By: Watson, et al. S.B. No. 863
(Frullo)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a study of costs associated with dual credit courses
offered at public high schools.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 28, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 28.0091 to read as follows:
Sec. 28.0091. STUDY OF COSTS OF DUAL CREDIT COURSES.
(a) The agency shall conduct an ongoing study to examine costs
associated with dual credit courses offered at public high schools.
In conducting the study, the agency shall:
(1) collect from school districts, public
institutions of higher education, and the Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board data relating to costs associated with dual
credit courses, including:
(A) tuition and required fees;
(B) the cost of required textbooks or other
instructional materials;
(C) the cost of student transportation to and
from the location at which a dual credit course is provided;
(D) any fee collected to pay the instructor of a
dual credit course;
(E) the cost of any assessment instrument
administered under Section 51.333 as a prerequisite for enrollment
in a dual credit course;
(F) the cost of using a facility at which a dual
credit course is provided; and
(G) any other associated costs identified during
the study;
(2) identify the sources of funding for dual credit
courses and the amount funded by each source; and
(3) consult with relevant stakeholders, including the
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the American Institutes
for Research, and the Texas Dual Credit Task Force.
(b) The agency may contract with any public or private
entity to conduct the study under this section.
(c) Not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year,
the agency shall submit to the governor, the lieutenant governor,
and the speaker of the house of representatives a report on the
results of the study under this section. The report must include a
comparison of:
(1) costs associated with dual credit courses offered
at public high schools generally and costs associated with dual
credit courses offered through a college and career readiness
school program, including:
(A) an early college high school program;
(B) the Pathways in Technology Early College High
School (P-TECH) program established under Section 29.553;
(C) an Industry Cluster Innovative Academy; and
(D) a Texas Science, Technology, Engineering,
and Mathematics (T-STEM) Center; and
(2) the cost associated with dual credit courses per
semester credit hour or the equivalent and the total cost
associated with those courses.
(d) The commissioner may adopt rules as necessary to
administer this section.
SECTION 2. Not later than December 1, 2020, the Texas
Education Agency shall submit the initial report required under
Section 28.0091, Education Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 3. The Texas Education Agency is required to
implement a provision of this Act only if the legislature
appropriates money specifically for that purpose. If the
legislature does not appropriate money specifically for that
purpose, the Texas Education Agency may, but is not required to,
implement a provision of this Act using other appropriations
available for that purpose.
SECTION 4. 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, 2019.