The House Public Education Committee's first action Tuesday morning, April 21, 2015, was to pass HB 1759 Committee Substitute by Committee Chair Jimmie Don Aycock out of committee, by a vote of 7 for and 0 against. The bill is the cornerstone bill to overhaul the Texas public school finance system. HB 1759 proposes to repeal chapters 41, 42 and 46 of the Education Code, which effectively repeals all of the current state aid funding mechanisms under the Foundation School Program.
Proposed changes under HB 1759 include:
- Increase the Basic Allotment (BA) from $5,040 to $5,888
- Raise the Equalized Wealth Level to $588,800
- Repeal the Cost of Education Index and flow funds through the BA
- Repeal the transportation allotment and flow funds through the BA ($125 ADA = small district adjustment)
- Flow the High School Allotment through the BA
- Flow Additional Aid for Nonprofessional Salary through the BA
- Repeal the 1992-93 chapter 41 Hold Harmless related to Robin Hood recapture school districts
- Extend the Career and Technology Education (CTE) allotment to eighth-grade students
- Phase out the Mid-sized Adjustment over 15 years after the first year reduction
- Maintain the small school adjustment
- Reduce the number of districts receiving funds from Additional State Aid for Tax Reduction by increasing the BA
- Address fractional funding issues for districts with compressed Maintenance and Operations tax rates less than $1.00
To access the HB 1759 Committee Substitute passed out of committee, click on the link below
http://www.legis.state.tx.us/tlodocs/84R/handouts/C4002015040714001/7e4423f5-801c-4cd2-88ec-2986f707f8f8.PDF