By: Paul, Tepper (Senate Sponsor - Bettencourt) H.B. No. 2920
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 1, 2023;
May 1, 2023, read first time and referred to Committee on
Education; May 18, 2023, reported adversely, with favorable
Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 12, Nays 0;
May 18, 2023, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 2920 By: Springer
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the distribution, posting, or provision of information
regarding postsecondary education and career opportunities and to
the confidentiality of certain information relating to persons
provided assistance in accessing postsecondary education.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 7.040(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The agency shall prepare information comparing
institutions of higher education in this state and post the
information on the agency's Internet website. Information prepared
under this section shall be made publicly available in a manner that
is accessible [given] to any [a] public or private school student
seeking [who requests] the information. The information shall:
(1) identify postsecondary education and career
opportunities, including information that states the benefits of
four-year and two-year higher education programs, postsecondary
technical education, skilled workforce careers, and career
education programs;
(2) assist prospective postsecondary students in
assessing the value of a certificate program, associate or
baccalaureate degree program, or other credential program offered
by an institution of higher education by comparing [compare] each
institution [of higher education] with other institutions using
information included in the electronic tools or platforms developed
by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board under Section
61.09022(a) [regarding:
[(A) the relative cost of tuition;
[(B) the retention rate of students;
[(C) the graduation rate of students;
[(D) the average student debt;
[(E) the loan repayment rate of students; and
[(F) the employment rate of students];
(3) identify the state's future workforce needs, as
projected by the Texas Workforce Commission; [and]
(4) include annual starting wage information and
educational requirements for the top 25 [10] highest demand jobs in
this state, as identified by the Texas Workforce Commission;
(5) identify the 40 baccalaureate degree programs with
the highest average annual wages following graduation; and
(6) identify the 20 associate degree or certificate
programs with the highest average annual wages following
graduation.
SECTION 2. Section 51.762(b-1), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b-1) An electronic common admission application form
adopted under this section must include a prominent link to the
electronic tools or platforms developed by the board under Section
61.09022 [comparative gainful employment data regarding
institutions of higher education, including information described
by Section 7.040, on a website maintained by the board using data
compiled by the board in coordination with the Texas Workforce
Commission].
SECTION 3. Section 51.763(b), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) The form must:
(1) allow each applicant to:
(A) apply electronically to one or more of the
general academic teaching institutions within the university
system; and
(B) indicate preferences for admission between
those institutions; and
(2) include a prominent link to the electronic tools
or platforms developed by the board under Section 61.09022
[comparative gainful employment data regarding institutions of
higher education, including information described by Section
7.040, on a website maintained by the board using data compiled by
the board in coordination with the Texas Workforce Commission].
SECTION 4. The heading to Section 61.031, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 61.031. PUBLIC [INTEREST] INFORMATION AND COMPLAINTS.
SECTION 5. Section 61.031, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, information
that relates to a current, former, or prospective applicant or
student of an educational institution and that is obtained,
received, or held by the board for the purpose of providing
assistance with access to postsecondary education is confidential
and excepted from disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code,
and may only be released in conformity with the Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g). The board
may withhold information prohibited from being disclosed under this
subsection without requesting a decision from the attorney general
under Subchapter G, Chapter 552, Government Code.
SECTION 6. Subchapter C, Chapter 61, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 61.09022 to read as follows:
Sec. 61.09022. INFORMATION TO ASSIST STUDENTS IN ASSESSING
VALUE OF POSTSECONDARY CREDENTIALS. (a) From money appropriated
or otherwise available for the purpose, the board shall develop one
or more electronic tools or platforms to provide information to
assist prospective postsecondary students in assessing the value of
a certificate program, associate or baccalaureate degree program,
or other credential program offered by an institution of higher
education or private or independent institution of higher education
by comparing each institution with other institutions regarding:
(1) the relative cost of obtaining the certificate,
degree, or other credential, based on the most recent data
available to the board from the Texas Workforce Commission,
institutions of higher education, the federal government, or any
other source from which the board may obtain reliable data,
including:
(A) the cost for each of the following at the 25th
percentile, the median, and the 75th percentile:
(i) total cost of attendance;
(ii) tuition and fees;
(iii) room and board;
(iv) books and supplies;
(v) transportation; and
(vi) other costs; and
(B) the estimated net cost remaining after
subtracting from the amount described by Paragraph (A) the average
amount of scholarship and grant aid awarded to the typical student
for the program;
(2) the value of the certificate, degree, or other
credential as measured by comparing:
(A) the median wage earned by students who
graduated with the certificate, degree, or other credential from
the institution; and
(B) the median student debt of students who
graduated with the certificate, degree, or other credential from
the institution as compared to the median student debt of all
students who graduated with the certificate, degree, or other
credential, based on the most recent data available to the board
from the Texas Workforce Commission, institutions of higher
education, the federal government, or any other source from which
the board may obtain reliable data;
(3) the average student debt-to-income ratio of
students who graduated with the certificate, degree, or other
credential from the institution and have student debt, including
the estimated monthly student loan payment, computed using the
standard 10-year repayment plan;
(4) progress on repaying student loans by students who
graduated with the certificate, degree, or other credential from
the institution; and
(5) educational outcomes for students seeking the
certificate, degree, or other credential, including:
(A) for a program designed to be completed in
more than one year, the percentage of students who continue in the
program after the first year of study;
(B) the completion rate;
(C) the percentage of students who withdraw or
transfer from the institution and subsequently graduate with the
certificate, degree, or other credential from another institution
of higher education or private or independent institution of higher
education;
(D) the percentage of students who withdraw from
the institution and do not enroll in the program at another
institution of higher education or private or independent
institution of higher education within three years of the
withdrawal; and
(E) the percentage of graduates employed in the
top five industries in this state, as identified by the Texas
Workforce Commission, by certificate program, degree program, or
other credential program within one year of graduation.
(c) The board may solicit and accept gifts, grants, and
donations from any public or private source to implement this
section.
(d) The board shall adopt rules as necessary to implement
this section.
SECTION 7. Section 7.040(c), Education Code, is transferred
to Section 61.09022, Education Code, as added by this Act,
redesignated as Section 61.09022(b), Education Code, and amended to
read as follows:
(b) [(c)] Each institution of higher education shall
include on its Internet website, in a prominent location that is not
more than three hyperlinks from the website's home page, a link to
the electronic tools or platforms developed by the board
[information posted on the agency's Internet website] under
Subsection (a).
SECTION 8. Section 2308A.007, Government Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
(a-1) A credential library established under this section
must include the information included in the electronic tools or
platforms developed by the coordinating board under Section
61.09022(a), Education Code.
SECTION 9. 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, 2023.
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