BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 3430

By: Landgraf

Public Education

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

It has been shown that student performance in school is often adversely affected by factors beyond the scope of traditional school attendance and services, such as child care quality, parental involvement in schools, family finances, literacy development, and home environments. This is particularly true for children attending high-poverty schools, including high-poverty rural schools. In order to raise overall levels of achievement, attention needs to be paid to the factors outside of the classroom that affect students' success as much as factors inside the classroom.

Full-service community schools seek to do just this by providing comprehensive academic, social, and health services for students, family members, and community members that will result in improved educational outcomes for children. These schools have the potential to end the cycle of poverty that consistently puts and keeps some students behind their peers and to greatly decrease the dropout rate for students in Texas who live in affected areas. H.B. 3430 seeks to promote the implementation of full-service community schools in Texas by establishing a grant program for public school districts and open-enrollment charter schools with campuses that are designated as full-service community schools.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the commissioner of education in SECTION 1 of this bill.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 3430 amends the Education Code to require the commissioner of education, using funds appropriated or otherwise available for this purpose, to establish a program to provide grants to public school districts and open-enrollment charter schools with campuses designated by the commissioner as full-service community schools. The bill authorizes the commissioner to designate a district or charter school campus as a full-service community school if the campus provides comprehensive academic, social, and health services for students, students' family members, and community members that result in improved educational outcomes. The bill also specifies services that may be provided by such a campus.

H.B. 3430 authorizes the commissioner to solicit and accept gifts, grants, and donations from any public or private source for the grant program and requires the commissioner to adopt rules as necessary for the program's establishment and implementation.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2021.