By: West, et al. S.B. No. 1277
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to an agreement between a school district and public
institution of higher education to provide a dual credit program to
high school students enrolled in the district.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 28.009(b-2), Education Code, as amended
by Chapters 264 (S.B. 1276) and 901 (H.B. 3650), Acts of the 86th
Legislature, Regular Session, 2019, is reenacted and amended to
read as follows:
(b-2) Any agreement, including a memorandum of
understanding or articulation agreement, between a school district
and public institution of higher education to provide a dual credit
program described by Subsection (b-1) must:
(1) include specific program goals aligned with the
statewide goals developed under Subsection (b-1);
(2) establish common advising strategies and
terminology related to dual credit and college readiness;
(3) provide for the alignment of endorsements
described by Section 28.025(c-1) offered by the district, and dual
credit courses offered under the agreement that apply towards those
endorsements, with postsecondary pathways and credentials at the
institution and industry certifications;
(4) identify tools, including tools developed by the
agency, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, or the Texas
Workforce Commission, to assist school counselors, students, and
families in selecting endorsements offered by the district and dual
credit courses offered under the agreement;
(5) establish, or provide a procedure for
establishing, the course credits that may be earned under the
agreement, including by developing a course equivalency crosswalk
or other method for equating high school courses with college
courses and identifying the number of credits that may be earned for
each course completed through the program;
(6) describe the academic supports and, if applicable,
guidance that will be provided to students participating in the
program;
(7) establish the district's and the institution's
respective roles and responsibilities in providing the program and
ensuring the quality and instructional rigor of the program;
(8) state the sources of funding for courses offered
under the program, including, at a minimum, the sources of funding
for tuition, transportation, and any required fees or textbooks for
students participating in the program;
(9) require the district and the institution to
consider the use of free or low-cost open educational resources in
courses offered under the program; [and]
(10) [(7)] be posted each year on the district's and
the institution's respective Internet websites; and
(11) designate at least one employee of the district
or institution as responsible for providing academic advising to a
student who enrolls in a dual credit course under the program before
the student begins the course.
SECTION 2. Section 28.009(b-2), Education Code, as
reenacted and amended by this Act, applies only to an agreement to
provide a dual credit program entered into or renewed on or after
September 1, 2021. An agreement to provide a dual credit program
entered into or renewed before September 1, 2021, is governed by the
law as it existed at the time the agreement was entered into or
renewed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails
over another Act of the 87th Legislature, Regular Session, 2021,
relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
codes.
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, 2021.