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

SPONSOR Campos

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/12/2007

HB

SHORT TITLE Reading and Language Intervention Pilot Program SB 970

ANALYST Aguilar

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$1,000.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 970 appropriates $1 million from the general fund to the Public Education

Department for the purpose of establishing a reading and language intervention pilot program.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $1 million contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund.

Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2009 shall revert

to the general fund.

The LFC remains concerned with funding initiatives outside of the funding formula as it tends to

disequalize school funding and diverts funding away from core educational needs.

Funding for this initiative may be available from the Reading Materials Fund, the Instructional

Materials Fund as well as through the district’s distribution from the State Equalization

Guarantee.

If the program is to focus on students in high-poverty and high needs areas, funding could also

be available from the School Improvement Framework.

Senate Bill 970 – Page

2

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

SB-970 provides for the PED to establish a pilot program, in which a contractor provides

intensive reading and language intervention for participating students,

The bill also provides for the department to adopt criteria for the selection of the contractor and

lays out what programs should contain.

The bill also provides for a student selection process and requires pre and post assessment to

measure student progress as well as a report to the LESC no later than October 1, 2009.

It is unclear as to what the target population is and what the overall intent of the program is. Its

provisions are overly broad leading to confusion as to the intent or focus of the program.

The Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement states: “Taking a system-wide

approach to improving instruction, creating a district curriculum aligned with state standards and

assessments, using data to guide decisions, redefining leadership, implementing a strong

accountability system, embedding professional development and making the commitment to

sustain reform are clear and concrete actions that lead to improvement in a district’s ability to

both support its schools and to improve student achievement."

PA/nt