By: Villarreal, Branch (Senate Sponsor - Seliger) H.B. No. 2103
(In the Senate - Received from the House April 29, 2013;
April 30, 2013, read first time and referred to Committee on Higher
Education; May 9, 2013, reported favorably by the following vote:
Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 9, 2013, sent to printer.)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to education research centers and the sharing of
educational data between state agencies; redesignating certain
fees as charges.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The heading to Section 1.005, Education Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 1.005. EDUCATION RESEARCH CENTERS[; SHARING STUDENT
INFORMATION].
SECTION 2. Section 1.005(a), Education Code, is amended by
adding Subdivision (1-a) to read as follows:
(1-a) "Cooperating agencies" means the Texas
Education Agency, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board,
and the Texas Workforce Commission.
SECTION 3. Section 1.005, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), (j), and (k)
and adding Subsections (g-1), (j-1), (j-2), and (l) to read as
follows:
(b) The [commissioner of education and the] coordinating
board shall [may] establish not more than three centers for
education research to conduct studies or evaluations using the data
[for conducting research] described by this section [Subsections
(e) and (f)].
(c) A center must [may] be established as part of[:
[(1) the Texas Education Agency;
[(2) the coordinating board; or
[(3)] a public junior college, public senior college
or university, or public state college, as those terms are defined
by Section 61.003, or a consortium of those institutions. The
coordinating board shall solicit requests for proposals from
appropriate institutions to establish centers under this section
and shall select one or more institutions to establish each center
based on criteria adopted by the coordinating board.
(d) A center must [may] be operated under an agreement [a
memorandum of understanding] between [the commissioner of
education,] the coordinating board[,] and the governing board of
each [an educational] institution described by Subsection (c)
operating or participating in the operation of the center
[(c)(3)]. The agreement [memorandum of understanding] must
provide for the operation of the center, so long as the center meets
contractual and legal requirements for operation, for a 10-year
period [require the commissioner of education, or a person
designated by the commissioner, and the coordinating board, or a
person designated by the coordinating board, to provide direct,
joint supervision of the center under this section].
(e) A center shall conduct education and workforce
preparation studies or evaluations [research] for the benefit of
[education in] this state, including studies or evaluations
[research] relating to:
(1) the impact of local, regional, state, and federal
policies and [education] programs, including an education program,
intervention, or service at any level of education from preschool
through postsecondary education;
(2) the performance of educator preparation programs;
(3)[,] public school finance;[,] and
(4) the best practices of school districts with regard
to classroom instruction, bilingual education programs, special
language programs, and business practices.
(f) Any cooperating agency [The commissioner of education
and the coordinating board:
[(1) under the memorandum of understanding described by
Subsection (d),] may request [require] a center to conduct certain
studies or evaluations [research projects] considered of
particular importance to the state, as determined by the
cooperating agency, if the cooperating agency provides to the
center [commissioner and the coordinating board;
[(2) not later than the 45th day before the date a
research project required to be conducted under this subsection is
scheduled to begin, shall notify the governor, the Legislative
Budget Board, and the governing body of the educational institution
in which the center is established that the research project is
required; and
[(3) shall provide] sufficient funds to finance the
study or evaluation [project].
(g) A [In conducting research under this section, a]
center[:
[(1) may use data on student performance, including
data that is confidential under the Family Educational Rights and
Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g), the center has
collected from the Texas Education Agency, the coordinating board,
any public or private institution of higher education, and any
school district; and
[(2)] shall comply with rules adopted by the advisory
[commissioner of education and the coordinating] board established
under Section 1.006 to protect the confidentiality of [student]
information used or stored at the center in accordance with
applicable state and federal law, including rules establishing
procedures to ensure that confidential [student] information is not
duplicated or removed from a center in an unauthorized manner.
(g-1) In conducting studies or evaluations under this
section, a center:
(1) may use student and educator data, including data
that is confidential if permitted under the Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g), that the
center has collected from a cooperating agency or any other agency,
a public or private institution of higher education, a school
district, a provider of services to a school district or public or
private institution of higher education, or an entity explicitly
named in an approved research project of the center;
(2) shall comply with state and federal law governing
the confidentiality of student information and shall provide for
the review of all study and evaluation results to ensure compliance
with those laws and any rules adopted or regulatory guidance issued
under those laws;
(3) may provide researchers access to shared data only
through secure methods and require each researcher to execute an
agreement regarding compliance with the Family Educational Rights
and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g) and rules adopted
under that Act; and
(4) shall conduct regular security audits and report
the audit results to the coordinating board and the advisory board
established under Section 1.006.
(h) The cooperating agencies and the educational
institution or institutions operating a center [commissioner of
education and the coordinating board] may[:
[(1)] accept gifts and grants to be used for the
purposes of this section. The educational institution or
institutions [in] operating a center may [one or more centers; and
[(2) by rule] impose reasonable charges [fees], as
appropriate, for the use of a center's research, resources, or
facilities.
(j) The cooperating agencies shall execute agreements for
the sharing of data for the purpose of facilitating the studies or
evaluations at education research centers described by this
section. In accordance with the agreements, each cooperating
agency shall make available all appropriate data, including to the
extent possible data collected by the cooperating agency for the
preceding 20 years. A cooperating agency shall periodically update
the data as additional data is collected, but not less than once
each year [commissioner of education and the coordinating board
shall adopt rules as necessary to implement this section].
(j-1) In accordance with an agreement under Subsection (j),
the coordinating board shall maintain the data contributed by the
cooperating agencies in a repository to be known as the
P-20/Workforce Data Repository. The repository shall be operated by
the coordinating board. As provided by the agreement, the
coordinating board shall include other data in the repository,
including data from college admission tests and the National
Student Clearinghouse. The coordinating board shall conduct data
matching using a protocol approved by the cooperating agencies.
(j-2) The coordinating board may enter into data agreements
for data required for approved studies or evaluations with the
state education agency of another state, giving priority to the
agencies of those states that send the highest number of
postsecondary education students to this state or that receive the
highest number of postsecondary education students from this state.
An agreement under this subsection must be reviewed by the United
States Department of Education and must require the agency of
another state to comply with all data security measures required of
a center. The coordinating board may also enter into data
agreements with local agencies or organizations that provide
education services to students in this state or that collect data
that is relevant to current or former students of public schools in
this state and is useful to the conduct of research that may benefit
education in this state.
(k) In implementing this section, a cooperating agency [the
commissioner of education] may use funds appropriated to the
cooperating agency and available for the purpose of establishing
the centers. After a center is established, the center must be
funded by gifts and grants accepted under this section or charges
[Subsection (h)(1) and fees] imposed under Subsection (h)
[Subsection (h)(2). Fees adopted under Subsection (h)(2) must be
set in an amount sufficient to provide for the continued operation
of the center].
(l) Notwithstanding another provision of this section, a
cooperating agency must establish procedures that protect
confidential information provided to a center by a cooperating
agency.
SECTION 4. Chapter 1, Education Code, is amended by adding
Section 1.006 to read as follows:
Sec. 1.006. EDUCATION RESEARCH CENTER ADVISORY BOARD.
(a) The commissioner of higher education shall create, chair, and
maintain an advisory board for the purpose of reviewing study or
evaluation proposals and ensuring appropriate data use under
Section 1.005, including compliance with applicable state and
federal laws governing use of and access to the data.
(b) The advisory board is not a governmental body for
purposes of Chapter 551 or 552, Government Code.
(c) The membership of the advisory board must include:
(1) a representative of the Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board, designated by the commissioner of higher
education;
(2) a representative of the Texas Education Agency,
designated by the commissioner of education;
(3) a representative of the Texas Workforce
Commission, designated by the commission;
(4) the director of each education research center or
the director's designee; and
(5) a representative of preschool, elementary, or
secondary education.
(d) Each study or evaluation conducted at a center under
Section 1.005 must be approved in advance by majority vote of the
advisory board. A center may submit to the advisory board a proposal
developed by any qualified researcher, including a researcher from
another educational institution, a graduate student, a P-16 Council
representative, or another researcher proposing research to
benefit education in this state. In determining whether to approve
a proposed study or evaluation, the advisory board must:
(1) consider the potential of the proposed research to
benefit education in this state;
(2) require each center director or designee to review
and approve the proposed research design and methods to be used in
the proposed study or evaluation; and
(3) consider the extent to which the data required to
complete the proposed study or evaluation is not readily available
from other data sources.
(e) The advisory board shall meet at least quarterly. Any
meeting of the advisory board may be conducted by electronic means,
including a meeting by telephone conference call, by video
conference call, through the Internet, or by any combination of
those means.
(f) The advisory board may create committees and
subcommittees that the advisory board determines are convenient or
necessary.
SECTION 5. 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.
* * * * *