BILL ANALYSIS |
S.B. 1728 |
By: Perry |
Criminal Jurisprudence |
Committee Report (Unamended) |
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) administers the Jobs and Education for Texans (JET) grant program to provide grants to public junior colleges, public technical institutes, public state colleges, school districts, and open-enrollment charter schools for purposes such as defraying the start-up costs associated with the development of new career and technical education programs. In 2021, the 87th Texas Legislature added the Windham School District, which serves certain individuals incarcerated in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, to the list of schools that are eligible to apply for these grants. The bill sponsor has informed the committee that the education programs in the juvenile justice system are not eligible for grants under the JET grant program, however. S.B. 1728 seeks to ensure that all individuals in the juvenile justice system return to their communities with the necessary skills and education to be productive members of society by including the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, juvenile boards, and juvenile probation departments among the entities to whom TWC may award grants under the JET grant program.
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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.
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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.
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ANALYSIS
S.B. 1728 amends the Education Code to include the Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD), juvenile boards, and juvenile probation departments among the entities to whom the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) may award a grant under the Jobs and Education for Texans (JET) grant program. The bill also includes TJJD, juvenile boards, and juvenile probation departments among the entities to whom TWC may award a grant from the JET fund to defray the start-up costs associated with the development of new career and technical education programs. The bill includes among the factors that TWC may consider in awarding a grant for such purposes whether the course or program offers new career and technical educational opportunities not previously available as part of any existing educational programs that are offered in facilities operated wholly or partly by TJJD, a juvenile board, or a juvenile probation department, including a facility operated by a private vendor under a contract with such entities.
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EFFECTIVE DATE
On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2025.
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