89R21358 KJE-F
By: VanDeaver, King, Ward Johnson, Kitzman H.B. No. 2110
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2110:
By: Wilson C.S.H.B. No. 2110
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to public higher education.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 28.0095(c), (e), and (f), Education
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(c) A student is eligible to enroll at no cost in a dual
credit course under the program if the student:
(1) is enrolled:
(A) in a grade level from 9 through 12 [high
school] in a school district or charter school; and
(B) in a dual credit course at a participating
institution of higher education; and
(2) was educationally disadvantaged at any time
during:
(A) the school year in which the student enrolls
in the dual credit course described by Subdivision (1)(B); or
(B) the four school years preceding the student's
enrollment in the dual credit course described by Subdivision
(1)(B).
(e) Each school district or charter school shall:
(1) on the [a high school student's] enrollment of a
student in a grade level from 9 through 12 in a dual credit course,
determine whether the student meets the criteria for the program
under Subsection (c)(2); and
(2) notify the institution of higher education that
offers the dual credit course in which the student is enrolled of
the district's or school's determination under Subdivision (1).
(f) A school district or charter school may make the
determination under Subsection (e)(1) based on the district's or
school's records, the agency's records, or any other method
authorized by commissioner or coordinating board rule. If the
district or school bases the determination on a method other than
the agency's records, the district or school shall report the
method used and the data on which the method is based to the agency
for purposes of verification. The agency shall make available to
school districts and charter schools any available and relevant
data for making the determination required under Subsection (e)(1).
SECTION 2. Section 61.003(2), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(2) "Public junior college" means any junior college
associated with a junior college district described by Subchapter
J, Chapter 130 [listed as a public junior college in accordance with
Section 61.063].
SECTION 3. Subchapter B, Chapter 61, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 61.0275 to read as follows:
Sec. 61.0275. ADOPTION BY REFERENCE. The board may adopt by
reference a manual or policy document as a rule.
SECTION 4. Section 130A.005, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
(d) The coordinating board may use the emergency rulemaking
procedures established under Section 2001.034, Government Code, to
adopt rules necessary to align the funding formulas under this
chapter with appropriations or other legislative action. The
coordinating board is not required to make the finding described by
Section 2001.034(a), Government Code, to adopt rules under this
subsection.
SECTION 5. Section 130A.101(c), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(c) The measurable outcomes considered for purposes of
performance tier funding are:
(1) the number of credentials of value awarded, as
determined by the coordinating board based on analyses of wages and
costs associated with the credential, including degrees,
certificates, and other credentials from credit and non-credit
programs that equip students for continued learning and greater
earnings in the state economy, with an additional weight for
placement of students who earn that credential in a high-demand
occupation, as defined by coordinating board rule, or an
appropriate proxy determined by the coordinating board based on
available data;
(2) the number of students who earn at least 15
semester credit hours or the equivalent at the junior college
district and:
(A) subsequently transfer to:
(i) a general academic teaching
institution, as that term is defined by Section 61.003; or
(ii) a private or independent institution
of higher education, as that term is defined by Section 61.003, that
offers four-year degree programs; or
(B) are enrolled in a structured co-enrollment
program, as authorized by coordinating board rule; and
(3) the number of students who complete a sequence of
at least 15 semester credit hours or the equivalent for dual credit
or dual enrollment courses, as defined by coordinating board rule,
that apply toward academic or workforce program requirements at the
postsecondary level.
SECTION 6. Subchapter C, Chapter 130A, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 130A.102 to read as follows:
Sec. 130A.102. CREDENTIALS OF VALUE. (a) For purposes of
Section 130A.101(c)(1), the coordinating board shall designate a
credential as a credential of value if the credential:
(1) provides a positive return on investment for a
student who received the credential, as measured by earning or
being expected to earn cumulative wages at least equal to the
cumulative median earnings for high school graduates in this state
and earning at least the individual self-sufficient wage, as
defined by coordinating board rule, during the period specified by
coordinating board rule but not more than 10 years after the date on
which the credential is received; and
(2) allows a student who received the credential to
recoup the net cost of attendance at a public junior college,
including opportunity cost, where:
(A) the net cost of attendance is the net cost of
attendance used for purposes of financial aid at the college less
any aid received by the student; and
(B) opportunity cost is the difference between
cumulative median earnings for high school graduates in this state
and cumulative median earnings for students while enrolled in the
certificate or degree program leading to the credential for:
(i) a period of two years for an associate
degree program;
(ii) a period of four years for a
baccalaureate degree program; and
(iii) a period determined by coordinating
board rule based on the program's design for a certificate or degree
program not described by Subparagraph (i) or (ii).
(b) The coordinating board shall calculate the return on
investment for a credential under Subsection (a)(1) using the most
current data available to the coordinating board from:
(1) the integrated postsecondary education data
system maintained by the National Center for Education Statistics;
(2) wage records obtained from the Texas Workforce
Commission;
(3) the American Community Survey by the United States
Census Bureau;
(4) the coordinating board's data reporting systems;
or
(5) other data sources selected by the coordinating
board.
(c) In adopting a definition of individual self-sufficient
wage for purposes of Subsection (a)(1), the coordinating board
shall ensure the definition is correlated with the statewide median
of the self-sufficient wage determined under Section 2308A.012,
Government Code.
(d) The coordinating board may designate a credential in
education or health care as a credential of value regardless of
whether the credential meets the criteria under Subsection (a) if
the coordinating board determines the designation is necessary to
ensure the workforce needs of this state are met in those fields.
(e) The coordinating board shall adopt rules as necessary to
implement this section in alignment with the long-range master plan
for higher education in this state developed under Section
61.051(a-1).
SECTION 7. Chapter 2308A, Government Code, is amended by
adding Section 2308A.0115 to read as follows:
Sec. 2308A.0115. COORDINATION OF GRANT PROGRAMS FOR
SECONDARY AND POSTSECONDARY CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION
PROGRAMS. (a) For the establishment, implementation, and expansion
of secondary and postsecondary career and technical education
programs that are aligned with the state workforce development
goals, the agency, coordinating board, and commission shall
coordinate the competitive grant programs for those programs,
including:
(1) the Jobs and Education for Texans (JET) Grant
Program under Chapter 134, Education Code;
(2) the grant program established under the Pathways
in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) program under
Section 29.556, Education Code;
(3) the Texas Reskilling and Upskilling through
Education (TRUE) Program established under Subchapter T-2, Chapter
61, Education Code; and
(4) federal career and technical education grant
programs, including grant programs under the Carl D. Perkins Career
and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. Section 2301 et
seq.).
(b) In coordinating grant programs under Subsection (a),
the agency, coordinating board, and commission shall jointly:
(1) address career and technical education program
startup and delivery costs by aligning two or more grant funding
streams;
(2) identify and work to reduce duplication in grant
programs across the agency, coordinating board, and commission;
(3) identify opportunities to structure grant funding
for career and technical education projects that support
secondary-to-postsecondary career pathways, including by providing
for career and technical education dual credit or the attainment of
postsecondary credentials by secondary students;
(4) identify opportunities to structure grant funding
for career and technical education projects that are:
(A) aligned with the attainment of credentials of
value, as designated by the coordinating board for purposes of
Section 130A.101(c)(1), Education Code; and
(B) designed to meet state workforce needs in
high-demand fields; and
(5) to the extent possible, prioritize comprehensive
funding of facilities, equipment, instructional materials, and
faculty and staff for program development and delivery to best meet
the state workforce development goals.
SECTION 8. Section 204.0025, Labor Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 204.0025. ADDITIONAL WORKFORCE DATA REPORTING. The
commission shall [It is the intent of the legislature that the
commission, subject to the availability of federal funding or other
resources for the purpose,] work with employers to enhance the
reporting of employment and earnings data by employers to the
commission as part of an employer's routine wage filings under this
subtitle or commission rule and consistent with federal law and
regulations. The enhanced wage filings must include information
related to wage, industry, occupational field, full-time and
part-time status, county of primary employment, remote work status,
[occupation] and other important employment information necessary
to conduct the assessment required under Section 302.0205 [that
would improve the state's labor market information].
SECTION 9. Subchapter A, Chapter 302, Labor Code, is
amended by adding Section 302.0205 to read as follows:
Sec. 302.0205. REGIONAL LABOR DEMAND ASSESSMENT. (a) In
this section, "institution of higher education" has the meaning
assigned by Section 61.003, Education Code.
(b) The commission shall conduct a biennial assessment of
available regional labor demands across this state using the best
available state and federal labor market data, as determined by the
commission, to allow institutions of higher education to better
align educational programs with workforce needs. The assessment
must:
(1) analyze current and projected workforce needs in
each region of this state over a 10-year period, disaggregated to
the extent possible by wage, industry, occupational field,
full-time and part-time status, county of primary employment, and
remote work status; and
(2) identify for each region and county of this state
the industries and occupations that lead to an individual
self-sufficient wage, as defined by Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board rule in accordance with Section 130A.102,
Education Code.
(c) The commission may coordinate with other state
agencies, including the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
and the Texas Education Agency, to conduct the assessment under
this section.
(d) In conducting the assessment under this section, the
commission may:
(1) obtain any data the commission is authorized by
law to obtain from a state or federal agency or institution of
higher education at no cost to the commission;
(2) obtain expedited access at no cost to the
commission to data available through a center for education
research established under Section 1.005, Education Code; and
(3) contract with a state agency or institution of
higher education to conduct or assist in conducting the assessment.
(e) If the commission contracts with an institution of
higher education to conduct or assist in conducting the assessment
under Subsection (d)(3), the Texas Higher Education Coordinating
Board and the Texas Education Agency shall enter into a data sharing
agreement with the institution to provide to the institution any
data necessary to conduct the assessment.
(f) Not later than March 1 of each odd-numbered year, the
commission shall provide the results of the assessment to:
(1) the governor;
(2) the lieutenant governor;
(3) the speaker of the house of representatives;
(4) the standing legislative committees with primary
jurisdiction over higher education;
(5) the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board;
(6) the Texas Education Agency;
(7) institutions of higher education; and
(8) public schools.
SECTION 10. Section 28.0095, Education Code, as amended by
this Act, applies beginning with the 2025-2026 school year.
SECTION 11. Not later than December 1, 2026, the Texas
Higher Education Coordinating Board shall evaluate the data
available under Section 204.0025, Labor Code, as amended by this
Act, to identify the effects of transitioning to a county-by-county
definition of individual self-sufficient wage for purposes of
Section 130A.102, Education Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 12. (a) Section 130A.102, Education Code, as added
by this Act, applies to associate degrees awarded by a public junior
college beginning with the 2025-2026 academic year. That section
applies to other degrees and certificates awarded by a public
junior college beginning with the 2027-2028 academic year.
(b) Not later than August 1, 2027, the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board, in consultation with the standing
advisory committee established under Section 130.001, Education
Code, shall adopt rules implementing Section 130A.102, Education
Code, as added by this Act, for each certificate program offered by
a public junior college.
SECTION 13. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this
section, 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, 2025.
(b) Section 130A.101(c), Education Code, as amended by this
Act, and Section 130A.102, Education Code, as added by this Act,
take effect September 1, 2025.