83rd Legislative Session Recap

Monday, May 27th marked the end of the 83rd regular session of the Texas Legislature. The information below, provided by the Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA), offers a brief overview of two of the public education issues Spring Branch ISD has closely followed this session.

For more information about the other education-related bills that were filed and debated during this session, click here. These bills are now in the hands of Governor Perry, who has until Sunday, June 16th to sign or veto the legislation.

Brief Recap of the 83rd Legislative Session

Submitted by Jennifer Garrido    

 

School Finance
Several bills that moved through the legislative process impacted school finance this session, including SB 1, the state’s budget bill. Together, these bills:

• Added $3.4 billion to formula funding, which is in addition to the amount included for enrollment growth;
• Set the Regular Program Adjustment Factor at 1.0 and increased the Basic Allotment from $4,765 to $4,950 in FY 14 and $5,040 in FY 15;
• Increased the Student Success Initiative by $24 million, bringing the total to $60.5 million;
• Provided $838.7 million for instructional materials;
• Authorized $98.4 million for assessments;
• Provided a $10 million increase for professional development;
• Increased Communities in Schools by $11.5 million, for a total of $40.7 million;
• Included $330 million to fund the TRS transition aid for school districts for FY 15 per the passage of SB 1458 (see below).

Assessment and Accountability
HB 5
Both chambers adopted the HB 5 conference committee report (Rep. Aycock) that made improvements to high school graduation programs and lessened the high-stakes nature of the current end-of-course exams, including the 15% requirement.
As adopted, HB 5:

• Reduces the number of required EOCs from 15 to 5, including English I and English II, Algebra I, biology, and U.S. history (ELA reading and writing tests are combined into one test).
• Eliminates the 15 percent requirement.
• Includes a foundation graduation plan of 22 credits: 4 ELA, 3 math, 3 science, 3 social studies, 2 foreign language, 1 fine art, 1 P.E., and 5 electives. Also, requires an endorsement in one of five areas: STEM, Business & Industry, Public Services, Arts & Humanities, or Multidisciplinary.
• Ensures that all high school graduates will be eligible to apply for admission to Texas public 4-year universities and eligible to receive TEXAS Grants.
• Provides that districts may administer Algebra II and English III EOC exams at their discretion for diagnostic purposes.
• Mandates that schools be evaluated on multiple measures, not just state standardized assessments.
• Establishes an accountability system that evaluates school performance on three components that include: academic performance, financial performance, and community engagement.