14:06:30 >> Jolene: I'm Jolene Foster. I'm the advocacy director at CTD. I do have my camera off today because I'm joining you from my 4-year-old's bedroom. My entire house is sick. And so I'm isolating myself. 14:06:51 On the screen is the CTD logo in lieu of my face. 14:06:57 So, as you may know, if you've joined before, and if you haven't, my primary focus in the policy world is on issues impacting children and youth with disabilities. And so as you can imagine, thinking about across the life span, special education is a big issue. And it impacts our kids from, you know, from birth until they graduate. 14:07:27 And so special education is definitely continuing to be a priority for CTD and our partners. 14:07:34 If you did join the session on the many ways that Texas is failing our children and youth, you know that I did mention the funding for special education, a bill last session, HP-1525. Part of that bill formed the Commission on Special Education funding to really look at something that hasn't been revisited in over 30 years. And that is how we fund special education. 14:08:05 And those recommendations that are coming out of that commission hopefully will lead to some really meaningful change, where we are actually funding service array and service intensity, rather than the actual physical placement of students. So that's number one, something that we are going to be very heavily involved in. 14:08:27 When we think about early childhood, we think about a couple of things that have a great impact on kids with disabilities, early childhood intervention, or ECI for babies and toddlers 0 to 3, who have a developmental delay or disability, or other medical condition. 14:08:48 So we will continue -- this is kind of a perennial issue. We do this every session. But continue to look at increasing funding for early childhood intervention. It has not kept up with inflation, and as some of you may know, we've hit -- you know, several barriers since 2011 where we have seen funding cuts, rate cuts for Medicaid reimbursement for therapies, the per child allotment, the narrowing of eligibility, and that has all resulted in a number of providers dropping out of the program 14:09:36 So these two top budget items. Other than that, some other things that we've talked about previously and that are on the horizon, fortunately, a number of items have already been prefiled. Prefiling started on November 14th, and we're really excited to see some of our priorities get that attention early, prior to the first day of session. One of those is inclusive childcare. Representative Mary Gonzales has refiled the inclusive childcare bill that we've been working on that would clarify t 14:10:18 to work alongside ECI providers within the natural setting in the Childcare Center. 14:10:24 There's also some training components and some non-discrimination language within that bill, because we know that kids with disabilities have a difficult time, first of all, you know, their parents struggle to find a program that will take them oftentimes, or to stay there. So we see a lot of kids with disabilities getting dismissed. 14:10:45 Some other priorities have to do -- I think this is going to be the biggest one, and this is kind of where Jen and I -- our policy issues tend to cross over quite a bit, is keep students with disabilities safe. We're going to be focusing very heavily on restraint legislation to completely reform restraint to keep kids safe. 14:11:12 We're also going to be focusing on revisions to the cameras bill that was passed several sessions ago to allow for cameras to be placed in self-contained settings on campus. 14:11:24 We are also going to be looking at the Do Not Hire registry, and that's a registry that was created to -- I can't remember what session now. Chris, maybe you know. Three sessions ago. 14:11:37 >> Chris: Yeah, three. 14:11:39 >> Jolene: Okay. 14:11:40 >> Chris: That was the last update. Maybe four when we first passed it. 14:11:43 >> Jolene: Yeah. So we're going to be looking at revising that to ensure that in addition to those folks who currently are being considered and being listed in that registry, we're clarifying also those who cause harm to students with disabilities. 14:12:02 And then we're also going to be looking at the clarifying language in the Penal Code around use of force on kids with disabilities. It's very much kind of a blanket immunity. Clause right now. 14:12:19 And then, one of our big priorities that representative Alma Allen has refiled again what we often refer to as the early pickup bill, and this is the kind of informal practice of schools calling parents and saying, hey, I need you to come pick up your kid, we don't know what to do with them, or we're having some disciplinary issues, or as the example I've given a million times, hey, you know, Chris is having a really good day, come pick him up right now so he ends on a good note. 14:12:56 That's going to support him in feeling successful. What we see and what's happened across the country, it's not unique to Texas, but we're hoping Texas will really lead the way on this, is this practice of shortened school days or early pickups that keep kids with disabilities specifically out of the classroom. There have been a number of studies about the harm that it does at calculating the amount of time that they have actually missed and how students fall behind. 14:13:23 It also has the unfortunate consequence of becoming an attendance issue, where families are getting truancy notices, and there's nothing that they have documented that they can back up that, hey, I wasn't just keeping my kid out of school. This was a school initiated pickup. 14:13:41 So, Dr. Allen's bill would actually prohibit that practice, unless it was actually a documented suspension or expulsion by the school. 14:13:53 This is obviously not an exhaustive list of education in child welfare-related policies that we're going to be working on, but just kind of some high points. 14:14:09 We will continue to keep everybody posted as we start Raise Your Voice in the New Year, which is really hard for me to even think about right now. It's about to be 2023. 14:14:21 With that, I will turn it over to Jennifer Toon. 14:14:24 >> Jennifer: Thanks, Jolene. My name is Jennifer Toon, and I am the policy fellow here at CTD. I'm an attractive middle-aged white lady with glasses, short hair. I've got a blue checkered flannel on, which I'm looking at Chris right now, and it looks very similar. Great minds think alike. 14:14:46 And in the background is a fierce painting of a lion. So I'm really excited to be here, and I just want to talk to you a little bit about what my policy priorities will be in the upcoming session. A lot of overlap, of course, as you heard with Jolene, with the education system. 14:15:06 And Jolene, did you mention No Kids in Cuffs, because I have at the first top of my notes. 14:15:12 >> Jolene: I did not. I left that gem for you. 14:15:14 >> Jennifer: Okay, good. I was like, I don't know if I missed it or not. There was a moment the cat had done something distracting. So No Kids in Cuffs that we'll be working with representative Hull's office. It's already been refiled. This bill would prevent children who were younger than 10 years old from being handcuffed and maced with chemical restraints, and that is a thing. A lot of people, when we educate them about the stuff in the justice system, and education system, they did ed. 14:15:52 So this would be a fantastic bill. And we've got good support for it. 14:15:58 My priorities are going to be criminal justice overall. I will be looking at things in the adult system, but with a heavy, heavy focus on the youth system. 14:16:06 County jails, releases within TDCJ -- I'm sorry, the Texas department Of Criminal Justice. And, of course, if you were on our other calls, some legislation for a staggered closure plan of the five state facilities in the Texas Juvenile Justice Department known as TJJD. A lot of acronyms, but in the criminal justice system, TDCJ is the adult system. TJJD is the juvenile system. 14:16:40 Some of those bills in the adult system, we're going to get our family liaison bill. Y'all might remember that from last session. Representative Johnson's office is going to re-file that for us. And it will call for a family liaison to be appointed at all the county jails. Which means when something happens, some serious emergency medical issue happens, that staff member is responsible for making sure that anybody that is on a person who is detained's medical release is contacted immediatel 14:17:15 If they've been transported to the hospital, if there's been some other type of medical emergency. 14:17:20 And the reason this bill was -- the reason why this is an issue is because many times, county jails were not notifying loved ones, even if they were on the medical release, that someone had been transferred to the hospital. One case in Bowie County, the lady was transferred to county hospital where she died and her husband repeatedly called the county jail with no answers, nobody knew where she was, and there was just nobody held responsible for making sure that information was shared with 14:17:57 So, excited about that bill. 14:17:59 There's some other bills concerning release that are super important in the adult prison system. There will be one with representative Johnson. It will be about medical recommended intensive supervision. Also known in other places as compassionate release, but we don't use that term in Texas. It is a medical release. 14:18:21 And what's interesting about this bill is that we looked at this issue last session, even though there wasn't really a bill around it, but I'm excited to see that it's gaining momentum here, is because medical parole, you have to be recommended for it. So you are eligible for parole, but they have to recommend it based on serious mental health, extreme physical disability. 14:18:52 And I think it was of 2,000 that were recommended, only 40 were approved. This was right before COVID and it was even worse during COVID. So we saw a real problem trying to get out the most vulnerable population in terms of koed and other medical issues. It's just a nightmare trying to get them out into the community and into community care. 14:19:24 We'll also have another bill, that's a re-file, regarding parole and police to make sure that TDCJ is using individual treatment plans, making sure that it's very much more like a case management system than the roll of the dice that we have here currently with parole. 14:19:47 Some other things -- there's so many criminal justice stuff. And as we know, disabilities is often left out of the conversation almost completely when it comes to criminal justice issues. I know that me and Jolene hope to hear back that -- I believe it was Senator Zaffirini's office about supported decision-making. What we'd like to see is a bill that specifically states that this applies to legal decisions as well. We've seen people struggling while they're on probation or parole, not bein 14:20:26 supportive decision-maker or guardian with them as their officer is explaining things or they have to make decisions, because they just don't understand what supported decision-making is in that system. 14:20:40 There's so much. We're working on some stuff to raise the lower age for children in the justice system, so that means that in order to be arrested and detain a child would be 12 instead of currently it's 10. So we want to raise that lower age to 12. And then we want to raise the higher age to go into the adult system from 17 to 18 years old. 14:21:11 And most importantly, I will be working heavily on the legislation that representative Talrico will be filing soon about the Texas Juvenile Justice Department closure plan that many of us and the other advocate groups are working heavily on. And if you were on our other calls, we talked about what that would look like, and just a staggered plan to close these five state facilities that have over 100 years of neglect and abuse in very rural counties that don't have the type of staffing 14:21:45 or support that they need to be doing the type of care that these kids need. And to finally start finding ways to treat kids who commit crime as a public health issue versus a criminal justice issue. 14:22:00 So I could go on forever and ever about all the ways that they're going to keep me busy this session, but I'm sure I'll be able to share that with all of you as the process gets started in January. 14:22:14 So I will turn it over I think now to J. 14:22:22 >> J: Thank you, Jennifer. Howdy, y'all. My name is J Canciglia. I am a talking black square because I am very shy. I'm standing in for Dennis and Chace today. Chace is out, not feeling well. Dennis is in Antarctica right now. 14:22:42 So I'm a new hire for CTD. I joined the team in April of this year. And what my focus has been on the entire year has been healthcare. I was specifically hired to focus on raising wages and dental benefits. 14:23:02 Now, where community attendant wages is at, we've already had some Raise Your Voices about this. We've been sending out various emails and mailers and fliers throughout the year about this issue. We've been very vocal about making sure that the problem with low community attendant wages is addressed in the upcoming legislative session. You've probably seen something about it. Dennis has been in a couple of news articles. He's been on TV talking about it. 14:23:35 We're really trying to seize the momentum that seems to have been -- the next legislative session seems to be kind of ripe for making an actual change in this regard. CTD has been advocating in this area for years, but every year, you know, we put forth the effort, it doesn't end up happening. Well, this yearing we've made some key allies in the Texas legislature. Really brought them over to our side. So we're really hoping to raise that base wage from 8.11 an hour to $15 an hour minimum 14:24:20 for fiscal year 2024. 14:24:23 So there's actually a bill that has just been filed, HB 245, by Mary Gonzales, that would raise that wage to $15 an hour, putting it into the code. So we're going to be paying really close attention to that and we're hoping that we can actually find some success in that area. Because if you're not familiar, community attendants, they provide an essential service. A vital service for people living in their homes that have significant disabilities regarding acts of daily living. 14:25:07 Community attendants come in. They help them eat. They can help them bathe. They can help them around the house. They can help them get in and out of bed. They help them take medication. It's extremely important work that we're doing and we're facing a kind of workforce collapse because of low wages, because of no benefits. 14:25:28 So we're really hoping to stem the bleeding with action in this upcoming session. So that's going to be our -- that's my number one priority is that particular issue. 14:25:44 Regarding dental benefits, there actually was an expansion of dental benefits in the Medicaid system for adults with disabilities that was codified in legislation, but it had a Nelson amendment attached it to, and what a Nelson amendment is essentially saying, okay, well, it's -- the program has been expanded, but the legislature has to actually vote to fund the program. 14:26:15 So, we have to advocate for this expansion to actually be funded. There has been, it seems like some momentum in the House in this regard. A number of representatives are like, we passed this bill, why aren't people receiving Medicaid that have disabilities? Why aren't they getting dental benefits? This is ridiculous. 14:26:46 So, we're hoping to kind of latch onto that and get that funded. But I haven't seen any bills really related to it, but it's not really -- it really wouldn't be added in legislation. It's already legislation. 14:27:04 Either way, it's something that we're going to be paying attention to. 14:27:08 The three other areas that I am focused on are healthcare outside of the Medicaid system, so private insurance. Things like co-pay accumulators, which if you're not familiar, is when -- you know, say you are getting a drug from a pharmacy or you're getting -- in my case, I get infusions every six weeks from my Crohn's disease. So I go to my infusion place, and I present them with a co-pay card, because I can't afford to pay $600 every six weeks to get medication. 14:27:53 So right now, current practice in the private insurance space is, if you use a co-pay card, that money does not actually contribute towards your deductible, because insurance argues that it's like double-dipping. But they're still getting paid, so we're trying to not allow this practice, because it essentially allows insurance companies to double-dip into co-pay assistance programs as well as the patient's pocket. 14:28:31 So we're trying to make some headway in that regard, but I haven't seen any bills related to it. And it's not really been a part of a lot of the healthcare conversations that I have been having with people in the legislature. I'm having a lot of more conversations related to non-medical switching, which is the practice of a patient being on a drug, they're stable on that drug, and then the insurance decides they don't want the patient to be taking that drug anymore, 14:29:07 they want them to switch to a cheaper option. Which in the field is called practicing medicine without a medical license. 14:29:16 So right now in Texas, you can't be medically switched in the middle of your plan year, but you can be when plan years roll over, and we're trying to make it so, if you're stable on a medication, you stay on that medication. So Coalition For Stable Patients, a lot of other healthcare advocates are really working hard in this regard to make sure that patients stay on the medication that they need. 14:29:51 The last sphere that I'm personally working on is in the medical cannabis sphere. 14:30:04 The Texas legislature in this upcoming legislative session seems to be of the mindset that it's time to expand the Texas Compassionate Use Program, which is the program in Texas that allows people to access medical cannabis. So, it looks like, you know, the legislature is prepared to include more conditions, to increase allowable THC content, which is great because there's a lot of conditions that are excluded from the program, that are included in other states that have been clinically 14:30:42 shown to benefit from access to medical cannabis. So, that's an area I'm strongly advocating for as well, and it looks like we may actually be able to make significant headway in that area. 14:31:04 We're also -- outside of legislation, we're meeting with a number of the licensees in the State of Texas to advocate for offering wider arrays of products, and we're going to releasing a piece soon on the medical cannabis landscape in Texas. That's just a quick plug. I figured I'd mention that. 14:31:40 One area that -- CTD is always focused on every legislative session is voting rights, voting accommodations, voting accessibility. This is more Chace's sphere and it's not an area that I've worked in, but I wanted to let everybody know that this is something that we're also going to be paying very close attention to, and there has been quite a few bills filed in this particular area. 14:32:10 So it's something that we're going to be looking at and keeping a close eye on, and I'm sure that CTD will be distributing any information regarding advocacy actions, should the time be right to do so. 14:32:34 And with that, that's kind of all my things. I don't know, Chris, if you'd like to talk about anything that you've been noticing or areas that you're working in? 14:32:46 >> Chris: Yeah, definitely. Hey, everyone. My name is Chris Masey. I'm helping out with bill-tracking this session. I am a white male. I also look exactly like Jennifer Toon in that we are wearing glasses, wefr short hair, and a blue checkered shirt. Although I do have a beard and Jennifer does not have a beard. 14:33:09 hair, and a blue checkered shirt. Although I do have a beard and Jennifer does not have a beard. 14:33:28 I ran through and looked at every bill that was filed, there were over a thousand bills filed. There was over a thousand bills filed between the 14th and today, so within a week. The number will trickle off and raise up again as we get past the beginning of the year, and there will be more bills. That's about an eighth or so of what we typically expect. We usually expect around 800 bills. 14:33:42 CTD takes a broad look at tracking bills. Sorry, folks. That's my fault. And we're tracking over 300 bills right now. Usually we end up with about a third of the bills posted in any legislative session we track. Most of those are not going to move. They're not going to do anything. Some of them are even being filed just to make a statement. 14:34:03 So quickly, I'll go through just a few trends and just that. There are passionate reps. Not so many Senators, but mainly representatives in the House who posted lots and lots of bills, with the exception of Senator Zaffirini, she's posted quite a few as well. Again, CTD is tracking over 300 of those. 14:34:23 The big issues, as we just talked about, the voting, and Laura put it in the chat, 73 bills already on voting. There were 344 I think last session. Most of those bills on voting don't go anywhere. The representatives are -- this is usually the representatives in the house, are kind of jockeying for position and for having a piece of the conversation. So they may even file as you Masey identical bills on the exact same voting issue. 14:34:57 There is one bill specifically adding rights to -- for people with disabilities in the voting area by representative Busey. That bill didn't go anywhere last year. However, some of the concepts were included. So we're hoping for more protection for people with disabilities when it comes to voting. 14:35:21 Medical expansion is one -- Medicaid expansion. Not medical. Pardon me. 14:35:25 Medicaid expansion. There are so many different bills filed about that. Some of the reps have decided not to even use the name Medicaid expansion. They coined it as something else, but there's multiple bills. You know, we'll see how that goes. But there's nothing in the Senate referring to that, I don't believe. Or if it is, it's only one or two. It's mainly in the House. 14:35:51 Jolene says there's a lot of special education bills, and of course, we can't talk about any disability issues without sending out all of our kudos to representative Mary Gonzalez. Wonderful representative and champion of the community. 14:36:06 The marijuana bills, there's over 14 of those, some focusing on decriminalization. They're not necessarily focused on cannabis themselves, but taking away the potential for someone going to jail for possession of small amounts. 14:36:21 And there's a ton of bills on tax breaks. Tax breaks for property taxes, tax breaks for all kinds of things, which lead into my next session. There is an effort to change school funding with tax breaks to eliminate some of the burden of an individual tax that -- four-year property taxes that, I don't know how it's sustainable. There's bills to take away funding for all school. But no bills to actually put some in there. So I'm not really sure what that's about and how that's going to work. 14:37:06 There's a clear definition on some of the republican issues and some of the democratic issues that the DEs have a focus on Medicaid expansion, and voting and the Rs have a focus on tax breaks, amongst some other issues. 14:37:24 Some of the really interesting bills, y'all already mentioned the Mary Gonzalez bill about raising attendant wages up to $15 an hour. Thank you, Mary. There's respectful language bills, getting rid of the "R" word. That's a personal passionate project of mine. There are still codes out there that use the word "retarded," and we've passed the bill years ago to have that code swept. And these bills have been filed before. 14:37:53 However, I do not think that representative Craddock has ever filed a respective language bill. I want to thank him for that. I believe it was one of Mary Gonzalez's bills from last session. 14:38:09 School funding, very opposite concepts of what school funding should look like. Very contrasting ideas of what school safety entails, whereas a lot of the democratic bills are focused on trying not to harm kids. A lot of the school safety bills are really focused on more punitive and difficult punishments. 14:38:37 I think that's it. Of course, there will be more bills filed, and many of those will be from some of your CTD staff and others. But that's kind of an overview where it's at. So, I'll turn it back over to Laura. 14:59:23 I wanted us to quickly thank our sponsors. if some of us will be sticking around for a while to continue asking questions, having what I assume were very lively conversations in your breakout rooms. We'll do that. As far as Raise Your Voice into 2023, we are still figuring things out. You'll be hearing from us as soon as we have some dates and topics set. We might be reaching out to get your input on what you want to work on and get involved in. 15:00:21 So you'll be hearing from us, and that's as far as we've gotten.