1-1 By: Kamel, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Bivins) H.B. No. 1404 1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House April 10, 1997; 1-3 April 11, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on 1-4 Education; April 28, 1997, reported adversely, with favorable 1-5 Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 10, Nays 0; 1-6 April 28, 1997, sent to printer.) 1-7 COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 1404 By: Bivins 1-8 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-9 AN ACT 1-10 relating to the authority of public institutions of higher 1-11 education to offer courses by distance learning. 1-12 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-13 SECTION 1. Section 61.051(j), Education Code, is amended to 1-14 read as follows: 1-15 (j) No off-campus courses for credit may be offered by any 1-16 public technical institute, public community college, or public 1-17 college or university without specific prior approval of the board. 1-18 However, any of those institutions may offer a distance learning 1-19 course approved by the board with no in-state geographic 1-20 restrictions if the course is within the approved curriculum of the 1-21 institution. To facilitate the delivery of courses by distance 1-22 learning and to improve access to those courses, the board shall 1-23 encourage collaborative efforts to make the benefits of computer 1-24 access to educational opportunities widely available. The board 1-25 shall maintain a central informational resource accessible to the 1-26 general public, to be called the Texas Colleges On-Line, on which 1-27 institutions can place information relating to all 1-28 conputer-accessible distance learning courses offered for credit by 1-29 institutions of higher education and including computer links, 1-30 addresses, or other directions to assist an interested person to 1-31 obtain additional information directly from the appropriate 1-32 institution. The board may not prohibit a public junior college 1-33 district from offering a course for credit outside the boundaries 1-34 of the junior college district when such course has met the 1-35 requirements for approval as adopted by the board. The board shall 1-36 establish regulations for the coordination of credit activities of 1-37 adult and continuing education by public technical institutes, 1-38 public community colleges, or public colleges and universities. 1-39 SECTION 2. The importance of this legislation and the 1-40 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 1-41 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 1-42 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 1-43 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended, 1-44 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its 1-45 passage, and it is so enacted. 1-46 * * * * *