HBA-CMT H.B. 3405 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3405 By: King, Tracy Public Education 4/2/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Past legislation was passed to bring special education students into the statewide accountability program for standardized testing. The legislation called for the assessment instruments to be administered on the same schedule as the assessment instruments for all other students. The administration of the assessment instruments in many schools requires more than the available faculty, and some districts are not able to simultaneously administer both the regular and alternative assessment instruments. House Bill 3405 provides that the commissioner of education establish a schedule as close as practicable to the regular schedule for students taking the alternative assessment instrument. 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. ANALYSIS House Bill 3405 amends the Education Code to require the criterion-referenced assessment instruments for special education students to be administered on a schedule established by the commissioner of education as close as practicable to the schedule for the assessment instruments administered to non-special education students. EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2001.