HBA-MSH H.B. 889 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 889 By: Gallego Public Education 3/5/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE According to the Texas Education Agency (TEA), 304 school districts experienced declines of two percent or more in attendance between 1998 and 2000. School districts are required to contract with teachers 45 days before the end of the spring semester for the following academic year. Some superintendents feel that substantial reduction in attendance may leave schools overstaffed and underfunded, since funds are allocated based on computations of the average daily attendance (ADA) for each district. House Bill 889 funds schools that experience a decline in attendance of two percent or more according to an ADA equal to 98 percent of the actual ADA of the preceding school year. 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 889 amends the Education Code to require that a school district that experiences a decline of two percent or more in average daily attendance (ADA) be funded through the Foundation School Program on the basis of an ADA equal to 98 percent of the actual ADA of the preceding school year, if the decline is not the result of the closing or reduction in personnel of a military base. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.