| 1 | 1 | | 89R3432 CMO-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Bernal H.B. No. 538 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | |
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| 6 | 6 | | |
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| 7 | 7 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 8 | 8 | | AN ACT |
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| 9 | 9 | | relating to student access to certain academic records; authorizing |
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| 10 | 10 | | a fee. |
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| 11 | 11 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 12 | 12 | | SECTION 1. Section 51.9715, Education Code, is amended by |
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| 13 | 13 | | adding Subsections (c), (d), (e), (f), and (g) to read as follows: |
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| 14 | 14 | | (c) Except as provided by Subsections (d) and (e), on |
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| 15 | 15 | | request by a student, a postsecondary educational institution shall |
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| 16 | 16 | | release to the student the student's transcript or the student's |
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| 17 | 17 | | certificate of completion of training issued by the institution |
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| 18 | 18 | | under Chapter 132, as applicable. |
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| 19 | 19 | | (d) On request by a student who has not fulfilled the |
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| 20 | 20 | | student's financial obligation to the institution, a postsecondary |
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| 21 | 21 | | educational institution must release the student's transcript or |
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| 22 | 22 | | the student's certificate of completion of training issued by the |
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| 23 | 23 | | institution under Chapter 132, as applicable, only if the student: |
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| 24 | 24 | | (1) has not been enrolled in the institution for at |
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| 25 | 25 | | least five years; |
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| 26 | 26 | | (2) includes with the student's request a copy of the |
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| 27 | 27 | | posting for the job for which the student intends to apply or a |
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| 28 | 28 | | statement that the student intends to enroll in another |
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| 29 | 29 | | postsecondary educational institution; and |
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| 30 | 30 | | (3) has made a good faith effort to fulfill the |
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| 31 | 31 | | student's financial obligation to the institution, such as by |
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| 32 | 32 | | entering into a payment plan with the institution. |
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| 33 | 33 | | (e) A transcript or certificate of completion of training |
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| 34 | 34 | | released on request by a student under Subsection (d) must be issued |
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| 35 | 35 | | directly to the employer or postsecondary educational institution |
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| 36 | 36 | | for which the student is requesting the transcript or certificate |
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| 37 | 37 | | of completion of training. |
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| 38 | 38 | | (f) A postsecondary educational institution may charge a |
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| 39 | 39 | | reasonable fee in connection with the release of a transcript or a |
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| 40 | 40 | | certificate of completion of training under this section. The |
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| 41 | 41 | | amount of a fee charged under this subsection must be the same for |
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| 42 | 42 | | each student, except that a postsecondary educational institution |
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| 43 | 43 | | may establish a policy that provides for charging a lower fee for |
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| 44 | 44 | | certain students based on criteria other than whether the student |
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| 45 | 45 | | has fulfilled the student's financial obligation to the |
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| 46 | 46 | | institution. |
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| 47 | 47 | | (g) In this section, "postsecondary educational |
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| 48 | 48 | | institution" includes an "institution of higher education" and a |
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| 49 | 49 | | "private or independent institution of higher education" as those |
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| 50 | 50 | | terms are defined by Section 61.003, and a "career school or |
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| 51 | 51 | | college" as defined by Section 132.001. |
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| 52 | 52 | | SECTION 2. Section 54.057(b), Education Code, is amended to |
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| 53 | 53 | | read as follows: |
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| 54 | 54 | | (b) The person shall pay the applicable amount to the |
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| 55 | 55 | | institution not later than the 30th day after the date the person is |
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| 56 | 56 | | notified of the person's liability for the amount owed. After |
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| 57 | 57 | | receiving the notice and until the amount is paid in full, the |
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| 58 | 58 | | person is not entitled to receive from the institution a |
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| 59 | 59 | | certificate or diploma, if not yet awarded on the date of the |
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| 60 | 60 | | notice, [or official transcript] that is based at least partially |
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| 61 | 61 | | on [or includes] credit for courses taken while the person was |
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| 62 | 62 | | erroneously classified as a resident of this state. |
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| 63 | 63 | | SECTION 3. Section 132.055(b)(6), Education Code, is |
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| 64 | 64 | | amended to read as follows: |
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| 65 | 65 | | (6) On [Except as provided by Section 132.062, on] |
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| 66 | 66 | | completion of training, the student is given a certificate by the |
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| 67 | 67 | | school or college indicating the program and that training was |
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| 68 | 68 | | satisfactorily completed. |
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| 69 | 69 | | SECTION 4. Section 132.062, Education Code, is repealed. |
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| 70 | 70 | | SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 71 | 71 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 72 | 72 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 73 | 73 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 74 | 74 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |
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