BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center	C.S.S.B. 462
87R13238 JES-D	By: Lucio
	Education
	4/9/2021
	Committee Report (Substituted)

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

When the COVID-19 pandemic shut down schools across the state, districts faced the challenge of continuing to provide meals to students in need. Because their bus fleets were otherwise sitting idle, many districts utilized their existing transportation systems and personnel to deliver meals and other academic materials to central locations near where the students live. Unfortunately, because these routes were not used to transport students to school, districts were forced to pay for this service out of their regular operating funds. Without funding for this critical service during disasters like the pandemic, children who rely on school meals will go hungry when they need food the most.

S.B. 462 supports these crucial meal deliveries in times of need by allowing for state reimbursement for miles driven to bring meals and academic materials to students. The reimbursement is the same as for the transportation system's normal routes, allowing districts to maintain funding when their transportation system may not otherwise be in use. By ensuring support for meal deliveries in disaster situations, S.B. 462 will enable districts to provide for the needs of students who are most at risk of going without food.

(Original Author's/ Sponsor's Statement of Intent)

C.S.S.B. 462 amends current law relating to funding under the transportation allotment for transporting meals and instructional materials to students during a declared disaster.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

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

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Section 48.151, Education Code, by amending Subsection (h) and adding Subsection (n), as follows:

(h) Provides that transporting a meal or instructional materials as provided by Subsection (n) is included in transportation services under this subsection (relating to funding).

(n) Requires that a school district located in an area that is wholly or partly the subject of a disaster declaration by the governor under Chapter 418 (Emergency Management), Government Code, or by the president of the United States, for the duration of a declared disaster, be reimbursed on a per-mile basis for the cost of transporting a meal or instructional materials to a student's residence or to another location, designated by the district, for pick up by the student. Requires that a school district, to be reimbursed under this subsection, submit the district's proposed route to the commissioner of education for approval before transporting the meal or instructional materials.

SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 2021.