By: Hinojosa, et al. S.B. No. 24
(Oliveira, Branch, et al.)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the creation of a new university in South Texas within
The University of Texas System.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. AMENDMENT TO EDUCATION CODE. Subtitle C, Title
3, Education Code, is amended by adding Chapter 79 to read as
follows:
CHAPTER 79. UNIVERSITY TO BE ESTABLISHED IN SOUTH TEXAS
Sec. 79.01. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Board" means the board of regents of The
University of Texas System.
(2) "University" means the university established
under this chapter.
Sec. 79.02. ESTABLISHMENT; SCOPE. (a) The university is a
general academic teaching institution under the governance,
management, and control of the board of regents of The University of
Texas System.
(b) As necessary to achieve the maximum operating
efficiency of the university, the board shall provide for the
organization, administration, location, and name of the university
and of the colleges, schools, and other institutions and entities
of the university, which must include:
(1) an academic campus and other academic operations
in Cameron County;
(2) an academic campus and other academic operations
in Hidalgo County;
(3) the medical school and other programs authorized
for The University of Texas Health Science Center--South Texas
under Subchapter N, Chapter 74;
(4) the facilities and operations of the Lower Rio
Grande Valley Academic Health Center established under Subchapter
L, Chapter 74; and
(5) an academic center in Starr County.
(c) The board shall equitably allocate the primary
facilities and operations of the university among Cameron, Hidalgo,
and Starr Counties.
(d) The board shall ensure that the medical and research
programs of the medical school component of the university are
conducted across the region and have a substantial presence in
Hidalgo County and Cameron County. The board shall also ensure the
provision of interdisciplinary education across health professions
within the university.
(e) The authority of the board under this section to achieve
the maximum operating efficiency of the university and to provide
for the organization, administration, and location of colleges,
schools, and other institutions and entities of the university
prevails over other law, including Section 74.611.
Sec. 79.03. COURSES AND DEGREES. (a) The board may
prescribe courses leading to customary degrees offered at leading
American universities and medical schools as applicable and may
award those degrees, including:
(1) bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees and
their equivalents; and
(2) medical school degrees and other health science
degrees.
(b) The board shall award degrees in the name of the
university.
(c) A department, school, or degree program may not be
instituted without the prior approval of the Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board, except that the university may include any
department or school or offer any degree program previously
approved for The University of Texas--Pan American or The
University of Texas at Brownsville or expressly authorized by this
chapter or other law.
Sec. 79.04. UNIVERSITY OF THE FIRST CLASS. The board shall
make any other rules and regulations for the operation, control,
and management of the university as may be necessary for the conduct
of the university as a university of the first class.
Sec. 79.05. FACILITIES. The board shall provide for
adequate physical facilities for use by the university.
Sec. 79.06. GIFTS AND GRANTS. The board may solicit,
accept, and administer, on terms and conditions acceptable to the
board, gifts, grants, or donations of any kind and from any source
for use by the university.
Sec. 79.07. JOINT APPOINTMENTS. The board may make joint
faculty appointments to positions in the university and to
positions in other institutions under the governance of the board.
Sec. 79.08. PARTICIPATION IN PERMANENT UNIVERSITY FUND.
The legislature finds that the university is an institution of
higher education "created at a later date" for purposes of Section
18(c), Article VII, Texas Constitution. If the Act enacting this
chapter receives a vote of two-thirds of the membership of each
house of the legislature, when established the university is
entitled to participate in the funding provided by Section 18,
Article VII, Texas Constitution, to the same extent as similar
component institutions of The University of Texas System.
Sec. 79.09. CENTER FOR BORDER ECONOMIC AND ENTERPRISE
DEVELOPMENT. (a) The board shall establish a center for border
economic and enterprise development at the university.
(b) The center established under this section may:
(1) develop and manage an economic database concerning
the Texas-Mexico border;
(2) perform economic development planning and
research;
(3) provide technical assistance to industrial and
governmental entities; and
(4) in cooperation with other state agencies,
coordinate economic and enterprise development planning activities
of state agencies to ensure that the economic needs of the
Texas-Mexico border are integrated within a comprehensive state
economic development plan.
(c) The center may offer seminars and conduct conferences
and other educational programs concerning the Texas-Mexico border
economy and economic and enterprise development within this state.
(d) The board may solicit and accept gifts, grants, and
donations to aid in the establishment, maintenance, and operation
of the center.
(e) The center shall cooperate fully with similar programs
operated by Texas A&M International University, The University of
Texas at El Paso, and other institutions of higher education.
Sec. 79.10. TEXAS ACADEMY OF MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE.
(a) The board shall establish The Texas Academy of Mathematics and
Science at the university. The academy serves the following
purposes:
(1) to provide academically gifted and highly
motivated junior and senior high school students with a challenging
university-level curriculum that:
(A) allows students to complete high school
graduation requirements, including requirements adopted under
Section 28.025 for the advanced high school program, while
attending for academic credit a public institution of higher
education;
(B) fosters students' knowledge of real-world
mathematics and science issues and applications and teaches
students to apply critical thinking and problem-solving skills to
those issues;
(C) includes the study of English, foreign
languages, social studies, mathematics, science, and technology;
and
(D) offers students learning opportunities
related to mathematics and science through in-depth research and
field-based studies;
(2) to provide students with an awareness of
mathematics and science careers and professional development
opportunities through any appropriate means such as:
(A) seminars;
(B) workshops;
(C) collaboration with postsecondary and
university students, including opportunities for summer studies;
and
(D) internships in foreign countries; and
(3) to provide students with social development
activities that enrich the academic curriculum and student life,
including, as determined appropriate by the academy, University
Interscholastic League activities and other extracurricular
activities.
(b) The academy is a coeducational program for selected
Texas high school students with an interest in and the potential to
excel in mathematics and science studies. The academy shall admit
only high school juniors and seniors, except that the academy may
admit a student with exceptional abilities who is not yet a high
school junior. The board shall set aside adequate space at the new
university to operate the academy and implement the purposes of
this section. The academy must operate on the same fall and spring
semester basis as the university. Full-time students of the
academy must enroll for both the fall and spring semesters. Faculty
members of the university shall teach all academic classes at the
academy. A student of the academy may attend a college course
offered by the university and receive college credit for that
course.
(c) The university administration has the same powers and
duties with respect to the academy that the administration has with
respect to the university. The board, in consultation with
university administration, shall:
(1) establish an internal management system for the
academy and appoint an academy principal, who serves at the will of
the board and reports to the vice president for academic affairs;
(2) provide for one or more academy counselors;
(3) establish for the academy a site-based
decision-making process similar to the process required by
Subchapter F, Chapter 11, that provides for the participation of
academy faculty, parents of academy students, and other members of
the community; and
(4) establish an admissions process for the academy.
(d) The student-teacher ratio in all regular academic
classes at the academy may not exceed 30 students for each classroom
teacher, except that the student-teacher ratio may exceed that
limit:
(1) in a program provided for the purposes prescribed
by Subsection (a)(2) or another special enrichment course or in a
physical education course;
(2) if the board determines that a class with a higher
student-teacher ratio would contribute to the educational
development of the students in the class; or
(3) if an academy class is combined with a university
class with more than 30 students.
(e) The academy shall provide the university-level
curriculum in a manner that is appropriate for the social,
psychological, emotional, and physical development of high school
juniors and seniors. The administrative and counseling personnel
of the academy shall provide continuous support to and supervision
of students.
(f) For each student enrolled in the academy, the academy is
entitled to allotments from the foundation school fund under
Chapter 42 as if the academy were a school district without a tier
one local share for purposes of Section 42.253. If in any academic
year the amount of the allotments under this subsection exceeds the
amount of state funds paid to the academy in the first fiscal year
of the academy's operation, the commissioner of education shall set
aside from the total amount of funds to which school districts are
entitled under Section 42.253(c) an amount equal to the excess
amount and shall distribute that amount to the academy. After
deducting the amount set aside and paid to the academy by the
commissioner of education under this subsection, the commissioner
of education shall reduce the amount to which each district is
entitled under Section 42.253(c) in the manner described by Section
42.253(h). A determination of the commissioner of education under
this subsection is final and may not be appealed.
(g) The board may use any available money, enter into
contracts, and accept grants, including matching grants, federal
grants, and grants from a corporation or other private contributor,
in establishing and operating the academy. Money spent by the
academy must further the purposes of the academy under Subsection
(a).
(h) The liability of this state under Chapters 101 and 104,
Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is limited for the academy and
employees assigned to the academy and acting on behalf of the
academy to the same extent that the liability of a school district
and an employee of the school district is limited under Sections
22.0511, 22.0512, and 22.052 of this code and Section 101.051,
Civil Practice and Remedies Code. An employee assigned to the
academy is entitled to representation by the attorney general in a
civil suit based on an action or omission of the employee in the
course of the employee's employment, to limits on liability, and to
indemnity under Chapters 104 and 108, Civil Practice and Remedies
Code.
(i) Except as otherwise provided by this section, the
academy is not subject to the provisions of this code or to the
rules of the Texas Education Agency regulating public schools.
SECTION 2. CONFORMING AMENDMENT. Subsection (a), Section
74.751, Education Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) The board of regents of The University of Texas System
may operate The University of Texas Health Science Center--South
Texas as provided by Section 79.02 [a component institution of The
University of Texas System] with its main campus and administrative
offices to be determined as described by that section [in Cameron
County]. The health science center shall [may] consist of a medical
school, as provided by Section 74.752, other health and
health-related degree programs, and related programs and
facilities as the board considers appropriate.
SECTION 3. THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS--PAN AMERICAN AND THE
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT BROWNSVILLE ABOLISHED. (a) The University
of Texas--Pan American and The University of Texas at Brownsville
are abolished on a date the board of regents of The University of
Texas System determines appropriate to achieve the maximum
operating efficiency of the system. The designated date must be
entered into the minutes of the board. The board shall take all
actions necessary to provide for an orderly windup of the affairs of
each university.
(b) The board shall provide to the secretary of state
written notice of its action under Subsection (a) of this section.
Effective on the date the board designates for the abolition of the
institutions described by Subsection (a) of this section, Chapters
77 and 78, Education Code, are repealed.
(c) The board may not act under Subsection (a) of this
section to abolish The University of Texas--Pan American and The
University of Texas at Brownsville earlier than the date on which
the university created under Chapter 79, Education Code, as added
by this Act, begins operation.
SECTION 4. UNIVERSITY CREATED. (a) The university
described by Chapter 79, Education Code, as added by this Act, is
created within The University of Texas System. As provided by that
chapter, the board of regents of the system shall name the
university and establish the university as a general academic
teaching institution offering the degrees authorized by that
chapter.
(b) The university shall begin operating on a date the board
of regents determines appropriate to achieve the maximum operating
efficiency of the system. The designated date must be entered into
the minutes of the board.
(c) In recognition of the abolition of The University of
Texas--Pan American and The University of Texas at Brownsville as
authorized by this Act, the board of regents shall facilitate the
employment at the university created by this Act of as many faculty
and staff of the abolished universities as is prudent and
practical.
(d) A student admitted to or enrolled at The University of
Texas--Pan American or The University of Texas at Brownsville on
the date of abolition is entitled to admission to the university
created by this Act, and the board shall take actions necessary to
facilitate that admission and the appropriate transfer of credits.
(e) Until such time as the university created by this Act
formally begins operation, the board of regents may provide for The
University of Texas--Pan American or The University of Texas at
Brownsville to use any facilities under the management and control
of The University of Texas System, including facilities developed
for the university created by this Act. In addition, the board may
lease or purchase facilities owned by Texas Southmost College
District or by other owners to the extent the board determines
necessary and practical.
(f) This Act does not affect the powers, duties, and
obligations of The University of Texas at Brownsville and the Texas
Southmost College District under Section 5, Chapter 935
(S.B. 1909), Acts of the 82nd Legislature, Regular Session, 2011.
As provided by that law, that university and the district shall
continue a partnership agreement in effect until August 31, 2015,
to the extent necessary to ensure accreditation.
SECTION 5. ADVISORY GROUP TO BOARD OF REGENTS. (a) To
assist the system in designing, organizing, and implementing a
medical school to serve the Rio Grande Valley as a component of the
new university, the board of regents of The University of Texas
System shall appoint a temporary advisory group to give the board
counsel and recommendations regarding:
(1) the design and development of the medical school,
with the goal of preparing future physicians for medical careers
through an innovative model of medical education for the 21st
century; and
(2) the best locations for medical school
administration and operations, identifying the best chance for
success of the medical school and its administrative offices based
on resources, costs, assets, infrastructure, long-term fiscal
viability, and other objective criteria.
(b) The board shall determine the size and membership of the
advisory group, but the group must be composed of nationally
recognized experts in the organization and administration of
medical schools and other health-related programs and of
institutions of higher education.
(c) The advisory group shall solicit input from interested
parties, including representatives of business organizations,
health care providers, and educators, as determined by the board
and the advisory group.
(d) The board shall base its determinations regarding the
matters described by Subsections (a)(1) and (2) of this section on
the findings and recommendations of the advisory group.
(e) The board shall dissolve the advisory group when the
group has reported to the board and the board determines that the
purposes of the group under this section have been achieved.
SECTION 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. 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.