Texas 2021 87th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB165 Introduced / Bill

Filed 11/10/2020

                    87R3211 CXP-D
 By: Blanco S.B. No. 165


 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 AN ACT
 relating to an exception to dropped course limitations at public
 institutions of higher education for courses dropped during a
 disaster that results in a bar or limit on in-person course
 attendance.
 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 SECTION 1.  Section 51.907, Education Code, is amended by
 amending Subsection (e) and adding Subsection (e-2) to read as
 follows:
 (e)  The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
 adopt rules under which an institution of higher education shall
 permit a student to drop more courses under circumstances described
 by Subsection (b) than the number of courses permitted to be dropped
 under Subsection (c) or under a policy adopted under Subsection (d)
 if [the student shows] good cause exists for dropping more than that
 number, including:
 (1)  the student's [a] showing of:
 (A) [(1)]  a severe illness or other debilitating
 condition that affects the student's ability to satisfactorily
 complete a course;
 (B) [(2)]  the student's responsibility for the
 care of a sick, injured, or needy person if the provision of care
 affects the student's ability to satisfactorily complete a course;
 (C) [(3)]  the death of a person who:
 (i) [(A)]  is considered to be a member of
 the student's family under a rule adopted under this subsection for
 purposes of this paragraph [subdivision]; or
 (ii) [(B)] is otherwise considered to have a
 sufficiently close relationship to the student under a rule adopted
 under this subsection that the person's death is considered to be a
 showing of good cause; or
 (D) [(4)]  the active duty service as a member of
 the Texas National Guard or the armed forces of the United States
 of:
 (i) [(A)]  the student; or
 (ii) [(B)] a person who is considered to be a
 member of the student's family under a rule adopted under this
 subsection for purposes of this paragraph; or
 (2)  a disaster declared by the governor under Section
 418.014, Government Code, resulting in a bar or limit on in-person
 course attendance at the institution [subdivision].
 (e-2)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this section,
 an institution of higher education may not count toward the number
 of courses permitted to be dropped under Subsection (c) or a policy
 adopted under Subsection (d) a course dropped by a student during
 the 2020 spring semester or summer term or the 2020-2021 academic
 year because of a bar or limit on in-person course attendance at the
 institution during the applicable semester or term due to the
 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
 SECTION 2.  Section 51.907(e), Education Code, as amended by
 this Act, applies beginning with the 2021 fall semester.
 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.