83R19647 AED-F
By: Thompson of Harris H.B. No. 2000
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2000:
By: Perez C.S.H.B. No. 2000
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the qualification of certain nonprofit schools and
educational institutions for exemption from state laws regulating
career schools and colleges and to complaints made against those
entities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 132.002, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (d-1), (h), (i), (j), and (k) to read as follows:
(d-1) A school or educational institution exempted from
this chapter may offer training in this state allowed by the
exemption.
(h) A school or educational institution that participates
or intends to participate in student financial aid programs under
Title IV, Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. Section 1070 et
seq.), may not be exempted from this chapter by the commission on
the basis of Subsection (a)(2) unless the school or institution
demonstrates to the commission that:
(1) either:
(A) the school or institution is accredited by a
regional or national accrediting organization recognized by the
United States secretary of education; or
(B) the school or institution, or the primary
campus of the school or institution, has been operating
continuously in this state for at least 20 years in compliance with
state career school regulatory requirements, regardless of the
amount of time the current owner has owned the school or
institution; or
(2) the school or institution:
(A) is owned, controlled, operated, and
maintained by a religious organization lawfully operating as a
nonprofit religious corporation; and
(B) awards only degrees or certificates relating
to religion, including a certificate of Talmudic studies, an
associate of biblical studies degree, a master of divinity degree,
or a doctor of divinity degree.
(i) For purposes of Subsection (h)(1)(B), "primary campus"
means, for two or more schools or educational institutions that are
owned and operated by the same owner, the school or educational
institution designated by the owner as the main or principal
campus.
(j) A school or educational institution may demonstrate
compliance with Subsection (h):
(1) through the application process under Subsection
(d); or
(2) if the school or institution has previously been
granted an exemption from this chapter and the most recent
exemption was granted before June 30, 2013, by an affidavit
submitted to the commission by the owner of the school or
institution.
(k) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
take appropriate action, including by making appropriate referrals
to an accrediting agency or to the attorney general, to address any
complaint received by the coordinating board from a student or
prospective student of a school or institution to which Subsection
(h) applies that is:
(1) exempted from this chapter on the basis of
Subsection (a)(2); and
(2) subject to regulation by the coordinating board.
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, 2013.