Bill Text: TX SB192 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to a comprehensive review by the Texas Education Agency of weights, allotments, and adjustments under the public school finance system.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-01-25 - Referred to Education [SB192 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-SB192-Introduced.html
85R1189 GCB-F | ||
By: Garcia | S.B. No. 192 |
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relating to a comprehensive review by the Texas Education Agency of | ||
weights, allotments, and adjustments under the public school | ||
finance system. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 42, Education Code, is | ||
amended by adding Section 42.010 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 42.010. COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF PUBLIC SCHOOL FINANCE | ||
WEIGHTS, ALLOTMENTS, AND ADJUSTMENTS. (a) The agency shall | ||
conduct a comprehensive review of weights, allotments, and | ||
adjustments under the public school finance system, including all | ||
current weights, allotments, and adjustments provided under this | ||
chapter and any additional weights, allotments, and adjustments | ||
that the agency determines may be appropriate. The review must | ||
determine the effectiveness of existing weights, allotments, and | ||
adjustments in fulfilling the mission of the public education | ||
system stated in Section 4.001(a) and furthering the state policy | ||
stated in Section 42.001. At a minimum, the review must determine | ||
how closely and appropriately each of the following elements | ||
reflects and provides financing for costs beyond the control of | ||
school districts: | ||
(1) adjustments for costs related to the geographic | ||
variation in known resource costs and costs of education, | ||
controlling for the impact of unequalized wealth and hold-harmless | ||
provisions, and properly reflecting the impact of high | ||
concentrations of poverty on the compensation that school districts | ||
must pay to attract and retain teachers of comparable or | ||
appropriate quality; | ||
(2) adjustments for costs related to the size and | ||
diseconomies of scale of school districts; | ||
(3) adjustments for costs related to the varying | ||
instructional needs and characteristics of students and the extent | ||
to which the adjustments provide each student with access to | ||
programs and services that are appropriate to the student's | ||
educational needs; | ||
(4) other factors, in addition to economic status, | ||
that correlate to at-risk status and the need for compensatory | ||
education, and the degree to which those factors correspond to | ||
additional educational costs; and | ||
(5) the manner in which the cost adjustments are | ||
applied to and affect the overall school finance system. | ||
(b) The review of the adjustments described in Subsection | ||
(a)(1) must: | ||
(1) address all uncontrollable costs that can | ||
reasonably be quantified; | ||
(2) consider the qualifications, experience, and | ||
turnover rate of personnel and the impact of those factors on | ||
student achievement in considering the adequacy and comparability | ||
of salaries; | ||
(3) properly address the impact of factors that have a | ||
large impact on certain types of school districts, such as extreme | ||
isolation, regardless of general state impact; | ||
(4) include only factors for which a rational economic | ||
argument can be made; | ||
(5) be carefully constructed to make sure that a cost | ||
factor does not significantly affect more than one variable; and | ||
(6) not be artificially adjusted to meet predetermined | ||
outcomes and must not use arbitrary limits. | ||
(c) In determining whether any additional weights, | ||
allotments, and adjustments are appropriate under the public school | ||
finance system, as required by Subsection (a), the agency shall | ||
include consideration of an additional weight for educational | ||
services provided to students in prekindergarten on a half-day | ||
basis and on a full-day basis. | ||
(d) The agency may contract with one or more consultants if | ||
necessary to enable the agency to perform its duties under this | ||
section. | ||
(e) The Legislative Budget Board, the comptroller, the | ||
state auditor, and any other state agency, official, or personnel | ||
shall cooperate with the agency in carrying out its duties under | ||
this section. | ||
(f) Not later than December 1, 2018, the agency shall | ||
provide a report that: | ||
(1) states the findings of the review conducted under | ||
this section; and | ||
(2) includes recommendations for updated weights, | ||
allotments, and adjustments and any other statutory changes | ||
considered appropriate by the agency. | ||
(g) This section expires January 1, 2019. | ||
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives | ||
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as | ||
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this | ||
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this | ||
Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |