78R5520 KSD-D
By: Eissler H.B. No. 2468
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the exemption of the educational programs of certain
institutions offering religious education from state or local
regulation.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 61.003, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subdivision (17) to read as follows:
(17) "Religious institution" means an entity that
satisfies the requirements for an exemption from state or local
regulation under Section 61.3031.
SECTION 2. Section 61.301, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 61.301. PURPOSE. (a) It is the policy and purpose of
the State of Texas to prevent deception of the public resulting from
the conferring and use of fraudulent or substandard college and
university degrees; it is also the purpose of this subchapter to
regulate the use of academic terminology in naming or otherwise
designating educational institutions, the advertising,
solicitation or representation by educational institutions or
their agents, and the maintenance and preservation of essential
academic records. Because degrees and equivalent indicators of
educational attainment are used by employers in judging the
training of prospective employees, by public and private
professional groups in determining qualifications for admission to
and continuance of practice, and by the general public in assessing
the competence of persons engaged in a wide range of activities
necessary to the general welfare, regulation by law of the
evidences of college and university educational attainment is in
the public interest. To the same end the protection of legitimate
institutions and of those holding degrees from them is also in the
public interest.
(b) It is the policy and purpose of the state and the board
not to regulate religious institutions.
SECTION 3. Subchapter G, Chapter 61, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 61.3031 to read as follows:
Sec. 61.3031. EXEMPTION FOR CERTAIN RELIGIOUS
INSTITUTIONS. (a) An institution that meets the requirements of
this section is exempt from this subchapter and from any other
regulation by an agency or political subdivision of this state with
respect to the content or character of the educational programs of
the institution.
(b) To be exempt under this section, an institution must:
(1) be organized as or operated by a nonprofit
corporation under the Texas Non-Profit Corporation Act (Article
1396-1.01 et seq., Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes);
(2) be operated as an independent institution or in
conjunction with a local organization whose primary purpose is to
maintain and operate a church, synagogue, temple, mosque, or other
place of worship;
(3) be under the direction of a stewardship board or
corporate board of directors;
(4) offer degrees solely for the purpose of
ministerial and religious training;
(5) include in the institution's course catalog a
statement describing the religious training purpose or purposes of
the institution; and
(6) ensure that each course for which the institution
grants credit toward a degree has a religious purpose that is
described in the institution's course catalog.
SECTION 4. Section 61.316, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:
(g) In addition to any other available remedy in law or
equity, an institution that prevails in appealing an administrative
penalty assessed under this section on the basis that the
institution is a religious institution is entitled to recover from
the state the institution's reasonable and necessary attorney's
fees and court costs incurred in the appeal. In this subsection,
"appeal" includes a suit filed in state or federal court to
challenge the administrative penalty.
SECTION 5. Section 61.318, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) In addition to any other available remedy in law or
equity, an institution that prevails in defending an action for
injunction under this section on the basis that the institution is a
religious institution is entitled to recover from the state the
institution's reasonable and necessary attorney's fees and court
costs incurred in defending the action.
SECTION 6. Section 61.319, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) In addition to any other available remedy in law or
equity, an institution that prevails in defending an action to
collect a civil penalty under this section on the basis that the
institution is a religious institution is entitled to recover from
the state the institution's reasonable and necessary attorney's
fees and court costs incurred in defending the action.
SECTION 7. Section 61.316(g), Education Code, as added by
this Act, applies only to an administrative penalty assessed under
Section 61.316, Education Code, for an alleged violation of
Subchapter G, Chapter 61, Education Code, that occurs on or after
the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 8. Section 61.318(c), Education Code, as added by
this Act, applies only to an action for an injunction brought under
Section 61.318, Education Code, for an alleged violation of
Subchapter G, Chapter 61, Education Code, that occurs on or after
the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 9. Section 61.319(c), Education Code, as added by
this Act, applies only to a civil action to collect a civil penalty
filed under Section 61.319, Education Code, for an alleged
violation of Subchapter G, Chapter 61, Education Code, or of a rule
adopted under that subchapter that occurs on or after the effective
date of this Act.
SECTION 10. This Act takes effect immediately if it
receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2003.