HBA-MPM H.B. 1104 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1104
By: Dunnam
Public Education
3/5/1999
Introduced


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

One of the stated objectives for public education found in Chapter 4,
Education Code, is for parents to be full partners with educators in the
education of their children.  Although state law requires that each public
school campus have a campus-level decision-making committee which should
include parent members, these committees have shown mixed results in
promoting parental involvement. 

H.B. 1104 requires the Texas Education Agency (agency) to evaluate each
school district every two years to determine if the district involves
parents in planning and decision making.  This bill also requires the
commissioner of education to assign each district a certain rating based on
the evaluation and criteria the commissioner establishes, some of which
must regard the objective that parents be full partners in their children's
education, and to make these ratings known to the public through a
newspaper.  Furthermore, this bill requires a district with an unacceptable
rating to submit an improvement plan to the agency no later than 60 days
after receiving its ratings and for the agency to monitor the district's
compliance with its plan. 

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. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Subchapter F, Chapter 11, Education Code, by adding
Section 11.255, as follows: 

Sec. 11.255.  STATE EVALUATION OF PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT.  (a) Requires the
Texas Education Agency (agency), at least every two years, to evaluate each
school district to determine if the district is involving parents in
district and campus-level planning and decision making. 

(b)  Requires the commissioner of education (commissioner) to assign each
district a rating of excellent, acceptable, or unacceptable, based on the
evaluation and criteria the commissioner establishes.  Specifies that this
criteria must reflect the objective stated in Section 4.001 (Public
Education Mission and Objectives), Education Code, that parents be full
partners in their children's education. 

(c)  Requires the agency to make district ratings and evaluations available
to the public and requires a district, no later than the 60th day after it
receives its rating, to publish the rating and the evaluation summary in a
newspaper of general circulation in the district at least once weekly for
two consecutive weeks. 

(d)  Requires a district that receives an unacceptable rating to submit a
plan for improving parental involvement to the agency no later than the
60th day after it receives its rating. Requires the agency to monitor a
district's compliance with the plan and the requirements relating to
parental involvement. 

SECTION 2.  Emergency clause.
  Effective date: upon passage.