BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center                                                                                                      S.B. 2210

81R11200 KEL-F                                                                                                    By: West, Royce

Higher Education

4/13/2009

As Filed

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

Currently, students are taking dual credit courses in high school which are identified in the Academic Course Guide Manual (ACGM) for which they are receiving both high school and college credit.  All courses in the ACGM are fully transferrable among Texas public institutions of higher education.  These courses count toward the 30 semester credit hours beyond those required to earn a degree in the student's major at which point the student may have to pay out-of-state tuition (Section 54.014 (Tuition for Repeated or Excessive Undergraduate Hours), Education Code).  The state seeks to promote students to obtain dual credit hours in order to encourage timely college graduation, rigorous high school curricula, and exposure of more students to college level courses.  

As proposed, S.B. 2210 amends current law relating to the formula funding for public institutions of higher education for certain credit hours that do not count toward a degree.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Section 61.0595(d), Education Code, to provide that certain semester credit hours are not counted for purposes of determining whether the student previously earned the number of semester credit hours specified by Subsection (a) (relating to certain formula funding for certain semester credit hours), including, in addition to semester credit hours excluded under another provision of this subsection, not more than 30 semester credit hours earned through one or more dual credit courses for which the student received credit toward a high school diploma, if those courses are identified by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board as lower-division courses appropriate for general academic transfer between institutions of higher education.

SECTION 2.  Provides that the change in law made by this Act to Section 61.0595, Education Code, applies beginning with the funding recommendations made under Section 61.059, Education Code, for the 2011-2012 academic year.

SECTION 3.  Effective date:  upon passage or September 1, 2009.