BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1188

By: Manuel

Public Education

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Current law provides for students with disabilities to be connected to essential supports during transition planning at age 14, preparing them for life after graduation and helping them learn about long-term services and supports, including services under the home- and community-based services waiver programs established under the federal Social Security Act. According to the Texas Council of Community Centers, local intellectual and developmental disability authorities (LIDDAs) are publicly-funded agencies that serve as the primary point of entry for intellectual and developmental disabilities services in Texas and provide service coordination and ongoing support throughout a person's life. LIDDAs are responsible for determining eligibility for services, placing individuals on waiver interest lists, coordinating supports, and guiding families through the complex system of available resources. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) reports that there are 39 LIDDAs statewide, which offer services and support for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities across their lifespans. Despite their critical role, the bill author has informed the committee that many families are not connected to their LIDDA early enough to benefit from timely guidance and access to services. Additional data from HHSC reveals that families may have to wait over 16 years for waiver services. C.S.H.B. 1188 seeks to address this issue by requiring school districts to provide students and their families with information about their LIDDA when a student is first enrolled in school and identified as eligible for special education on the grounds of intellectual disability or developmental delay.

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.

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.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1188 amends the Education Code to require a public school district, at the first individualized education program committee meeting during which a student's individualized education program is developed, to provide the parent or legal guardian of a student who has an intellectual disability or a developmental delay with information about services and public benefits provided by the local intellectual and developmental disability authority, including services under home- and community-based services waiver programs established under the federal Social Security Act.

C.S.H.B. 1188 applies beginning with the 2025-2026 school year.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2025.

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 1188 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

Both the substitute and the introduced establish requirements for districts relating to the provision of services by local intellectual and developmental disability authorities to students who receive special education services. However, the introduced required the district to refer each student receiving special education services under the special education program who has or is suspected to have an intellectual or developmental disability to a local intellectual and developmental disability authority for services or public benefits, whereas the substitute instead requires the district, at the first individualized education program committee meeting during which a student's individualized education program is developed, to provide the parent or legal guardian of a student who has an intellectual disability or a developmental delay with information about such services and benefits.