By: Huffman S.B. No. 1971
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the transfer of the regulation of licensed dyslexia
practitioners and licensed dyslexia therapists to the Texas
Department of Licensing and Regulation.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 403.001, Occupations Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 403.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Advisory Board" means the Licensed Dyslexia
Practitioner and Licensed Dyslexia Therapist Advisory Board.
(2) [(1)] "Commission" ["Commissioner"] means the
Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation [commissioner of state
health services].
(3) [(2)] "Department" means the Texas Department of
Licensing and Regulation [Department of State Health Services].
(4) [(3)] "Executive Director" ["Executive
commissioner"] means the executive director of the Texas Department
of Licensing and Regulation [commissioner of the Health and Human
Services Commission].
(5) [(4)] "License holder" means a person who holds a
license issued under this chapter.
(6) [(5)] "Multisensory structured language
education" means a program described by the International
Multisensory Structured Language Education Council for the
treatment of individuals with dyslexia and related disorders that
provides instruction in the skills of reading, writing, and
spelling:
(A) through program content that includes:
(i) phonology and phonological awareness;
(ii) sound and symbol association;
(iii) syllables;
(iv) morphology;
(v) syntax; and
(vi) semantics; and
(B) following principles of instruction that
include:
(i) simultaneous multisensory instruction,
including visual-auditory-kinesthetic-tactile instruction;
(ii) systematic and cumulative
instruction;
(iii) explicit instruction;
(iv) diagnostic teaching to automaticity;
and
(v) synthetic and analytic instruction.
[(6) "Qualified instructor" means a person described
by Section 403.110.]
SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 403, Occupations Code, is
amended by adding new Section 403.049 as follows:
Sec. 403.049. FEES. The commission by rule shall establish
reasonable and necessary fees in amounts sufficient to cover the
costs of administering and enforcing this chapter.
SECTION 3. Subchapter B, Chapter 403, Occupations Code, is
amended by adding new Section 403.050 as follows:
Section 403.050. POWERS AND DUTIES OF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.
The executive director shall administer and enforce this chapter.
SECTION 4. Section 403.051, Occupations Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 403.051. ADVISORY BOARD [COMMITTEE]. (a) The
commission [department] shall appoint an advisory board
[committee] to advise the department in administering this chapter.
(b) The Advisory board consists of 7 members appointed by
the presiding officer of the commission with the approval of the
commission as follows:
(1) 3 dyslexia therapists licensed under this Chapter;
(2) 2 dyslexia practitioner licensed under this
Chapter; and
(3) 2 public members, one of whom must be a person with
dyslexia or the parent of a person with dyslexia.
(c) Advisory board members serve terms of four years, with
the terms of three members expiring on February 1 of each
odd-numbered year.
(d) If a vacancy occurs during a term, the presiding officer
of the commission, with the approval of the commission, shall
appoint a replacement who meets the qualifications of the vacated
position to serve for the remainder of the term.
(e) The presiding officer of the commission shall appoint
one of the advisory board members to serve as presiding officer of
the advisory board for a term of two years. The presiding officer of
the advisory board may vote on any matter before the advisory board.
(f) Advisory board members may not receive compensation but
are entitled to reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses
incurred in performing the functions of the advisory board, subject
to the General Appropriations Act.
(g) The advisory board shall meet at the call of the
presiding officer of the commission or the executive director.
(h) The advisory board shall provide advice and
recommendations to the department on technical matters relevant to
the administration of this chapter.
(i) A member of the advisory board may be removed from the
advisory board as provided by Section 51.209, Occupations Code.
SECTION 5. Section 403.052, Occupations Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 403.052. RULES. The commission [executive
commissioner] shall adopt rules necessary to administer and enforce
this chapter including rules that establish standards of ethical
practice and establish requirements for continuing education
including a minimum number of hours of continuing education
required to renew a license under this chapter.
SECTION 6. Section 403.103, Occupations Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 403.103. LICENSE APPLICATION. (a) An application for
a license under this chapter must be submitted in the manner and on
a form prescribed by the executive director [A license applicant
must apply to the department on a form and in the manner the
department prescribes].
(b) The commission by rule shall determine the information
and documentation required to be submitted as part of an
application for each license under this chapter [application must
be accompanied by a nonrefundable application fee].
(c) The commission by rule shall establish the appropriate
fees required to be paid by the applicant to obtain a license under
this chapter.
SECTION 7. Subchapter C, Chapter 403, Occupations Code, is
amended to add Section 403.1035 to read as follows:
Sec. 403.1035. LICENSE RENEWAL. (a) A license issued under
this chapter is valid for one year.
(b) The commission by rule shall establish the requirements
for renewing a license issued under this chapter, including the
payment of applicable fees.
SECTION 8. Section 403.106, Occupations Code, is amended to
read as follows;
Sec. 403.106. REQUIREMENTS FOR TRAINING PROGRAMS.
(a) For purposes of determining whether an applicant
satisfies the training requirements for a license under this
chapter, a multisensory structured language education training
program completed by the applicant must:
(1) be accredited by a nationally recognized
accrediting organization;
(2) have in writing defined goals and objectives,
areas of authority, and policies and procedures;
(3) have the appropriate financial and management
resources to operate the training program, including a
knowledgeable administrator and standard accounting and reporting
procedures;
(4) have a physical site, equipment, materials,
supplies, and environment suitable for the training program;
(5) have a sufficient number of instructional
personnel who have completed the requirements for certification in
multisensory structured language education;
(6) have been reviewed by multisensory structured
language education professionals who are not affiliated with the
training program;
(7) have developed and followed procedures to maintain
and improve the quality of training provided by the program;
(8) have provided direct instruction in the principles
and in each element of multisensory structured language education
for a minimum of:
(A) 200 contact hours of course work for training
program participants who seek a licensed dyslexia therapist
license; and
(B) 45 contact hours of course work for training
program participants who seek a licensed dyslexia practitioner
license;
(9) have required training program participants to
complete a program of supervised clinical experience in which the
participants provided multisensory structured language education
to students or adults, either individually or in small groups for a
minimum of:
(A) 700 hours for training program participants
who seek a licensed dyslexia therapist license; and
(B) 60 hours for training program participants
who seek a licensed dyslexia practitioner license;
(10) have required training program participants to
demonstrate the application of multisensory structured language
education principles of instruction by completing demonstration
lessons observed by an instructor and followed by a conference with
and a written report by the instructor; and
(11) have provided instruction based on the Texas
Education Agency publication "The Dyslexia Handbook: Procedures
Concerning Dyslexia and Related Disorders (2007)," or a revised
version of that publication approved by the department.
(b) A training program must require a training program
participant who seeks a licensed dyslexia practitioner license to
have completed at least five demonstration lessons described by
Subsection (a)(10) and a participant who seeks a licensed dyslexia
therapist license to have completed at least 10 demonstration
lessons.
(c) The department[, in consultation with the advisory
committee,] shall determine whether a training program meets the
requirements of this section.
SECTION 10. Section 403.107, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 403.107. Examination; Rules. (a) To obtain a license,
an applicant must:
(1) Pass a written examination approved by the
department under Subsection (b); and
(2) pay the required fees.[set by the executive
commissioner]
(b) The department shall:[in consultation with the advisory
committee];
(1) identify and designate a competency examination
that is related to multisensory structured language education and
that will be administered at least twice each year by a professional
organization that issues national certifications; and
(2) maintain[s] a record of all examinations for at
least two years after the date of examination.
SECTION 11. Section 403.108, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 403.108. WAIVER OF EXAMINATION REQUIREMENT. The
department[, in consultation with the advisory committee,] may
waive the examination requirement and issue a license to an
applicant who holds an appropriate certificate or other
accreditation from a nationally accredited multisensory structured
language education organization recognized by the department.
SECTION 12. Section 403.202, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 403.202. PROHIBITED ACTIONS. A license holder may
not:
(1) obtain a license by means of fraud,
misrepresentation, or concealment of a material fact;
(2) sell, barter, or offer to sell or barter a license;
or
(3) engage in unprofessional conduct that endangers or
is likely to endanger the health, welfare, or safety of the public
as defined by commission [executive commissioner] rule.
SECTION 13. Section 403.203, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 403.203. GROUNDS FOR LICENSE DENIAL AND DISCIPLINARY
ACTION. The commission or executive director may refuse to issue or
renew a license or registration, revoke or suspend a license or
registration, place on probation a person whose license or
registration has been suspended, or reprimand a license or
registration holder who violates this chapter, a rule adopted under
this chapter, or an order of the commission or executive director.
[If a license holder violates this chapter or a rule or code of
ethics adopted by the executive commissioner, the department shall:
(1) revoke or suspend the license;
(2) place on probation the person if the person's
license has been suspended;
(3) reprimand the license holder; or
(4) refuse to renew the license.]
SECTION 14. Section 403.207, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 403.207. ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY [SANCTIONS]. The
commission or executive director may impose an administrative
penalty against a person who violates a law establishing a
regulatory program administered by the department or a rule adopted
or issued by the commission or executive director as provided by
Section 51.301, Occupations Code. [(a) The executive
commissioner, in consultation with the advisory committee, by rule
shall adopt a broad schedule of sanctions for a violation of this
chapter.
(b) The State Office of Administrative Hearings shall use
the schedule of sanctions for a sanction imposed as the result of a
hearing conducted by that office.]
SECTION 15. Section 403.251, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 403.251. CIVIL PENALTY. (a) A person who violates
this chapter, a rule adopted by the commission [executive
commissioner], or an order adopted by the commission or executive
director [commissioner] under this chapter is liable for a civil
penalty not to exceed $500 for each occurrence.
(b) At the request of the department, the attorney general
shall bring an action to recover a civil penalty authorized under
this section.
SECTION 16. REPEALERS. The following sections are
repealed:
Section 403.002;
Section 403.109;
Section 403.152;
Section 403.201;
Section 403.204;
Section 403.205;
Section 403.208;
Section 403.209;
Section 403.210;
Section 403.211;
Section 403.212; and
Section 403.252.
SECTION 17. The commission shall adopt rules implementing
Chapter 403, Occupations Code, as amended by this Act, no later than
March 1, 2016.
SECTION 18. A rule or fee under Chapter 403, Occupations
Code, in effect on the effective date of this Act remains in effect
until changed by the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation.
SECTION 19. As soon as practicable after the effective date
of this Act, the Department of State Health Services and the Texas
Department of Licensing and Regulation shall adopt a transition
plan to provide for the transfer not later than January 1, 2016, of
the following to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation
to the extent necessary for the exercise of that department's
powers and duties related to Chapter 403, Occupations Code, as
amended by this Act:
(1) personnel;
(2) equipment; and
(3) money appropriated for the fiscal biennium ending
August 31, 2017.
SECTION 20. Effective Date. This Act takes effect
immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members
elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas
Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for
immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2015.