86R11090 SOS-F
By: Fierro H.B. No. 4558
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the curriculum requirements in government or political
science at institutions of higher education.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 51.301, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (f) to read
as follows:
(a) Every college and university receiving state support or
state aid from public funds shall offer six semester hours or its
equivalent of [give a] course [of] instruction in government or
political science, including three semester hours or its equivalent
of instruction that considers [which includes consideration of] the
Constitution of the United States and three semester hours or its
equivalent of instruction that considers the constitutions of the
states, with special emphasis on that of Texas. [This course shall
have a credit value of not less than six semester hours or its
equivalent.] Except as provided by Subsection (c), a college or
university receiving state support or state aid from public funds
may not grant a baccalaureate degree or an associate of arts degree
or associate of science degree [a lesser degree or academic
certificate] to any person unless the person has credit for the
instruction required by this subsection [such a course]. The
college or university may determine that a student has satisfied
this requirement in whole or in part on the basis of credit granted
to the student by the college or university for a substantially
equivalent course completed at another accredited college or
university or on the basis of the student's successful completion
of an advanced standing examination administered on the conditions
and under the circumstances common for the college or university's
advanced standing examinations. The college or university may
grant as much as three semester hours of credit or its equivalent
toward satisfaction of this requirement for substantially
equivalent work completed by the student in the program of an
approved senior R.O.T.C. unit. A student is entitled to apply
course credit not to exceed three semester hours or its equivalent
in Mexican American politics toward satisfaction of the course
requirement provided by this subsection.
(b) The requirement of Subsection (a) that the required
course instruction must include three semester hours or its
equivalent with a special emphasis on the Texas Constitution does
not apply to a degree granted on completion of an academic program
offered by a medical and dental unit, as that term is defined by
Section 61.003, to a student who is a member of the armed forces of
the United States, including the reserves or national guard, if:
(1) the program is operated by the medical and dental
unit under contract with the United States Army;
(2) the program requires less than two years of
residency in this state; and
(3) the principal participants in the program are
military personnel stationed outside this state.
(f) The course requirement provided by Subsection (a) does
not apply to:
(1) an associate of applied science degree; or
(2) an academic certificate.
SECTION 2. Section 51.301, Education Code, as amended by
this Act, applies to the curriculum requirements established for a
degree or certificate program without regard to whether the student
initially enrolled in the degree or certificate program before, on,
or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.