Honorable Jimmie Don Aycock, Chair, House Committee on Public Education
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB2449 by Turner, Sylvester (relating to a grant available to school districts to provide services to students residing in care and treatment facilities and residential placement facilities.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted
The fiscal implications of the bill cannot be determined due to the unavailability of data on the number of potential participants and lack of information on the amount of the grant.
The bill would require the Commissioner of Education to make grants available to assist certain districts for covering the cost of educating students with disabilities residing in care and treatment facilities, other than state schools, or in residential placement facilities, whose parents or guardians do not reside in the district providing education services. The bill would require schools districts applying for a grant to provide the Commissioner a report comparing state and federal funds received with expenses incurred by the district in providing special education services to students with disabilities residing in these facilities. The bill would require a district that receives a grant to educate students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment appropriate to meet the students' needs.
Based on information provided by the Texas Education Agency, 6,668 students with disabilities were educated in residential care and treatment or residential placement facilities in school year 2014-15; however, data is not available regarding the number of students educated outside their resident district. TEA also indicated that data is not collected on the additional costs incurred by districts educating these students. Additionally, the bill does not specify a funding threshold.
The fiscal implications of the bill cannot be determined due to the unavailability of data on the number of potential participants and lack of information on the amount of the grant.
Local Government Impact
The fiscal implications of the bill cannot be determined due to the unavailability of data on the number of potential participants and lack of information on the amount of the grant.