HBA-MPM H.B. 75 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 75
By: Garcia
Public Education
4/2/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

The Texas Education Agency prepares and distributes campus report cards to
each district.  The districts are required to distribute the class size and
student performance portions of the report card to the parent of each
student at the campus.  Currently, campus report cards do not include
information such as the percentage of students whose parent had personal
contact with a teacher or responded to communication from school personnel
or the percentage of students who transfer, have excessive unexcused
absences, and are accepted by an institution of higher education after
graduation.  House Bill 75 requires this information to be included in
campus report cards and distributed to the parents. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking
authority is expressly delegated to the commissioner of education in
SECTIONS 1 and 2 (39.052, Education Code) of this bill. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 75 amends the Education Code to expand the information the Texas
Education Agency is required to include on campus report cards distributed
annually to each school district.  The bill requires the report card to
include, where applicable, among other information: 

_the percentage of students whose parent had personal contact with the
student's teacher during the school year concerning the student's
education; 

_the percentage of students whose parent responded to written or oral
communication from school personnel for which a response was requested; 

 _the percentage of students transferring to and from the campus;

_the percentage of students having an unexcused voluntary absence on 10 or
more days or parts of days within a six-month period or three or more days
or parts of days within a four-week period from school without parental
consent; and 

_the percentage of students graduating and the percentage of graduating
students accepted by a junior college or senior college or university. 

The bill requires the commissioner of education to adopt rules requiring
the above information as well as student attendance and drop-out rates to
be included in the portion of the campus report cards distributed annually
to the parent of each student at the campus. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

4/2/2001