| TO: | Honorable Dan Branch, Chair, House Committee on Higher Education |
| FROM: | John S O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | SB1564 by West (Relating to developmental education courses and the assessment of student readiness under the Texas Success Initiative for public institutions of higher education.), As Engrossed |
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
This bill would require the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) to prescibe a single standard or set of standards to effectively measure student readiness. The bill would prohibit an institution of higher education from adopting more stringent standards to assess a student's readiness to perform freshman-level academic coursework than those adopted by the THECB. The bill would also require institutions to offer a student required to enroll in developmental education coursework a range of developmental coursework or instructional support that includes the integration of technology to efficiently address the particular developmental needs of the student.
This bill would require institutions to base developmental education coursework on research-based best practices that include the following components: 1) assessment; 2) differentiated placement and instruction; 3) faculty development; 4) support services; 5) program evaluation, including effectiveness and cost-efficiency; 6) integration of technology; 7) non-course-based developmental education; and 8) course pairing with credit-bearing courses. Institutions would also be required to provide professional development programs, including instruction in differentiated instruction methods designed to address student's diverse learning needs, for developmental education faculty and staff.
Institutions would be required to use learning outcomes for developmental education courses developed by the THECB to determine when a student is ready to perform freshman-level academic coursework.
This bill also repeals Section 51.3062(e) of the Education Code which allows the THECB to use additional assessment instruments to measure college readiness.
The agencies indicate that any costs associated with implementing the provisions of this bill could be absorbed within existing resources.
| Source Agencies: | 720 The University of Texas System Administration, 758 Texas State University System, 768 Texas Tech University System Administration, 769 University of North Texas System Administration, 781 Higher Education Coordinating Board, 783 University of Houston System Administration, 710 Texas A&M University System Administrative and General Offices
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| LBB Staff: | JOB, KK, JI, SDE, RT, GO
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