84R12043 GCB-F
By: Simmons H.B. No. 3282
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the establishment by the commissioner of education of
an autism program to provide applied behavior analysis services to
students with autism spectrum disorder and to the coordination of
autism services in this state.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 33, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter H to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER H. AUTISM PROGRAM
Sec. 33.281. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Certified assistant behavior analyst" means an
individual who is certified as a board certified assistant behavior
analyst by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board, Inc., or has
earned a similar credential from another entity that is approved by
the commissioner and is accredited by the National Commission on
Certifying Agencies or the American National Standards Institute to
issue credentials in the professional practice of applied behavior
analysis.
(2) "Certified behavior analyst" means an individual
who is certified as a board certified behavior analyst or board
certified behavior analyst-Doctoral by the Behavior Analyst
Certification Board, Inc., or has earned a similar credential from
another entity that is approved by the commissioner and accredited
by the National Commission on Certifying Agencies or the American
National Standards Institute to issue credentials in the
professional practice of applied behavior analysis.
(3) "Participating entity" means a university, local
community agency, or organization that has entered into a grant
contract with a school district to provide applied behavior
analysis services under the program to students of the district.
(4) "Program" means the autism program established
under this subchapter.
(5) "Service provider" means one or more individuals
employed by or under a contract with a participating entity to
provide applied behavior analysis services under the program to
students.
Sec. 33.282. ESTABLISHMENT; CONTRACT WITH HEALTH AND HUMAN
SERVICES COMMISSION. (a) The commissioner shall establish and
administer an autism program to provide applied behavior analysis
services to students with autism spectrum disorder through grant
contracts between school districts and participating universities,
local community agencies, and other organizations that provide
applied behavior analysis services in this state, to the extent
funds are appropriated by the legislature for that purpose.
(b) The Health and Human Services Commission shall contract
with the commissioner for the agency to assume all responsibilities
of the Health and Human Services Commission and the Department of
Assistive and Rehabilitative Services relating to the provision of
autism services to students eligible for services under this
subchapter who are recipients of assistance under the Medicaid
program or the child health plan program.
Sec. 33.283. STUDENT ELIGIBILITY AND ENROLLMENT. (a) To be
eligible for services under the program, a student must:
(1) apply to a participating entity on the form and in
the manner prescribed by commissioner rule;
(2) be a resident of this state;
(3) be eight years of age or younger; and
(4) have a documented diagnosis on the autism spectrum
made by a qualified professional.
(b) The application and enrollment process adopted by the
commissioner must provide that if a participating entity receives
more applications from eligible students for admission to a
participating entity's program than available positions in the
program, the eligible student who is not initially offered
admission to the program may be placed on an interest list
maintained by the participating entity and may be offered admission
to the program upon the opening of available positions with the
participating entity.
Sec. 33.284. PROGRAM SERVICES. (a) A participating entity
shall:
(1) ensure that services provided to a student with
autism spectrum disorder under the program do not include physical
aversive interventions that cause pain or discomfort;
(2) develop a treatment plan for each student served
under the program;
(3) provide parent training as a component of services
offered under the program;
(4) provide ongoing analysis and evaluation of the
progress of each student under the program;
(5) document the services provided to each student
under the program;
(6) administer pretreatment and posttreatment
measures in accordance with contractual requirements between the
participating entity and a school district; and
(7) create and maintain documented transition plans
for each student determined to no longer require services under the
program.
(b) A school district may contract with a university for the
university to act as a participating entity only if the university
has an autism center or program.
Sec. 33.285. DURATION OF TREATMENT. (a) The duration of
each student's treatment under the program must be based on the
student's needs, except that a student may not receive services
under the program for more than a cumulative period of 24 months,
which may be composed of nonconsecutive periods of treatment.
(b) The maximum period of a student's treatment prescribed
by Subsection (a) applies regardless of any change in a contract
between a school district and a participating entity or any change
in service providers.
(c) A student who ceases receiving treatment under the
program before receiving services for the maximum period of
treatment prescribed by Subsection (a) may reenroll in the program
not earlier than six months after the date the student ceases
receiving services under the program, unless the student receives
written approval for early reenrollment from the school district
before withdrawing from the program.
(d) A parent or guardian of a student who has received
treatment under the program for the maximum period prescribed by
Subsection (a) may elect to pay the expense for the student to
continue receiving services from the participating entity under a
contract between the parent or guardian and the participating
entity. A school district is not liable for any costs accrued in the
provision of services to a student who has received treatment under
the program for the maximum period prescribed by Subsection (a).
Sec. 33.286. SERVICE PROVIDER REQUIREMENTS. (a) A service
provider who provides assessment of or oversees treatment of
students under the program or who trains and supervises
paraprofessional personnel involved in direct delivery of program
services must have:
(1) a master's degree or doctoral degree in
psychology, behavior analysis, or a related field obtained from an
accredited institution of higher education;
(2) documented graduate level coursework in
behavioral assessment and intervention, selecting outcomes and
strategies, behavior change procedures, experimental methods, and
measuring and interpreting behavioral data;
(3) knowledge of typical childhood development of
children in the age range of 3 years through 15 years; and
(4) a board certified behavior analyst accreditation
issued by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board, Inc.
(b) A service provider must include at least one individual
with the accreditation described by Subsection (a)(4) who has
experience providing applied behavior analysis services for a child
of each age in the age range of 3 years through 15 years.
(c) A service provider who provides any direct services to
students under the program must:
(1) have been awarded a high school diploma or the
equivalent;
(2) be 18 years of age or older;
(3) have completed at least 40 hours of training
before working with students under the program;
(4) receive ongoing training; and
(5) be supervised by a certified behavior analyst.
(d) The training required under Subsection (c) must:
(1) be formalized training developed and supervised by
a certified behavior analyst on methods for data collection,
procedures for implementing discrete trial teaching, prompting
procedures, behavior management strategies for addressing problem
behavior, and other applied behavior analysis techniques and
program-specific methods;
(2) be provided by a certified behavior analyst or a
certified assistant behavior analyst through didactic instruction,
workshops, readings, observation of modeling of techniques by
supervisors, role-play with supervisors, and training in the
natural environment in which supervisors provide specific feedback
and additional training as needed;
(3) to ensure individual acquisition of the skills
necessary to accurately implement applied behavior analysis
treatments, be assessed for effectiveness through:
(A) written exams, with criteria to determine
mastery; or
(B) direct observation by an individual who is a
board certified behavior analyst supervisor of therapists working
directly with students, with fidelity checklists to determine
accurate use of procedures and criteria to determine mastery;
(4) provide instruction on all of the tasks in the
Behavior Analyst Certification Board, Inc.'s, Registered Behavior
Technician Task List; and
(5) include ethics and professional conduct training.
(e) The supervision required under Subsection (c)(5) must:
(1) occur at least once every two weeks;
(2) include direct observation of applied behavior
analysis programming to assess if procedures are implemented
accurately and to inform the supervisor of the potential need to
adjust teaching procedures; and
(3) include ongoing review, no less than two times per
week, of data from applied behavior analysis programs and data
pertaining to problem behavior.
Sec. 33.287. COORDINATION OF SERVICES; COMMUNICATION ON
BEST PRACTICES. In administering the program, the commissioner
shall ensure communication and coordination among school
districts, participating entities, service providers, and other
state agencies or other entities providing applied behavior
analysis services to children with autism spectrum disorder in this
state regarding best practices for delivering those services.
Sec. 33.288. RESTRICTION ON GRANT USE. A grant awarded to a
participating entity through the program may be used only to
provide applied behavior analysis services to students under the
program and may not be used for educational, research, or student
loan repayment assistance purposes.
Sec. 33.289. STATEWIDE AUTISM DATABASE; REPORT. (a) The
commissioner shall maintain a statewide autism database of
information regarding the number of students served through the
program, statewide best practices for the delivery of applied
behavior analysis services to students with autism spectrum
disorder, and the identification of underserved regions of the
state with regard to those services.
(b) Annually, the commissioner shall submit to the
legislature a report on the information maintained in the database.
(c) On request by the commissioner, a service provider shall
submit any quarterly data the commissioner considers necessary to
carry out the commissioner's duties under this section.
(d) The commissioner may not include in the database
personal information of any kind pertaining to a student receiving
services under the program or the student's family.
(e) The commissioner shall make the database readily
accessible online for school districts, participating entities,
service providers, and the public.
Sec. 33.290. RULES. The commissioner shall adopt rules as
necessary for the administration of this subchapter.
SECTION 2. SELECT COMMITTEES ON AUTISM SERVICES. (a) Not
later than November 30, 2015:
(1) the speaker of the house of representatives shall
appoint to a House Select Committee on Statewide Coordination of
Autism Services seven members with one member designated as chair;
and
(2) the lieutenant governor shall appoint to a Senate
Select Committee on Statewide Coordination of Autism Services five
members with one member designated as chair.
(b) The committees established under this section may meet
separately at the call of the chair of the committee or jointly at
the call of both chairs. In joint meetings, the chairs shall act as
joint chairs.
(c) The committees established under this section, meeting
separately or jointly, shall review, study, and evaluate:
(1) autism service programs in other states;
(2) university programs in this state that provide
autism treatment and services;
(3) community agencies and organizations that provide
ABA services;
(4) ways to improve communication and coordination
among entities providing autism services across the state;
(5) areas of the state that are most underserved with
regard to autism services; and
(6) ways to provide autism services to more children.
(d) Following consideration of the factors described by
Subsection (c) of this section, the committees established under
this section shall jointly adopt recommendations related to the
reviewed topics and shall provide a written report to the
legislature of the committees' recommendations for legislative or
other action not later than January 13, 2017.
(e) This section expires September 1, 2017.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.