By: West, et al. S.B. No. 1277

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to an agreement between a school district and public institution of higher education to provide a dual credit program to high school students enrolled in the district.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 28.009(b-2), Education Code, as amended by Chapters 264 (S.B. 1276) and 901 (H.B. 3650), Acts of the 86th Legislature, Regular Session, 2019, is reenacted and amended to read as follows:

(b-2) Any agreement, including a memorandum of understanding or articulation agreement, between a school district and public institution of higher education to provide a dual credit program described by Subsection (b-1) must:

(1) include specific program goals aligned with the statewide goals developed under Subsection (b-1);

(2) establish common advising strategies and terminology related to dual credit and college readiness;

(3) provide for the alignment of endorsements described by Section 28.025(c-1) offered by the district, and dual credit courses offered under the agreement that apply towards those endorsements, with postsecondary pathways and credentials at the institution and industry certifications;

(4) identify tools, including tools developed by the agency, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, or the Texas Workforce Commission, to assist school counselors, students, and families in selecting endorsements offered by the district and dual credit courses offered under the agreement;

(5) establish, or provide a procedure for establishing, the course credits that may be earned under the agreement, including by developing a course equivalency crosswalk or other method for equating high school courses with college courses and identifying the number of credits that may be earned for each course completed through the program;

(6) describe the academic supports and, if applicable, guidance that will be provided to students participating in the program;

(7) establish the district's and the institution's respective roles and responsibilities in providing the program and ensuring the quality and instructional rigor of the program;

(8) state the sources of funding for courses offered under the program, including, at a minimum, the sources of funding for tuition, transportation, and any required fees or textbooks for students participating in the program;

(9) require the district and the institution to consider the use of free or low-cost open educational resources in courses offered under the program; [and]

(10) [(7)] be posted each year on the district's and the institution's respective Internet websites; and

(11) designate at least one employee of the district or institution as responsible for providing academic advising to a student who enrolls in a dual credit course under the program before the student begins the course.

SECTION 2. Section 28.009(b-2), Education Code, as reenacted and amended by this Act, applies only to an agreement to provide a dual credit program entered into or renewed on or after September 1, 2021. An agreement to provide a dual credit program entered into or renewed before September 1, 2021, is governed by the law as it existed at the time the agreement was entered into or renewed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

SECTION 3. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails over another Act of the 87th Legislature, Regular Session, 2021, relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted codes.

SECTION 4. 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, 2021.