Texas 2011 - 82nd 1st C.S.

Texas House Bill HB72 Compare Versions

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1	1	82S10251 VOO-D
2	2	By: Eissler H.B. No. 72
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to certain responsibilities of education research centers
8	8	and to a joint advisory board for education research centers.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 1.005, Education Code, is amended by
11	11	amending Subsections (e), (g), and (k) and adding Subsections
12	12	(g-1), (g-2), (l), (m), and (n) to read as follows:
13	13	(e) A center shall conduct research for the benefit of
14	14	education in this state, including research relating to the impact
15	15	of state and federal education programs, the performance of
16	16	educator preparation programs, public school finance, and the best
17	17	practices of school districts with regard to classroom instruction,
18	18	bilingual education programs, special language programs, and
19	19	business practices. A center shall support policy and academic
20	20	research, including support of graduate student research in this
21	21	state, giving priority to projects required under Subsection
22	22	(f)(1).
23	23	(g) In conducting research under this section, a center:
24	24	(1) may use and store data [on student performance],
25	25	including data that is confidential under the Family Educational
26	26	Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g), [the
27	27	center has collected] from the Texas Education Agency, the
28	28	coordinating board, any other state agency, any public or private
29	29	institution of higher education, [and] any school district, any
30	30	provider of services to public or private institutions of higher
31	31	education or to school districts, and any entity explicitly named
32	32	in an approved research project of a center; and
33	33	(2) shall comply with rules adopted by the
34	34	commissioner of education and the coordinating board to protect the
35	35	confidentiality of [student] information used or stored at the
36	36	center, including rules establishing procedures to ensure that
37	37	confidential [student] information is not duplicated or removed
38	38	from a center in an unauthorized manner.
39	39	(g-1) Confidential information provided to a center by the
40	40	Texas Education Agency or the coordinating board must be protected
41	41	by procedures to ensure that any unique identifying number is not
42	42	traceable to any individual. The procedures must be maintained as
43	43	confidential by the Texas Education Agency and the coordinating
44	44	board. The procedures may not be shared with a center or used for
45	45	any purpose other than for purposes of this section. Social
46	46	security numbers, names, and birth dates may not be accessed for the
47	47	purpose of research at a center.
48	48	(g-2) The Texas Education Agency and the coordinating board
49	49	shall longitudinally link all data under Subsection (g)(1), to the
50	50	greatest extent practicable.
51	51	(k) In implementing this section, the commissioner of
52	52	education may use funds appropriated to the agency and available
53	53	for the purpose of establishing the centers. After a center is
54	54	established, the cost of complying with this section and Section
55	55	1.006, including necessary personnel costs at the Texas Education
56	56	Agency and the coordinating board and the costs of operation of each
57	57	center, must be funded by gifts and grants accepted under
58	58	Subsection (h)(1) and fees imposed under Subsection (h)(2). Fees
59	59	adopted under Subsection (h)(2) must be set in an amount sufficient
60	60	to provide for the continued operation of the center. A center
61	61	shall report annually to the commissioner of education and the
62	62	commissioner of higher education the total amount of fees collected
63	63	by the center for each purpose for which a fee is imposed under
64	64	Subsection (h)(2).
65	65	(l) Each center shall administer the process for reviewing
66	66	research proposals developed under Section 1.006(e)(4) and shall
67	67	forward to the joint advisory board only proposals of high quality
68	68	as determined using criteria developed under Section 1.006(e)(4).
69	69	(m) Subject to Subsection (n), on behalf of a center, the
70	70	commissioner of education and the coordinating board may pursue and
71	71	enter data agreements with:
72	72	(1) another agency of this state; and
73	73	(2) the state education agency of another state,
74	74	giving priority to the agencies of those states that send the
75	75	highest number of students to this state or that receive the highest
76	76	number of students from this state.
77	77	(n) The commissioner of education and the coordinating
78	78	board may, on behalf of a center, enter into a data agreement with
79	79	the state education agency of another state only if:
80	80	(1) the United States Department of Education reviews
81	81	the agreement; and
82	82	(2) the state education agency of the other state
83	83	agrees to comply with all data security measures required of a
84	84	center.
85	85	SECTION 2. Chapter 1, Education Code, is amended by adding
86	86	Section 1.006 to read as follows:
87	87	Sec. 1.006. JOINT ADVISORY BOARD FOR EDUCATION RESEARCH
88	88	CENTERS. (a) In this section, "center" means a center for education
89	89	research authorized by Section 1.005.
90	90	(b) The commissioner of education and the commissioner of
91	91	higher education shall co-chair a joint advisory board to adopt
92	92	policies governing the operations of the centers, including a
93	93	process for review and approval of center research involving
94	94	confidential information. The commissioner of education and the
95	95	commissioner of higher education each may delegate duties as
96	96	co-chair, including voting, to an employee of the Texas Education
97	97	Agency or the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, as
98	98	appropriate.
99	99	(c) The commissioner of education and the commissioner of
100	100	higher education shall jointly appoint not more than 10 additional
101	101	members to the joint advisory board to serve one-year terms. The
102	102	joint advisory board must include at least two educational
103	103	researchers experienced in working with secure data. A member of
104	104	the joint advisory board serves at the pleasure of the commissioner
105	105	of education and the commissioner of higher education. A member may
106	106	be reappointed each year to an additional term.
107	107	(d) The joint advisory board shall meet at the call of the
108	108	co-chairs at least twice each year.
109	109	(e) The joint advisory board shall:
110	110	(1) establish a schedule of fees to fund the cost of
111	111	data processing by the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Higher
112	112	Education Coordinating Board;
113	113	(2) develop a plan for establishing access at public
114	114	institutions of higher education to data;
115	115	(3) develop policies to give state agencies acting for
116	116	a governmental purpose and public entities performing studies
117	117	authorized by the legislature priority in access to and use of
118	118	center research;
119	119	(4) develop, in consultation with each center, a
120	120	process for reviewing center research proposals and criteria for
121	121	evaluating proposal quality that emphasize the benefits to
122	122	education in this state and use of accepted social science research
123	123	methods;
124	124	(5) identify, in consultation with each center, the
125	125	type of data that the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Higher
126	126	Education Coordinating Board send annually to each center without
127	127	the necessity of a request for that data by a center and a schedule
128	128	on which the data is sent; and
129	129	(6) perform other duties as necessary to advise each
130	130	center.
131	131	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
132	132	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
133	133	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
134	134	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
135	135	Act takes effect on the 91st day after the last day of the
136	136	legislative session.