BILL ANALYSIS

S.B. 2304

By: LaMantia

Licensing & Administrative Procedures

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The 86th Legislature passed S.B. 976, commonly known as the Samuel Allen Law, which authorized the Texas Driving with Disability Program. An important component of the program is the voluntary disclosure by an individual of a communication impediment on their driver's license or vehicle registration, setting the foundation for safer interactions between law enforcement and individuals with disabilities by allowing officers conducting traffic stops to be aware of an individual's communication impediment. S.B. 2304 builds upon this program by requiring public school districts and open-enrollment charter schools to provide information regarding the program to certain students with disabilities and their parents. The bill also provides for information about the program to be included in the curriculum of driver education and driving safety courses.

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 Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation in SECTION 3 of this bill.

ANALYSIS

S.B. 2304 amends the Education Code to require each public school district and open-enrollment charter school to provide information regarding the Texas Driving with Disability Program to the following individuals:

· students who have a health condition or disability that may impede effective communication with a peace officer and who receive special education services or who are covered by Section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973; and

· the parents of those students.

The bill requires the information to be provided annually to each applicable student who is 16 years of age or older until the earlier of the student's graduation from high school or 21st birthday. The bill requires the Texas Education Agency to collaborate with the Department of Public Safety, the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, and the Governor's Committee on People with Disabilities to develop the information materials. The bill requires that the materials include information regarding a person's option to voluntarily list any health condition or disability that may impede the person's communication with a peace officer on a person's vehicle registration information or application for an original driver's license and authorizes the information to be provided with any special education transition planning materials.

S.B. 2304 requires the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation (TCLR), not later than May 1, 2024, by rule to require that information relating to the Texas Driving with Disability Program be included in the curriculum of each driver education and driving safety course. The bill requires each provider of such a course to certify to TCLR, not later than September 1, 2024, that the course curriculum has been updated to include the required information.

S.B. 2304 revises the definition of "classroom instruction," with respect to statutory provisions relating to driver and traffic safety education, to include instruction by an in-person driver education provider in a traditional classroom setting or through other physical means or remotely through the Internet. The bill applies beginning with the 2023-2024 school year.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2023.