By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 896
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to updating references to certain former health services
state agencies and certain terms used to describe persons with
intellectual or developmental disabilities in the Education Code.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 25.041, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 25.041. TRANSFER OF CHILDREN OR WARDS OF EMPLOYEES OF
STATE SUPPORTED LIVING CENTERS [SCHOOLS]. A school-age child or
ward of an employee of a state supported living center [school] for
persons with intellectual disabilities [the mentally retarded]
constituted as a school district who resides in the boundaries of
center [the state school] property but who is not a student at the
center [state school] is entitled to attend school in a district
adjacent to the center [state school] free of any charge to the
child's or ward's parent or guardian provided the parent or guardian
is required by the superintendent of the center [state school] to
live on the grounds of the center [state school] for the convenience
of this state. A tuition charge required by the admitting district
shall be paid by the district constituting the state supported
living center [school] out of funds allotted to it by the agency.
SECTION 2. Section 29.003(b), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) A student is eligible to participate in a school
district's special education program if the student:
(1) is not more than 21 years of age and has a visual or
auditory impairment that prevents the student from being adequately
or safely educated in public school without the provision of
special services; or
(2) is at least three but not more than 21 years of age
and has one or more of the following disabilities that prevents the
student from being adequately or safely educated in public school
without the provision of special services:
(A) physical disability;
(B) intellectual or developmental disability
[mental retardation];
(C) emotional disturbance;
(D) learning disability;
(E) autism;
(F) speech disability; or
(G) traumatic brain injury.
SECTION 3. Section 29.012(d), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(d) The Texas Education Agency, the Health and Human
Services Commission and the Department of Family and Protective
Services [the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental
Retardation, the Texas Department of Human Services, the Texas
Department of Health, the Department of Protective and Regulatory
Services, the Interagency Council on Early Childhood Intervention,
the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse], and the Texas
Juvenile Justice Department by a cooperative effort shall develop
and by rule adopt a memorandum of understanding. The memorandum
must:
(1) establish the respective responsibilities of
school districts and of residential facilities for the provision of
a free, appropriate public education, as required by the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Section 1400
et seq.) and its subsequent amendments, including each requirement
for children with disabilities who reside in those facilities;
(2) coordinate regulatory and planning functions of
the parties to the memorandum;
(3) establish criteria for determining when a public
school will provide educational services;
(4) provide for appropriate educational space when
education services will be provided at the residential facility;
(5) establish measures designed to ensure the safety
of students and teachers; and
(6) provide for binding arbitration consistent with
Chapter 2009, Government Code, and Section 154.027, Civil Practice
and Remedies Code.
SECTION 4. Section 29.456(b), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) If the commissioner of education and the executive
commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission [the
Department of Aging and Disability Services] are unable to bring
the school district and forensic state supported living center to
agreement, the commissioners shall jointly submit a written request
to the attorney general to appoint a neutral third party
knowledgeable in special education and intellectual and
developmental disability [mental retardation] issues to resolve
each issue on which the district and the center disagree. The
decision of the neutral third party is final and may not be
appealed. The district and the center shall implement the decision
of the neutral third party. The commissioner of education or the
executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission
[Department of Aging and Disability Services] shall ensure that the
district and the center implement the decision of the neutral third
party.
SECTION 5. Section 29.457(b), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) Not later than December 1 of each year, a school
district that receives an allotment under this section shall submit
a report accounting for the expenditure of funds received under
this section to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker
of the house of representatives, the chairs of the standing
committees of the senate and house of representatives with primary
jurisdiction regarding persons with intellectual and developmental
disabilities [mental retardation] and public education, and each
member of the legislature whose district contains any portion of
the territory included in the school.
SECTION 6. Section 30.0015(b), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) The agency by rule shall develop and annually
disseminate standards for a school district's transfer of an
assistive technology device to an entity listed in this subsection
when a student with a disability using the device changes the school
of attendance in the district or ceases to attend school in the
district that purchased the device and the student's parents, or
the student if the student has the legal capacity to enter into a
contract, agrees to the transfer. The device may be transferred to:
(1) the school or school district in which the student
enrolls;
(2) a state agency, including the Health and Human
Services Commission [Texas Rehabilitation Commission and the Texas
Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation], that provides
services to the student following the student's graduation from
high school; or
(3) the student's parents, or the student if the
student has the legal capacity to enter into a contract.
SECTION 7. Section 52.40(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The board may cancel the repayment of a loan received by
a student who earns a doctorate of psychology degree and who, prior
to the date on which repayment of the loan is to commence, is
employed by [the Department of Aging and Disability Services,] the
Department of State Health Services, or the Health and Human
Services Commission and performs duties formerly performed by
employees of the Texas Department of Human Services [or Texas
Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation], the Texas
Juvenile Justice Department, [or] the Texas Department of Criminal
Justice, or any other former state agency that provided services to
persons with mental illness, persons with intellectual
disabilities, or persons with developmental disabilities.
SECTION 8. Section 73.401, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 73.401. ESTABLISHMENT. The Harris County Psychiatric
Center has been developed and built by Harris County, Texas, and a
former state agency that provided services to persons with mental
illness, persons with intellectual disabilities, and persons with
developmental disabilities [the Texas Department of Mental Health
and Mental Retardation]. The facilities of the Harris County
Psychiatric Center to be operated by The University of Texas System
shall be operated consistent with the rules and regulations of the
board of regents and with the provisions of this subchapter.
SECTION 9. Section 73.403, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 73.403. OPERATION OF COMMITMENT CENTER. Harris
County, the Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD, or both of
those entities, [and/or the Mental Health and Mental Retardation
Authority (MHMRA) of Harris County] may operate on the premises of
the Harris County Psychiatric Center a commitment center, the
functions of which may include patient screening, intake, and
admissions (both voluntary and involuntary) to the Harris County
Psychiatric Center as may be provided for in a lease [and/or
sublease] and operating agreement or a sublease and operating
agreement as authorized under Section 73.405 [of this code]. The
functions of the Harris County Psychiatric Commitment Center
located on the premises of the Harris County Psychiatric Center
both in terms of operation and in terms of funding shall not be the
responsibility of the Health and Human Services Commission [Texas
Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation] or The
University of Texas System. As may be provided for in a lease
[and/or sublease] and operating agreement or a sublease and
operating agreement, The University of Texas System may charge for
any support services provided by the Harris County Psychiatric
Center to the commitment center.
SECTION 10. Section 73.404, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 73.404. FUNDING. (a) Funding for the state-supported
facilities and operations of the Harris County Psychiatric Center
shall be provided through legislative appropriations to the Health
and Human Services Commission [Texas Department of Mental Health
and Mental Retardation] and to The University of Texas System, and
any appropriations to the commission [department] for the Harris
County Psychiatric Center shall be transferred to The University of
Texas System in accordance with the General Appropriations Act and
the lease [and/or sublease] and operating agreement or sublease and
operating agreement provided for in Section 73.405 [of this code].
Legislative appropriations may be for any further construction at
the Harris County Psychiatric Center; for equipment, both fixed
and movable; for utilities, including data processing and
communications; for maintenance, repairs, renovations, and
additions; for any damage or destruction; and for operations of
the Harris County Psychiatric Center; provided, however, that as
to funding for Harris County Psychiatric Center operations,
legislative appropriations shall not exceed 85 percent of the total
operating costs of the entire Harris County Psychiatric Center,
exclusive of any costs of the commitment center.
(b) Any funding, under a lease [and/or sublease] and
operating agreement or sublease and operating agreement wherein The
University of Texas System is the lessee, for [the county-supported
and/or MHMRA-supported] facilities and operations of the Harris
County Psychiatric Center supported by the county or the Health and
Human Services Commission, which may be provided through county
appropriations, including funds made available by the Harris Center
for Mental Health and IDD [County Mental Health and Mental
Retardation Authority], or from gifts and grants, shall be
transferred in accordance with the lease [and/or sublease] and
operating agreement or sublease and operating agreement provided
for in Section 73.405 [of this code]. Such funds may be for any
further construction at the Harris County Psychiatric Center; for
equipment, both fixed and movable; for utilities, including data
processing and communications; for maintenance, repairs,
renovations, and additions; for any damage or destruction; and for
Harris County Psychiatric Center operations which latter funding
may be proportional to the total costs of The University of Texas
System operating the entire Harris County Psychiatric Center,
exclusive of any additional cost incurred by [of] Harris County or
the Health and Human Services Commission for [and/or MHMRA]
operating the commitment center, which costs shall remain the sole
responsibility of the entity or entities that incurred those costs
[Harris County and/or MHMRA].
SECTION 11. Sections 73.405(a) and (d), Education Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) The state-supported facilities of the Harris County
Psychiatric Center shall be leased to and operated and administered
by The University of Texas System in accordance with a lease and
operating agreement. The [county-supported and/or
MHMRA-supported] facilities supported by the county or the Harris
Center for Mental Health and IDD, exclusive of the commitment
center, may be leased or [and/or] subleased by The University of
Texas System in the same lease [and/or sublease] and operating
agreement or sublease and operating agreement. Any lease [and/or
sublease] and operating agreement or sublease and operating
agreement shall provide for a lease payment by The University of
Texas System of no more than $1 per year plus other good and
valuable consideration as provided for in Section 73.406 [of this
code].
(d) Any lease [and/or sublease] and operating agreement or
sublease and operating agreement shall provide that The University
of Texas System shall cause the Harris County Psychiatric Center to
be operated in accordance with the standards for accreditation of
The [the] Joint Commission [on Accreditation of Hospitals]; that
all financial transactions and performance programs may be
appropriately audited; that an admission, discharge, and transfer
coordination policy be established; that appropriate patient data
be made available to the Health and Human Services Commission, the
Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD [department, MHMRA], and
the county, including but not limited to diagnosis and lengths of
stay; and that a priority of patient treatment policy be
established.
SECTION 12. Section 73.406, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 73.406. REVENUES. That portion of any revenues
related to the provision of patient services through the operation
of the Harris County Psychiatric Center facilities that are leased
or [and/or] subleased by and to The University of Texas System shall
be accounted for and expended in accordance with the rules,
regulations, and bylaws of The University of Texas System and in
such manner that such revenues will reduce appropriated and funded
requirements by both the state and county or the Harris Center for
Mental Health and IDD [MHMRA] on a prorated basis, all as may be
provided for in a lease [and/or sublease] and operating agreement
or sublease and operating agreement.
SECTION 13. Section 73.501, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 73.501. TRANSFER AND LEASE OF FACILITIES. (a) The
governance, operation, management, and control of the Texas
Research Institute of Mental Sciences [created by Chapter 427, Acts
of the 55th Legislature, Regular Session, 1957, as amended (Article
3174b-4, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes),] and all land, buildings,
improvements thereon, and major fixed equipment comprising said
institute shall be leased from the Health and Human Services
Commission or a former state agency that provided services to
persons with mental illness, persons with intellectual
disabilities, and persons with developmental disabilities [Texas
Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation] and transferred
to the board of regents of The University of Texas System for $1 a
year and shall be subject to the provisions of [Subdivision (9) of
Subsection (a) of] Section 65.02(a)(9) [65.02 of the Education
Code].
(b) All land, buildings, and improvements thereon and major
fixed equipment comprising said institute leased by The University
of Texas System shall be utilized only for purposes of patient care
services, research, and education related to mental health,
intellectual disability, and developmental disability [mental
retardation]. The Health and Human Services Commission or a former
state agency that provided services to persons with mental illness,
persons with intellectual disabilities, and persons with
developmental disabilities [Texas Department of Mental Health and
Mental Retardation] may sell or otherwise dispose of the land,
buildings, improvements thereon, or major fixed equipment provided
that the proceeds from the sale or other disposition shall be used
for the same purposes in Harris County; and further provided, that
the board of regents of The University of Texas System, prior to
such sale or other disposition, has approved of such sale or
disposition and the allocation of proceeds.
SECTION 14. Section 73.502, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 73.502. TRANSFER OF GIFTS, GRANTS, UNEXPENDED
BALANCES, CONTRACTS, AND OBLIGATIONS. Any gifts, grants,
unexpended balances of appropriated or unappropriated funds, and
all movable equipment that was held by a former state agency that
provided services to persons with mental illness, persons with
intellectual disabilities, and persons with developmental
disabilities or that was transferred to the Health and Human
Services Commission on dissolution of that former agency and was
held [the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation]
for, on behalf of, or for the use and benefit of the Texas Research
Institute of Mental Sciences are hereby transferred to The
University of Texas System; provided, however, that all previously
appropriated funds for statewide training of [department]
personnel and program evaluation by the institute shall be retained
by the Health and Human Services Commission [department]. All
contracts and written obligations of every kind and character
entered into by a former state agency that provided services to
persons with mental illness, persons with intellectual
disabilities, and persons with developmental disabilities [the
Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation] for and
on behalf of the Texas Research Institute of Mental Sciences are
ratified, confirmed, and validated, and in all such contracts and
written obligations, the board of regents of The University of
Texas System is substituted in lieu and shall stand and act in place
and stead of the former state agency that provided services to
persons with mental illness, persons with intellectual
disabilities, and persons with developmental disabilities [Texas
Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation]; provided,
however, that an advisory committee shall be established with
regard to research protocols and the executive commissioner of the
Health and Human Services Commission [department] shall be a
member; provided further, that The University of Texas System may
contract with the Department of State Health Services [department]
for continued extramural and other laboratory consultative
services. The Health and Human Services Commission [Texas
Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation], Harris County,
and the [Mental Health and Mental Retardation Authority of] Harris
Center for Mental Health and IDD [County] shall provide for the
continuity of inpatient and outpatient care of the patients and
programs operated at the Texas Research Institute of Mental
Sciences and may contract for the provision of such services in
accordance with the provisions of and appropriations provided in
the General Appropriations Act.
SECTION 15. Sections 73.503(a) and (h), Education Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) Present institute personnel shall be allowed to apply
for employment with The University of Texas System, Harris County,
or the Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD [Mental Health and
Mental Retardation Authority of Harris County] and be given
priority consideration for such employment.
(h) The Employees Retirement System, the Health and Human
Services Commission [Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental
Retardation], and The University of Texas System shall provide the
Teacher Retirement System with information necessary to establish
employees' rights to credit under this section. The Employees
Retirement System and the Teacher Retirement System shall establish
procedures to prevent duplication of retirement credit for the same
service.
SECTION 16. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.