C.S.H.B. 415 78(R) BILL ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 415 By: Flores Higher Education Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Concurrent enrollment programs, under Section 130.008 of the Education Code, have successfully given all high school students opportunities to gain college credit before graduating. Misinterpretations of Subsection (d) under this section have prevented students from enrolling and earning dual credit for Career and Technology classes and classes in schools which operate under "block scheduling" CSHB 415 would repeal this subsection, removing the disincentive for school districts to offer the concurrent enrollment programs. In addition, it adds a subsection to require a student to be considered a full-time student in average daily attendance. This change is to provide for a continuation of current practice to eliminate the start-up fiscal cost of the bill until offsetting savings are present to balance any cost. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS CSHB 415 repeals Section 130.008(d), Education Code, which provides that when state funding is provided to both a school district and a public junior college for a student enrolled in courses offered by a junior college for joint credit, the commissioner of education and the commissioner of higher education shall jointly develop a mechanism to identify and eliminate duplication of state funding. CSHB 415 amends Section 42.005, Education Code, by adding Subsection (g) to provide that if a student may receive course credit toward the student's high school academic requirements and toward the student's higher education academic requirements, for a single course, the time during which the student attends the course may not be counted as part of the minimum number of institutional hours required for a student to be considered a full-time student in average daily attendance for purposes of this section. EFFECTIVE DATE This Act takes effect September 1, 2003. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE CSHB 415 modifies the original by adding Section 42.005(g), Education Code, to provide that if a student may receive joint high school and college credit, for a single course, the time during which the student attends the course may not be counted as part of the minimum number of institutional hours required for a student to be considered a full-time student in average daily attendance.