BILL ANALYSIS |
C.S.H.B. 639 |
By: Anderson, Charles "Doc" |
Public Education |
Committee Report (Substituted) |
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Interested parties have noted that students who participate in career and technology programs should have more liability protection from accidents that may occur during their participation. C.S.H.B. 639 seeks to address this concern by allowing public schools to obtain certain insurance coverage for the benefit of businesses and students participating in career and technology programs and providing for immunity from liability of certain public school students participating in career and technology programs.
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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.
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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.
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ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 639 amends the Education Code to authorize the board of trustees of a public school district or the governing body of an open-enrollment charter school to obtain accident, liability, or automobile insurance coverage to protect a business or entity that participates with the district or school to provide district or school students a career and technology program and a district or school student who participates in such a program. The bill requires the coverage to be obtained from a reliable insurer authorized to engage in business in Texas or, for a district, to be provided through the district's self-funded risk pool. The bill requires the amount of coverage the district or school obtains to be reasonable considering the district's or school's financial condition, but limits the amount to that which is reasonably necessary in the opinion of the board of trustees of the district or the governing body of the charter school, as applicable. The bill requires an administrator designated by the district board or the school's governing body, as applicable, if the board or governing body obtains coverage, to notify the parent or guardian of each student participating in the career and technology program.
C.S.H.B. 639 prohibits a district or school from charging a student participating in a career and technology program or the student's parent or guardian for the cost of providing the student the insurance under the bill's provisions. The bill prohibits the failure of any board or governing body to obtain coverage or to obtain a specific amount of coverage from being construed as placing any legal liability on, as applicable, the district or the district's officers, agents, or employees or the school or the school's officers, agents, or employees.
C.S.H.B. 639 entitles a student who participates in a career and technology program approved by a district or charter school to immunity from civil liability in the same manner as a volunteer who is serving as a direct service volunteer of a district or school. The bill repeals a provision authorizing a board of trustees of a public school district to provide insurance to protect against certain liability a business that contracts with the district for assistance in developing or operating a career and technology program. The bill's provisions apply beginning with the 2017-2018 school year.
C.S.H.B. 639 repeals Section 29.187(f), Education Code.
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EFFECTIVE DATE
On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2017.
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COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.H.B. 639 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following comparison is organized and formatted in a manner that indicates the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.
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