By: Clardy (Senate Sponsor - Zaffirini) H.B. No. 1583
(In the Senate - Received from the House April 28, 2015;
May 4, 2015, read first time and referred to Committee on Higher
Education; May 24, 2015, reported adversely, with favorable
Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 5, Nays 0;
May 24, 2015, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 1583 By: Bettencourt
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to block scheduling for certain associate degree and
certificate programs at public junior colleges.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 130, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 130.0095 to read as follows:
Sec. 130.0095. BLOCK SCHEDULING FOR CERTAIN ASSOCIATE
DEGREE OR CERTIFICATE PROGRAM. (a) To facilitate timely degree
completion by students at public junior colleges, from among the
allied health, nursing, and career and technology associate degree
or certificate programs offered by a public junior college, the
college shall establish, for at least five of those programs not
previously offered as a block schedule curriculum, a block schedule
curriculum under which:
(1) courses required for a student's enrollment in the
program as a full-time student are offered each semester in
scheduled blocks, such as a morning, full-day, afternoon, evening,
or weekend block schedule, designed to provide scheduling
predictability from semester to semester to students enrolled in
the program; and
(2) students may enroll in an entire block schedule
curriculum offered under the program in a semester, rather than
enrolling in individual courses leading toward the degree or
certificate.
(b) Each public junior college shall publish in advance of
each semester the available block schedule curricula for each
associate degree or certificate program described by Subsection (a)
offered by the college for that semester.
(c) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, in
consultation with public junior colleges, shall adopt rules as
necessary for the administration of this section, including rules
prescribing a process by which a public junior college may petition
the coordinating board for an exception to the number of programs
for which a block schedule curriculum is required by Subsection (a)
on demonstration of hardship.
(d) Not later than November 1, 2018, the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board shall submit to the governor and
legislature a detailed report on the effectiveness of block
scheduling under this section and any related recommendations for
legislative or other action.
(e) This section expires August 1, 2019.
SECTION 2. Section 130.0095, Education Code, as added by
this Act, applies beginning with the 2016 fall semester.
SECTION 3. 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, 2015.
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