HBA-MPM, CCH H.B. 357 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 357 By: Wise Public Education 4/2/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Prior to the reenactment of the Education Code in 1995, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) was authorized to conduct special accreditation investigations if TEA received reports that a school was violating effective governance operations, including site-based decision-making (SBDM). Because there is such a variance across the state as to how well SBDM is working, some teachers feel that it is important to have an avenue of recourse if SBDM is not working properly at a campus. House Bill 357 authorizes the commissioner of education to authorize special accreditation investigations in response to allegations that SBDM is not properly functioning. 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 357 amends the Education Code to require the commissioner of education to conduct a special accreditation investigation when a person alleges that the district-level and site-based decision-making process is not functioning properly if that person exhausts the district's grievance process. EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2001.