CHAPTER 36. SPECIAL SENSES AND COMMUNICATION DISORDERS - Texas Statutes

HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE

TITLE 2. HEALTH

SUBTITLE B. TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH PROGRAMS

CHAPTER 36. SPECIAL SENSES AND COMMUNICATION DISORDERS

Sec. 36.001. SHORT TITLE. This chapter may be cited as the

Special Senses and Communication Disorders Act.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Sec. 36.002. PURPOSE. (a) The purpose of this chapter is to

establish a program to identify, at as early an age as possible,

those individuals from birth through 20 years of age who have

special senses and communication disorders and who need remedial

vision, hearing, speech, and language services. Early detection

and remediation of those disorders provide the individuals with

the opportunity to reach academic and social status through

adequate educational planning and training.

(b) This chapter shall be implemented in accordance with the

provisions of professional license laws that pertain to

professional examinations and remedial services for individuals

with special senses and communication disorders.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Sec. 36.003. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:

(1) "Communication disorder" means an abnormality of functioning

related to the ability to express and receive ideas.

(2) "Other benefit" means a benefit, other than a benefit under

this chapter, to which an individual is entitled for payment of

the costs of remedial services, and includes:

(A) benefits received under a personal insurance contract;

(B) payments received from another person for personal injury

caused by the other person's negligence or wrongdoing; and

(C) payments received from any other source.

(3) "Preschool" means an educational or child-care institution

that admits children who are three years of age or older but

younger than five years of age.

(4) "Professional examination" means a diagnostic evaluation

performed by an appropriately licensed professional or, if the

professional is not required to be licensed under the laws of

this state, by a certified or sanctioned individual whose area of

expertise addresses the diagnostic needs of an individual

identified as having a possible special senses or communication

disorder.

(5) "Provider" means a person who provides remedial services to

individuals who have special senses and communication disorders,

and includes a physician, audiologist, speech pathologist,

optometrist, psychologist, hospital, clinic, rehabilitation

center, university, or medical school.

(6) "Remedial services" means professional examinations and

prescribed remediation, including prosthetic devices, for

individuals with special senses or communication disorders.

(7) "School" means an educational institution that admits

children who are five years of age or older but younger than 21

years of age.

(8) "Screening" means a test or battery of tests administered to

rapidly determine the need for a professional examination.

(9) "Special senses" means the faculties by which the conditions

or properties of things are perceived, and includes vision and

hearing.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Sec. 36.004. SCREENING PROGRAM FOR SPECIAL SENSES AND

COMMUNICATION DISORDERS. (a) The board by rule shall require

screening of individuals who attend public or private preschools

or schools to detect vision and hearing disorders and any other

special senses or communication disorders specified by the board.

In developing the rules, the board may consider the number of

individuals to be screened and the availability of:

(1) personnel qualified to administer the required screening;

(2) appropriate screening equipment; and

(3) state and local funds for screening activities.

(b) The rules must include procedures necessary to administer

screening activities.

(c) The board shall adopt a schedule for implementing the

screening requirements and shall give priority to the age groups

that may derive the greatest educational and social benefits from

early identification of special senses and communication

disorders.

(d) The rules must provide for acceptance of results of

screening conducted by a licensed professional, regardless of

whether that professional is under contract with the department,

if:

(1) the professional's legally defined scope of practice

includes the area for which the screening is conducted; and

(2) the professional uses acceptable procedures for the

screening.

(e) The department may coordinate the special senses and

communication disorders screening activities of school districts,

private schools, state agencies, volunteer organizations, and

other entities so that the efforts of each entity are

complementary and not fragmented and duplicative. The department

may provide technical assistance to those entities in developing

screening programs and may provide educational and other material

to assist local screening activities.

(f) The department may provide screening personnel, equipment,

and services only if the screening requirements cannot otherwise

be met.

(g) The department shall monitor the quality of screening

activities provided under this chapter.

(h) This section does not prohibit a volunteer from

participating in the department's screening programs.

(i) A hearing screening performed under this section is in

addition to any hearing screening test performed under Chapter

47.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1347, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1,

1999.

Sec. 36.005. COMPLIANCE WITH SCREENING REQUIREMENTS. (a) An

individual required to be screened shall undergo approved

screening for vision and hearing disorders and any other special

senses and communication disorders specified by the board. The

individual shall comply with the requirements as soon as possible

after the individual's admission to a preschool or school and

within the period set by the board. The individual or, if the

individual is a minor, the minor's parent, managing conservator,

or guardian, may substitute professional examinations for the

screening.

(b) An individual is exempt from screening if screening

conflicts with the tenets and practices of a recognized church or

religious denomination of which the individual is an adherent or

a member. To qualify for the exemption, the individual or, if the

individual is a minor, the minor's parent, managing conservator,

or guardian, must submit to the admitting officer of the

preschool or school on or before the day of admission an

affidavit stating the objections to screening.

(c) The chief administrator of each preschool or school shall

ensure that each individual admitted to the preschool or school

complies with the screening requirements set by the board or

submits an affidavit of exemption.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Sec. 36.006. RECORDS; REPORTS. (a) The chief administrator of

each preschool or school shall maintain, on a form prescribed by

the department, screening records for each individual in

attendance, and the records are open for inspection by the

department or the local health department.

(b) The department may, directly or through local health

departments, enter a preschool or school and inspect records

maintained by the preschool or school relating to screening for

special senses and communication disorders.

(c) An individual's screening records may be transferred among

preschools and schools without the consent of the individual or,

if the individual is a minor, the minor's parent, managing

conservator, or guardian.

(d) Each preschool or school shall submit to the department an

annual report on the screening status of the individuals in

attendance during the reporting year and shall include in the

report any other information required by the board. The report

must be on a form prescribed by the department and must be

submitted according to the board's rules.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Sec. 36.007. PROVISION OF REMEDIAL SERVICES. (a) The

department may provide remedial services directly or through

approved providers to eligible individuals who have certain

special senses and communication disorders and who are not

eligible for special education services that remediate those

disorders and that are administered by the Texas Education Agency

through the public schools.

(b) The board by rule shall:

(1) describe the type, amount, and duration of remedial services

that the department provides;

(2) establish medical, financial, and other criteria to be

applied by the department in determining an individual's

eligibility for the services;

(3) establish criteria for the selection by the department of

providers of remedial services; and

(4) establish procedures necessary to provide remedial services.

(c) The board may establish a schedule to determine financial

eligibility.

(d) The department may not require remedial services without the

consent of the individual or, if the individual is a minor, the

minor's parent, managing conservator, or guardian.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 6.34, eff. Sept.

1, 1997.

Sec. 36.008. INDIVIDUALS ELIGIBLE FOR REMEDIAL SERVICES. (a)

An individual is not eligible to receive the remedial services

authorized by this chapter to the extent that the individual or

the parent, managing conservator, or other person with a legal

obligation to support the individual is eligible for some other

benefit that would pay for all or part of the services.

(b) The department may waive ineligibility under Subsection (a)

if the department finds that:

(1) good cause for the waiver is shown; and

(2) enforcement of the requirement would tend to defeat the

purpose of this chapter or disrupt the administration or prevent

the provision of remedial services to an otherwise eligible

recipient.

(c) When an application for remedial services is filed or at any

time that an individual is eligible for and receiving remedial

services, the applicant or recipient shall inform the department

of any other benefit to which the applicant, recipient, or person

with a legal obligation to support the applicant or recipient may

be entitled.

(d) The department may modify, suspend, or terminate the

eligibility of an applicant for or recipient of remedial services

after notice to the affected individual and an opportunity for a

fair hearing that is conducted in accordance with the informal

hearing rules adopted by the board.

(e) The board by rule shall provide criteria for actions taken

under this section.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Sec. 36.009. REIMBURSEMENT. (a) The board may require an

individual or, if the individual is a minor, the minor's parent,

managing conservator, or guardian, to pay or reimburse the

department for a part of the cost of the remedial services

provided.

(b) The recipient or the parent, managing conservator, or other

person with a legal obligation to support an individual who has

received remedial services from the department that are covered

by some other benefit shall, when the other benefit is received,

reimburse the department for the cost of services provided.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Sec. 36.010. RECOVERY OF COSTS. (a) The department is entitled

to recover an expenditure for services provided under this

chapter from:

(1) a person who does not reimburse the department as required

by this chapter; or

(2) a third party with a legal obligation to pay other benefits

and who has notice of the department's interests in the other

benefits.

(b) The commissioner may request the attorney general to bring

suit in the appropriate court of Travis County on behalf of the

department. A suit brought under this section need not be

ancillary or dependent on any other action.

(c) In a judgment in favor of the department, the court may

award attorney's fees, court costs, and interest accruing from

the date on which the department provides the service to the date

on which the department is reimbursed.

(d) The board by rule shall provide criteria for actions taken

under this section.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Sec. 36.011. QUALIFICATIONS OF PERSONS PROVIDING SCREENING AND

REMEDIAL SERVICES. (a) The department may require that persons

who administer special senses and communication disorders

screening complete an approved training program, and the

department may train those persons and approve training programs.

(b) A person who provides speech and language screening services

authorized by this chapter must be:

(1) appropriately licensed; or

(2) trained and monitored by a person who is appropriately

licensed.

(c) A person who is not an appropriately licensed professional

may not conduct hearing screening authorized by this chapter

other than screening of hearing sensitivity. The person shall

refer an individual who is unable to respond reliably to that

screening to an appropriately licensed professional.

(d) A person who provides a professional examination or remedial

services authorized by this chapter for speech, language, or

hearing disorders must be appropriately licensed.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Sec. 36.012. RESEARCH; REPORT TO LEGISLATURE. (a) The

department may conduct research and compile statistics on the

provision of remedial services to individuals with special senses

and communication disorders and on the availability of those

services in the state.

(b) The department shall compile and publish a report for the

legislature on or before February 1 of each year describing the

conduct of the screening and remedial services programs and their

impact on public health.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Sec. 36.013. FUNDING. The department may accept appropriations,

donations, and reimbursements, including donations of prosthetic

devices, and may apply those items to the purposes of this

chapter.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Sec. 36.014. CONTRACTS. The department may enter into contracts

and agreements necessary to administer this chapter, including

contracts for the purchase of remedial services.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.