Last week, the Texas House passed its version of the 2014-2015 budget, and the news is good. After 12 hours of floor debate, $100 million in new women's healthcare funding emerged intact, and funding levels for both the Family Planning Program and Texas Women's Health Program were maintained.

The new funding will be routed through the Texas Department of State Services (DSHS) Community Primary Care Program (Strategy B.1.4). This Primary Care expansion is expected to serve low-income women aged 18-64 with screenings, examinations, breastfeeding promotion, preventive dental care, and contraception. An estimated 100,000 women will receive contraceptive care in this program, which will use existing primary care contractors to expand services to women across the state.  

In the budget bill, as in the current Texas budget, Planned Parenthood clinics are excluded from receiving state funds. Studies from George Washington University suggest that it will be difficult to ensure adequate women's-health provider capacity without these clinics, and the Texas Women's Healthcare Coalition is pleased that budget riders require the state to monitor and report on both service levels and provider capacity.

The next step is for the Conference Committee to address differences in the two versions of the budget.

Sex Education Threatened

this legislative session.  These measures would override the current system of local school district control, which involves parents in School Health Advisory Councils, in recommending sex education options for their district's children. 

These bills would exclude Planned Parenthood (and other "affiliates" of abortion providers) from providing education or materials for public schools.  The bills would also impose bureaucratic requirements if any outside educators or materials are involved, even if not from Planned Parenthood.

Current Texas law requires districts to notify parents in writing about what is taught in sex education classes, as well as about their right to review the materials and their right to keep their children from participating.  These bills would require school districts to use an "opt in" method, asking for written parent consent at least 14 days before the instruction starts, and forbidding the permission slip to be included with any other permission slips, e.g., in the beginning-of-the-year packet.

As those who work in resource-poor school districts know, such requirements mean that many teens will not be able to participate -- even when their parents very much want them to.  Teens often fail to take home and return permission slips, and schools are often too short-staffed to track down and process the forms. 

Most parents want their teens to receive abstinence-plus education, but these hurdles will make it harder to provide what parents want.  

Last week, a House Committee Substitute stripped from the bill the "opt-in" and other hurdles to get parent permission.  However, the bill still dictates to local school districts who they can invite to help with sex education and whose materials they can choose for their district.  Testimony extended into the early morning

HB 1057 was left pending in committee.