BILL ANALYSIS |
C.S.H.B. 2000 |
By: Thompson, Senfronia |
Economic & Small Business Development |
Committee Report (Substituted) |
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
The federal government has certain standards colleges must meet for their students to be eligible for federal student loans and recently updated these requirements for career schools and colleges. The changes in federal law will require changes in state laws so that students of career schools and colleges can continue to be eligible to receive federal loans. C.S.H.B. 2000 seeks to make the changes necessary for students of nonprofit career schools and colleges to be eligible for federal student loans.
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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.
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ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 2000 amends the Education Code to authorize a school or educational institution exempted from statutory provisions governing career schools and colleges to offer training in Texas allowed by the exemption. The bill conditions the Texas Workforce Commission's (TWC) exemption of a school or educational institution that participates or intends to participate in a federal student financial aid program from regulation as a career school or college, if the school's or institution's eligibility for such exemption is based on the school's or institution's organization as a nonprofit school owned and operated by a bona fide religious, denominational, eleemosynary, or similar public institution exempt from property taxes, on the school or institution demonstrating to TWC either of the following circumstances: · that either the school or institution is accredited by a regional or national accrediting organization recognized by the U.S. secretary of education or the school or institution, or the school's or institution's primary campus, has been operating continuously in Texas for at least 20 years in compliance with state career school regulatory requirements, regardless of how long the current owner has owned that school or institution; or · that the school or institution is owned, controlled, operated, and maintained by a religious organization lawfully operating as a nonprofit religious corporation and awards only degrees or certificates relating to religion, including a certificate of Talmudic studies, an associate of biblical studies degree, a master of divinity degree, or a doctor of divinity degree.
C.S.H.B. 2000 authorizes a school or educational institution to make the required demonstration through the exemption application process or, if the school or institution has previously been exempted from regulation as a career school or college and the most recent exemption was granted before June 30, 2013, by an affidavit submitted to TWC by the owner of the school or institution.
C.S.H.B. 2000 requires the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to take appropriate action, including by making appropriate referrals to an accrediting agency or to the attorney general, to address any complaint received by the coordinating board from a student or prospective student of a school or institution that participates or intends to participate in the applicable federal student financial aid programs and that is both exempted from regulation as a career school or college on the basis of its nonprofit status and ownership and operation by a property tax exempt public institution and subject to regulation by the coordinating board.
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EFFECTIVE DATE
On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2013.
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COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.H.B. 2000 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following comparison is organized and highlighted in a manner that indicates the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.
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