Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3296 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R13931 KJE-D
2	2	By: Reynolds H.B. No. 3296
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the establishment of a higher education consortium for
10	10	civic education and a grant program for that consortium.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Subchapter Q, Chapter 61, Education Code, is
13	13	amended to read as follows:
14	14	SUBCHAPTER Q. CIVIC EDUCATION CONSORTIUM AND GRANT [TEXAS
15	15	PARTNERSHIP AND SCHOLARSHIP] PROGRAM
16	16	Sec. 61.801. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "consortium"
17	17	means the consortium of colleges and universities established under
18	18	Section 61.802.
19	19	Sec. 61.802. CONSORTIUM. (a) A consortium of colleges and
20	20	universities is established to provide civic education to residents
21	21	of this state at no cost to the student.
22	22	(b) To be eligible to participate in the consortium, a
23	23	college or university must:
24	24	(1) be located in this state;
25	25	(2) be designated as a historically black college or
26	26	university;
27	27	(3) be accredited by a recognized accrediting agency;
28	28	and
29	29	(4) for an institution of higher education, comply
30	30	with all applicable state and federal laws.
31	31	Sec. 61.803. CIVIC EDUCATION GRANT PROGRAM. (a) From money
32	32	appropriated or otherwise available for the purpose, the board
33	33	shall establish a grant program under which the board awards grants
34	34	to colleges and universities in the consortium to provide civic
35	35	education to residents of this state at no cost to the student. A
36	36	grant awarded under the grant program may be for a one-year term or
37	37	for a term of more than one year.
38	38	(b) A college or university in the consortium that receives
39	39	a grant under the grant program shall partner with a municipality,
40	40	county, community organization, public library, institution of
41	41	higher education, or private or independent institution of higher
42	42	education to provide the civic education described by Subsection
43	43	(a) through existing community programs and initiatives.
44	44	(c) Money received under the grant program may be used only
45	45	for the following purposes as related to civic education described
46	46	by Subsection (a):
47	47	(1) for colleges and universities in the consortium:
48	48	(A) faculty and staff recruitment, development,
49	49	and retention;
50	50	(B) upgrades and support for research,
51	51	curriculum development and instruction, and technological
52	52	advancements; and
53	53	(C) infrastructure improvements;
54	54	(2) for community partners described by Subsection
55	55	(b):
56	56	(A) staffing, including training to build civic
57	57	education expertise;
58	58	(B) infrastructure and program implementation;
59	59	(C) the creation of digital resources and virtual
60	60	programming to expand accessibility; and
61	61	(D) support for hosting civic education events,
62	62	including voter registration drives and workshops;
63	63	(3) support services for recruitment, development,
64	64	and retention of students; and
65	65	(4) a broad framework of civic education models and
66	66	practices to be used as the basis for curriculum and instruction
67	67	statewide.
68	68	(d) Civic education offered under the grant program must be
69	69	made available across the state, with resources directed to both
70	70	urban and rural communities.
71	71	(e) The board shall require a college or university in the
72	72	consortium that receives a grant under the grant program to
73	73	regularly report the college's or university's progress in
74	74	providing civic education described by Subsection (a).
75	75	Sec. 61.804. OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE. (a) The board shall
76	76	establish an oversight committee to monitor the consortium and
77	77	implementation of the grant program under Section 61.803.
78	78	(b) The oversight committee must consist of representatives
79	79	of:
80	80	(1) colleges and universities located in this state
81	81	and designated as historically black colleges and universities;
82	82	(2) municipalities;
83	83	(3) counties; and
84	84	(4) public libraries.
85	85	(c) The oversight committee shall evaluate the civic
86	86	education provided by the consortium under this subchapter at least
87	87	once every three years. The committee must consider:
88	88	(1) student competencies and skills growth;
89	89	(2) enrollment and completion rates; and
90	90	(3) community and economic impacts.
91	91	(d) The consortium shall contract with an independent
92	92	third-party evaluator to evaluate the civic education provided by
93	93	the consortium under this subchapter on the schedule described by
94	94	Subsection (c) and report the evaluator's findings to the oversight
95	95	committee and the consortium.
96	96	Sec. 61.805. CONSORTIUM RECOMMENDATIONS. (a) The
97	97	consortium may make recommendations to the oversight committee for
98	98	the provision of civic education under the grant program
99	99	established under Section 61.803. The recommendations must address
100	100	community needs, including state and local workforce development.
101	101	(b) The oversight committee must approve a recommendation
102	102	of the consortium before grant funding under Section 61.803 may be
103	103	spent in accordance with that recommendation.
104	104	Sec. 61.806. GIFTS, GRANTS, OR DONATIONS. The board shall
105	105	encourage the consortium to seek gifts, grants, or donations,
106	106	including matching funds from federal programs, from any public or
107	107	private source to support civic education under this subchapter.
108	108	Sec. 61.807. RULES. The board may adopt rules as necessary
109	109	to implement this subchapter.
110	110	SECTION 2. This Act applies beginning with the 2025-2026
111	111	academic year.
112	112	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
113	113	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
114	114	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
115	115	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
116	116	Act takes effect September 1, 2025.