Latest news with #SB568
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Bipartisan bill to study medical use of psychedelics filed in North Carolina Senate
RALEIGH, N.C. (WGHP) — A bill being considered in the North Carolina State Senate would commit time and money to the study of psychoactive chemicals and possible medical uses. The 'Innovative Treatments for Mental Health Act,' SB568, was filed last week and is described as 'an act to establish the North Carolina Mental Health and Psychedelic Medicine Task Force.' The bill proposes that the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Use Services can establish a taskforce to: 'Assess the potential use of psychedelic medicine in addressing the State's ongoing mental health crisis. Consider barriers to implementation and equitable access. Consider and recommend licensing and insurance requirements for practitioners in the State in the event that psychedelic medicines are federally reclassified and approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration. Consider legal and regulatory pathways to the legalization of psychedelic medicines in the State and the potential effects of the medicines on public health.' The task force would meet to determine the usefulness and implementation of psychedelics in medical treatments and would be expected to provide a report on their findings by Dec. 1, 2026, including any proposed legislation. Bill to raise North Carolina minimum wage filed by House Democrats The bill's primary sponsors are Sen. Sophia Chitlik (D-District 22) and Sen. Bobby Hannig (R-District 1). The bill passed its first reading and was referred to committees last week. According to the American Psychological Association, small studies have shown promising results in treating persistent mental illness with psychedelic drugs such as MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy, but continued larger studies are needed before they can be approved for widespread use. 'Larger studies have also supported the benefits of psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression, and researchers suspect this drug could be the next in line for FDA approval,' the APA wrote in 2024. Psilocybin is the psychoactive component of so-called 'magic mushrooms.' According to the APA, 'Evidence is also mounting that psychedelics, which typically produce an altered state of consciousness, could help people suffering from substance use disorders, racial trauma, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and other conditions.' The Mental Health and Psychedelic Medicine Task Force would consist of the secretary of the NCDHHS, the secretary of the Department of Veteran and Military Affairs, the secretary of the Department of Commerce, and the following representatives for various healthcare sectors: Mental health issues North Carolina Native communities Survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault Psychiatry Faculty of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine Faculty of the East Carolina University Brody School of Medicine Two members of the Senate, appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Senate Minority Leader. Two members of the House of Representatives, appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the House Minority Leader. Additionally, the task force has the option to select up to three members to represent other sectors that may be impacted by the findings of the task force, including human trafficking advocates, disabled veterans' groups or first responder associations. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'Transformational': Texas Senate Bill 568 would overhaul special education funding
As a Texas public school student in the 1960s, Brent Hagenbuch was the only second grader in his class who couldn't read. He said he had fallen behind and was at risk of sliding further. But then his father, a firefighter with a high school education, worked with Hagenbuch's teacher to find an expert doing early research on dyslexia, a learning disorder that affects reading and writing. The diagnosis was life-altering. After learning skills to adapt, Hagenbuch went on to graduate as his high school's valedictorian, attend the Naval Academy and Stanford University, and run a successful business. Now, a Republican state senator from Denton, Hagenbuch recounted his story Tuesday to his colleagues on the Senate Committee on Education K-16 in support of a proposal that proponents have called 'transformational' for special education funding in Texas. Senate Bill 568, by state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, would overhaul the formulas Texas uses to budget for its 775,000 students with disabilities, increasing overall funding, offsetting schools' costs for initial evaluations and adding new grants and teacher incentives. The proposal is 'great,' Hagenbuch said, "because this provides help to so many more kids who need it. I think they have to catch them early, or they lose their confidence." Hagenbuch told the American-Statesman about a neighbor his age growing up who he believed had dyslexia but whose parents refused to seek a diagnosis for him. The boy didn't graduate from high school. "I think that would have been me" without treatment, he said, choking up. In the Tuesday education committee hearing, Bettencourt said his 57-page proposal would help boost the state's underfunded special education programs. 'This is a groundbreaking special education bill ... that I think will lead to stunningly better outcomes for a number of our 775,000 school children with disabilities," Bettencourt said. Based on positive outcomes in other states that fund special education this way, SB 568 would require Texas to classify student need based on an eight-tiered model, rather than on the time they spend in certain educational settings. 'This is effectively a complete overhaul, and (SB 568 has) what I think would be the best intensity model in the country,' Bettencourt told the Statesman. "We were having to face the reality that we needed to do something, because early intervention means so much with these kids." If the bill is passed, the state would send local school districts money to offset each initial disability evaluation they administer to students, an initiative Bettencourt described as crucial for early identification of disabilities. It would also double the college, career or military readiness outcomes bonus for special education programs. Committee members expressed unanimous support for the bill, a version of which sailed through the Senate in 2023 but died in the House. It is nearly certain to clear the upper chamber again this year before it heads to the House for consideration. SB 568 is the culmination of a year of work by the Texas Commission on Special Education Funding, created by the Legislature in 2021 to help the state adapt to a significant increase in new disability diagnoses like dyslexia and autism. The task force identified best practices and crafted legislative recommendations. Public education consultant and former state Rep. Dan Huberty, one of the special education funding commission's leaders, called the bill 'a legacy builder' for Bettencourt. He noted that the number of students diagnosed with disabilities has increased by 67% since the 2015-16 school year. 'This is going to be transformational for millions of children,' said Huberty, who left the House with his own legacy for leading the 2019 overhaul of state public school finance. The bill builds on momentum from 2023, when the Legislature passed House Bill 3928 to move students with dyslexia into full special education plans. During about two hours of testimony Tuesday, students, disability rights groups and teacher associations praised the legislation while requesting the committee to consider some tweaks. Several speakers asked that the bill's timeline be pushed back a year, so that it can take effect in the 2026-27 school year. 'It's important that we do this right, not rushed,' said Stephen Aleman of Disability Rights Texas. 'We put so much into this; I would hate for it to fall apart because people are scrambling under too much pressure.' Another request was that the bill allocate more money for initial evaluations, which Cy-Fair school district Superintendent Doug Killian said can reach close to $3,000 per student. The bill also aims to increase the information parents receive about residential treatment for their children. Parents and guardians are often told they must exhaust outpatient and group home options before they can apply for spots at state supported living centers, which senators said caused unnecessary waiting and difficulty in some cases. SB 568 would require schools to inform parents they can seek spots in living centers. 'It's the parents who are the best decision-makers for their child, not the local authority where they have been told that they must exhaust HCS (Home and Community-based Services) group homes first,' said Stacey Combest, who chaired the Texas Commission on Special Education Funding. While some witnesses expressed enthusiasm about the change to residential treatment pathways, others expressed concern that it could lead parents to move too quickly to put children in those facilities. Most state supported living centers 'are not just another educational setting; they are the most restrictive, segregated and costly residential option for children with disabilities,' said Sabrina Gonzalez Saucedo of the ARC of Texas, a group that advocates for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. 'Prioritizing them in placement discussions without sharing information about community-based supports and services could lead to increased institutionalization and family separations, rather than supporting children in family-based settings," she added. Bettencourt appeared open to suggestions from witnesses, particularly on pushing back the timeline, but he expressed some frustration that his funding bill didn't make it into law in the 2023 legislative session. 'We're looking at some alternatives, but I'm just glad everybody's on board with general direction, because we've been underfunded and we haven't had an intensity model for a long time,' he said. "I wish this bill would have passed in 2023.' The Senate education panel also appeared interested Tuesday in advancing several other special education proposals. SB 1447 by Sens. José Menéndez, D-San Antonio, and Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, would allow students with disabilities to use assistive technology electronic devices or software applications that are otherwise prohibited under the Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment Act, or SCOPE Act. Another proposal, SB 57 by Zaffirini, would require public schools to make plans 'to ensure the safety of' disabled students during drills and emergencies. Eduardo Castillo, a student with dyslexia who will attend St. Mary's School of Law, expressed the hope that SB 568 will remedy what he says was a damaging lack of funding during his own education. 'While my family was blessed enough financially to be able to afford outside special education, what happens to those who weren't afforded the luxury? They simply fall through the cracks,' he said. Castillo added that nearly 48% of Texas prison inmates are estimated to have dyslexia, a statistic based on a study conducted in 2000 that examined inmates' ability to decode single words. 'You, sir, are exactly what we're trying to find in those 775,000 kids," Bettencourt told Castillo. "Just keep doing what you're doing. Make all of us proud." This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas Senate bill proposes to overhaul special education funding
