Texas 2011 - 82nd Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1909 Compare Versions

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Old	New	Differences
1	1	82R29472 JRJ-D
2	2	By: Lucio S.B. No. 1909
3	3	(Oliveira)
4	4	Substitute the following for S.B. No. 1909: No.
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to The University of Texas at Brownsville, including its
10	10	partnership agreement with the Texas Southmost College District.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Subsection (c), Section 78.02, Education Code,
13	13	is amended to read as follows:
14	14	(c) The university may enter into any [a partnership]
15	15	agreement with the Texas Southmost [Union Junior] College District
16	16	to facilitate higher education advancement and opportunity in the
17	17	district's service area and the transition of students from Texas
18	18	Southmost College to [in the manner authorized by Subchapter N,
19	19	Chapter 51, to offer a lower-division, occupational, or technical
20	20	course that is not offered at] the university. An agreement may
21	21	cover any matter related to those purposes, including the
22	22	facilitation of the transfer of course credit and the alignment of
23	23	courses between the university and the college.
24	24	SECTION 2. Section 78.03, Education Code, is amended by
25	25	amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as
26	26	follows:
27	27	(a) The board may prescribe courses leading to customary
28	28	degrees offered at leading American universities and may award
29	29	those degrees, including bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees
30	30	and their equivalents [authorize the university to offer any
31	31	upper-level or graduate course which is authorized by the Texas
32	32	Higher Education Coordinating Board].
33	33	(a-1) A department, school, or degree program may not be
34	34	instituted without the prior approval of the Texas Higher Education
35	35	Coordinating Board.
36	36	SECTION 3. Section 78.04, Education Code, is amended to
37	37	read as follows:
38	38	Sec. 78.04. FACILITIES. (a) The board shall make
39	39	provisions for adequate physical facilities for use by the
40	40	university. Subject to the agreement of the parties as provided by
41	41	Subsection (b), the facilities may include facilities[,] on land
42	42	committed by the board of trustees of the Texas Southmost [Union
43	43	Junior] College District on the district's Texas Southmost College
44	44	campus. The provision of facilities is[,] subject to the normal
45	45	requirements of the board and the Texas Higher Education
46	46	Coordinating Board.
47	47	(b) The board and the board of trustees of the Texas
48	48	Southmost College District may contract with each other for the use
49	49	of facilities. The terms of the contract shall be negotiated
50	50	between the parties and must provide for reasonable compensation
51	51	for the use of facilities.
52	52	SECTION 4. Subsections (b) and (d), Section 78.02, and
53	53	Sections 78.07 and 78.08, Education Code, are repealed.
54	54	SECTION 5. (a) The University of Texas at Brownsville and
55	55	the Texas Southmost College District, formerly referred to as the
56	56	Southmost Union Junior College District, are free-standing,
57	57	independent institutions that have operated in close association
58	58	under a partnership agreement authorized by Section 78.02,
59	59	Education Code. It is the intent of this Act to facilitate the
60	60	independent operation of the university and the college district in
61	61	the absence of such a partnership, but this Act does not affect the
62	62	authority of the university and the college district to continue in
63	63	partnership or to establish a new partnership at a future date.
64	64	(b) The University of Texas at Brownsville and the Texas
65	65	Southmost College District shall cooperate to ensure that each
66	66	institution timely achieves separate accreditation from a
67	67	recognized accrediting agency before the termination of the
68	68	existing partnership agreement and shall continue a partnership
69	69	agreement in effect until August 31, 2015, to the extent necessary
70	70	to ensure accreditation.
71	71	(c) The University of Texas at Brownsville and the Texas
72	72	Southmost College District may extend or renew the existing
73	73	partnership agreement, agree to its earlier termination, or execute
74	74	a new agreement as necessary to ensure accreditation.
75	75	(d) The University of Texas at Brownsville and the Texas
76	76	Southmost College District shall submit to the legislature a
77	77	semiannual report on the status of the partnership until each
78	78	institution achieves separate accreditation and the existing
79	79	partnership agreement is terminated.
80	80	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
81	81	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
82	82	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
83	83	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
84	84	Act takes effect September 1, 2011.