| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to a grant program for school-based health care |
|
|
initiatives established to serve certain underserved students. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 531, Government Code, is |
|
|
amended by adding Section 531.0606 to read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 531.0606. SCHOOL-BASED HEALTH CARE GRANT PROGRAM. (a) |
|
|
In this section, "program" means the school-based health care grant |
|
|
program established under this section. |
|
|
(b) Using legislative appropriations available for that |
|
|
purpose, the commission shall establish and administer a grant |
|
|
program for health care organizations to implement, maintain, and |
|
|
expand a school-based health care initiative for underserved |
|
|
students and to provide those students with preventative, primary, |
|
|
and behavioral health care, including: |
|
|
(1) medical services; |
|
|
(2) dental services; |
|
|
(3) therapeutic services; and |
|
|
(4) nonmedical services, such as nutritional |
|
|
services. |
|
|
(c) The commission shall establish grant application |
|
|
procedures, criteria for evaluating applications and awarding |
|
|
grants, and procedures for monitoring the use of grants awarded |
|
|
under the program and ensuring compliance with any condition of a |
|
|
grant awarded under the program. |
|
|
(d) A grant recipient must use grant money to establish a |
|
|
school-based health care initiative for a school district that has |
|
|
a student population with at least 50 percent of its students who: |
|
|
(1) are uninsured or underinsured; or |
|
|
(2) receive free or reduced-price lunches. |
|
|
(e) The commission may award a grant under the program only |
|
|
in accordance with a contract between the commission and a grant |
|
|
recipient. The contract must include provisions granting the |
|
|
commission sufficient control over the money awarded to ensure the |
|
|
public purpose of providing health care services to underserved |
|
|
students is accomplished and this state receives the return |
|
|
benefit. |
|
|
SECTION 2. The Health and Human Services Commission is |
|
|
required to implement a provision of this Act only if the |
|
|
legislature appropriates money specifically for that purpose. If |
|
|
the legislature does not appropriate money specifically for that |
|
|
purpose, the commission may, but is not required to, implement a |
|
|
provision of this Act using other appropriations available for that |
|
|
purpose. |
|
|
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |