C.S.H.B. 1339 78(R) BILL ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 1339 By: Eissler Public Education Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND Under current law, a full individual and initial evaluation of a student for purposes of special education services must be completed no later than the 60th calendar day following the date on which the referral for evaluation was initiated by school personnel, the student's parent or legal guardian or another appropriate person. This triggering date is not consistent with other state and federal requirements. Federal law requires that any initial evaluation be conducted only upon receipt of parental consent obtained following a full explanation of procedural safeguards and no evaluation can take place until such consent is obtained. Often times, the school district is left with a very short period of time between the date consent is obtained and the date the evaluation is actually completed, given the 60-day time period requirement. The time lag in awaiting parental consent has resulted in school districts being found in violation of the 60-day requirement. PURPOSE The purpose of C.S.H.B. 1339 is to clarify the administrative process regarding special education evaluations for school districts by coordinating the evaluation date with federal guidelines. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency or institution. ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 1339 amends the Education Code to require the Texas Education Agency to produce and provide to school districts a written explanation of the options and requirements for providing assistance to students who have learning difficulties or who need special education. The bill requires the explanation to state that a parent is entitled to request an evaluation of their child at any time. The bill requires each school district to distribute the written explanation each school year. The bill requires a school district to complete an evaluation of a student for purposes of special education services not later than the 60th calendar day following the date on which the school district, in accordance with federal guidelines on the evaluation of a child with a disability (20 U.S.C. Section 1414(a)), receives written, parental consent for the evaluation. The bill stipulates that this Act applies only to reports for any evaluations performed on or after the effective date of this Act. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2003. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 1339 amends the original version by adding provisions regarding the production and distribution of a written explanation relating to students with learning difficulties.