H.B. No. 965
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to updating references to certain former health services
  state agencies and certain terms used to describe persons with
  intellectual or developmental disabilities in the Education Code.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 25.041, Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 25.041.  TRANSFER OF CHILDREN OR WARDS OF EMPLOYEES OF
  STATE SUPPORTED LIVING CENTERS [SCHOOLS]. A school-age child or
  ward of an employee of a state supported living center [school] for
  persons with intellectual disabilities [the mentally retarded]
  constituted as a school district who resides in the boundaries of
  center [the state school] property but who is not a student at the
  center [state school] is entitled to attend school in a district
  adjacent to the center [state school] free of any charge to the
  child's or ward's parent or guardian provided the parent or guardian
  is required by the superintendent of the center [state school] to
  live on the grounds of the center [state school] for the convenience
  of this state. A tuition charge required by the admitting district
  shall be paid by the district constituting the state supported
  living center [school] out of funds allotted to it by the agency.
         SECTION 2.  Section 29.003(b), Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (b)  A student is eligible to participate in a school
  district's special education program if the student:
               (1)  is not more than 21 years of age and has a visual or
  auditory impairment that prevents the student from being adequately
  or safely educated in public school without the provision of
  special services; or
               (2)  is at least three but not more than 21 years of age
  and has one or more of the following disabilities that prevents the
  student from being adequately or safely educated in public school
  without the provision of special services:
                     (A)  physical disability;
                     (B)  intellectual or developmental disability
  [mental retardation];
                     (C)  emotional disturbance;
                     (D)  learning disability;
                     (E)  autism;
                     (F)  speech disability; or
                     (G)  traumatic brain injury.
         SECTION 3.  Section 29.012(d), Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (d)  The Texas Education Agency, the Health and Human
  Services Commission, the Department of Family and Protective
  Services [the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental
  Retardation, the Texas Department of Human Services, the Texas
  Department of Health, the Department of Protective and Regulatory
  Services, the Interagency Council on Early Childhood Intervention,
  the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse], and the Texas
  Juvenile Justice Department by a cooperative effort shall develop
  and by rule adopt a memorandum of understanding.  The memorandum
  must:
               (1)  establish the respective responsibilities of
  school districts and of residential facilities for the provision of
  a free, appropriate public education, as required by the
  Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Section 1400
  et seq.) and its subsequent amendments, including each requirement
  for children with disabilities who reside in those facilities;
               (2)  coordinate regulatory and planning functions of
  the parties to the memorandum;
               (3)  establish criteria for determining when a public
  school will provide educational services;
               (4)  provide for appropriate educational space when
  education services will be provided at the residential facility;
               (5)  establish measures designed to ensure the safety
  of students and teachers; and
               (6)  provide for binding arbitration consistent with
  Chapter 2009, Government Code, and Section 154.027, Civil Practice
  and Remedies Code.
         SECTION 4.  Section 29.456(b), Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (b)  If the commissioner of education and the executive
  commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission
  [Department of Aging and Disability Services] are unable to bring
  the school district and forensic state supported living center to
  agreement, the commissioners shall jointly submit a written request
  to the attorney general to appoint a neutral third party
  knowledgeable in special education and intellectual and
  developmental disability [mental retardation] issues to resolve
  each issue on which the district and the center disagree.  The
  decision of the neutral third party is final and may not be
  appealed.  The district and the center shall implement the decision
  of the neutral third party.  The commissioner of education or the
  executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission 
  [Department of Aging and Disability Services] shall ensure that the
  district and the center implement the decision of the neutral third
  party.
         SECTION 5.  Section 29.457(b), Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (b)  Not later than December 1 of each year, a school
  district that receives an allotment under this section shall submit
  a report accounting for the expenditure of funds received under
  this section to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker
  of the house of representatives, the chairs of the standing
  committees of the senate and house of representatives with primary
  jurisdiction regarding persons with intellectual and developmental
  disabilities [mental retardation] and public education, and each
  member of the legislature whose district contains any portion of
  the territory included in the school.
         SECTION 6.  Section 30.0015(b), Education Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (b)  The agency by rule shall develop and annually
  disseminate standards for a school district's transfer of an
  assistive technology device to an entity listed in this subsection
  when a student with a disability using the device changes the school
  of attendance in the district or ceases to attend school in the
  district that purchased the device and the student's parents, or
  the student if the student has the legal capacity to enter into a
  contract, agrees to the transfer. The device may be transferred to:
               (1)  the school or school district in which the student
  enrolls;
               (2)  a state agency, including the Health and Human
  Services Commission [Texas Rehabilitation Commission and the Texas
  Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation], that provides
  services to the student following the student's graduation from
  high school; or
               (3)  the student's parents, or the student if the
  student has the legal capacity to enter into a contract.
         SECTION 7.  Section 52.40(a), Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (a)  The board may cancel the repayment of a loan received by
  a student who earns a doctorate of psychology degree and who, prior
  to the date on which repayment of the loan is to commence, is
  employed by the [Department of Aging and Disability Services, the]
  Department of State Health Services[,] or the Health and Human
  Services Commission and performs duties formerly performed by
  employees of the Texas Department of Human Services [or Texas
  Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation], the Texas
  Juvenile Justice Department, [or] the Texas Department of Criminal
  Justice, or a former state agency that provided services to persons
  with mental illness, persons with intellectual disabilities, or
  persons with developmental disabilities.
         SECTION 8.  Section 73.401, Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 73.401.  ESTABLISHMENT. The Harris County Psychiatric
  Center has been developed and built by Harris County, Texas, and a
  former state agency that provided services to persons with mental
  illness, persons with intellectual disabilities, and persons with
  developmental disabilities [the Texas Department of Mental Health
  and Mental Retardation]. The facilities of the Harris County
  Psychiatric Center to be operated by The University of Texas System
  shall be operated consistent with the rules and regulations of the
  board of regents and with the provisions of this subchapter.
         SECTION 9.  Section 73.403, Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 73.403.  OPERATION OF COMMITMENT CENTER. Harris
  County, the Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD, or both of
  those entities, [and/or the Mental Health and Mental Retardation
  Authority (MHMRA) of Harris County] may operate on the premises of
  the Harris County Psychiatric Center a commitment center, the
  functions of which may include patient screening, intake, and
  admissions (both voluntary and involuntary) to the Harris County
  Psychiatric Center as may be provided for in a lease [and/or
  sublease] and operating agreement or a sublease and operating
  agreement as authorized under Section 73.405 [of this code]. The
  functions of the Harris County Psychiatric Commitment Center
  located on the premises of the Harris County Psychiatric Center
  both in terms of operation and in terms of funding shall not be the
  responsibility of the Health and Human Services Commission [Texas
  Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation] or The
  University of Texas System. As may be provided for in a lease
  [and/or sublease] and operating agreement or a sublease and
  operating agreement, The University of Texas System may charge for
  any support services provided by the Harris County Psychiatric
  Center to the commitment center.
         SECTION 10.  Section 73.404, Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 73.404.  FUNDING. (a) Funding for the state-supported
  facilities and operations of the Harris County Psychiatric Center
  shall be provided through legislative appropriations to the Health
  and Human Services Commission [Texas Department of Mental Health
  and Mental Retardation] and to The University of Texas System, and
  any appropriations to the commission [department] for the Harris
  County Psychiatric Center shall be transferred to The University of
  Texas System in accordance with the General Appropriations Act and
  the lease [and/or sublease] and operating agreement or sublease and
  operating agreement provided for in Section 73.405 [of this code].
  Legislative appropriations may be for any further construction at
  the Harris County Psychiatric Center; for equipment, both fixed
  and movable; for utilities, including data processing and
  communications; for maintenance, repairs, renovations, and
  additions; for any damage or destruction; and for operations of
  the Harris County Psychiatric Center; provided, however, that as
  to funding for Harris County Psychiatric Center operations,
  legislative appropriations shall not exceed 85 percent of the total
  operating costs of the entire Harris County Psychiatric Center,
  exclusive of any costs of the commitment center.
         (b)  Any funding, under a lease [and/or sublease] and
  operating agreement or sublease and operating agreement wherein The
  University of Texas System is the lessee, for [the county-supported
  and/or MHMRA-supported] facilities and operations of the Harris
  County Psychiatric Center supported by the county or the Health and
  Human Services Commission, which may be provided through county
  appropriations, including funds made available by the Harris Center
  for Mental Health and IDD [County Mental Health and Mental
  Retardation Authority], or from gifts and grants, shall be
  transferred in accordance with the lease [and/or sublease] and
  operating agreement or sublease and operating agreement provided
  for in Section 73.405 [of this code]. Such funds may be for any
  further construction at the Harris County Psychiatric Center; for
  equipment, both fixed and movable; for utilities, including data
  processing and communications; for maintenance, repairs,
  renovations, and additions; for any damage or destruction; and for
  Harris County Psychiatric Center operations which latter funding
  may be proportional to the total costs of The University of Texas
  System operating the entire Harris County Psychiatric Center,
  exclusive of any additional cost incurred by [of] Harris County or
  the Health and Human Services Commission for [and/or MHMRA]
  operating the commitment center, which costs shall remain the sole
  responsibility of the entity or entities that incurred those costs
  [Harris County and/or MHMRA].
         SECTION 11.  Sections 73.405(a) and (d), Education Code, are
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The state-supported facilities of the Harris County
  Psychiatric Center shall be leased to and operated and administered
  by The University of Texas System in accordance with a lease and
  operating agreement. The [county-supported and/or
  MHMRA-supported] facilities supported by the county or the Harris
  Center for Mental Health and IDD, exclusive of the commitment
  center, may be leased or [and/or] subleased by The University of
  Texas System in the same lease [and/or sublease] and operating
  agreement or sublease and operating agreement. Any lease [and/or
  sublease] and operating agreement or sublease and operating
  agreement shall provide for a lease payment by The University of
  Texas System of no more than $1 per year plus other good and
  valuable consideration as provided for in Section 73.406 [of this
  code].
         (d)  Any lease [and/or sublease] and operating agreement or
  sublease and operating agreement shall provide that The University
  of Texas System shall cause the Harris County Psychiatric Center to
  be operated in accordance with the standards for accreditation of
  The [the] Joint Commission [on Accreditation of Hospitals]; that
  all financial transactions and performance programs may be
  appropriately audited; that an admission, discharge, and transfer
  coordination policy be established; that appropriate patient data
  be made available to the Health and Human Services Commission, the
  Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD [department, MHMRA], and
  the county, including but not limited to diagnosis and lengths of
  stay; and that a priority of patient treatment policy be
  established.
         SECTION 12.  Section 73.406, Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 73.406.  REVENUES. That portion of any revenues
  related to the provision of patient services through the operation
  of the Harris County Psychiatric Center facilities that are leased
  or [and/or] subleased by and to The University of Texas System shall
  be accounted for and expended in accordance with the rules,
  regulations, and bylaws of The University of Texas System and in
  such manner that such revenues will reduce appropriated and funded
  requirements by both the state and county or the Harris Center for
  Mental Health and IDD [MHMRA] on a prorated basis, all as may be
  provided for in a lease [and/or sublease] and operating agreement
  or sublease and operating agreement.
         SECTION 13.  Section 73.501, Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 73.501.  TRANSFER AND LEASE OF FACILITIES. (a) The
  governance, operation, management, and control of the Texas
  Research Institute of Mental Sciences [created by Chapter 427, Acts
  of the 55th Legislature, Regular Session, 1957, as amended (Article
  3174b-4, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes),] and all land, buildings,
  improvements thereon, and major fixed equipment comprising said
  institute shall be leased from the Health and Human Services
  Commission or a former state agency that provided services to
  persons with mental illness, persons with intellectual
  disabilities, and persons with developmental disabilities [Texas
  Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation] and transferred
  to the board of regents of The University of Texas System for $1 a
  year and shall be subject to the provisions of [Subdivision (9) of
  Subsection (a) of] Section 65.02(a)(9) [65.02 of the Education
  Code].
         (b)  All land, buildings, and improvements thereon and major
  fixed equipment comprising said institute leased by The University
  of Texas System shall be utilized only for purposes of patient care
  services, research, and education related to mental health,
  intellectual disability, and developmental disability [mental
  retardation]. The Health and Human Services Commission or a former
  state agency that provided services to persons with mental illness,
  persons with intellectual disabilities, and persons with
  developmental disabilities [Texas Department of Mental Health and
  Mental Retardation] may sell or otherwise dispose of the land,
  buildings, improvements thereon, or major fixed equipment provided
  that the proceeds from the sale or other disposition shall be used
  for the same purposes in Harris County; and further provided, that
  the board of regents of The University of Texas System, prior to
  such sale or other disposition, has approved of such sale or
  disposition and the allocation of proceeds.
         SECTION 14.  Section 73.502, Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 73.502.  TRANSFER OF GIFTS, GRANTS, UNEXPENDED
  BALANCES, CONTRACTS, AND OBLIGATIONS. Any gifts, grants,
  unexpended balances of appropriated or unappropriated funds, and
  all movable equipment that was held by a former state agency that
  provided services to persons with mental illness, persons with
  intellectual disabilities, and persons with developmental
  disabilities or that was transferred to the Health and Human
  Services Commission on dissolution of that former agency and was
  held [the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation]
  for, on behalf of, or for the use and benefit of the Texas Research
  Institute of Mental Sciences are hereby transferred to The
  University of Texas System; provided, however, that all previously
  appropriated funds for statewide training of [department]
  personnel and program evaluation by the institute shall be retained
  by the Health and Human Services Commission [department]. All
  contracts and written obligations of every kind and character
  entered into by a former state agency that provided services to
  persons with mental illness, persons with intellectual
  disabilities, and persons with developmental disabilities [the
  Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation] for and
  on behalf of the Texas Research Institute of Mental Sciences are
  ratified, confirmed, and validated, and in all such contracts and
  written obligations, the board of regents of The University of
  Texas System is substituted in lieu and shall stand and act in place
  and stead of the former state agency that provided services to
  persons with mental illness, persons with intellectual
  disabilities, and persons with developmental disabilities [Texas
  Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation]; provided,
  however, that an advisory committee shall be established with
  regard to research protocols and the executive commissioner of the
  Health and Human Services Commission [department] shall be a
  member; provided further, that The University of Texas System may
  contract with the Department of State Health Services [department]
  for continued extramural and other laboratory consultative
  services. The Health and Human Services Commission [Texas
  Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation], Harris County,
  and the [Mental Health and Mental Retardation Authority of] Harris
  Center for Mental Health and IDD [County] shall provide for the
  continuity of inpatient and outpatient care of the patients and
  programs operated at the Texas Research Institute of Mental
  Sciences and may contract for the provision of such services in
  accordance with the provisions of and appropriations provided in
  the General Appropriations Act.
         SECTION 15.  Sections 73.503(a) and (h), Education Code, are
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  Present institute personnel shall be allowed to apply
  for employment with The University of Texas System, Harris County,
  or the Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD [Mental Health and
  Mental Retardation Authority of Harris County] and be given
  priority consideration for such employment.
         (h)  The Employees Retirement System, the Health and Human
  Services Commission [Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental
  Retardation], and The University of Texas System shall provide the
  Teacher Retirement System with information necessary to establish
  employees' rights to credit under this section. The Employees
  Retirement System and the Teacher Retirement System shall establish
  procedures to prevent duplication of retirement credit for the same
  service.
         SECTION 16.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 965 was passed by the House on April
  12, 2019, by the following vote:  Yeas 143, Nays 0, 2 present, not
  voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
  No. 965 on May 24, 2019, by the following vote:  Yeas 134, Nays 6, 2
  present, not voting.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 965 was passed by the Senate, with
  amendments, on May 22, 2019, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays
  0.
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate   
  APPROVED: __________________
                  Date       
   
           __________________
                Governor