BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 4631

By: Longoria

Higher Education

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Business leaders, employers, and education stakeholders have raised concerns as to the lack of options for those who seek to gain basic education credentials for workforce preparedness. An educated workforce is essential to a strong economy across all sectors. Texas' workforce has high rates of individuals with neither adequate postsecondary credentials nor a high school degree. C.S.H.B. 4631 seeks to address these concerns by establishing the Opportunity High School Diploma pilot program to provide an alternative means by which adult students enrolled in a workforce education program at a public junior college may earn a high school diploma at the college through concurrent enrollment in a competency-based education program.

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.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board in SECTION 1 of this bill.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 4631 amends the Education Code to establish the Opportunity High School Diploma pilot program to provide an alternative means by which adult students enrolled in a workforce education program at a public junior college may earn a high school diploma at the college through concurrent enrollment in a competency-based education program that enables students to demonstrate knowledge substantially equivalent to the knowledge required to earn a high school diploma in Texas. The bill requires the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) to administer the pilot program in consultation with the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC).

C.S.H.B. 4631 authorizes a public junior college to submit to the THECB an application to participate in the pilot program. The application must propose an alternative competency-based high school diploma program to be offered for concurrent enrollment to adult students without a high school diploma who are enrolled in a workforce education program at the college. The proposed program may include any combination of instruction, curriculum, achievement, internships, or other means by which a student may attain knowledge sufficient to adequately prepare the student for postsecondary education or additional workforce education. The bill requires the THECB to review and approve an application to participate in the pilot program if the THECB determines that the college's proposed program will provide instruction and assessments appropriate to ensure that a student who successfully completes the program demonstrates levels of knowledge sufficiently adequate for the required preparation. The bill authorizes the THECB to coordinate with TEA to make such a determination.

C.S.H.B. 4631 prohibits the THECB from approving more than five colleges to participate in the pilot program. The bill authorizes an approved junior college to take the following actions:

· enter into an agreement with one or more public junior colleges, general academic teaching institutions, public school districts, or nonprofit organizations to offer the proposed program; and

· offer the program at any campus of the college or an entity with which the college has entered into an agreement.

C.S.H.B. 4631 authorizes a college participating in the pilot program to award a high school diploma to a student enrolled in the alternative competency-based high school diploma program offered by the college under the pilot program if the student performs satisfactorily on tests prescribed by THECB rule. A high school diploma awarded under the pilot program is equivalent to a high school diploma awarded under the foundation high school program.

C.S.H.B. 4631 requires the THECB and TWC to coordinate to jointly identify funding mechanisms, including grants, interagency contracts, financial aid, or subsidies, available to public junior colleges and students to encourage and facilitate participation in the pilot program. The bill entitles a participating college to receive funding for the pilot program under statutory provisions relating to state appropriation for public junior colleges in the manner provided by THECB rule. The bill requires the THECB to submit to the legislature a report, not later than December 1, 2026, on the effectiveness of the pilot program and the report must include a recommendation regarding whether the pilot program should be continued, expanded, or terminated. The bill authorizes the THECB to adopt rules as necessary to implement the pilot program. The bill's provisions expire September 1, 2027.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2023.

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 4631 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

Whereas the introduced provided that it is the intent of the legislature to study alternative means by which an adult student who enrolls in a workforce education program at a public junior college who has previously dropped out of secondary education may earn a high school diploma from a public junior college, the substitute provides that the pilot program's purpose is to provide such alternative means to all adult students enrolled in a workforce education program without the specification in the introduced that the student have previously dropped out of school.

Whereas the substitute caps at five the number of junior colleges that the board may approve for participation in the pilot program, the introduced specified that the board may approve not more than five junior colleges to participate as lead institutions for the pilot program.

Whereas the substitute authorizes the THECB to adopt rules to implement the bill's provisions, the introduced required the THECB to do so.

The substitute does not include the following provisions that were present in the introduced:

· a provision that expressly required an approved college to concurrently enroll an eligible student in a workforce education program and the Opportunity High School Diploma program; and

· a definition of "eligible student" for the purposes of the pilot program specifying that such a student is any student age 18 or older who has been, or would have been, recorded as a dropout in the Texas public education system or has not otherwise earned a GED or diploma from a Texas public school or through any other secondary education.

The substitute includes the following provisions that were not present in the introduced:

· a provision that conditions the awarding of a high school diploma to a student enrolled in an applicable program on the student's satisfactory performance on tests prescribed by THECB rule;

· a requirement for the THECB to submit a report to the legislature by December 1, 2026, on the effectiveness of the pilot program with a recommendation regarding whether the program should be continued, expanded, or terminated; and

· a provision establishing a specific expiration date for the pilot program.