BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1160

By: Johnson, Jarvis

Public Education

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

It has been suggested that, although authorized uses for the compensatory education allotment do not currently include funding for counseling or social work services, school counselors and social workers may play a significant role in identifying at-risk students and reducing the dropout rate, a mission that relates to the purpose of the allotment. C.S.H.B. 1160 seeks to address this issue by including such funding as a permitted use of the allotment.

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 this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1160 amends the Education Code to authorize the use of compensatory education allotment funds to fund:

·       services provided by a school counselor through a public school district's school guidance and counseling program;

·       counseling services provided to a district by a licensed professional counselor; or

·       social work services provided to a district by a licensed social worker.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2019.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 1160 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute revises the authorized uses of the funds to specify that funding for a district's school guidance and counseling program pertains to services provided by a school counselor through that program.