| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to the authority of the Texas Higher Education |
|
|
Coordinating Board to issue a certificate of authority or |
|
|
certificate of authorization regarding professional degrees. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Section 61.303(c), Education Code, is amended as |
|
|
follows: |
|
|
(c) The board may issueapprove the issuance of a |
|
|
certificate of authorization to grant degrees to an exempt |
|
|
institution or person a certificate of authorization to grant |
|
|
degrees. The board may adopt rules regarding a process to allow an |
|
|
exempt institution or person to apply for and receive approval for a |
|
|
certificate of authorization under this section. The board shall |
|
|
not issue a certificate of authorization to any institution |
|
|
offering a professional degree or representing its credits earned |
|
|
in this state are applicable toward a professional degree except to |
|
|
the extent allowed for an authorized institution operating under a |
|
|
State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA). In this |
|
|
subsection, "professional degree" includes Doctor of Medicine |
|
|
(M.D.), Doctor of Osteopathy (D.O.), Doctor of Dental Surgery |
|
|
(D.D.S.), Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.), Juris Doctor |
|
|
(J.D.), and Bachelor of Laws (LL.B). |
|
|
SECTION 2. Section 61.306, Education Code, is amended by |
|
|
adding Subsection (d) to read as follows: |
|
|
(d) The board may not issue a certificate of authority for a |
|
|
private postsecondary institution to grant a professional degree as |
|
|
defined in Sec. 61.306(c), or to represent that credits earned in |
|
|
this state are applicable toward a professional degree unless the |
|
|
Board determines that all of the following conditions have been |
|
|
met: |
|
|
(1) the capacity and ability of similar professional |
|
|
degree programs at institutions of higher education and private or |
|
|
independent institutions of higher education, as those terms are |
|
|
defined in Sec. 61.003, are insufficient to meet the current market |
|
|
needs for the state; |
|
|
(2) the institution seeking the certificate of |
|
|
authority has the necessary faculty and other resources to ensure |
|
|
student success; |
|
|
(3) sufficient placements are available to students |
|
|
for required field-based experience, such as clinicals or |
|
|
clerkships, in the proposed professional degree; and |
|
|
(4) the institution seeking the certificate of |
|
|
authority is subject to, and will meet, the same standard for |
|
|
approval and all academic criteria applicable to similar |
|
|
professional degree programs at institutions of higher education |
|
|
and private or independent institutions of higher education, as |
|
|
those terms are defined in Sec. 61.003. |
|
|
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |