TO:	Honorable Larry Taylor, Chair, Senate Committee on Education
FROM:	Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	HB2937 by Canales (Relating to the establishment of a pilot program under which a licensed hospital may offer dual credit courses to public high school students.), Committee Report 2nd House, Substituted

Under the provisions of the bill, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) would be required to develop and implement the medical dual credit program, through which up to three hospitals meeting certain qualifications, selected by THECB, could offer dual credit courses to high school students under a partnership with a school district. Students participating in the medical dual credit program could not be charged for tuition, fees, or required textbooks or other instructional materials; school districts would be required to cover these costs to the extent that they were not waived by the hospital offering the program. Participating students would be entitled to the benefits of the Foundation School Program for the time spent in the dual credit course, in accordance with rules adopted by the Commissioner of the Texas Education Agency (TEA).

According to THECB and TEA, there would be costs associated with these activities, including developing and implementing the pilot program, adopting necessary rules, and developing data elements to related to the program. For the purposes of this analysis, it is assumed the costs to THECB and TEA associated with the bill would not be significant and could be absorbed within existing resources.

Local Government Impact

According to TEA, the impact to school districts would depend upon whether participating hospitals waive relevant course costs including tuition and textbooks, and whether Foundation School Program funding would cover other costs of the pilot program. TEA also assumes that participating school districts would be required to provide supervisory staff and transportation to and from the hospital.