Highlights 77th Texas Legislature - Senate

_______________________ E DUCATION/Public
School Finance Fine Print - H.B. 2879
by Representative Sadler
Senate Sponsor: Senator Bivins
Increases salary factors for professional school employees.
DUCATION/Public
77 th Texas Legislature
Provides a new calculation of wealth per student for a property-wealthy school district that does not have a
secondary school.
Adjusts state funding for school districts that lose two percent or more of their average daily attendance.
Authorizes the commissioner of education (commissioner) to determine the compensatory education
enrollment, for a school district that does not serve lunch, from the number of students who would be
eligible for the national free lunch program.
Authorizes the commissioner to either adjust state payments for a school district that has a major taxpayer,
which, in disputing its valuation, refuses to pay all or part of its taxes or reduce state recapture from a
property wealthy/Chapter 41 district.
Authorizes school districts to use for bond payments funds other than current year tax collections, for funds
collected for the 1999-2000 school year or later.
Updates school districts’ existing bonds eligible for state funding and increases state debt subsidy to 29
cents of district debt-tax rate, but, in the 2002-2003 school year, only if funds are available.
Notifying Parents About Class-Size Waivers - H.B. 3313
by Representatives Dunnam and Chavez
Senate Sponsor: Senator Bernsen
Requires school districts that received class-size waivers to notify parents within 31 days of its effect.
Requires district and campus reports to include the number of campuses and classes at each campus for
which a class size waiver was given and the number of classes taught by teachers who are not certified in
the content area.
School Employee Health Insurance - H.B. 3343
by Representative Sadler, et al.
Senate Sponsor: Senator Bivins
Ten years after requiring school districts to make health insurance available to school employees, the
legislature adopted H.B. 3343 and put more than $1 billion in state revenue into the program. It requires
small school districts to participate in a state school employee health insurance plan (plan) for school
Senate Research Center 98