Public Affairs

This report on the initial effects of House Bill 72 is the result of a policy research project conducted in 1984-85 under grants from Texans for Quality Education and from the Lyndon B. Johnson Foundation. House Bill 72 was a comprehensive bill passed during a special legislative session in the summer of 1984, with provisions designed both to make the financing of education more equitable and to improve the effectiveness of public schooling. Relying on information from extensive interviews as well as district finances, this monograph examines the effects of the legislation on financing patterns, on practices affecting both teachers and students, on programs for special groups (including compensatory education, bilingual education, special education for handicapped children, and vocational education), and on new preschool programs. These findings are the basis for a series of recommendations addressed to policymakers, educators, and citizens concerned about public education.