Bill Text: TX HB5170 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to public school finance and public education.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-03-24 - Referred to Public Education [HB5170 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-HB5170-Introduced.html

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By: Dutton H.B. No. 5170

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to public school finance and public education.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 30.003, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (b-1) and amending Subsection (f-1) to read as
follows:
(b-1) For purposes of subsection (b), the maintenance and
debt service taxes imposed by the district is reduced by the
district's amount of local revenue in excess of entitlement for
that year under Section 48.257.
(f-1) The commissioner shall determine the total amount
that the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired and the
Texas School for the Deaf would have received from school districts
in accordance with this section if the following provisions had not
reduced the districts' share of the cost of providing education
services:
(1) H.B. No. 1, Acts of the 79th Legislature, 3rd
Called Session, 2006;
(2) Section 45.0032;
(3) Section 48.255; and
(4) Section 48.2551.; and
(5) Section 30.003 (b-1).
Section 2. Section 46.003, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) to read as follows:
Sec. 46.003. SCHOOL FACILITIES ALLOTMENT. (a) For each
year, except as provided by Sections 46.005 and 46.006, a school
district is guaranteed a specified amount per student in state and
local funds for each cent of tax effort, up to the maximum rate
under Subsection (b), to pay the principal of and interest on
eligible bonds issued to construct, acquire, renovate, or improve
an instructional facility. The amount of state support is
determined by the formula:
FYA = (FYL X ADA X BTR X 100) - (BTR X (DPV/100))
where:
"FYA" is the guaranteed facilities yield amount of state
funds allocated to the district for the year;
"FYL" is the dollar amount guaranteed level of state and
local funds per student per cent of tax effort, which is $4535 or a
greater amount for any year provided by appropriation;
"ADA" is the greater of the number of students in average
daily attendance, as determined under Section 48.005, in the
district or 400;
"BTR" is the district's bond tax rate for the current year,
which is determined by dividing the amount budgeted by the district
for payment of eligible bonds by the quotient of the district's
taxable value of property as determined under Subchapter M, Chapter
403, Government Code, or, if applicable, Section 48.258, divided by
100; and
"DPV" is the district's taxable value of property as
determined under Subchapter M, Chapter 403, Government Code, or, if
applicable, Section 48.258.
Section 3. Section 46.032, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) to read as follows:
Sec. 46.032. ALLOTMENT. (a) Each school district is
guaranteed a specified amount per student in state and local funds
for each cent of tax effort to pay the principal of and interest on
eligible bonds. The amount of state support, subject only to the
maximum amount under Section 46.034, is determined by the formula:
EDA = (EDGL X ADA X EDTR X 100) - (EDTR X (DPV/100))
where:
"EDA" is the amount of state funds to be allocated to the
district for assistance with existing debt;
"EDGL" is the dollar amount guaranteed level of state and
local funds per student per cent of tax effort, which is the lesser
of:
(1) $4540 or a greater amount for any year provided by
appropriation; or
(2) the amount that would result in a total additional
amount of state funds under this subchapter for the current year
equal to $60 million in excess of the state funds to which school
districts would have been entitled under this section if the
guaranteed level amount were $35;
"ADA" is the number of students in average daily attendance,
as determined under Section 48.005, in the district;
"EDTR" is the existing debt tax rate of the district, which is
determined by dividing the amount budgeted by the district for
payment of eligible bonds by the quotient of the district's taxable
value of property as determined under Subchapter M, Chapter 403,
Government Code, or, if applicable, under Section 48.258, divided
by 100; and
"DPV" is the district's taxable value of property as
determined under Subchapter M, Chapter 403, Government Code, or, if
applicable, under Section 48.258.
Section 4. Section 48.0071, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (d) as follows:
(d) This section expires September 1, 2023.
Section 5. Section 48.051, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (e) to read as
follows:
(a) For each student in average daily attendance, not
including the time students spend each day in special education
programs in an instructional arrangement other than mainstream or
career and technology education programs, for which an additional
allotment is made under Subchapter C, a district is entitled to an
allotment equal to the lesser of $6,210160 or the amount that
results from the following formula:
A = $6,210160 X TR/MCR X IF
where:
"A" is the allotment to which a district is entitled;
"TR" is the district's tier one maintenance and operations
tax rate, as provided by Section 45.0032.; and
"MCR" is the district's maximum compressed tax rate, as
determined under Section 48.2551.; and
"IF" is the statewide inflation factor determined under
Section 48.0512.
(b) A greater amount for any school year may be provided by
appropriation.
(c) During any school year for which the maximum amount of
the basic allotment provided under Subsection (a) or (b) is greater
than the maximum amount provided for the preceding school year, a
school district must use at least 30 percent of the amount, if the
amount is greater than zero, that equals the product of the average
daily attendance of the district multiplied by the amount of the
difference between the district's funding under this chapter per
student in average daily attendance for the current school year and
the preceding school year to provide compensation increases to
full-time district employees other than administrators as follows:
(1) 75 percent must be used to increase the
compensation paid to classroom teachers, full-time librarians,
full-time school counselors certified under Subchapter B, Chapter
21, and full-time school nurses, prioritizing differentiated
compensation for classroom teachers with more than five years of
experience; and
(2) 25 percent may be used as determined by the
district to increase compensation paid to full-time district
employees.
(c-1) A school district employee who received a salary
increase under Subsection (c) from a school district for the
2019-2020 school year is, as long as the employee remains employed
by the same district and the district is receiving at least the same
amount of funding as the amount of funding the district received for
the 2019-2020 school year, entitled to salary that is at least equal
to the salary the employee received for the 2019-2020 school year.
This subsection does not apply if the board of trustees of the
school district at which the employee is employed:
(1) complies with Sections 21.4021, 21.4022, and
21.4032 in reducing the employee's salary; and
(2) has adopted a resolution declaring a financial
exigency for the district under Section 44.011.
(c-2) A reduction in the salary of a school district
employee described by Subsection (c-1) is subject to the rights
granted to the employee under this code.
(d) In this section, "compensation" includes benefits such
as insurance premiums.
(e) For purposes of calculating the amount of the required
compensation increases under Subsection (c), increases to an
allotment under Sections 48.111, 48.115, 48.151, 48.152, 48.252,
and 48.277 are excluded from the calculation.
Section 6. Section 48.0512, Education Code, is added to
read as follows:
Sec. 48.0512. INFLATION FACTOR FOR BASIC ALLOTMENT. (a) In
the second year of each biennium, the basic allotment under Section
48.051 is adjusted by a factor equivalent to the average annual
percentage increase in the Texas Consumer Price Index for the
preceding 10-year period.
(b) In school years where an adjustment under Subsection (a)
would result in a reduction to the basic allotment, then the basic
allotment would equal the value for the first year of the biennium.
Section 7. Section 48.101, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) to read as follows:
(a) Small and mid-sized districts are entitled to an annual
allotment in accordance with this section. In this section:
(1) "AA" is the district's annual allotment per
student in average daily attendance;
(2) "ADA" is the number of students in average daily
attendance for which the district is entitled to an allotment under
Section 48.051, excluding students counted in average daily
attendance under Section 48.0071(b) for districts eligible to
operate virtual programs under Section 48.007(c); and
(3) "BA" is the basic allotment determined under
Section 48.051.
Section 8. Section 48.110, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (d) to read as follows:
(d) For each annual graduate in a cohort described by
Subsection (b) who demonstrates college, career, or military
readiness as described by Subsection (f) in excess of the minimum
number of students determined for the applicable district cohort
under Subsection (c), a school district is entitled to an annual
outcomes bonus of:
(1) if the annual graduate is educationally
disadvantaged, $5,000;
(2) if the annual graduate is not educationally
disadvantaged, $3,000; and
(3) if the annual graduate is enrolled in a special
education program under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, $42,000,
regardless of whether the annual graduate is educationally
disadvantaged.
Section 9. Section 48.111, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (c), (c-1), (d), (d-1), (d-2), and (d-3)
to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (c), a A school
district is entitled to an annual allotment equal to the basic
allotment multiplied by the applicable weight under Subsection
(a-1) for each enrolled student equal to the difference, if the
difference is greater than zero, that results from subtracting 250
from the difference between the number of students enrolled in the
district during the school year immediately preceding the current
school year and the number of students enrolled in the district
during the school year six years preceding the current school year.
(a-1) For purposes of Subsection (a), the agency shall
assign the following weights:
(1) 0.48 for each student enrolled at a district in the
top 40 percent of districts, as determined based on the number of
students calculated under Subsection (a);
(2) 0.33 for each student enrolled at a district in the
middle 30 percent of districts, as determined based on the number of
students calculated under Subsection (a); and
(3) 0.18 for each student enrolled at a district in the
bottom 30 percent of districts, as determined based on the number of
students calculated under Subsection (a).
(a-2) Notwithstanding Subsection (a-1), for the 2021-2022
school year, instead of using the weights under that subsection,
the agency shall substitute the following weights:
(1) 0.45 for each student enrolled at a district in the
top 40 percent of districts, as determined based on the number of
students calculated under Subsection (a);
(2) 0.30 for each student enrolled at a district in the
middle 30 percent of districts, as determined based on the number of
students calculated under Subsection (a); and
(3) 0.15 for each student enrolled at a district in the
bottom 30 percent of districts, as determined based on the number of
students calculated under Subsection (a).
(a-3) Subsection (a-2) and this subsection expire September
1, 2024.
(b) For purposes of Subsection (a), in determining the
number of students enrolled in a school district, the commissioner
shall exclude students enrolled in the district who receive
full-time instruction through the state virtual school network
under Chapter 30A.
(c) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the total amount that
may be used to provide allotments under Subsection (a) may not
exceed $320 million. If the total amount of allotments to which
districts are entitled under Subsection (a) for a school year
exceeds the amount permitted under this subsection, the
commissioner shall proportionately reduce each district's
allotment under this section.
(c-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (c), the total amount that
may be used to provide allotments under Subsection (a) may not
exceed:
(1) for the 2021-2022 school year, $270 million;
(2) for the 2022-2023 school year, $310 million; and
(3) for the 2023-2024 school year, $315 million.
(c-2) Subsection (c-1) and this subsection expire September
1, 2025.
(d) Subject to the limitation under Subsection (d-1), for
the 2021-2022 school year, the agency shall provide to each school
district, regardless of whether the district is entitled to an
allotment under Subsection (a) for the 2021-2022 school year, an
amount equal to the difference, if the difference is greater than
zero, between the amount of the allotment for the 2019-2020 school
year under this section, as this section existed on September 1,
2019, and the amount of the allotment for the 2021-2022 school year.
(d-1) The total amount that may be used to provide funding
under Subsection (d) may not exceed $40 million. If the total amount
of funding to which districts are entitled under Subsection (d) for
a school year exceeds the amount permitted under this subsection,
the commissioner shall proportionately reduce each district's
amount under Subsection (d).
(d-2) The amounts to which school districts are entitled
under Subsection (d) are not subject to the amount limitations
described by Subsections (c) and (c-1).
(d-3) Subsections (d), (d-1), (d-2), and this subsection
expire September 1, 2023.
Section 10. Section 48.202, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
(a-1) For purposes of Subsection (a), the dollar amount
guaranteed level of state and local funds per weighted student per
cent of tax effort ("GL") for a school district is:
(1) the greater of the amount of district tax revenue
per weighted student per cent of tax effort available to a school
district at the 96th percentile of wealth per weighted student or
the amount that results from multiplying $6,2106,160, or the
greater amount provided under Section 48.051(b), if applicable, by
0.016, for the first eight cents by which the district's
maintenance and operations tax rate exceeds the district's tier one
tax rate; and
(2) subject to Subsection (f), the amount that results
from multiplying $6,210$6,160, or the greater amount provided under
Section 48.051(b), if applicable, by 0.008, for the district's
maintenance and operations tax effort that exceeds the amount of
tax effort described by Subdivision (1).
Section 11. Section 48.252, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
(b-1) For purposes of calculating an amount under (b)(2),
the agency shall calculate the amount to which the district would be
entitled to under this Chapter using the enrichment tax rate as
defined under Section 45.0032(b) for the school year prior to the
district entering into a contract to operate a district campus as
provided by Section 11.174.
Section 12. Section 48.257, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (h) and (i) as follows:
(h) Subsection (i) applies only to a school district:
(1) for which Subsection (a) applies for the current
school year,
(2) that received an allotment under Section 48.277
for the 2023-2024 school year, and
(3) that adopted a maintenance and operations tax rate
for the 2022-2023 school year of at least the district's maximum
compressed tax rate under Section 48.2551 plus five cents per $100
valuation of taxable property.
(i) Notwithstanding Subsections (a) through (g), if a
district's maintenance and operations revenue per student in
average daily attendance after the required reduction under
Subsection (a) would be less than the district's 2023-2024
maintenance and operations revenue per student in average daily
attendance, excluding Sections 48.278, 48.279, and 48.281, the
agency shall decrease the amount of the required reduction under
Subsection (a) by an amount of local funds necessary to provide
additional revenue up to the district's maintenance and operations
revenue per student in average daily attendance for the 2023-2024
school year.
Section 13. Section 49.201, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 49.201. AGREEMENT. The board of trustees of a district
with a local revenue level in excess of entitlement may execute an
agreement to educate the students of another district in a number
that, when the weighted average daily attendance of the students
served is added to the weighted average daily attendance of the
contracting district, is sufficient, in combination with any other
actions taken under this chapter, to reduce the district's local
revenue level to a level that is equal to or less than the level
established under Section 48.257. The agreement is not effective
unless the commissioner certifies that the transfer of weighted
average daily attendance will not result in any of the contracting
districts' local revenue level being greater than the level
established under Section 48.257 and that the agreement requires an
expenditure per student in weighted average daily attendance that
is at least equal to the amount per student in weighted average
daily attendance required under Section 49.153, unless it is
determined by the commissioner that a quality educational program
can be delivered at a lesser amount. The commissioner may approve a
special financial arrangement between districts if that
arrangement serves the best educational interests of the state.
Section 14. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.