HBA-JLV S.B. 562 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 562
By: Shapiro
Public Education
5/18/2001
Engrossed



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Under current law, school districts provide financial reports that compare
administrative costs to instructional costs. Over the last several years,
many school districts have not been able to agree on what costs are defined
as administrative costs and what costs are defined as instructional costs.
Accordingly, information on these costs is being misreported.  Senate Bill
562 requires the Texas Education Agency to calculate and disseminate the
list of accounting function codes and provides for the administrative cost
ratio to be included in the district's performance report.  

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking
authority is expressly granted to the commissioner of education in SECTION
1 (Section 44.0071, Education Code) of this bill.  

ANALYSIS

Senate Bill 562 amends the Education Code to require the Texas Education
Agency (TEA), each fiscal year, to compute and report to each school
district:  
 
 _specified information regarding the school district's total expenditures
for each accounting function code; 

 _the number of the district's full-time equivalent employees for the
preceding fiscal year employed in each capacity; and 

 _the percentage of the district's total full-time equivalent employees for
the preceding fiscal year employed in each capacity, with a comparison of
that percentage to the corresponding statewide average percentage of total
full-time equivalent employees employed in each capacity.   

The bill requires TEA to include with this information a simplified
definition of each accounting function code and employment capacity used by
the agency in making the computations.   At least annually, a school
district is required to make available to the employees at each campus a
list of all campus employees who were included in making the required
computations regarding the number and percentage of the school district's
full-time equivalent employees.   The list must identify each employee by
name and state the capacity in which the employee was classified.  The bill
requires the commissioner of education (commissioner) to adopt rules as
necessary to implement these provisions. 

The bill provides that the school district's performance report must
include the district's administrative cost ratio and a description of the
method used to determine that ratio and the accounting function codes used
in determining that ratio and information regarding the district's
expenditures and staffing provided to the district.  

The bill requires that  information regarding expenditures and staffing of
school districts be included in a  comprehensive report TEA is required to
submit to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house
of representatives, the legislature, and other legislative entities. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.