HBA-SEB H.B. 3148 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3148
By: Smith
Public Education
4/20/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Each year, the Texas Education Agency is required to prepare and submit a
report card to each school district for each campus.  The campus report
cards must be based on the most current data available.  Currently, a
campus report card must include academic excellence indicators,
student/teacher ratios, and administrative and instructional costs per
student.  H.B. 3148 requires a report card to include class sizes,
organized by grade level, curriculum subject, and special program, instead
of student/teacher ratios.  This bill also requires the commissioner of
education to adopt rules requiring the dissemination of appropriate class
size and gifted and talented rating 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking
authority previously delegated to the commissioner of education is modified
in SECTION 1 (Section 39.052, Education Code) of this bill.  

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Sections 39.052(b) and (c), Education Code, as follows:

(b)  Requires a report card to include class sizes, organized by grade
level, curriculum subject, and special program, rather than student/teacher
ratios.  Requires the report card to also include the rating of the gifted
and talented program under the required state plan. Makes conforming
changes. 

(c)  Requires the commissioner of education to adopt rules requiring the
dissemination of appropriate class size and gifted and talented rating.   

SECTION 2.  Effective date: September 1, 1999.

SECTION 3.  Emergency clause.