HBA-JRA C.S.H.B. 633 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 633 By: Maxey Public Education 5/3/1999 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires public schools to provide assistive technology devices necessary for the individualized education programs of students with disabilities. Such devices are the property of the purchasing school district. While federal rules permit a district to transfer ownership of property that it no longer needs, current Texas law does not require the Texas Education Agency to assist local school districts in exercising their options regarding the transfer of assistive devices in accordance with federal requirements. Consequently, school districts do not generally allow device transfers. Students who cannot retain devices when they leave a district must undergo evaluation for a new device when they enroll in a new district and that district must purchase a needed device at current pricing. C.S.H.B. 633 encourages the transfer of devices with students under certain circumstances when they transfer schools within a district or leave the school district in which the devices were purchased. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking authority is expressly delegated to the Texas Education Agency in SECTION 1 (Section 30.0015, Education Code) of this bill. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter A, Chapter 30, Education Code, by adding Section 30.0015, as follows: Sec. 30.0015. TRANSFER OF ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY DEVICES. (a) Defines "assistive technology device," "student with a disability," and "transfer." (b) Requires the Texas Education Agency (agency), by rule, to develop and annually disseminate standards for a school district's transfer of an assistive technology device to another entity when the student with a disability using the device transfers school within a 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. Authorizes the device to be transferred to the school district in which the student enrolls, a state agency that provides services to the student following the student's graduation from high school, the student's parents, or the student where appropriate. (c) Provides that the standards developed under this section must include a uniform transfer agreement to convey the title of an assistive technology device and applicable warranty information; a method for computing the fair market value of an assistive technology device, including a reasonable allowance for use; and a process for obtaining written consent to the transfer from the student's parents, or the student where appropriate. (d) Provides that this section does not alter any existing obligation under federal or state law to provide assistive technology devices to students with disabilities. SECTION 2.Emergency clause. Effective date: upon passage. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE The substitute modifies the original in SECTION 1 (proposed Section 30.0015, Education Code) to define "student with a disability," rather than "child with a disability" and to redefine "transfer" to include a student's transfer between schools within a school district. The substitute requires the Texas Education Agency, by rule, to develop and annually disseminate standards, rather than develop and monitor guidelines, for transfers of assistive technology devices. In addition, the substitute deletes proposed Subsection (d) of the original, which would have authorized a school district to permit the student's use of an assistive technology device while the student attends any school in the district, and adds a new Subsection (d), to provide that this section does not alter any existing obligation under federal or state law to provide assistive technology devices to students with disabilities. The substitute also makes conforming changes.