BILL ANALYSIS |
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C.S.H.B. 2937 |
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By: Canales |
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Higher Education |
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Committee Report (Substituted) |
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BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Interested parties believe that providing more opportunities for dual credit courses would positively benefit students and the Texas economy. C.S.H.B. 2937 seeks to achieve this goal by establishing a pilot program under which a licensed hospital may offer dual credit courses to public high school students.
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CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
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RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the commissioner of education in SECTION 1 of this bill.
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ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 2937 amends the Education Code to require the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to develop and implement a pilot program under which a licensed hospital may offer dual credit courses to high school students enrolled in a public school district in partnership with the district. The bill requires TEA to select one licensed hospital to participate in the pilot program and requires the hospital to be accredited by The Joint Commission and either to have been issued a certificate of approval to offer a program of instruction by the Texas Workforce Commission or a certificate of authority to award a degree for a program of study by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board or to be accredited to offer a degree program by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools or any other association or organization designated as a recognized accrediting agency by the coordinating board. The bill authorizes the selected hospital to offer under the pilot program only dual credit courses that are in the curriculum of the hospital's authorized program of instruction or study or accredited degree program, as applicable, and requires the selected hospital to determine the content of each dual credit course offered under the pilot program.
C.S.H.B. 2937 requires the selected hospital to design the dual credit courses offered under the pilot program to enable students to earn a variety of certifications, certificates, and degrees, which must be selected based on the needs of the hospital, the terms of the hospital's agreements with partnering school districts to provide the dual credit courses under the pilot program, and the goal of preparing students for employment in the health care field. The bill prohibits the selected hospital from charging a student for a dual credit course offered under the pilot program an amount greater than the average amount charged by other providers for a similar course offered in the same region as the dual credit course, if any. The bill requires TEA to provide to the selected hospital, from funds available for the purpose, funding for each contact hour attributable to the enrollment of a public high school student in a dual credit course offered under the pilot program in an amount equal to the amount allocated for an equivalent contact hour to a public junior college under statutory provisions relating to state appropriation for public junior colleges. The bill authorizes the commissioner of education to adopt rules as necessary to implement the bill's provisions, which apply beginning with the 2017-2018 school year.
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EFFECTIVE DATE
On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2017.
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COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.H.B. 2937 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following comparison is organized and formatted in a manner that indicates the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.
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