BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1142

By: Thierry

Higher Education

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

According to a survey by The Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice, homelessness affected 18 percent of respondents attending two-year colleges and 14 percent of respondents attending four-year institutions. Students who are experiencing homelessness face additional barriers in accessing higher education and combating homelessness can improve outcomes for these students, including matriculation rates, retention rates, and four-year graduation rates. C.S.H.B. 1142 seeks to address these issues by extending liaison officer services currently provided to students at public institutions of higher education who were in foster care to students who are homeless. The bill also provides for certain housing assistance and priority access to student housing for this student population.

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. 1142 amends the Education Code to require a public institution of higher education and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) to designate at least one employee of the institution or the THECB, respectively, as a liaison officer for current and incoming students who are homeless. An institution or the THECB, as applicable, may designate for that role the same employee or employees designated to act as liaison officer for students who are or were in the conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) or one or more different employees to act as liaison officer for each of those student populations separately. The bill defines "students who are homeless" by reference to federal law and includes in the term students who reside in a student housing facility maintained by an institution during an academic term but who are homeless between academic terms.

C.S.H.B. 1142 does the following with respect to an institution of higher education:

· requires each institution to make best efforts to identify students who are homeless from information provided to the institution in admission or financial aid applications or other available resources;

· requires each institution that maintains student housing facilities to give priority in the assignment of housing in those facilities to students who are homeless in accordance with priorities established in the institution's housing policy;

· specifies that the information regarding support services to be provided by the appropriate liaison officer or officers designated by an institution includes information about financial aid, on-campus and off-campus housing, food and meal programs, and counseling services; and

· makes a student who is homeless and meets other applicable criteria eligible to receive certain assistance from an institution in locating temporary housing between academic terms.

The bill applies beginning with the 2023-2024 academic year.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2023.

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 1142 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

Whereas the introduced required an institution of higher education to identify students who are homeless from information provided to the institution in admission or financial aid applications or other available resources, the substitute requires an institution to make best efforts to identify such students from that information.

The substitute specifies that the introduced version's requirement for institutions that maintain student housing facilities to give priority to homeless students in the assignment of housing in those facilities must do so in accordance with priorities established in the institution's housing policy.