By Rangel H.B. No. 3053
77R3806 JSA-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to development of state policies and strategies for
1-3 postsecondary education in this state.
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 61.0665 to read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 61.0665. STATE POLICIES AND STRATEGIES FOR
1-8 POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION. (a) The board shall develop and
1-9 periodically update a set of policies and strategies to assist
1-10 public and private entities and public officials in this state to
1-11 achieve an effective and coordinated educational system that:
1-12 (1) provides each person in this state with reasonable
1-13 educational opportunities at any age to enable the person to
1-14 achieve the person's full potential as a productive citizen;
1-15 (2) provides education and training that is
1-16 appropriate to the needs of this state and its people, including
1-17 employers;
1-18 (3) promotes the most efficient overall use of public
1-19 and private resources in providing educational services; and
1-20 (4) ensures to the extent practicable that all
1-21 educational institutions in this state work together to advance the
1-22 purposes provided by this subsection.
1-23 (b) The board shall include in the policies and strategies
1-24 specific strategies intended to ensure that:
2-1 (1) the classroom instruction and secondary school
2-2 curriculum of every student in this state, with reasonable
2-3 exceptions, including students of private schools and home-school
2-4 students, are adequate to prepare the student to perform
2-5 successfully at the freshman level in an institution of higher
2-6 education without substantial remedial education or similar
2-7 assistance;
2-8 (2) appropriate information is made available to each
2-9 student in a public or private school in this state, including a
2-10 home school, and to the parents of those students, at the
2-11 appropriate times to ensure that those students and parents are
2-12 reasonably informed about:
2-13 (A) the lifetime advantages and benefits of
2-14 obtaining a postsecondary education and the full range of
2-15 postsecondary educational opportunities available, including
2-16 vocational and technical training, junior college degree or
2-17 certificate programs, public and private colleges and universities,
2-18 and adult and continuing education;
2-19 (B) effective preparation for postsecondary
2-20 education, including information regarding an appropriate high
2-21 school curriculum, identifying and contacting appropriate
2-22 postsecondary educational institutions, financial planning and
2-23 financial aid opportunities, applications and admissions, and
2-24 admissions tests and institutional skills testing; and
2-25 (C) opportunities for early college-level
2-26 credit, including advanced placement and joint college-high school
2-27 courses, and for participating in college and university
3-1 recruitment, placement, preparation, and orientation programs,
3-2 including academies and summer programs for pre-college students;
3-3 (3) a full range of postsecondary educational
3-4 opportunities is reasonably available to persons in all regions of
3-5 the state without regard to age, gender, race, national origin,
3-6 language, disability, or financial status;
3-7 (4) a person who begins a postsecondary educational
3-8 program is provided with adequate information, support, and
3-9 reasonable opportunities for financial assistance to enable the
3-10 person to progress in and complete the educational program;
3-11 (5) institutional and societal barriers to a person's
3-12 progress in and successful completion of a postsecondary education
3-13 are reduced or eliminated; and
3-14 (6) each person in this state, with emphasis on
3-15 persons who did not receive a postsecondary education immediately
3-16 after high school or who failed to complete a postsecondary
3-17 educational program, is encouraged to obtain additional education
3-18 throughout life and provided reasonable opportunities to do so.
3-19 (c) The board shall coordinate or communicate with any
3-20 relevant entity to develop the policies and strategies, including:
3-21 (1) the commissioner of education and the Texas
3-22 Education Agency;
3-23 (2) public and private institutions of higher
3-24 education and other postsecondary educational institutions;
3-25 (3) the Texas Workforce Commission;
3-26 (4) the State Board for Educator Certification; and
3-27 (5) school districts and organizations that conduct
4-1 private school or home-school support activities in this state.
4-2 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.