HBA-MPM C.S.H.B. 1850 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 1850 By: Lengefeld Public Education 4/28/1999 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, the Windham School System of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice may only accept inmates who do not have a high school diploma. Windham officials have determined that 1159 of their inmates are high school graduates, read at the fourth-grade level or less, and are not eligible for literacy or vocational classes offered by Windham. C.S.H.B. 1850 provides that any person confined in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice is eligible for programs and services paid for with money from the foundation school fund. This bill also authorizes a school district to offer programs or services paid for by this fund to those persons who are high school graduates, to the extent that space is available. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Provides that any person, rather than "only a person," confined or imprisoned in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (department) who is not a high school graduate is eligible for programs or services under this chapter paid for with money from the foundation school fund. Authorizes a school district, to the extent space is available, to offer programs or services under this chapter paid for with money from the foundation school fund to persons confined or imprisoned in the department who are high school graduates. SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 1999. SECTION 3. Emergency clause. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 1850 differs from the original bill in SECTION 1, which amends Section 19.005(a), Education Code, by reinstating language specifying that a high school graduate confined or imprisoned in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (department) is eligible for programs or services under this chapter paid for with money from the foundation school fund (the original removed language qualifying the person as one who is not a high school graduate). The substitute adds language authorizing a school district, to the extent space is available, to offer programs or services under this chapter paid for with money from the foundation school fund to persons confined or imprisoned in the department who are high school graduates.