House Appropriations – October 9, 2018

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The House Committee on Appropriations heard invited testimony regarding interim charges related to school safety, including the availability of funding sources and potential costs proposed by the Governor and House Committees. The Committee also received an update on the TEA Special Education Strategic Plan.

This report is intended to give you an overview and highlight of the discussions on the various topics the committee took up. It is not a verbatim transcript of the hearing, but is based upon what was audible or understandable to the observer and the desire to get details out as quickly as possible with few errors or omissions.

Opening Remarks

Last interim committee charges to be taken up
TEA exceptional item includes $54 million for school safety

Examine the availability of federal funding and Governor’s Criminal Justice grants that may directly or indirectly improve school safety. Evaluate the potential costs of proposals identified by the Governor and House Committees related to improving access to mental health services for children, improved school safety, and enhanced firearm safety.

Leigh Wall, Santa Fe ISD

School served as shelter after Harvey
Have worked very hard toward recovery
Has considered additional safety measures for the schools
- Conformed to all current safety standards
Initial safety decisions included structural hardening
- Made modifications to the building including relocating certain services
- Added metal detectors to entry/exit ways
- Doubled security personnel
- Parents, staff and students have adapted well to the changes
- Renovations cost roughly $2 million out of fund balance
Considered short and long-term needs like mental health, trauma counseling, safety training
Have received 2 sources of funding
- $ 1 million federal grant funding top reestablish safe environment for students through counselling and similar mechanisms
- $322,000 for trauma councilors
- No direct funds have been provided for facility funding for heightened safety needs
Sees a need for additional funding for safety and support measures through the basic allotment

Rusty Norman, Santa Fe ISD

The entire community was impacted by this tragedy
Have initiated processes to monitor fund balance as it is spent down to make safety renovations to facilities
Unsure how to budget for long term needs of counselors and mental health experts

Questions to the Panel

Zerwas – thanked the panel for their testimony
Bonnen – noted the loss of students and teachers and each day since has presented a new challenge, thanked the panel for their insight and meaningful testimony
Bonnen – speaking to recurring expenses like additional safety officers, is that an ongoing expense moving forward?
- Wall – Yes, it is, it would be difficult to maintain those resources through the current use of the federal grant money. Noted it takes unique officers to hold these positions and maintaining these officers is a critical piece to maintaining safety
- Norman – have had many demands from the parents and cannot put a price on safety but must operate based on the available budget. Am struggling on how to prioritize needs
Bonnen – you are looking at making on term infrastructure changes?
- Wall – the initial rebuild and redesign was to get kids back in school, but many more changes need to be made still. The district will require additional funds for the unique needs off the district after this event.
Howard – you provided a fiscal summarization, the amount of money already expended and anticipated costs is sobering when considering the one time grant funding, noted the discussion at the legislature is regarding efficient use of state funds when clearly more is needed. Noted the overreliance on property taxes to fund these types of items, especially at Santa Fe ISD
- Norman – noted the committee members hesitation is asking questions because of the subject matter, Santa Fe ISD is committed to make changes and will tell the story as many times as needed to do so
Walle – thanked the panel for leadership and comments. Hopes that it has an impact on the legislature to make the appropriate changes. Testimony shows an estimated $30 million impact if no state funds are provided, causing a need for raising taxes at the local level, do you have any ideas on how the legislature can provide additional resources?
- Wall – in addition to additional resources for facility hardening, additional regular supplements could be used. Many of the expenses are onetime expenses, and others are long term and ongoing and need to be sustainable funded
Simmons – how much is the onetime costs? And how much are the ongoing costs?
- Wall – testimony shows $30 million for onetime reconstructions; the sustaining funds would cost $1 million per year for officers and counselors
Simmons – based on the size of the district, do you have the personnel needed?
- Norman – there are unknowns, the students are using the counselors a lot right now. The unknown includes how long the high-level counselling will need to continue
- Norman – the high school was an immediate need, but other schools in the district now have concerns about each of the other schools
Longoria – what is the school undertaking related to social media?
- Wall – Have officers utilizing a software that scans key words and are able to respond to those immediately, at a cost of $7,500
Longoria – do you believe this is helping?
- Wall – it certainly provides another tool and one of many layers that supports that effort
Gonzalez – what is the student to counselor ratio?
- Wall – have added many, will provide that specific information to the committee
Gonzalez – knowing there is a counselor shortage in the state, were you able to easily find additional counselors?
- Wall – did not have difficulty finding those individuals, likely due to circumstances
- Norman – we spent a lot of money on deterrents, hoping that changing the mental outlook will also act as a deterrent
Gonzalez – concerned that you have already lost a lot, considering finding resources through reducing staff, how would that effect the community?
- Wall – that would be the last resort and would have a hugely negative impact on the community and education
- Wall – one tool we have added is threat assessment teams, seeing that to be a really good model for the district
Giddings – looking at mental health, we cannot fully realize the impact this will have on the people in the schools and community. It would seem that school resource officers, have they gone through the training passed in 2015?
- Wall – we do, and they have all undergone extensive training including that specific training
- Norman – they all also like the school environment and want to work with the students and can create relationships with the students
Giddings – thanked the panel for speaking
Capriglione – knows that school districts all over Texas and the country are considering additional security measures after Santa Fe, have heard a lot about metal detectors. Have heard concerns regarding costs and perceptions of safety versus actual safety related to metal detectors, have you looks at that?
- Norman – knows that it is only a layer of deterrence, there was some apprehension and comments from students, but almost everybody has adapted well
- Wall – have 19 metal detectors that were donated with officers at each location. Due to number of detectors, the cue time is shortened.
Dean – all of the talk regarding school security versus what we actually do about it, your testimony helps us look at this. Have you proposed a bond election?
- Wall – we have not for this, there is a bond out for a new elementary. We are waiting to see what the session brings and will move forward from there
Dean – have you made a decision on replacing the facility where this took place?
- Wall – it has not been decided, but are considering many options
Dean – can your fund balance hold you over until the end of session?
- Wall – We can through putting large expenditures on hold
Rodriguez – related to the mental health piece, it seems like the counselors are multi-tiered with some paid out of general funds, and some higher-level trauma counselling, is that from the governors grant?
- Wall – yes, through the federal grant which is one time and will have to be reapplied for
Rodrigues – threat assessment training includes teachers?
- Wall – all of the teams have been trained, with the goal of training the entire staff
Rodriguez – counseling roles have changed over the years; do you have any thoughts on how to be sure they are working with parents and teachers and students in a counseling role as opposed to alternative uses of that personnel?
- Wall – our counselors do not do test administration, only academic counseling. Both trauma counselors and academic counselors are needed
Rodriguez – how can we work better with districts to provide those resources?
- Wall – they have big jobs, there is a need to extend the force or trauma and at-risk counselling without being dual purpose
Gonzalez – was there a decision based on resources not to demolish the building?
- Wall – our situation was unique because it was isolated to one wing, the initial redesign was to give us time to figure out the ultimate needs
- Norman – Noted first responders were able to keep this tragedy isolated
Wu – have spoken with many around the state related to juveniles and incidents in schools, one incident that has come up is number of juvenile arrests at schools, should some of those things be dealt with at the school as opposed to sending those students into juvenile detention centers?
- Wall – our district does utilize a hierarchy that identifies what events will be handled within the school or by the criminal justice system; the district has a heightened sense of activity, believes the district worked hard to ensure that each side is being applied appropriately
- Norman – believes that there are administrative items that the campus officers can and cannot be involved with that would need to be considered
Perez – Recognized the students’ efforts to keep this event on the forefront
Zerwas – thanked the panel for their testimony

Kathy Martinez-Prather, Texas State University – Texas School Safety Center

Center was created in 1999 after the Columbine shootings
Center is tasked to serve as the central clearinghouse for school resources related to school safety
Has provided training to over 50,000 people related to a variety of areas
Budget reductions was decreased 30% after last session
- Center continues to provide the best training possible
- Received one-time funding by the governor
Critical for schools to have access to free training
Additional funding would expand the centers ability to serve 100% of the schools in Texas as well as to conduct comprehensive safety audits
The required audit considers many factors with the goal of identifying needs and validating that schools are implementing that audit with fidelity

Pete Blair, Texas State University – Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training Center (ALERRT)

Responsible for training mitigation techniques to first responders
Center contains a strong research component
Training is constantly changing and improving
Is funded through CJD, but will not likely remain in that funding stream
Funding is needed to continue to training services
Utilizes a “train the trainer” format
Original training was related to stopping the killing, now includes stopping the dying which
Now referring to events as active attacks, because the types of events are not limited to firearms

Questions to the Panel

Howard – CJD is wanting to transition you off of the funding stream, do you have options for alternative funding?
- Blair – do receive federal funding but it is not focused funding within the state
Howard – to continue the level of training, you would need to be housed outside of CDJ, and we may need to consider this in the budget in the next session?
- Blair – that is correct
Howard – you had a 30% decrease in budget, which meant you had to reduce some services?
- Prather – that is correct including staffing. It did not decrease demand only capability to provide services
Howard – you are suggesting a follow-up to the self-assessment which would require additional resources?
- Prather – that is correct, each district has unique needs and issues that require individualized services and on-site follow-ups
Howard – how do we decide which schools get this service right now?
- Prather – schools are not required to attend trainings but can if they are able and want to. We work with ESCs to help provide resources at a more local level
- Prather – noted the web-based outreach is hugely utilized and very important to be able to reach as many districts as possible
Giddings – do you have any information related to the school resource officer training?
- Prather – Described statutory requirements
- Prather – Impacts roughly 46 districts in the state, but have many more districts utilizing the training
Giddings – thanked the center and the officers for there efforts to improve training and circumstances
Bonnen – related to the facility and expenses that Santa Fe will be undertaking, noted the immediate and heroic response of the officers in the school
- Blair – good training has a huge impact on outcomes
Simmons – Santa Fe participated in the self-Assessment?
- Prather – yes, they did
Simmons – what did you learn through the Santa Fe incident?
- Prather – by all standards they were a model district which has led to many discussions about facility design and prevention, as well as movements on behavioral threat assessments
Simmons – was there anything else learned from the incident?
- Prather – the center has attempted to be proactive with this type of training, this is something that should be made a part of the educational agenda not just after incidents
Simmons- Santa Fe did everything you asked of them, is there anything that needs to be included or changed to have a better impact on prevention?
- Prather – being able to reach all of the state, we will never be able to prevent these incidents 100%, but we can provide as much information and resources as possible for free

Mike Morath, Texas Education Agency (TEA)

Exceptional item for Safe and Healthy Schools Initiative at $54 million to focus on response: mental health supports, positive school culture, facility safety/asset hardening, emergency response coordination
There is not one thing that will solve this issue
Will be working closely with the Safety Center to implement these areas of focus
The governor has made funds available, as well as federal funding: described grant applications for school violence response
House Public Education issued a series of recommendations that overlap with the exceptional item request
- Survey related to facility hardening needs was included in those recommendations and the exceptional items request: report on survey results will be made available soon, $10 million placeholder is included in exceptional items request
Legislature could consider requiring implementation of threat assessment practices
Could consider an additional exception to the public information act related to school security
May be worthy to develop common security practices for new school construction and rehabilitation
- Building codes mitigate against fire, but there is nothing for school safety
- May be worth establishing a “LEAD” type standard for school safety
Written testimony shows allocation of exceptional item funding
- Highlighted that it includes additional FTE request to facilitate coordinate with Safety Center and ESCs
- Also includes pilot grants for innovative safety practices
Gonzalez – TEA action items include removal of students from classrooms that threaten teachers, what does that mean?
- Morath – that came out of the Governor’s Task Force, it included much discussion, intended to evaluate state and legislative practices to be sure that an appropriate balance
Gonzalez – noted that removal could be counter to some of the testimony related to actors feeling isolated
- Morath – noted the need to create relationships may not be counter to a behavioral removal
Gonzalez – there is a telemedicine recommendation, is that resource-based recommendation?
- Morath – there are multiple tiers to the need of the students, and this is part of the intervention and not the prevention portion
- Morath – there is a need for appropriately trained personnel across the state and that is where telemedicine can be very valuable
Walle – discussed the importance of community resources – working with existing community-based centers, mental health clinics, etc.
- Task Force has been working on a clearer referral system, will require collobration with HHSC and they will need to continue working on it
- Violence prevention not just about violence to others, has had an impact on suicides as well
Walle – do you anticipate a scenario where the state could drawdown additional federal resources for HHSC to be able to refer young people to healthcare professionals?
- Morath – HHSC has a much better insight on available HHSC grants that TEA does, but are trying to find any and all available sources of funding
- Morath – do not immediately know of grant opportunities above the $6 million already identified
Walle – hopes that we do not loose sight of the impact of gun violence and prevent certain access to firearms
Wu – appreciates the sentiment of dealing with children psychological wellness and counseling is hugely important. Noted telemedicine is an important resource for many communities outside of high-density populations. Has TEA looked at capacity and infrastructure related to making schools a center for telemedicine?
- Morath – noted complication of getting broadband to a district compared to every campus in the district – it will continue to require ongoing investment
Wu – has there been any attempt to partner with higher education to utilize students needing internships?
- Morath – do not have an answer on utilization of that practice
Zerwas – supports telemedicine, noted potential use of telemedicine. Also noted implementation of broadband into school districts
- Morath – noted the cost reduction seen associated with implementation of the broadband
Howard – noted $20 million request for access to telemedicine and innovated practices, how will that be implemented?
- Morath – this is designed to be a force multiplier
- Morath – how rider language is crafted will impact implementation, may include stakeholder engagement and rating system in grant application process
Howard – do you know what the criteria will be for innovative practices?
- Morath – that will have to be figured out through the grant evaluation process

Reilly Webb, Office of The Texas Governor- Criminal Justice Division

Responsible for accepting, planning and distributing funds for plans that improve the criminal justice efficiency and effectiveness within the state
Included full list of programs in written testimony
2019 – received over 1,000 application for financial assistance, 2018 – provided over $259 million for programs in the state, largely related to victim recovery and criminal justice support
Majority of funding in received from the US Department of Criminal Justice
22 programs within CJD
3 are eligible for school related activities
- Again, mostly related to victim services
- Used to respond to emotional and physical needs
Justice Assistance Grants – additional federal funding for law enforcement needs
Do have grants related to the juvenile justice system
Do have the financial flexibility to respond quickly – able to respond with $7 million after Santa Fe
12 recipients have received funding – have received additional $1 million to reimburse law enforcement for Santa Fe shooting response
Long-term mental health for students at Santa Fe is needed – provided specific funding for trauma services
Worked with ESC 4 to expand regional mental health capacity for multiple services to create long term resiliency
- Also allowed for individual crisis intervention
Psychological first aid portion was also mentioned in the House Public Education Committee recommendation
Governor’s Action Plan included training additional School Marshals
- Grant for $114,000 to pay for training to maximize participation
- Current demand has been met, but considering long term need as moving forward
Active shooter training program awarded grant funding for increased training though additional 75 classes over the summer – CJD has supported the project for over 10 years
- There is some inherent danger in being reliant on grant funding
Behavioral threat assessments – funding provided for teacher and staff training – provided to the School Safety Center
Long term response to Santa Fe – community awarded $1.5 million to create the community resiliency center
- Intended to utilize funding in most efficient way possible
Future funding plans include k-12 mental health initiative via VOCA Funds
Described grant funding use statistics
Howard – how much did the therapist cost at 46 schools?
- Webb – about $6 million
Howard could this model be replicated?
- Webb – yes, it would not be for everybody but will be soliciting application from other districts that it may be applicable
Giddings – a bill was passed to provide grants for officer mental health training, where is that?
- Webb – will provide that information to the committee
Zerwas – commended Governor and staff on in-depth response to the gun violence at Santa Fe and to Harvey response

Trina Ita, Health and Human Services

Described mental health first aid – funded appropriated to provide training
Interagency and school training opportunities – working with TEA to enhance school safety – promoting mental health first aid at ESCs and LMHAs
- Response has increased since the previous year
Has interfaced with DPS to launch IWatch App with a school component to report anonymous reporting capability
Described CISMS as workforce protections for first responders and support for community needs
HB 13 awarded mental health grant funding – received additional funding to expand grant to additional 13 counties
Long term opportunities: utilizing block grant funding for expanding services to school age kids, suicide prevention services, mentalhealthtx.org resource services
Violence of Crime Act (VOCA) funding – awarded $1.2 million – utilized for coordinated incident response
Expanding mental health service capacity – population growth will require additional need, include exceptional item to address that, added exceptional item for early intervention services to be expanded statewide, exceptional item for residential treatment centers for youth – program help reduce parents relinquishing custody of the child, exceptional item for substance abuse treatment providers
Rose – noted that school safety is the discussion today but there are communities that suffer trauma every day, do you have any programs related to that?
- Ita – there is some infrastructure around that in addition to trauma informed care, mental health coordination office is working to educate more people about trauma across the state (no direct funding associated with that)
Koop – noted Richardson ISD initiative to coordinate with UT Southwestern on teaching kindness and interaction through evidence-based practices as a preventative measure

Ted Holiday, Legislative Budget Board

Discussed recommendations from the House Public Education Committee (25 recommendations related to mental health, and related school safety)
Highlighted few recommendations: Recommendation to provide funding for all school personnel to receive mental health first aid training, Rural school to participate in the TWITR Program, Recommendation to provide funding for retrofitting existing school buildings with additional safety features
Committee should consider if the recommendations are ongoing or onetime, if proposals require additional funding for full implementation, if projects are scalable
Discussed exceptional items requests related to school safety – total add up to $100 million for the biennium and 81 FTEs
Written testimony includes only proposals that relate specifically to school safety, there may be additional proposals that relate more broadly
Howard – governors plan and HHSC recommendations and requests are not included in the $100 million?
- Holiday – that is accurate
Howard – requested total funding amounts and breakdowns
- Holiday – have been working on that, at this point some of the proposals will be refined and our information will be updated to reflects that
Howard – would also like notes on what is one-time versus recurring
- Holiday – will provide that to the committee

The committee will also receive an update from the Texas Education Agency on the Special Education Strategic Plan.

Penny Schwinn, TEA

Gonzalez – due to the court case, what will the impact be to the strategic plan if we do not win the appeal?
- Schwinn – we could take it out as a one-time deduction, more likely it will be a reduction over time, we think there will be a minimal impact to the strategic plan but no definitive impact
Gonzalez – as that unfolds, can the TEA update the committee as to how that will happen
- Schwinn – absolutely
Gonzalez – what is the standing of the $65 million?
- Schwinn – the grant award letter went out this year, the entire $65 million went out to be used this year
Gonzalez – to you have a plan for the professional development and how will you ensure that the general education teacher sure getting the appropriate training?
- Schwinn – we have it designed as three pathways: administration, educators, and additional personnel – proposing it will be a full 15-month program for continued education throughout the year for educators
Gonzalez – in Rider 68 TEA got transfer authority to meet what the Feds needs are, have you used that rider?
- Schwinn – will provide the exact number, but will provide that to the committee
Related to special education – took the strategic plan to focus on the supports necessary for all children to show academic success
Had started work on special education before the Feds reviewed
Elimination of indicator 10 occurred last session
Technical support occurred in house proactively to better coordinate with the ESCs
USDE found three particular findings: TEA failed to meet requirements of Child Find, appropriate compliance monitoring, failed to provide critical funding
Simmons – how many students were affected by this?
- Schwinn – described statewide estimates roughly an additional 100,000 students, will try to provide a more specific number to the committee
Simmons – why not all the way there?
- Schwinn – the large scale is the biggest issue
Simmons – is it possible that some districts are not evaluating at the level they should?
- Schwinn – TEA is working to provide the identification services needed to better identify those children
Simmons –is very concerned that Texas was found to be so lacking in this area, one challenge related to parent resource information, especially in economically disadvantaged areas or English as a second language areas – do we have anything set up for parents to contact TEA for direction?
- Schwinn – we are building services specifically for parent resources and an outreach campaign statewide
Simmons – we need some type of advocacy system for the ARD committees, is that something you have considered?
- Schwinn – the parent site will have access and direction to local resources
Described timeline from public comment to corrective action
Able to provide organizational chart specific to special education to the committee – described general special education organizational structure within TEA
Summary of feedback: over 100 community-based meetings, 14,000 public comments and solicitation of feedback is ongoing
- Have specifically assigned staff across the state to address this

Justin Porter, TEA

More robust and holistic data collection – considering study on monitoring indicators – may require collection of data that is not currently being collected by districts
Described the parent portal
Evaluations – hoping to find alternative paths to filling evaluation staff – considering filling gaps in the short term through credentialed contracted staff
Corrective actions: professional development – related to general education educators need better understanding of special education
RTI – response to intervention: one way to help identify if a student has a learning disability or needs additional instruction – USDE identified this as an area for improvement
Reviewing multiple grants for support networks to help support the districts
Feedback opportunities – 120 stakeholder meetings each year moving forward to continue to get feedback

Questions to the Panel

Simmons – one challenge is that we didn’t have enough oversight over districts, is that something you are planning mechanisms for?
- Schwinn – yes, we will be making recommendations for program changes, but do not have statutory authority for compliance monitoring, will provide that information to the committee
Simmons – have you thought of putting penalties in place for those districts that do not comply?
- Schwinn – federal funding is one lever – specifically directing IDEA funding, from the state – there are other similar mechanisms
Simmons – is the definition of IDEA funding broad or specific enough to be used as intended?
- Schwinn – it allows funding for supports of students with special needs
Simmons – does the state have the ability to restrict hoe IDEA funding is spent?
- Schwinn – that would require statutory authority
Schwinn – entire strategic plan is funded through IDEA – $211 million
Schwinn – have submitted exceptional item $50 million request regarding evaluation, also allows for compensatory education for those that should have been identified
Perez – the family support call center, how many languages will be utilized for that?
- Schwinn – in the RFP there is a request for cost of each additional language
Simmons – related to the $342 million related to compensatory education each year based on percent?
- Schwinn – that is correct, as an ongoing cost to the state
Simmons – biggest concern is the timeline of providing services to that families, what are we doing to try to solve this?
- Schwinn – we are in a similar position to many other states, but the scale is so large. We certainly share the sense of urgency to get this done

Closing Remarks

Longoria – thanked Ursula Parks for her service to the legislature
Last anticipated hearing for the full Appropriations Committee