BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 5381

By: Lowe

Public Education

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The bill author has informed the committee that there is a need to provide for the educational needs of military dependents. C.S.H.B. 5381 seeks to provide for such educational needs by expanding the application of the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children, making information about the compact more available, and improving oversight regarding the compact.

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. 5381 amends the Education Code to establish that provisions of the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children regarding educational records and enrollment, placement and attendance in educational courses, eligibility for enrollment and extracurricular participation, and graduation apply to a child of the following individuals as if the child were described by the compact's applicability provisions:

· a veteran of the uniformed services who was discharged or released through retirement, for a period of four years after the date of the veteran's retirement, if the veteran returns to the veteran's home of record on military orders; and

· a member of the uniformed services who dies on active duty or as a result of injuries sustained on active duty, for a period of four years after the member's death.

The bill requires each public school district and open-enrollment charter school that maintains a website to post on the district's or charter school's website home page an easily accessible link entitled "MIC3" that leads to information regarding the compact and the additional protections provided by the bill. A district or charter school that enrolls a child of a member of the uniformed services must comply with all applicable provisions relating to persons not eligible for employment in public schools under applicable state law.

C.S.H.B. 5381 expands the composition of the State Advisory Council by including a classroom teacher who is or was employed at a school operated by the U.S. Department of Defense Education Activity designated by the Texas Education Agency (TEA).

C.S.H.B. 5381 defines "uniformed services" as the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, Marine Corps, National Guard and Reserve, or Coast Guard; the Commissioned Corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; or the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service.

C.S.H.B. 5381 applies beginning with the 2025-2026 school year.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2025.

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 5381 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.

The substitute includes provisions that were not in the introduced that do the following:

· requires a district or charter school that enrolls a child of a member of the uniformed services to comply with all applicable provisions relating to persons not eligible for employment in public schools; and

· expands the composition of the State Advisory Council by including a classroom teacher who is or was employed at a school operated by the U.S. Department of Defense Education Activity designated by TEA.

With respect to the requirement for each applicable district and charter school to post on its website an easily accessible link to information regarding the compact and the additional protections provided by the bill, the substitute specifies that the district or charter school must post on its website home page an easily accessible link entitled "MIC3" that leads to that information, rather than a simply labeled tab, as in the introduced.

The substitute omits the provisions from the introduced that did the following:

· required TEA's Compact Council to include a current or former Department of Defense Education Activity teacher; and

· prohibited any personnel with criminal arrest records involving assault upon family, unrelated individuals, or minors from working at any school that serves military-connected students.