88R7944 JTZ-F
 
  By: Bettencourt S.B. No. 2068
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the information maintained by the Texas Education
  Agency regarding postsecondary education and career opportunities.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 7.040, Education Code, is amended by
  amending Subsections (a) and (c) and adding Subsection (a-1) to
  read as follows:
         (a)  The agency shall prepare information comparing
  institutions of higher education in this state and post the
  information on the agency's Internet website. Information prepared
  under this section shall be given to any [a] public or private
  school student who requests the information. The information
  shall:
               (1)  identify postsecondary education and career
  opportunities, including information that states the benefits of
  four-year and two-year higher education programs, postsecondary
  technical education, skilled workforce careers, and career
  education programs;
               (2)  assist prospective postsecondary students in
  assessing the value of a certificate program, associate or
  baccalaureate degree program, or other credential program offered
  by an institution of higher education by comparing [compare] each
  institution [of higher education] with other institutions
  regarding:
                     (A)  the relative cost of obtaining the
  certificate, degree, or other credential, including:
                           (i)  the total cost of attendance, based on
  the most recent data released through the United States Department
  of Education's College Scorecard online tool or a successor tool;
                           (ii)  the total cost of tuition and fees;
                           (iii)  the median cost of room and board;
                           (iv)  the median student debt of students
  who graduated with the certificate, degree, or other credential
  from the institution as compared to the median student debt of all
  students who graduated with the certificate, degree, or other
  credential, based on the most recent data released through the
  United States Department of Education's College Scorecard online
  tool or a successor tool;
                           (v)  the estimated monthly student loan
  payment, computed using the standard 10-year repayment plan; and
                           (vi)  the percentage of students who fully
  repay student debt within the standard 10-year repayment period or,
  if this information is not available for the program, the
  percentage of students in all certificate programs, degree
  programs, or other credential programs who fully repay student debt
  within the standard 10-year repayment period [tuition];
                     (B)  educational outcomes for [the retention rate
  of] students seeking the certificate, degree, or other credential,
  including:
                           (i)  the percentage of students who continue
  in the program after the first year of study;
                           (ii)  the graduation rate; and
                           (iii)  the percentage of graduates employed
  in a field related to the certificate program, degree program, or
  other credential program within one year of graduation; and
                     (C)  the median earnings of graduates, expressed
  as a yearly amount and as a percentage of median student debt, based
  on the most recent data released through the United States
  Department of Education's College Scorecard online tool or a
  successor tool [the graduation rate of students];
                     [(D)  the average student debt;
                     [(E)  the loan repayment rate of students; and
                     [(F)  the employment rate of students;]
               (3)  identify the state's future workforce needs, as
  projected by the Texas Workforce Commission; and
               (4)  include annual wage information for the top 10
  highest demand jobs in this state, as identified by the Texas
  Workforce Commission.
         (a-1)  The information required under Subsections
  (a)(2)(A)(i), (iv), and (vi) and (a)(2)(C) must be updated each
  time new data described by that provision is released through the
  United States Department of Education's College Scorecard online
  tool or a successor tool.
         (c)  Each institution of higher education shall:
               (1)  include on its Internet website, in a prominent
  location that is not more than three hyperlinks from the website's
  home page, a link to the information posted on the agency's Internet
  website under Subsection (a); and
               (2)  disclose to a student on the student's enrollment
  in or transfer to a certificate program, associate or baccalaureate
  degree program, or other credential program at the institution the
  information posted on the agency's Internet website under
  Subsection (a) relating to the program.
         SECTION 2.  Section 2308A.007, Government Code, is amended
  by adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
         (a-1)  A credential library established under this section
  must include the information described by Section 7.040(a),
  Education Code. 
         SECTION 3.  (a) As soon as practicable after the effective
  date of this Act, the Texas Education Agency shall update the
  information required under Section 7.040(a), Education Code, as
  amended by this Act.
         (b)  As soon as practicable after the Texas Education Agency
  completes the update required by Subsection (a) of this section,
  the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall update the
  comparative gainful employment data regarding public institutions
  of higher education required to be maintained by the board under
  Sections 51.762(b-1) and 51.763(b), Education Code, to include the
  information required under Section 7.040(a), Education Code, as
  amended by this Act.
         (c)  As soon as practicable after the Texas Education Agency
  completes the update required by Subsection (a) of this section,
  the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Texas
  Workforce Commission shall jointly update the credential library
  established under Section 2308A.007, Government Code, to include
  the information required under Section 7.040(a), Education Code, as
  amended by this Act.
         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, 2023.