79R33 JSA-D


By:  Casteel, et al.                                              H.B. No. 1725



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the authority of another institution of higher 
education to conduct vocational or technical courses in the service 
area of a junior college district.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Subchapter C, Chapter 61, Education Code, is 
amended by adding Section 61.0551 to read as follows:
	Sec. 61.0551.  APPROVAL OF VOCATIONAL OR TECHNICAL COURSE OR 
PROGRAM CONDUCTED IN SERVICE AREA OF JUNIOR COLLEGE DISTRICT BY 
ANOTHER INSTITUTION.  (a)  This section applies only to a course or 
program conducted in a county with a population of 35,000 or less 
when the request for the course or program is made under Subsection 
(b)(1).
	(b)  The board shall approve a request by an institution of 
higher education to conduct a lower-division-level vocational or 
technical course or program at a location in the service area of a 
junior college district, other than a junior college district that 
operates the requesting institution, if:
		(1)  not more than one year before the date the 
requesting institution proposes to begin conducting the course or 
program, a community request was submitted to the governing board 
of the junior college district proposing that the junior college 
district conduct the same type of course or program in the county or 
municipality named in the community request;
		(2)  the junior college district did not begin to offer 
the same type of course or program or adopt a formal plan to offer 
the same type of course or program in the county or municipality, as 
applicable, before the first anniversary of the date the community 
request was delivered to the chief executive officer of the junior 
college district; and
		(3)  the board determines that:                                        
			(A)  there is an unmet need for the course or 
program in the county or municipality, as applicable;
			(B)  the course or program is consistent with the 
role and mission of the requesting institution; and
			(C)  the course or program meets the other 
criteria adopted by the board for approval of a vocational or 
technical program, other than criteria related to whether the 
course or program would be conducted in the service area of another 
institution.
	(c)  For purposes of this section, a community request for a 
course or program consists of:
		(1)  a resolution adopted by the commissioners court of 
a county or the governing body of a municipality requesting a junior 
college district to conduct the course or program in the county or 
municipality, as applicable; or
		(2)  a petition, approved by one or more employers that 
together employ not less than 100 full-time equivalent employees in 
a county or municipality, that:
			(A)  requests a junior college district to conduct 
the course or program in that county or municipality; and
			(B)  certifies that there is an unmet need for the 
course or program in that county or municipality and that the course 
or program would provide skills relevant to the workforce of each of 
the petitioning employers.
	(d)  For good cause, the board may direct an institution of 
higher education that conducts a course or program authorized under 
this section to discontinue conducting the course or program.  Good 
cause may include a determination by the board that:
		(1)  the course or program does not meet enrollment or 
performance review standards or other criteria established by the 
board; or
		(2)  the junior college district in whose service area 
the course or program is conducted has proposed to conduct a course 
or program of the same type in the same county or municipality and 
has the resources to conduct the course or program effectively.
	SECTION 2.  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 on the 91st day after the last day of the 
legislative session.