Texas 2013 - 83rd Regular

Texas House Bill HB2103 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Villarreal, Branch (Senate Sponsor - Seliger) H.B. No. 2103
2	2	(In the Senate - Received from the House April 29, 2013;
3	3	April 30, 2013, read first time and referred to Committee on Higher
4	4	Education; May 9, 2013, reported favorably by the following vote:
5	5	Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 9, 2013, sent to printer.)
6	6
7	7
8	8	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
9	9	AN ACT
10	10	relating to education research centers and the sharing of
11	11	educational data between state agencies; redesignating certain
12	12	fees as charges.
13	13	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
14	14	SECTION 1. The heading to Section 1.005, Education Code, is
15	15	amended to read as follows:
16	16	Sec. 1.005. EDUCATION RESEARCH CENTERS[; SHARING STUDENT
17	17	INFORMATION].
18	18	SECTION 2. Section 1.005(a), Education Code, is amended by
19	19	adding Subdivision (1-a) to read as follows:
20	20	(1-a) "Cooperating agencies" means the Texas
21	21	Education Agency, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board,
22	22	and the Texas Workforce Commission.
23	23	SECTION 3. Section 1.005, Education Code, is amended by
24	24	amending Subsections (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), (j), and (k)
25	25	and adding Subsections (g-1), (j-1), (j-2), and (l) to read as
26	26	follows:
27	27	(b) The [commissioner of education and the] coordinating
28	28	board shall [may] establish not more than three centers for
29	29	education research to conduct studies or evaluations using the data
30	30	[for conducting research] described by this section [Subsections
31	31	(e) and (f)].
32	32	(c) A center must [may] be established as part of[:
33	33	[(1) the Texas Education Agency;
34	34	[(2) the coordinating board; or
35	35	[(3)] a public junior college, public senior college
36	36	or university, or public state college, as those terms are defined
37	37	by Section 61.003, or a consortium of those institutions. The
38	38	coordinating board shall solicit requests for proposals from
39	39	appropriate institutions to establish centers under this section
40	40	and shall select one or more institutions to establish each center
41	41	based on criteria adopted by the coordinating board.
42	42	(d) A center must [may] be operated under an agreement [a
43	43	memorandum of understanding] between [the commissioner of
44	44	education,] the coordinating board[,] and the governing board of
45	45	each [an educational] institution described by Subsection (c)
46	46	operating or participating in the operation of the center
47	47	[(c)(3)]. The agreement [memorandum of understanding] must
48	48	provide for the operation of the center, so long as the center meets
49	49	contractual and legal requirements for operation, for a 10-year
50	50	period [require the commissioner of education, or a person
51	51	designated by the commissioner, and the coordinating board, or a
52	52	person designated by the coordinating board, to provide direct,
53	53	joint supervision of the center under this section].
54	54	(e) A center shall conduct education and workforce
55	55	preparation studies or evaluations [research] for the benefit of
56	56	[education in] this state, including studies or evaluations
57	57	[research] relating to:
58	58	(1) the impact of local, regional, state, and federal
59	59	policies and [education] programs, including an education program,
60	60	intervention, or service at any level of education from preschool
61	61	through postsecondary education;
62	62	(2) the performance of educator preparation programs;
63	63	(3)[,] public school finance;[,] and
64	64	(4) the best practices of school districts with regard
65	65	to classroom instruction, bilingual education programs, special
66	66	language programs, and business practices.
67	67	(f) Any cooperating agency [The commissioner of education
68	68	and the coordinating board:
69	69	[(1) under the memorandum of understanding described by
70	70	Subsection (d),] may request [require] a center to conduct certain
71	71	studies or evaluations [research projects] considered of
72	72	particular importance to the state, as determined by the
73	73	cooperating agency, if the cooperating agency provides to the
74	74	center [commissioner and the coordinating board;
75	75	[(2) not later than the 45th day before the date a
76	76	research project required to be conducted under this subsection is
77	77	scheduled to begin, shall notify the governor, the Legislative
78	78	Budget Board, and the governing body of the educational institution
79	79	in which the center is established that the research project is
80	80	required; and
81	81	[(3) shall provide] sufficient funds to finance the
82	82	study or evaluation [project].
83	83	(g) A [In conducting research under this section, a]
84	84	center[:
85	85	[(1) may use data on student performance, including
86	86	data that is confidential under the Family Educational Rights and
87	87	Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g), the center has
88	88	collected from the Texas Education Agency, the coordinating board,
89	89	any public or private institution of higher education, and any
90	90	school district; and
91	91	[(2)] shall comply with rules adopted by the advisory
92	92	[commissioner of education and the coordinating] board established
93	93	under Section 1.006 to protect the confidentiality of [student]
94	94	information used or stored at the center in accordance with
95	95	applicable state and federal law, including rules establishing
96	96	procedures to ensure that confidential [student] information is not
97	97	duplicated or removed from a center in an unauthorized manner.
98	98	(g-1) In conducting studies or evaluations under this
99	99	section, a center:
100	100	(1) may use student and educator data, including data
101	101	that is confidential if permitted under the Family Educational
102	102	Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g), that the
103	103	center has collected from a cooperating agency or any other agency,
104	104	a public or private institution of higher education, a school
105	105	district, a provider of services to a school district or public or
106	106	private institution of higher education, or an entity explicitly
107	107	named in an approved research project of the center;
108	108	(2) shall comply with state and federal law governing
109	109	the confidentiality of student information and shall provide for
110	110	the review of all study and evaluation results to ensure compliance
111	111	with those laws and any rules adopted or regulatory guidance issued
112	112	under those laws;
113	113	(3) may provide researchers access to shared data only
114	114	through secure methods and require each researcher to execute an
115	115	agreement regarding compliance with the Family Educational Rights
116	116	and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g) and rules adopted
117	117	under that Act; and
118	118	(4) shall conduct regular security audits and report
119	119	the audit results to the coordinating board and the advisory board
120	120	established under Section 1.006.
121	121	(h) The cooperating agencies and the educational
122	122	institution or institutions operating a center [commissioner of
123	123	education and the coordinating board] may[:
124	124	[(1)] accept gifts and grants to be used for the
125	125	purposes of this section. The educational institution or
126	126	institutions [in] operating a center may [one or more centers; and
127	127	[(2) by rule] impose reasonable charges [fees], as
128	128	appropriate, for the use of a center's research, resources, or
129	129	facilities.
130	130	(j) The cooperating agencies shall execute agreements for
131	131	the sharing of data for the purpose of facilitating the studies or
132	132	evaluations at education research centers described by this
133	133	section. In accordance with the agreements, each cooperating
134	134	agency shall make available all appropriate data, including to the
135	135	extent possible data collected by the cooperating agency for the
136	136	preceding 20 years. A cooperating agency shall periodically update
137	137	the data as additional data is collected, but not less than once
138	138	each year [commissioner of education and the coordinating board
139	139	shall adopt rules as necessary to implement this section].
140	140	(j-1) In accordance with an agreement under Subsection (j),
141	141	the coordinating board shall maintain the data contributed by the
142	142	cooperating agencies in a repository to be known as the
143	143	P-20/Workforce Data Repository. The repository shall be operated by
144	144	the coordinating board. As provided by the agreement, the
145	145	coordinating board shall include other data in the repository,
146	146	including data from college admission tests and the National
147	147	Student Clearinghouse. The coordinating board shall conduct data
148	148	matching using a protocol approved by the cooperating agencies.
149	149	(j-2) The coordinating board may enter into data agreements
150	150	for data required for approved studies or evaluations with the
151	151	state education agency of another state, giving priority to the
152	152	agencies of those states that send the highest number of
153	153	postsecondary education students to this state or that receive the
154	154	highest number of postsecondary education students from this state.
155	155	An agreement under this subsection must be reviewed by the United
156	156	States Department of Education and must require the agency of
157	157	another state to comply with all data security measures required of
158	158	a center. The coordinating board may also enter into data
159	159	agreements with local agencies or organizations that provide
160	160	education services to students in this state or that collect data
161	161	that is relevant to current or former students of public schools in
162	162	this state and is useful to the conduct of research that may benefit
163	163	education in this state.
164	164	(k) In implementing this section, a cooperating agency [the
165	165	commissioner of education] may use funds appropriated to the
166	166	cooperating agency and available for the purpose of establishing
167	167	the centers. After a center is established, the center must be
168	168	funded by gifts and grants accepted under this section or charges
169	169	[Subsection (h)(1) and fees] imposed under Subsection (h)
170	170	[Subsection (h)(2). Fees adopted under Subsection (h)(2) must be
171	171	set in an amount sufficient to provide for the continued operation
172	172	of the center].
173	173	(l) Notwithstanding another provision of this section, a
174	174	cooperating agency must establish procedures that protect
175	175	confidential information provided to a center by a cooperating
176	176	agency.
177	177	SECTION 4. Chapter 1, Education Code, is amended by adding
178	178	Section 1.006 to read as follows:
179	179	Sec. 1.006. EDUCATION RESEARCH CENTER ADVISORY BOARD.
180	180	(a) The commissioner of higher education shall create, chair, and
181	181	maintain an advisory board for the purpose of reviewing study or
182	182	evaluation proposals and ensuring appropriate data use under
183	183	Section 1.005, including compliance with applicable state and
184	184	federal laws governing use of and access to the data.
185	185	(b) The advisory board is not a governmental body for
186	186	purposes of Chapter 551 or 552, Government Code.
187	187	(c) The membership of the advisory board must include:
188	188	(1) a representative of the Texas Higher Education
189	189	Coordinating Board, designated by the commissioner of higher
190	190	education;
191	191	(2) a representative of the Texas Education Agency,
192	192	designated by the commissioner of education;
193	193	(3) a representative of the Texas Workforce
194	194	Commission, designated by the commission;
195	195	(4) the director of each education research center or
196	196	the director's designee; and
197	197	(5) a representative of preschool, elementary, or
198	198	secondary education.
199	199	(d) Each study or evaluation conducted at a center under
200	200	Section 1.005 must be approved in advance by majority vote of the
201	201	advisory board. A center may submit to the advisory board a proposal
202	202	developed by any qualified researcher, including a researcher from
203	203	another educational institution, a graduate student, a P-16 Council
204	204	representative, or another researcher proposing research to
205	205	benefit education in this state. In determining whether to approve
206	206	a proposed study or evaluation, the advisory board must:
207	207	(1) consider the potential of the proposed research to
208	208	benefit education in this state;
209	209	(2) require each center director or designee to review
210	210	and approve the proposed research design and methods to be used in
211	211	the proposed study or evaluation; and
212	212	(3) consider the extent to which the data required to
213	213	complete the proposed study or evaluation is not readily available
214	214	from other data sources.
215	215	(e) The advisory board shall meet at least quarterly. Any
216	216	meeting of the advisory board may be conducted by electronic means,
217	217	including a meeting by telephone conference call, by video
218	218	conference call, through the Internet, or by any combination of
219	219	those means.
220	220	(f) The advisory board may create committees and
221	221	subcommittees that the advisory board determines are convenient or
222	222	necessary.
223	223	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
224	224	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
225	225	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
226	226	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
227	227	Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
228	228	* * * * *