Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB3738 Compare Versions

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1	1	81R12301 YDB-D
2	2	By: Isett H.B. No. 3738
3	3	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 3738:
4	4	By: Geren C.S.H.B. No. 3738
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to requirements for correspondence courses for licensing
10	10	as a real estate broker, salesperson, or inspector.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Chapter 1101, Occupations Code, is amended by
13	13	adding Subchapter G-1 to read as follows:
14	14	SUBCHAPTER G-1. REGISTRATION OF CORRESPONDENCE COURSE
15	15	Sec. 1101.331. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
16	16	(1) "Educational institution" means an accredited
17	17	college or university authorized under this chapter or Chapter 1102
18	18	to offer a real estate or real estate inspection educational course
19	19	or program of study using a third-party marketing firm.
20	20	(2) "Correspondence course" means a distance learning
21	21	course offered by an educational institution as a noncredit course
22	22	that consists primarily of text material. The term does not include
23	23	a program or course offered by an educational institution as part of
24	24	the institution's degree granting program that is recorded as a
25	25	credit on an official transcript issued by the institution.
26	26	Sec. 1101.332. REGISTRATION REQUIRED. A correspondence
27	27	course is not acceptable as a core real estate course or continuing
28	28	education course under this chapter or a core real estate
29	29	inspection course or continuing education course under Chapter 1102
30	30	unless the educational institution offering the course holds a
31	31	certificate of registration issued by the commission under this
32	32	subchapter.
33	33	Sec. 1101.333. APPLICATION; ISSUANCE OF CERTIFICATE. (a)
34	34	An educational institution may submit an application to hold a
35	35	certificate of registration under this subchapter by applying to
36	36	the commission on the form prescribed by the commission. The
37	37	application must include:
38	38	(1) the institution's name, address, telephone number,
39	39	and any other contact information required by the commission;
40	40	(2) the name, address, and telephone number of the
41	41	person in an academic department of the institution who reviews and
42	42	approves real estate correspondence course content and ensures the
43	43	educational integrity of the course before information about the
44	44	course is submitted to the commission for the commission's
45	45	approval;
46	46	(3) the name, address, and telephone number of any
47	47	additional person responsible for administering the course or
48	48	program of study that has as a component a correspondence course;
49	49	(4) the name, address, and telephone number of any
50	50	marketing firm or proprietary real estate course provider that is
51	51	associated with providing the course at the institution;
52	52	(5) the institution's accreditation information and
53	53	evidence to demonstrate that the accreditation is acceptable to the
54	54	commission;
55	55	(6) information on the ownership or copyright
56	56	interests in the correspondence course materials;
57	57	(7) the name of the person designated to issue the
58	58	official completion certificate on a student's successful
59	59	completion of the course and the procedure for timely issuance of
60	60	the certificate if the regular procedures cannot be followed
61	61	because of an institutional holiday or break or for other reasons;
62	62	and
63	63	(8) a statement by a representative of the institution
64	64	attesting that the institution will uphold the professional and
65	65	academic standards required for completion of an approved
66	66	correspondence course.
67	67	(b) An educational institution that holds a certificate of
68	68	registration issued under this subchapter shall notify the
69	69	commission of any changes to the information provided under
70	70	Subsection (a) not later than the 30th day after the date of the
71	71	change.
72	72	(c) The commission shall issue a certificate of
73	73	registration to an educational institution that meets the
74	74	applicable requirements of this chapter, Chapter 1102, and
75	75	commission rules. The commission may not unreasonably deny the
76	76	issuance of a certificate of registration to an educational
77	77	institution that otherwise meets the applicable requirements under
78	78	this chapter, Chapter 1102, and commission rules.
79	79	Sec. 1101.334. CERTIFICATE EXPIRATION AND RENEWAL; FEES.
80	80	(a) The commission may issue or renew a certificate of registration
81	81	for a period not to exceed 24 months.
82	82	(b) The commission may charge a fee for the issuance of a
83	83	certificate of registration under this subchapter in an amount that
84	84	is reasonable and necessary to cover the costs of administering
85	85	this subchapter.
86	86	Sec. 1101.335. APPROVAL OF CORRESPONDENCE COURSE OR PROGRAM
87	87	OF STUDY. (a) An educational institution that holds a certificate
88	88	of registration issued under this subchapter shall submit to the
89	89	commission, for approval of a correspondence course or program of
90	90	study offered by the institution, a letter describing the course or
91	91	program. The letter must:
92	92	(1) be on the institution's letterhead; and
93	93	(2) be signed by a representative of the institution
94	94	who is responsible for supervising correspondence course content
95	95	and approval under this subchapter.
96	96	(b) On receipt of the letter, the commission shall add an
97	97	approved correspondence course or program of study to the
98	98	commission's list of approved correspondence courses or programs
99	99	for that educational institution.
100	100	(c) An educational institution that holds a certificate of
101	101	registration issued under this subchapter may not submit a
102	102	correspondence course or program of study to the commission for
103	103	approval by the commission unless the course or program has been
104	104	reviewed by a member of the institution's academic department. The
105	105	person reviewing the course or program must examine the content,
106	106	educational quality, and standards of the course or program to
107	107	ensure that the course or program complies with the applicable
108	108	provisions of this chapter, Chapter 1102, and commission rules.
109	109	Sec. 1101.336. CORRESPONDENCE COURSE REQUIREMENTS. (a) An
110	110	educational institution may not offer a correspondence course under
111	111	this subchapter unless the course:
112	112	(1) is based primarily on information found in a
113	113	textbook;
114	114	(2) provides each student with the option of
115	115	completing the course requirements using a paper format;
116	116	(3) provides each student with printed copies of
117	117	material that constitutes a significant portion of the course;
118	118	(4) is divided into multiple units of instruction
119	119	unless the course is a continuing education course or a core real
120	120	estate inspection course that is four hours or less in duration;
121	121	(5) provides a diagnostic assessment of each student's
122	122	performance at regular intervals during each unit of instruction to
123	123	measure the student's acquired knowledge; and
124	124	(6) for a core real estate course or core real estate
125	125	inspection course, complies with the applicable provisions of this
126	126	chapter, Chapter 1102, or commission rules.
127	127	(b) An educational institution that holds a certificate of
128	128	registration issued under this subchapter and that offers as a
129	129	correspondence course a core real estate course described by
130	130	Section 1101.003(a)(1), (2), or (3) shall select a textbook for the
131	131	mandatory prelicensing courses on principles of real estate, law of
132	132	contracts, and law of agency from the commission's list of
133	133	acceptable published textbooks.
134	134	(c) An educational institution that holds a certificate of
135	135	registration under this subchapter shall establish reasonable
136	136	procedures to ensure that a student who completes the work for a
137	137	correspondence course is the student who is enrolled in the course.
138	138	(d) On completion of a correspondence course authorized
139	139	under this subchapter and before credit is granted for the course, a
140	140	student enrolled in the course shall attest in a written statement
141	141	submitted to the educational institution that the person enrolled
142	142	in and receiving credit for the course is the same person who
143	143	completed the required course work.
144	144	(e) An educational institution may not issue a
145	145	correspondence course completion certificate through the use of a
146	146	computer printout generated by a computer course program on
147	147	completion of the course.
148	148	Sec. 1101.337. CORRESPONDENCE COURSE FINAL EXAMINATION. (a)
149	149	An educational institution may not offer a correspondence course
150	150	under this subchapter unless the final examination questions for
151	151	the course:
152	152	(1) differ significantly from the questions used in
153	153	the diagnostic assessments for the course; and
154	154	(2) are kept confidential.
155	155	(b) Subsection (a)(2) does not prohibit a student from
156	156	reviewing under controlled conditions a final examination taken by
157	157	the student after the examination has been graded.
158	158	(c) A final examination for a correspondence course
159	159	approved under this subchapter may be conducted as an open or closed
160	160	book examination. Course credit may not be granted for the
161	161	correspondence course unless a student completes all diagnostic
162	162	assessments and successfully completes:
163	163	(1) a proctored final examination that is:
164	164	(A) administered under controlled conditions to
165	165	a student whose identity has been verified at a location and by an
166	166	official approved by the commission; and
167	167	(B) graded by the instructor, an approved
168	168	representative of the educational institution, or, for an
169	169	examination graded mechanically or electronically, by the use of
170	170	answer keys approved by the instructor or institution; or
171	171	(2) a final examination administered through the use
172	172	of a computer program with timed questions that verifies that the
173	173	person taking the examination is the student who enrolled in the
174	174	course or through another method approved by the commission to
175	175	verify the student's identity.
176	176	Sec. 1101.338. CORRESPONDENCE COURSE ETHICS. (a) An
177	177	educational institution that holds a certificate of registration
178	178	under this subchapter shall cooperate with the commission to
179	179	maintain the highest educational standards for real estate
180	180	education. The commission may suspend or revoke an educational
181	181	institution's certificate of registration issued under this
182	182	subchapter if:
183	183	(1) the institution does not supervise a
184	184	correspondence course or program; or
185	185	(2) a correspondence course does not comply with the
186	186	minimum correspondence course standards established by this
187	187	chapter, Chapter 1102, or commission rules.
188	188	(b) A representative of an educational institution that
189	189	holds a certificate of registration issued under this subchapter
190	190	shall sign an agreement to maintain the ethical and academic
191	191	standards required by the commission for correspondence courses and
192	192	programs of study under this chapter or Chapter 1102.
193	193	(c) An educational institution may not enter a business
194	194	relationship with an outside provider for the provider to offer a
195	195	correspondence course that:
196	196	(1) uses the name of the institution for a fee without
197	197	any additional institutional involvement in the creation or
198	198	administration of the course; or
199	199	(2) uses a textbook for a mandatory prelicensing core
200	200	real estate course that is not on the list of textbooks approved by
201	201	the commission.
202	202	(d) An educational institution that outsources the
203	203	creation, administration, or marketing of a correspondence course
204	204	or program of study to an outside provider or subcontractor is
205	205	responsible for the actions of the provider or subcontractor.
206	206	Sec. 1101.339. ADVERTISING. (a) In any print or electronic
207	207	advertisement of a correspondence course approved under this
208	208	subchapter, an educational institution that holds a certificate of
209	209	registration issued under this chapter shall ensure that the
210	210	institution's name or logo is prominently displayed in a manner
211	211	that adequately informs the consumer which institution is offering
212	212	the course.
213	213	(b) A broker, salesperson, or inspector licensed under this
214	214	subtitle may not participate in a student recruiting program that
215	215	advertises a real estate correspondence course or program of study
216	216	in a manner that compromises the integrity of the course or program
217	217	by:
218	218	(1) suggesting the course or program may be completed
219	219	in less time than the number of credit hours granted for successful
220	220	completion of the course or program; or
221	221	(2) providing answer keys to diagnostic assessments or
222	222	final examinations.
223	223	Sec. 1101.340. LICENSING EXAMINATION PASSING PERCENTAGE
224	224	DATA. The commission shall adopt rules requiring an educational
225	225	institution that holds a certificate of registration under this
226	226	subchapter to establish the program's graduate licensing
227	227	examination passage rate.
228	228	SECTION 2. (a) Not later than January 1, 2010, the Texas
229	229	Real Estate Commission shall adopt the rules required to implement
230	230	Subchapter G-1, Chapter 1101, Occupations Code, as added by this
231	231	Act.
232	232	(b) Notwithstanding Subchapter G-1, Chapter 1101,
233	233	Occupations Code, as added by this Act, an educational institution
234	234	providing a real estate correspondence course or program of study
235	235	is not required to comply with that subchapter before September 1,
236	236	2010.
237	237	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.