BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Research Center S.B. 188
Education
3/11/05
AUTHOR'S/SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT
Currently, Section 30.005, Education Code, is silent as to the responsibility of the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to accredit the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI). The provision to accredit TSBVI was inadvertently omitted from this section when it was adopted in 1997, yet was properly included in a parallel provision applicable to the Texas School for the Deaf. (See Section 29.31(4), Education Code.)
Although the provision to accredit the school was omitted, TEA and TSBVI have operated as though such a provision was in effect an interagency memorandum of understanding between TEA and TSBVI. As proposed, S.B. 188 adds a subsection to the Texas Education Code that establishes statutorily the role of TEA in accrediting TSBVI.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
Rulemaking authority previously granted to the commissioner of education is modified in SECTION 1 (Section 30.005, Education Code) of this bill.
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Amends Section 30.005, Education Code, to delete existing text requiring a deadline for the adoption of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired. Requires the inclusion of certain procedural guidelines for TEA regarding the accreditation of the school within the MOU.
SECTION 2. Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2005.