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                                  * * * * *