| 1 | 1 | | 85R14246 JRJ-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Muñoz, Jr. H.B. No. 2902 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to authorization by the Texas Higher Education |
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| 8 | 8 | | Coordinating Board for certain public junior colleges to offer |
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| 9 | 9 | | baccalaureate degree programs. |
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| 10 | 10 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 11 | 11 | | SECTION 1. Section 130.0012, Education Code, is amended by |
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| 12 | 12 | | amending Subsections (a), (d), (e), and (g) and adding Subsections |
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| 13 | 13 | | (b-4), (b-5), (e-1), and (g-1) to read as follows: |
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| 14 | 14 | | (a) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board may |
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| 15 | 15 | | [shall] authorize public junior colleges to offer baccalaureate |
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| 16 | 16 | | degree programs in the fields of applied science, [and] applied |
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| 17 | 17 | | technology, and nursing under this section. Offering a |
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| 18 | 18 | | baccalaureate degree program under this section does not otherwise |
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| 19 | 19 | | alter the role and mission of a public junior college. |
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| 20 | 20 | | (b-4) The coordinating board shall establish a pilot |
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| 21 | 21 | | project to examine the feasibility and effectiveness of authorizing |
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| 22 | 22 | | a baccalaureate degree program in the field of nursing to be offered |
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| 23 | 23 | | by the South Texas Community College District if it has |
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| 24 | 24 | | demonstrated a workforce need. |
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| 25 | 25 | | (b-5) Not later than January 1, 2019, the coordinating board |
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| 26 | 26 | | shall prepare a progress report on the pilot project established |
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| 27 | 27 | | under Subsection (b-4). Not later than January 1, 2021, the |
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| 28 | 28 | | coordinating board shall prepare a report on the effectiveness of |
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| 29 | 29 | | the pilot project, including any recommendations for legislative |
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| 30 | 30 | | action regarding the offering of baccalaureate degree programs in |
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| 31 | 31 | | the field of nursing by a public junior college. The coordinating |
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| 32 | 32 | | board shall deliver a copy of each report to the governor, the |
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| 33 | 33 | | lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, |
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| 34 | 34 | | and the chair of the standing committee of each house of the |
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| 35 | 35 | | legislature with primary jurisdiction over higher education. |
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| 36 | 36 | | Unless the authority to continue offering a baccalaureate degree |
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| 37 | 37 | | program in the field of nursing is continued by the legislature, a |
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| 38 | 38 | | public junior college may not: |
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| 39 | 39 | | (1) enroll a new student in a baccalaureate degree |
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| 40 | 40 | | program under the pilot project after the 2022 fall semester; |
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| 41 | 41 | | (2) offer junior-level or senior-level courses for |
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| 42 | 42 | | those degree programs after the 2025 fall semester, unless the |
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| 43 | 43 | | coordinating board authorizes the college to offer those courses; |
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| 44 | 44 | | or |
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| 45 | 45 | | (3) award a baccalaureate degree under the pilot |
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| 46 | 46 | | project after the 2025 fall semester, unless the coordinating board |
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| 47 | 47 | | approves the awarding of the degree. |
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| 48 | 48 | | (d) A public junior college offering a baccalaureate degree |
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| 49 | 49 | | program under this section may not offer more than six [five] |
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| 50 | 50 | | baccalaureate degree programs at any time. The degree programs are |
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| 51 | 51 | | subject to the continuing approval of the coordinating board. |
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| 52 | 52 | | (e) In determining whether a public junior college may offer |
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| 53 | 53 | | [what] baccalaureate degree programs and what degree programs may |
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| 54 | 54 | | [are to] be offered, the coordinating board shall: |
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| 55 | 55 | | (1) apply the same criteria and standards the |
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| 56 | 56 | | coordinating board uses to approve baccalaureate degree programs at |
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| 57 | 57 | | general academic teaching institutions; and |
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| 58 | 58 | | (2) consider the following factors: |
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| 59 | 59 | | (A) [(1)] the workforce need for the degree |
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| 60 | 60 | | programs in the region served by the junior college; |
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| 61 | 61 | | (B) [(2)] how those degree programs would |
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| 62 | 62 | | complement the other programs and course offerings of the junior |
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| 63 | 63 | | college and whether the associate degree program offered by the |
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| 64 | 64 | | junior college in the same field has been successful; |
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| 65 | 65 | | (C) [(3)] whether those degree programs would |
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| 66 | 66 | | unnecessarily duplicate the degree programs offered by other |
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| 67 | 67 | | institutions of higher education; and |
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| 68 | 68 | | (D) [(4)] the ability of the junior college to |
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| 69 | 69 | | support the degree programs with student enrollment [program] and |
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| 70 | 70 | | the adequacy of the junior college's facilities, faculty, |
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| 71 | 71 | | administration, libraries, and other resources. |
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| 72 | 72 | | (e-1) A public junior college may offer a baccalaureate |
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| 73 | 73 | | degree program under this section only if its junior college |
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| 74 | 74 | | district meets the taxable property valuation amount established in |
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| 75 | 75 | | Section 130.032. |
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| 76 | 76 | | (g) Except as provided by Subsection (g-1), in [In] its |
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| 77 | 77 | | recommendations to the legislature relating to state funding for |
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| 78 | 78 | | public junior colleges, the coordinating board shall recommend that |
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| 79 | 79 | | a public junior college receive substantially the same state |
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| 80 | 80 | | support for junior-level and senior-level courses offered under |
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| 81 | 81 | | this section as that provided to a general academic teaching |
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| 82 | 82 | | institution for substantially similar courses. In determining the |
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| 83 | 83 | | contact hours attributable to students enrolled in a junior-level |
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| 84 | 84 | | or senior-level course offered under this section used to determine |
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| 85 | 85 | | a public junior college's proportionate share of state |
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| 86 | 86 | | appropriations under Section 130.003, the coordinating board shall |
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| 87 | 87 | | weigh those contact hours as necessary to provide the junior |
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| 88 | 88 | | college the appropriate level of state support to the extent state |
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| 89 | 89 | | funds for those courses are included in the appropriations. This |
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| 90 | 90 | | subsection does not prohibit the legislature from directly |
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| 91 | 91 | | appropriating state funds to support junior-level and senior-level |
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| 92 | 92 | | courses offered under this section. |
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| 93 | 93 | | (g-1) For the first two years in which a degree program |
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| 94 | 94 | | created under Subsection (b-4) is offered, the degree program may |
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| 95 | 95 | | be funded solely by a public junior college's proportionate share |
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| 96 | 96 | | of state appropriations under Section 130.003, local funds, and |
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| 97 | 97 | | private sources. This subsection does not require the legislature |
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| 98 | 98 | | to appropriate state funds to support a degree program under |
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| 99 | 99 | | Subsection (b-4). |
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| 100 | 100 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 101 | 101 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 102 | 102 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 103 | 103 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 104 | 104 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |
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