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During the 84th Legislative Session, lawmakers took several significant actions on education funding and policy. The legislators:

  • approved the 2016-17 budget which added over $1.7B in new funds for public schools;
  • provided additional prekindergarten support;
  • established policies that allow ISDs to establish innovation districts;
  • set up several professional development academies which focused on staff development; and
  • laid the foundation of a new accountability system.

 
The following spotlights the legislation that was passed by the 84th Legislature, with brief detail of the implications.

Funding
HB 1, the general appropriations act, provides full funding for enrollment growth and restores funding for the New Instructional Facilities Allotment (NIFA) and for a new round for the Instructional Facilities Allotment (IFA). The average M&O gain should be $181 per WADA in 2016-17 compared to previous formulas, although some districts will realize a lower gain because of property wealth and/or ASATR.

The Legislative Budget Board has published two reports that provide details on the FSP Entitlement Actions taken by the 84th Legislature:

Funding left unspent includes $6.2B in general revenue (before the BRE cap was reached) and $11.1B which will remain in the state’s Economic Stabilization Fund or “Rainy Day Fund”.

2016-17 Biennium Public Education Article III

$54.5B – All Funds (AF) (excluding TRS & end-of-article benefits)

  • $2.9 B – AF increase of 5.6 percent from the 2014–15 biennium
    • $1.5B in Foundation School Program (FSP) funding in excess of amounts estimated to be necessary to fund current law obligations
    • $1.2B for the FSP contingent on property tax relief providing an equivalent reduction in local property taxes

$37.4B – General Revenue (GR) and General-Revenue Dedicated (GRD) funds

  • $3.6B – GR & GRD increase of 10.7 percent from the 2014–15 biennium
    • $2.6B increase to replace lower estimated Property Tax Relief Fund revenue (Other Funds) due to franchise tax relief
    • $1.2B in property tax relief
    • $1.5B in additional funding for schools, partially off-set by a lower state cost to fund current law compared to the 2014–15 biennium

$6.9B Other Funds

  • $1.2B or a 14.5 percent decrease primarily attributable to franchise tax relief

$3.8 B in FSP funding contingent on

  • $2.6B is contingent on franchise tax reform resulting in an equivalent savings and a corresponding reduction to the Property Tax Relief Fund (Other Funds)
  • $1.2B is contingent on an equivalent amount of school district property tax relief

$1.5B increase in FSP due to

  • $1.2B is attributable to increase in the Basic Allotment
  • $200M to fund legislation that equalizes within the school finance formulas the treatment of similar tax effort across school districts
  • $55.5M in new funding for the Instructional Facilities Allotment to provide tax relief for property-poor districts issuing bonds for local facility needs
  • $47.5M for the New Instructional Facilities Allotment to provide start-up funds for new district and charter school campuses

$1.8B in GR for non-FSP program and administration funding at the TEA

  • $233.1M decrease compared to the 2014–15 biennium
    • Primarily due to the exclusion of one-time transition aid of $330M to school districts (Senate Bill 1458, Eighty-third Legislature, 2013)
  • Programs seeing an increase in funding:
    • $40.6M for new literacy and math academies
    • $3M for the Early College High School Initiative
    • $2.7M for the Texas Education Agency’s Office of Complaints, Investigations, and Enforcement for on-site, special accreditation investigations at school districts and charter schools
    • $1.5M for Texas Academic Innovation and Mentoring (Texas AIM)
    • $1.0M for the Adult Charter School Pilot
  • Programs seeing a decrease in funding
    • Student Success Initiative is funded at $31.7M (a $28.8M decrease
    • Reasoning Mind, a computer-based math instruction program is funded at $4M (a $5M decrease)
    • FitnessGram is funded at $2M (a $3M decrease)
  • Programs that did not receive funding
    • Autism training ($1.5M)
    • Public School Teachers Survey and Audit ($1.1 M)
    • Online College Preparation and Technical Assistance Program ($1.0M)
    • Steroid Testing ($1.0M)

$1.1B in GR for Instructional materials and technology funding

  • A $202.9M increase compared to the 2014–15 biennium
  • From the IMF, $10M is designated for the development of open-source instructional materials.

HB 2 (Otto/Nelson) would allocate $768M from the general revenue fund to Teacher Retirement System for TRS care and would also reduce the Foundation School Program (FSP) appropriations in fiscal year 2015. This amount would cover the shortfall in TRS-Care for 2016-17.

However, the reductions still leave enough funds in the FSP to fund 2014-15 entitlement, primarily, according to the bill fiscal note, due to larger than projected settle-up savings and updated budget drivers, including district property values and student counts. Of note, the LBB recommendation for a fix for TRS-Care was not considered during the 84th. 

HB 7 (Darby/Nelson) addresses fractional funding which would effectively change the compressed rate.  

Property Tax Rate/Bonds/Ballot Language
HB 1378 (Flynn/Bettencourt) requires detailed reporting on a variety of debt information: all authorized debt, combined principal and interest required to pay all and each outstanding debt issue, stated in total and per capita amounts for debt secured by property taxes, and current credit rating by national rating service, issued and unissued amounts, spent and unspent amounts, maturity date and stated purpose for which debt was authorized. The bill was signed by the Governor June 18, 2015 and is effective on January 1, 2016. 

SB 1760 (Creighton/Bonnen) requires that for a governing body to set a property tax rate that exceeds the sum of the effective maintenance and operations tax rate and the current debt rate, a 60-percent vote of the governing body is required. Language of motions, ordinances and notices are specified including language that includes the description of the purpose of the increase. The description of the purpose of the increase must also be specified in the ballot. The bill was signed by the Governor June 15, 2015 and is effective on January 1, 2016.

HB 2083 (Darby/Hancock) relating to the determination of the appraised value of property for purposes of an ad valorem tax protest or appeal.  The bill addresses selection of comparable properties for determining appraised value under the “equal and uniform” appraisal provisions. The bill also would allow properties in other counties to be used in the appraisal appeal process if a there were not a sufficient number of comparable properties in the county. The bill was signed by the Governor May 23, 2015 and will be effective January 1, 2016.

SB 1985 (Uresti/Bonnen) makes technical corrections as to data sources and timing of information used in appraising oil and natural gas reserves. The bill was signed by the Governor May 5, 2015 and will be effective January 1, 2016.

HB 2712 (Geren/Hancock) exempts tangible personal property that is necessary to the operation of qualifying large data centers from sales and use taxation. The bill was signed by the Governor on June 10, 2015 and became effective immediately.

HB 114 (Flynn/Hinojosa) limits the issuance of certain capital appreciation bonds by political subdivisions. The bill was signed by the Governor June 19, 2015 and will be effective September 1, 2015. Specifically the bill will:

  • Limit the issuance of capital appreciation bonds that are secured by ad valorem taxes to a 20 year maturity date or less and issued only if the CAB makes up less than 25 percent of total debt payments
  • Require regular updates and other specific debt information posted on the political subdivision’s website
  • Prohibit the use of CAB proceeds to purchase items where the expected useful life will exceed the bond’s maturity date
  • Require that CAB proceeds unspent after the project identified for intended use may only be used for a use identified on the political subdivision’s website unless it is approved by voters
  • Restrict the extension of the maturity date of an issued CAB and provide for certain exceptions

SB 455 (Creighton/Schofield) established special three-judge district courts convened to hear certain cases including those in which the state/agency is the defendant in a claim that challenges the finances or operations of this state’s public school system or redistricting. The bill was signed by the Governor on May 28, 2015 and will be effective September 1, 2015.

VETOED – HB 2826 (Murphy/Huffman) streamlines limitation value determination for Chapter 313 projects in multiple school districts. The bill was vetoed by the Governor on June 20. In part the veto statement highlighted Governor Abbott’s concern that the bill will cost state taxpayers $100 M per biennium and his other concerns about the program’s oversight, its transparency and its value to taxpayers.

Election/Polling
SB 733 (Fraser/Workman) would amend the Election Code to modify the deadline that a political subdivision, other than a county or municipal utility district, may change the date on which it holds its general election for officers to the November uniform date. The bill was signed by the Governor on June 19, 2015 and became effective immediately.

HB 2027 (Bonnen/Hancock) allows for only 25% of polling locations to be temporary if those locations are open for at least two days and eight hours each day. The bill was signed by the Governor June 16, 2015 and will be effective September 1, 2015.

HB 2354 (Farney/Schwertner) moves May election to first Saturday in May, instead of the second. The bill was signed by the Governor September 16, 2015 and will be effective September 1, 2015.

Open Meetings
HB 283 (Fallon/Creighton) requires a transit authority, a school board of trustees that has a student enrollment over 10,000, any city that has 50,000 or more in population, or county commissioners court for a county with 125,000 or more in population to: (1) make video and audio recordings of most open meetings of the council, and (2) make available on the internet an archived copy of that video and audio recording. The bill was signed by the Governor on June 17, 2015 and will take effect January 1, 2016.

Sunset Review
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) did undergo a limited scope review for the 84th Session. However, neither sunset bill passed during the 84th. TEA was extended another 10 years under the Sunset safety net bill and will be subject to review in the 2025 cycle. 

The University Interscholastic League (UIL) also underwent a Sunset Review for the 84th Session with no bills passing during the 84th. However, the UIL does not need to be continued through any sunset legislation since it is not a state agency and not subject to sunset. The UIL leadership has stated the Sunset process was worthwhile and is making several changes to its rules and processes as a result of going through sunset.

Accountability
HB 2804 (Aycock/Taylor) which adopts a set of performance indicators was signed by the Governor June 19, 2015. Provisions in the bill have varying effective dates. Specific provisions in the bill include:  

  • Create five domains to contribute to an overall rating:
    • Domain 1: Meeting standards at satisfactory and college readiness levels on STAAR
    • Domain 2: Meeting/exceeding progress on STAAR tests at satisfactory and college readiness levels
    • Domain 3: Closing “academic achievement differentials” from different racial/ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds
    • Domain 4: Academic attainments by level
    • Domain 5: Three areas of district/campus- selected community and student engagement ratings
  • Beginning September 1, 2016, require the Commissioner to assign performance ratings of A, B, C, D, or F to districts, campuses, and each domain.
  • Establish the Texas Commission on Next Generation Assessments and Accountability that would develop and make recommendations for new systems of assessment and accountability
  • Require the Commissioner to periodically raise standards for college readiness
  • Require TEA to report by Jan. 1, 2107:
    • Model the new system of school and district ratings, had Domains 1-4 been in place in 2016 ratings cycle, and
    • Create correlations between letter grades as ratings and specific student demographics 

HB 1842 (Aycock/Taylor) relating to public school accountability, including the intervention in and sanction of a public school that has received an academically unsuccessful performance rating for at least two consecutive school years and the designation of a school district as a district of innovation. The bill was signed by the Governor on June 19, 2015 and became effective immediately.  
Specifically the bill will:

  • Require the commissioner to order a campus identified as unacceptable for two consecutive years to prepare and submit a campus turnaround plan to TEA. The bill phases in these interventions.
  • Specify the required elements of campus turnaround plans and allow a district to request assistance from a regional education service center (RESC) or partner with an Institute of Higher Education (IHE) to develop and implement the plan.
  • Only allow the commissioner to approve a campus turnaround plan if the commissioner determines that the campus will satisfy student performance standards not later than the second year the campus will receive a performance rating following the plan's implementation. If the commissioner does not make this determination, the commissioner has the option to appoint a board of managers to govern the district.
  • Require the commissioner to adopt a transition plan allowing a public school campus with an unacceptable academic performance rating for three or more consecutive school years before the effective date of the bill to continue with interventions and sanctions already applied, to be closed, or for a board of managers to be appointed if the campus receives an academically unacceptable performance rating for the two school years following the effective date of this act.
  • Allow for the creation of Districts of Innovation.
  • Strengthen and expand TEA’s monitoring authority.
  • Streamline procedures for high-performing charters to expand.

HB 3106 (Huberty/Creighton) would allow the Commissioner to extend the appointment of the Board of Managers (BOM) for up to two additional years.  The bill was signed by the Governor on June 19, 2015 and became effective immediately.

Diplomas and Credits
HB 181 (Bell/Kolkhorst) eliminates the requirements to affix certain information on diplomas, while maintaining requirements to show specific information on student transcripts (endorsements earned, distinguished level of achievement, and performance acknowledgements). The bill was signed by the Governor on May 13, 2015 and became effective immediately.

HB 731 (Lucio/Lucio) authorizes a three year diploma plan pilot in a Cameron County district. The bill was signed by the Governor June 17, 2015 and will be effective on September 1, 2015.

HB 2025 (Gonzales/Schwertner) authorizes a district with 5-7k enrolled students located in a county that contains the headwaters of the San Gabriel River to participate in the three year diploma pilot program. The bill was signed by the Governor on June 16, 2015 and became effective immediately.

SB 453 (Seliger/Clardy) the cut score for award of credit in grades 6-12 using CLEP test will be 50 rather than the current 60. The bill was signed by the Governor on June 19, 2015 and became effective immediately.

HB 1992 (Zerwas/Clardy) an Institute of Higher Education (IHE) may not require a score above 3 on an AP exam to award credit in a lower division course, unless the IHE determines that a higher score is necessary for success in advanced course that has the given prerequisites. THECB will report to the legislature Jan. 2017 and 2019 on the performance of undergrads who received one or more credits based on AP scores and to recommend any changes in policy. The bill was signed by the Governor June 3, 2015 and became effective immediately. 

SB 1867 (Zaffirini/Aycock) the Commissioner must exclude from dropout and completion rate calculations students who were at least 18 years of age, satisfied graduation credit requirements, enrolled and receiving IEP services or have not yet completed IEP requirements. The bill was signed by the Governor on June 19, 2015 and became effective immediately.

Graduation
SB 149 (Seliger/Huberty) was signed into law on May 11, 2015 by the Governor and became effective immediately. Subsequently, the Texas Education Agency sent out a statement notifying administrators that emergency commissioner rules to amend the assessment graduation requirements per SB 149 have been filed with the Texas Register and are effective immediately.

The bill revised the state’s assessment graduation requirements for students enrolled in the 11th or 12th grade for the 2014-2015, 2015-2016, or 2016-2017 school years. A student who has failed the end-of-course (EOC) assessment graduation requirements for no more than two courses may receive a Texas high school diploma if the student has qualified to graduate by means of an individual graduation committee (IGC). The bill requires the IGC to be composed of the principal or principal's designee; the teacher of the course for the EOC assessment on which the student failed to perform satisfactorily; the student's school counselor; and, as applicable, the student's parent or person standing in parental relation to the student, or the student, at the student's option, if the student is at least 18 years of age or is an emancipated minor.

Under the legislation, a student may not graduate under an IGC if the student did not take each required EOC assessment or a commissioner-approved substitute assessment for each course for which there is an EOC assessment.

As the provisions of the bill expire in September 2017, the 85th Texas Legislature will have an opportunity to determine whether the program has worked as intended.

TEKS and STAAR
VETOED – SB 313 (Seliger/Aycock) relating to the essential knowledge and skills of the required public school curriculum, the administration of and reports relating to assessment instruments administered to public school students, the instructional materials allotment, and proclamations for the production of instructional materials was vetoed by the Governor on June 20, 2015.

HB 743 (Huberty/Seliger) – Relating to the essential knowledge and skills of the required public school curriculum and to certain assessment instruments for public school students. The bill was signed by the Governor on June 19, 2015 and became effective immediately.
More specifically the bill would require:

  • That an assessment instrument be determined to be valid and reliable based on empirical evidence by an entity independent of the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and test developer before being administered.
  • Assessment instruments to be designed so that 85 percent of the students in grades 3 through 5 complete the assessment in 120 minutes and 85 percent of the students in grades 6 through 8 complete the assessment in 180 minutes.
  • TEA to conduct a comprehensive study of the TEKS and assessment instruments and submit a report of its findings to the SBOE by March 1, 2016 and the SBOE to review the report and forward it with recommendations to the legislature by May 1, 2016.
  • TEA to reimburse school district for all fees associated with administration of college preparation assessment instruments. The bill would require TEA to ensure that school districts are not reimbursed if an assessment instrument is not actually administered. *note: however, there do not appear to be funds specifically appropriated for this purpose.
  • TEA to develop a comprehensive methodology for auditing and monitoring assessment contracts to develop or administer assessment instruments and conduct contract compliance review if necessary.

HB 1164 (VanDeaver/Garcia) in SY 2015-16, TEA and state testing contractor must coordinate to develop an alternative to current writing assessments with pilot testing occurring in the following two school years. An annual legislative report is required by Sept. 1 for the next three years. The bill was signed by the Governor June 17, 2015 and becomes effective September 1, 2015.

HB 2349 (Aycock/Kolkhorst) expands the way to earn Performance Acknowledgments on transcripts and would require a high school student to take an end-of-course exam only for a course in which the student was enrolled. Additionally, public school students would be allowed to enroll in more than three courses at a junior college that was outside the student’s high school service area provided certain provisions are met. The bill would also allow the TEA to defer releasing STAAR questions and answer keys to the extent necessary to develop additional assessment instruments. Students must also be notified of graduation test requirements by date of 8th grade entry. The bill was signed by the Governor on June 18, 2015 and became effective immediately – the 2015-16 school year. 

Academics and Instruction
HB 2610 (King/Taylor) requires districts to provide 75,600 minutes of instruction per year (one day= 420 minutes of instruction), including intermissions and recess. The Commissioner can approve waivers for extreme circumstances. The bill was signed by the Governor on June 19, 2015 and became effective immediately. 

HB 2812 (Springer/Taylor) removes the limitations on dual credit courses that a high school student can take. Time a student spends participating in an approved off-campus instructional program can count towards instructional hours for ADA purposes. The bill was signed by the Governor on June 17, 2015 and became effective immediately.  

HB 505 (Rodriguez/Estes) beginning with the upcoming school year, THECB rules cannot limit the grade levels at which students are eligible to take dual credit courses or the number of dual credit/hours that high school students may take: over their high school “careers” and within a semester or within a school year. The bill was signed by the Governor on May 23, 2015 and became effective immediately.

HB 1613 (Guillen/Perry) requires the State Board of Education (SBOE) to develop and adopt, by rule, a chart that shows the alignment of college readiness standards with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). The bill would exempt a student from the Algebra I or the English I and English III end-of-course (EOC) assessments if the student enrolls in a college preparatory mathematics or English language arts course and satisfies the requirements of the Texas Success Initiative (TSI) assessment instruments, even if the student previously failed the EOC. The bill would allow students who do not successfully satisfy the TSI assessments to retake the TSI assessments or the appropriate EOC. The bill was signed by the Governor June 19, 2015 and became effective immediately.

HB 18 (Perry/West) requires public outreach materials about curriculum requirements of HB 5, would add the SBOE to those groups informed by the Texas High Performance Schools Consortium and would increase up to 30 sites, accounting for up to 10% of the total enrollment. The bill would require reports to the Legislature from the Consortium due by December 1 of even-numbered years. The bill was signed by the Governor on June 19, 2015 and became effective immediately.

SB 1259 (Rodriguez/Allen) TEA is required to develop a statewide plan for delivery of services to children with disabilities. Districts must have a process by which teachers who instruct students with disabilities in regular setting have input into students’ IEP. Also requires ARD committee to prepare written reports and provide certain details in those reports. The bill was signed by the Governor on June 19, 2015 and became effective immediately. 

SB 507 (Lucio/Thompson) at the request of a parent, trustee or staff member cameras must be installed in self-contained special education classes. The district or charter would retain the video for at least six months after initial recording. The video will be confidential and can only be released for viewing under specific criteria. Allows for the Commissioner to create a grant program to purchase video equipment or reimbursement of costs. Establishes priority of grant funding. The bill was signed by the Governor June 19, 2015 and became effective immediately.   

Prekindergarten/Training/Achievement Academies
HB 4 (Huberty/Campbell) provides up to $1,500 per eligible four-year-old prekindergarten student ($59 M per year for the entire state) in grant funding – provided the district meets certain requirements.  The bill establishes certain requirements for pre-k teachers. The bill was signed by the Governor May 28, 2015 and became effective immediately.

SB 934 (Kolkhorst/Farney) relating to providing training academies for public school teachers who provide mathematics instruction to students in kindergarten through grade three. This bill was signed by the Governor May 28, 2015 and became effective immediately.

SB 972 (Kolkhorst/Deshotel) relating to training academies for public school teachers who provide reading comprehension instruction for students in grades four and five. This bill was signed by the Governor May 28, 2015 and became effective immediately.

SB 935 (Kolkhorst/Deshotel) relating to the establishment of a reading excellence team pilot program. This bill was signed by the Governor May 28, 2015 and became effective immediately.

SB 925 (Kolkhorst/Aycock) was signed by the Governor on May 21, 2015 and became effective immediately. SB 925 amends the Education Code to require the commissioner of education to develop and make available literacy achievement academies for teachers who provide reading instruction to students at the kindergarten, first-grade, second-grade, or third-grade level. The bill requires a literacy achievement academy to include training in effective and systematic instructional practices in reading, including phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension and in the use of empirically validated instructional methods that are appropriate for struggling readers. The bill authorizes a literacy achievement academy to include training in effective instructional practices in writing. The bill requires the commissioner to adopt criteria for selecting teachers who may attend a literacy achievement academy and, in adopting selection criteria, to require granting a priority to teachers employed by a school district at a campus at which 50 percent or more of the students enrolled are educationally disadvantaged and to provide a process through which a teacher not employed at such a campus may attend the academy if the academy has available space and the school district employing the teacher pays the costs of the teacher's attendance. The bill entitles a teacher who attends a literacy achievement academy to receive a stipend in the amount determined by the commissioner from funds appropriated for that purpose. The bill specifies that such a stipend is not considered in determining whether a school district is paying the teacher the required minimum monthly salary. The bill requires regional education service centers, on request of the commissioner, to assist the commissioner and the Texas Education Agency with training and other activities relating to the development and operation of literacy achievement academies. The bill's provisions expire September 1, 2027.

HB 18 (Aycock/Perry) relating to measures to support public school student academic achievement and high school, college, and career preparation. The bill was signed by the Governor June 19, 2015 and became effectively immediately. The bill will:

  • Prohibit any limitation of the number of dual credit courses or dual credit course semester credit hours in which a high school student could enroll each semester or academic year.
  • Require the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to develop uniform public outreach materials in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese to explain curriculum changes.
  • Require each school district to provide instruction to each 7th and 8th grade student on how to prepare for high school, college, and a career. Instruction may be offered in a variety of formats.
  • Require The University of Texas at Austin's Center for Teaching and Learning to develop, implement, and evaluate an online, self-paced, modular professional development program for Texas public school counselors as well as educators with counseling responsibilities.
  • Provide stipends paid to counselors and other educators that counsel secondary students.
  • Require dual credit courses to be taught by qualified instructors approved or selected by the public junior college.
  • Require public institutions of higher education to provide certain information to students and school districts regarding student performance on Texas Success Initiative assessment instruments.
  • Add the State Board of Education (SBOE) to the group of those informed by the Texas High Performance Schools Consortium and would require an open-enrollment charter school to have been awarded a distinction designation during the preceding school year to participate in the consortium.
  • Increase the maximum number of students enrolled in consortium participants from 5 to 10 percent of the total number of students enrolled in public schools.
  • Require Consortium participants to submit performance and progress reports not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year and eliminate the need for the report to include commissioner recommendations, the inclusion of an accountability system for consortium participants, and the requirement that the commissioner seek a federal waiver if needed.