81R14444 JRJ-D
By: Martinez H.B. No. 2887
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the creation of a literacy center pilot program by the
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 61, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 61.0621 to read as follows:
Sec. 61.0621. LITERACY CENTER PILOT PROGRAM. (a) The board
shall establish a pilot program to establish a literacy center as a
model for institutions of higher education. To implement and
administer the program, the board shall choose a public junior
college campus that:
(1) is located in a county with a population of at
least 300,000 and has a high need for literacy services;
(2) is considered to be a center for intellectual
activity in the region of the state in which the junior college
district that operates the campus is located; and
(3) has an established reading committee on the campus
that has participated in literacy and reading projects with other
entities in the community.
(b) The literacy center pilot program shall:
(1) emphasize advanced literacy, enhance reading
skills, and encourage voluntary reading;
(2) imbed reading throughout the curriculum;
(3) provide training to faculty concerning the
purposes of the program;
(4) have a primary focus on students of the
institution of higher education;
(5) provide outreach to local schools and the
community; and
(6) incorporate and coordinate with other national
efforts and programs in literacy, which may include those that
focus on science, health and wellness, civics, business and
finance, technology, sustainability and the environment,
philosophy, ethics, religion, and literature and the arts.
(c) The public junior college campus chosen by the board
shall cooperate with community libraries, local school districts,
and other local entities to implement and administer the program.
(d) The board shall allocate funds appropriated for
purposes of this section to support the pilot program.
(e) Not later than January 1, 2011, the governing board of
the junior college district that operates the campus selected to
administer the literacy center pilot program shall report to the
chairs of the standing committees of each house of the legislature
with jurisdiction over education. The report must include
information regarding the progress made in improving the literacy
of students on the campus that participated in the program and in
the community, and include recommendations for establishing
similar programs at other institutions of higher education.
(f) This section expires September 1, 2011.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2009.