Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2920 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

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1	1	H.B. No. 2920
2	2
3	3
4	4	AN ACT
5	5	relating to the distribution, posting, or provision of information
6	6	regarding postsecondary education and career opportunities and to
7	7	the confidentiality of certain information relating to persons
8	8	provided assistance in accessing postsecondary education.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 7.040(a), Education Code, is amended to
11	11	read as follows:
12	12	(a) The agency shall prepare information comparing
13	13	institutions of higher education in this state and post the
14	14	information on the agency's Internet website. Information prepared
15	15	under this section shall be made publicly available in a manner that
16	16	is accessible [given] to any [a] public or private school student
17	17	seeking [who requests] the information. The information shall:
18	18	(1) identify postsecondary education and career
19	19	opportunities, including information that states the benefits of
20	20	four-year and two-year higher education programs, postsecondary
21	21	technical education, skilled workforce careers, and career
22	22	education programs;
23	23	(2) assist prospective postsecondary students in
24	24	assessing the value of a certificate program, associate or
25	25	baccalaureate degree program, or other credential program offered
26	26	by an institution of higher education by comparing [compare] each
27	27	institution [of higher education] with other institutions using
28	28	information included in the electronic tools or platforms developed
29	29	by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board under Section
30	30	61.09022(a) [regarding:
31	31	[(A) the relative cost of tuition;
32	32	[(B) the retention rate of students;
33	33	[(C) the graduation rate of students;
34	34	[(D) the average student debt;
35	35	[(E) the loan repayment rate of students; and
36	36	[(F) the employment rate of students];
37	37	(3) identify the state's future workforce needs, as
38	38	projected by the Texas Workforce Commission; [and]
39	39	(4) include annual starting wage information and
40	40	educational requirements for the top 25 [10] highest demand jobs in
41	41	this state, as identified by the Texas Workforce Commission;
42	42	(5) identify the 40 baccalaureate degree programs with
43	43	the highest average annual wages following graduation; and
44	44	(6) identify the 20 associate degree or certificate
45	45	programs with the highest average annual wages following
46	46	graduation.
47	47	SECTION 2. Section 51.762(b-1), Education Code, is amended
48	48	to read as follows:
49	49	(b-1) An electronic common admission application form
50	50	adopted under this section must include a prominent link to the
51	51	electronic tools or platforms developed by the board under Section
52	52	61.09022 [comparative gainful employment data regarding
53	53	institutions of higher education, including information described
54	54	by Section 7.040, on a website maintained by the board using data
55	55	compiled by the board in coordination with the Texas Workforce
56	56	Commission].
57	57	SECTION 3. Section 51.763(b), Education Code, is amended to
58	58	read as follows:
59	59	(b) The form must:
60	60	(1) allow each applicant to:
61	61	(A) apply electronically to one or more of the
62	62	general academic teaching institutions within the university
63	63	system; and
64	64	(B) indicate preferences for admission between
65	65	those institutions; and
66	66	(2) include a prominent link to the electronic tools
67	67	or platforms developed by the board under Section 61.09022
68	68	[comparative gainful employment data regarding institutions of
69	69	higher education, including information described by Section
70	70	7.040, on a website maintained by the board using data compiled by
71	71	the board in coordination with the Texas Workforce Commission].
72	72	SECTION 4. The heading to Section 61.031, Education Code,
73	73	is amended to read as follows:
74	74	Sec. 61.031. PUBLIC [INTEREST] INFORMATION AND COMPLAINTS.
75	75	SECTION 5. Section 61.031, Education Code, is amended by
76	76	adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
77	77	(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, information
78	78	that relates to a current, former, or prospective applicant or
79	79	student of an educational institution and that is obtained,
80	80	received, or held by the board for the purpose of providing
81	81	assistance with access to postsecondary education is confidential
82	82	and excepted from disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code,
83	83	and may only be released in conformity with the Family Educational
84	84	Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g). The board
85	85	may withhold information prohibited from being disclosed under this
86	86	subsection without requesting a decision from the attorney general
87	87	under Subchapter G, Chapter 552, Government Code.
88	88	SECTION 6. Subchapter C, Chapter 61, Education Code, is
89	89	amended by adding Section 61.09022 to read as follows:
90	90	Sec. 61.09022. INFORMATION TO ASSIST STUDENTS IN ASSESSING
91	91	VALUE OF POSTSECONDARY CREDENTIALS. (a) From money appropriated
92	92	or otherwise available for the purpose, the board shall develop one
93	93	or more electronic tools or platforms to provide information to
94	94	assist prospective postsecondary students in assessing the value of
95	95	a certificate program, associate or baccalaureate degree program,
96	96	or other credential program offered by an institution of higher
97	97	education or private or independent institution of higher education
98	98	by comparing each institution with other institutions regarding:
99	99	(1) the relative cost of obtaining the certificate,
100	100	degree, or other credential, based on the most recent data
101	101	available to the board from the Texas Workforce Commission,
102	102	institutions of higher education, the federal government, or any
103	103	other source from which the board may obtain reliable data,
104	104	including:
105	105	(A) the cost for each of the following at the 25th
106	106	percentile, the median, and the 75th percentile:
107	107	(i) total cost of attendance;
108	108	(ii) tuition and fees;
109	109	(iii) room and board;
110	110	(iv) books and supplies;
111	111	(v) transportation; and
112	112	(vi) other costs; and
113	113	(B) the estimated net cost remaining after
114	114	subtracting from the amount described by Paragraph (A) the average
115	115	amount of scholarship and grant aid awarded to the typical student
116	116	for the program;
117	117	(2) the value of the certificate, degree, or other
118	118	credential as measured by comparing:
119	119	(A) the median wage earned by students who
120	120	graduated with the certificate, degree, or other credential from
121	121	the institution; and
122	122	(B) the median student debt of students who
123	123	graduated with the certificate, degree, or other credential from
124	124	the institution as compared to the median student debt of all
125	125	students who graduated with the certificate, degree, or other
126	126	credential, based on the most recent data available to the board
127	127	from the Texas Workforce Commission, institutions of higher
128	128	education, the federal government, or any other source from which
129	129	the board may obtain reliable data;
130	130	(3) the average student debt-to-income ratio of
131	131	students who graduated with the certificate, degree, or other
132	132	credential from the institution and have student debt, including
133	133	the estimated monthly student loan payment, computed using the
134	134	standard 10-year repayment plan;
135	135	(4) progress on repaying student loans by students who
136	136	graduated with the certificate, degree, or other credential from
137	137	the institution; and
138	138	(5) educational outcomes for students seeking the
139	139	certificate, degree, or other credential, including:
140	140	(A) for a program designed to be completed in
141	141	more than one year, the percentage of students who continue in the
142	142	program after the first year of study;
143	143	(B) the completion rate;
144	144	(C) the percentage of students who withdraw or
145	145	transfer from the institution and subsequently graduate with the
146	146	certificate, degree, or other credential from another institution
147	147	of higher education or private or independent institution of higher
148	148	education;
149	149	(D) the percentage of students who withdraw from
150	150	the institution and do not enroll in the program at another
151	151	institution of higher education or private or independent
152	152	institution of higher education within three years of the
153	153	withdrawal; and
154	154	(E) the percentage of graduates employed in the
155	155	top five industries in this state, as identified by the Texas
156	156	Workforce Commission, by certificate program, degree program, or
157	157	other credential program within one year of graduation.
158	158	(c) The board may solicit and accept gifts, grants, and
159	159	donations from any public or private source to implement this
160	160	section.
161	161	(d) The board shall adopt rules as necessary to implement
162	162	this section.
163	163	SECTION 7. Section 7.040(c), Education Code, is transferred
164	164	to Section 61.09022, Education Code, as added by this Act,
165	165	redesignated as Section 61.09022(b), Education Code, and amended to
166	166	read as follows:
167	167	(b) [(c)] Each institution of higher education shall
168	168	include on its Internet website, in a prominent location that is not
169	169	more than three hyperlinks from the website's home page, a link to
170	170	the electronic tools or platforms developed by the board
171	171	[information posted on the agency's Internet website] under
172	172	Subsection (a).
173	173	SECTION 8. Section 2308A.007, Government Code, is amended
174	174	by adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
175	175	(a-1) A credential library established under this section
176	176	must include the information included in the electronic tools or
177	177	platforms developed by the coordinating board under Section
178	178	61.09022(a), Education Code.
179	179	SECTION 9. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
180	180	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
181	181	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
182	182	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
183	183	Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
184	184	______________________________ ______________________________
185	185	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
186	186	I certify that H.B. No. 2920 was passed by the House on April
187	187	28, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 138, Nays 6, 2 present, not
188	188	voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
189	189	No. 2920 on May 24, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 144, Nays 0,
190	190	1 present, not voting.
191	191	______________________________
192	192	Chief Clerk of the House
193	193	I certify that H.B. No. 2920 was passed by the Senate, with
194	194	amendments, on May 19, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
195	195	0.
196	196	______________________________
197	197	Secretary of the Senate
198	198	APPROVED: __________________
199	199	Date
200	200	__________________
201	201	Governor