BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1632

By: Bell, Keith

Public Education

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

It has been suggested that there are a number of public school students who could benefit from receiving compensatory, intensive, or accelerated instructional services to ensure that they have every opportunity to excel in school, such as students who have dyslexia or are educationally disadvantaged. C.S.H.B. 1632 seeks to address this issue by expanding eligibility to receive such services.

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. 1632 amends the Education Code to qualify as a student at risk of dropping out of school for purposes of mandatory compensatory, intensive, or accelerated instructional services each student under 26 years of age who has dyslexia or a related disorder or who is educationally disadvantaged. The bill removes a student who is eligible for a free or reduced lunch from the definition of "student at risk of dropping out of school" for purposes of the communities in schools program.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2019.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 1632 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 does not include provisions qualifying the following students as at risk of dropping out of school for purposes of mandatory compensatory, intensive, or accelerated instructional services:

·         students who have enrolled in two or more public schools, including an open-enrollment charter school, in the same school year during the preceding or current school year; and

·         students who have 10 or more absences in a school year during the preceding or current school year.

The substitute does not include a provision raising the cap on the number of students who may receive compensatory, intensive, or accelerated instructional services on the basis of local eligibility criteria.