H.B. No. 85 1-1 AN ACT 1-2 relating to the development of distance learning and related 1-3 activities by institutions of higher education. 1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-5 SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 61, Education Code, is 1-6 amended by adding Section 61.0771 to read as follows: 1-7 Sec. 61.0771. DISTANCE LEARNING MASTER PLAN. (a) The 1-8 board, in cooperation with institutions of higher education, shall 1-9 develop a master plan for the development of distance learning and 1-10 other applications of instructional electronic technology by 1-11 institutions of higher education. The plan shall include 1-12 recommendations for: 1-13 (1) the coordination and integration of distance 1-14 learning and related telecommunications activities among 1-15 institutions of higher education and other public or private 1-16 entities to achieve optimum efficiency and effectiveness in 1-17 providing necessary services, including identification of the costs 1-18 and any cost savings to be achieved by the use of distance learning 1-19 and related activities such as teleconferencing or sharing 1-20 resources by telecommunications; 1-21 (2) the development and acquisition of distance 1-22 learning infrastructure and equipment, including its functions and 1-23 capabilities, within and among institutions of higher education 1-24 consistent with the missions of those institutions and the 2-1 recipients of their services; 2-2 (3) the establishment of uniform or compatible 2-3 standards and technologies for distance learning; 2-4 (4) the training of faculty and staff in the use and 2-5 operation of distance learning facilities; 2-6 (5) appropriate applications of distance learning, 2-7 including the identification of the needs of the student 2-8 populations to be served; 2-9 (6) policies relating to the funding for 2-10 implementation and administering of distance learning, including 2-11 interinstitutional funds transfers among institutions providing and 2-12 receiving distance learning services and formula funding 2-13 allocations, and recommendations for the appropriate fees for 2-14 services offered through distance learning; 2-15 (7) revising regulatory policy relating to public 2-16 utilities to facilitate distance learning; and 2-17 (8) any statutory or regulatory changes desirable to 2-18 promote distance learning or to implement the master plan. 2-19 (b) The board may include in the plan any related 2-20 recommendation the board considers appropriate, including 2-21 recommendations for coordination of distance learning with other 2-22 telecommunications activities and services conducted by government 2-23 agencies or private entities. 2-24 (c) To assist in the development of the plan, the board 2-25 shall create an advisory committee consisting of experts in 2-26 distance learning, including school administrators and faculty and 2-27 lay persons. The board shall include on the committee a 3-1 representative of each university system and each public senior 3-2 college or university under a separate governing board, and 3-3 representatives of public junior colleges, public health science 3-4 centers, centers created under Chapter 106, Health and Safety Code, 3-5 medical schools, public technical institutes, and independent 3-6 institutions of higher education. The advisory committee shall 3-7 include at least three faculty members who teach a distance 3-8 learning course. The appointment of an employee of an institution 3-9 of higher education to the committee must be approved by the 3-10 president or chancellor of that institution. 3-11 (d) The advisory committee may request the cooperation or 3-12 participation of state agencies, public broadcasting stations, 3-13 representatives of the local and long-distance telecommunications 3-14 industries, representatives of federally qualified health centers, 3-15 and representatives providing distance learning equipment or 3-16 services, including computer hardware and software, in preparing 3-17 the master plan. 3-18 (e) The board shall approve the master plan and present it 3-19 to the legislature not later than December 31, 1996. The plan 3-20 shall include a summary of the then-current uses of distance 3-21 learning and other instructional electronic technologies by 3-22 institutions of higher education and of the plans of those 3-23 institutions to implement, improve, or expand the use of distance 3-24 learning and other instructional electronic technologies. The 3-25 board may revise the master plan at any subsequent time as the 3-26 board considers appropriate. 3-27 SECTION 2. The importance of this legislation and the 4-1 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 4-2 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 4-3 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 4-4 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.