BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1949

By: Guillen

International Relations & Economic Development

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

It has been suggested that performance criteria for purposes of awarding incentive funds to entities that deliver adult education and literacy services may lack clarity. C.S.H.B. 1949 seeks to remedy this issue and increase the effectiveness of the funding by establishing specific performance benchmarks for these entities.

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. 1949 amends the Labor Code to require the criteria prescribed by the Texas Workforce Commission for the award of incentive funds to an entity delivering adult education and literacy services based on performance during a program year to include the achievement by the entity of the following benchmarks:

· the enrollment in a high school equivalency program or a postsecondary ability to benefit program of at least 25 percent of all students receiving services from the entity during the program year; and  

· the achievement by the end of the program year of a high school equivalency certificate or a postsecondary certificate by at least 70 percent of those students who exit the entity's program during that program year and who are enrolled in a high school equivalency program or a postsecondary ability to benefit program.

C.S.H.B. 1949 defines "postsecondary ability to benefit program" as a postsecondary certificate program in which a person who does not have a high school diploma or equivalency certificate and who both qualifies for federal student financial aid and demonstrates on a test that the person can pass college-level courses with some support may enroll.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2019.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 1949 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 changes the basis for the performance benchmark relating to achievement of certain certificates from a certain percentage of students receiving adult education and literacy services at the beginning of the program year to that percentage of students who exit the adult education program during the program year.