions in providing appropriate instruction to students; and _ensure that each student who performs below grade level on a subject in the required public school curriculum or unsuccessfully in a course in the required undergraduate core curriculum is identified so that the student receives academic assistance and to reduce the number of students required to enroll in developmental courses or programs under the Texas Academic Skills Program. The bill authorizes the council to consult with educators at public primary and secondary schools and institutions and any other experts to provide requested services to institutions, school districts, and openenrollment charter schools. The bill requires the council to make information obtained under these provisions available to a student's teacher or instructor, or to an administrator employed by the school, school district, or institution in which the student is enrolled and authorizes the council to enter into an agreement with a local or state educational agency to make the information available. The bill authorizes the council to have access to student information that is confidential under federal law relating to family educational and privacy rights and applicable regulations at the request of the institution, school district, or open-enrollment charter school in which the student is enrolled and provides that all confidential student information must be handled according to federal regulations. The bill also provides that for the purposes of the council, employees of the council are considered state school officials and are subject to federal law governing the release or access to any personally identifiable information in education records. EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2001. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 1804 differs from the original by authorizing the Educational Productivity Council in the College of Education at The University of Texas at Austin (council) to have access to, rather than to develop a database, of information on the performance of students attending public primary and secondary schools and institutions of higher education (institution). The substitute authorizes the council to enter into an agreement with a local or state educational agency to make the information available. The substitute authorizes the council to have access to student information that is confidential under federal law, at the request of the institution, school district, or open-enrollment charter school in which the student is enrolled.