H.B. No. 2937
AN ACT
relating to the establishment of a pilot program under which a
licensed hospital may offer dual credit courses to public high
school students.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 61, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 61.0764 to read as follows:
Sec. 61.0764. MEDICAL DUAL CREDIT PILOT PROGRAM. (a) The
board shall develop and implement a pilot program under which a
licensed hospital may offer dual credit courses to high school
students enrolled in a school district in partnership with the
district.
(b) The board shall select one licensed hospital located in
a county that borders the United Mexican States and that has a
population of at least 700,000 and not more than 800,000 to
participate in the pilot program. The hospital must be accredited
by The Joint Commission and:
(1) have been issued:
(A) a certificate of approval to offer a program
of instruction by the Texas Workforce Commission under Subchapter
C, Chapter 132; or
(B) a certificate of authority to award a degree
for a program of study by the board under Subchapter G of this
chapter;
(2) be accredited to offer a degree program by the
appropriate recognized regional accrediting agency; or
(3) must:
(A) have entered into a partnership with an
institution of higher education to offer dual credit courses under
the pilot program; and
(B) be seeking authorization to offer a program
of instruction or study as described by Subdivision (1) or
accreditation to offer a degree program as described by Subdivision
(2).
(c) The licensed hospital selected under Subsection (b):
(1) may offer under the pilot program only dual credit
courses that are in the curriculum of the hospital's program of
instruction or study or degree program described by Subsection
(b)(1), (2), or (3), as applicable; and
(2) subject to Subdivision (1) and Subsection (d),
shall determine the content of each dual credit course offered
under the pilot program with the goal of ensuring that the course is
transferable for course credit applied toward a certificate or
degree at an institution of higher education.
(d) The licensed hospital selected under Subsection (b)
must design the dual credit courses offered under the pilot program
to enable students to earn a variety of certifications,
certificates, and degrees, including at least one certification or
certificate while the student is in high school. The available
certifications, certificates, and degrees must be selected based
on:
(1) the needs of the hospital;
(2) the terms of the hospital's agreements with
partnering school districts to provide the dual credit courses
under the pilot program; and
(3) the goal of preparing students for employment in
the health care field.
(e) A student enrolled in a dual credit course offered under
the pilot program is entitled to the benefits of the Foundation
School Program for the time spent by the student on that course, in
accordance with rules adopted by the commissioner of education.
(f) A student may not be charged for tuition, fees, or
required textbooks or other instructional materials for a dual
credit course offered under the pilot program. The school district
in which the student is enrolled is responsible for the cost of the
student's tuition, fees, or required textbooks or other
instructional materials for that course to the extent that those
amounts are not waived by the licensed hospital.
(g) The board may adopt rules as necessary to implement this
section.
SECTION 2. Section 61.0764, Education Code, as added by
this Act, applies beginning with the 2017-2018 school year.
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, 2017.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2937 was passed by the House on May 9,
2017, by the following vote: Yeas 139, Nays 6, 2 present, not
voting; that the House refused to concur in Senate amendments to
H.B. No. 2937 on May 26, 2017, and requested the appointment of a
conference committee to consider the differences between the two
houses; and that the House adopted the conference committee report
on H.B. No. 2937 on May 28, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 142,
Nays 2, 2 present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2937 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 24, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 25, Nays
6; at the request of the House, the Senate appointed a conference
committee to consider the differences between the two houses; and
that the Senate adopted the conference committee report on H.B. No.
2937 on May 28, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 24, Nays 7.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor