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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Varela

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/23/07

HB 1163

SHORT TITLE Santa Fe Youth Court For School Offenses

SB

ANALYST Wilson

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$300.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT (dollars in thousands)

FY07

FY08

FY09 3 Year

Total Cost

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

Total

$0.1

$0.1

$0.1 Recurring General

Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Duplicates SB 891

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Public Education Department (PED)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 1163 appropriates $300,000 from the general fund to the PED

for the development

and implementation by the Santa Fe public school district of a Santa Fe youth court as an

alternative method to deal with school-based offenses.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $300,000 for expenditure in fiscal years 2008 through 2010 contained in

this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance

House Bill 1163 Page

2

remaining at the end of fiscal year 2010 shall revert to the general fund.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

Teen courts, also known as youth or peer courts, are considered one of the fastest growing

juvenile prevention and intervention programs in the county. They are rapidly gaining popularity

as an alternative to juvenile justice and are considered a primary diversion option for young

offenders in the juvenile justice system. Teen courts offer an adjudicatory venue in which

nonviolent and, usually, first-time offenders are sentenced by their peers.).

If funded, the Santa Fe Teen Court will collaborate with the Santa Fe Public Schools to

implement this program. The Santa Fe Teen Court program started in 1994 and has been serving

teens and their families for 12 years now. The Santa Fe Teen Court served 327 teens and families

in 2005 and 557 in 2006. Teen Court serves as a base to save lives. It keeps teens out of regular

court and out of the detention center. The Santa Fe Teen Court is a first-time offenders program

with alternative sentencing such as:

• Community service

• Serving on the jury

• Mandatory DWI prevention class

• Letter of apology

• And other educational components such as our Substance abuse program.

Santa Fe Teen Court’s main focus is substance use prevention including:

• Assessment

• Drug Testing

• Counseling

• Group sessions

• Family Night

• Reality Program.

Teen court is able to provide this cost-effective alternative to traditional punitive action largely

through the help of volunteers, both adult and other juveniles.

HB 1163 will provide alternative methods to dealing with school-based offenses, such as

tardiness and absenteeism, which may result in an increase in attendance and a decrease in

dropout rates for public school youth. HB 1163 could possibly lead to a decrease in dropout and

truancy rates, increase academic success and close the achievement gap for all students.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

PED is the administrative agent for this bill. PED will need to set up the budget, flow the funds

to Santa Fe Public Schools, monitor the funds and process cash requests made by the school

district. PED will be able to monitor these funds with existing staff.

DW/csd