By Kamel, Williamson, Rabuck, H.B. No. 1404 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-1 AN ACT 1-2 relating to the authority of public institutions of higher 1-3 education to offer courses by distance learning. 1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-5 SECTION 1. Section 61.051(j), Education Code, is amended to 1-6 read as follows: 1-7 (j) No off-campus courses for credit may be offered by any 1-8 public technical institute, public community college, or public 1-9 college or university without specific prior approval of the board. 1-10 However, any of those institutions without additional board 1-11 approval may offer a course within the approved curriculum of the 1-12 institution to a student who accesses the course through a computer 1-13 or computer network. To facilitate the delivery of courses by 1-14 distance learning and to improve access to those courses, the board 1-15 shall encourage collaborative efforts to make the benefits of 1-16 computer access to educational opportunities widely available. The 1-17 board shall maintain a central informational resource, to be called 1-18 the Texas On-Line University, accessible to the public through the 1-19 Internet and other similar telecommunications networks accessible 1-20 by computer by the general public, containing information relating 1-21 to all computer-accessible distance learning programs offered by 1-22 institutions of higher education and including computer links, 1-23 addresses, or other directions to assist an interested person to 1-24 obtain additional information directly from the appropriate 1-25 institution. The board may not prohibit a public junior college 2-1 district from offering a course for credit outside the boundaries 2-2 of the junior college district when such course has met the 2-3 requirements for approval as adopted by the board. The board shall 2-4 establish regulations for the coordination of credit activities of 2-5 adult and continuing education by public technical institutes, 2-6 public community colleges, or public colleges and universities. 2-7 SECTION 2. The importance of this legislation and the 2-8 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 2-9 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 2-10 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 2-11 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended, 2-12 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its 2-13 passage, and it is so enacted.