87R7725 KJE-F
By: Rogers, Morrison, Lambert, Ashby, Fierro, H.B. No. 2766
et al.
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the creation of a rural dual credit pilot program by the
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 61, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 61.0765 to read as follows:
Sec. 61.0765. RURAL DUAL CREDIT PILOT PROGRAM. (a) The
board shall establish a pilot program under which the board awards
grants to participating public junior colleges to provide financial
assistance to educationally disadvantaged high school students for
all or part of the cost of enrolling in dual credit courses at the
college.
(b) The board shall select not more than 10 public junior
colleges in the small or medium public junior college peer group, as
identified by the board, to participate in the pilot program. In
selecting public junior colleges, the board shall, to the extent
practicable, ensure that at least one public junior college from
each region of the state is included.
(c) A participating public junior college must:
(1) use grant funds awarded under this section to
provide financial assistance to eligible students for all or part
of the cost of tuition and required fees for dual credit courses at
the college;
(2) work with high schools that partner with the
college to provide dual credit courses and elect to participate in
the pilot program to:
(A) inform eligible students regarding the pilot
program and how those courses relate to postsecondary education and
career paths; and
(B) assist eligible students in applying to
enroll in those courses; and
(3) collect and report to the board data on:
(A) participation rates of eligible students in
the pilot program;
(B) outreach efforts regarding the pilot
program; and
(C) the percentage of eligible students
receiving financial assistance under the pilot program who graduate
from high school:
(i) in the top 10 percent of the student's
high school class; or
(ii) with a workforce certificate or
credential.
(d) A student is eligible to receive financial assistance
under the pilot program if the student:
(1) is educationally disadvantaged;
(2) is enrolled in a participating public or private
high school, including a home school, in the service area of a
participating public junior college; and
(3) has completed less than 60 semester credit hours
at an institution of higher education.
(e) Funds provided to an eligible student under the pilot
program must be used for the cost of tuition or required fees for
dual credit courses at the participating public junior college.
(f) A public or private high school, including a home
school, that partners with a participating public junior college to
provide dual credit courses and elects to participate in the pilot
program must provide to students in grade nine or the equivalent
information regarding dual credit opportunities and the funding
available for dual credit courses under the pilot program.
(g) Not later than December 1, 2022, the board shall
evaluate the effectiveness of the pilot program and report the
results of the evaluation to the legislature. In evaluating the
pilot program, the board shall determine:
(1) any increase in:
(A) the rate of participation of eligible
students in dual credit courses;
(B) the number of dual credit semester credit
hours or the equivalent attempted by eligible students; and
(C) the number of eligible students who graduate
from high school:
(i) in the top 10 percent of the student's
high school class; or
(ii) with a workforce certificate or
credential; and
(2) whether the pilot program should be expanded to
all public junior colleges in the small and medium peer groups, as
identified by the board.
(h) This section expires September 1, 2023.
SECTION 2. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
shall establish the pilot program under Section 61.0765, Education
Code, as added by this Act, as soon as practicable following the
effective date of this Act.
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, 2021.