83R9135 VOO-F

By: Branch H.B. No. 2754

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to certain responsibilities of education research centers and to a joint advisory board for education research centers.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 1.005, Education Code, is amended by amending Subsections (b), (c), (e), (g), and (k) and adding Subsections (g-1), (g-2), (l), (m), (n), and (o) to read as follows:

(b) The commissioner of education and the coordinating board shall [may] establish at least one but not more than three centers for education research for conducting research described by Subsections (e) and (f). Each center:

(1) shall store in only one location confidential data used for research; and

(2) may provide access to the confidential data from multiple secure locations in this state, each of which must be in a college or university described by Subsection (c)(3).

(c) A center may be established as part of:

(1) the Texas Education Agency;

(2) the coordinating board; [or]

(3) a public junior college, public senior college or university, or public state college, as those terms are defined by Section 61.003; or

(4) a consortium of colleges or universities described by Subdivision (3).

(e) A center shall conduct research for the benefit of education in this state, including research relating to the impact of local, regional, state, and federal education programs, the performance of educator preparation programs, public school finance, and the best practices of school districts with regard to classroom instruction, bilingual education programs, special language programs, and business practices. A center shall support education evaluation and policy and academic research, including graduate student research in this state.

(g) In conducting research under this section, a center:

(1) may use and store data [on student performance], including data that is confidential under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g), [the center has collected] from the Texas Education Agency, the coordinating board, any other state agency, any public or private institution of higher education, [and] any school district, any provider of services to public or private institutions of higher education or to school districts, and any entity explicitly named in an approved research project of a center; and

(2) shall comply with rules adopted by the commissioner of education and the coordinating board to protect the confidentiality of [student] information used or stored at the center, including rules establishing procedures to ensure that confidential [student] information is not duplicated or removed from a center in an unauthorized manner.

(g-1) Confidential information provided to a center by the Texas Education Agency or the coordinating board must be protected by procedures to ensure that any unique identifying number is not traceable to any individual. The procedures must be maintained as confidential by the Texas Education Agency and the coordinating board. The procedures may not be shared with a center or used for any purpose other than for purposes of this section. Social security numbers, names, and birth dates may not be accessed for the purpose of research at a center.

(g-2) The Texas Education Agency and the coordinating board shall provide and longitudinally link all data under Subsection (g)(1) to the greatest extent practicable.

(k) In implementing this section, the commissioner of education may use funds appropriated to the agency and available for the purpose of establishing the centers. After a center is established, the cost of complying with this section and Section 1.006, including necessary personnel costs at the Texas Education Agency and the coordinating board and the costs of operation of each center, must be funded by gifts and grants accepted under Subsection (h)(1) and fees imposed under Subsection (h)(2). Fees adopted under Subsection (h)(2) must be set in an amount sufficient to provide for the continued operation of the center. A center shall report annually to the commissioner of education and the commissioner of higher education the total amount of fees collected by the center for each purpose for which a fee is imposed under Subsection (h)(2).

(l) Each center shall administer the process for reviewing research proposals developed under Section 1.006(e)(4) and shall forward to the joint advisory board only proposals of high quality as determined using criteria developed under Section 1.006(e)(4).

(m) On behalf of a center, the commissioner of education and the coordinating board shall pursue and enter into data agreements with another state agency of this state, such as the Texas Workforce Commission, or with a regional agency of this state for data collected by that agency that is:

(1) required for approved research projects;

(2) relevant to current or former students of this state's public schools; and

(3) useful to the conduct of research that may benefit education in this state.

(n) Subject to Subsection (o), on behalf of a center, the commissioner of education and the coordinating board may pursue and enter into data agreements for data required for approved research projects with:

(1) the state education agency of another state, giving priority to the agencies of those states that send the highest number of students to this state or that receive the highest number of students from this state; and

(2) local agencies or organizations of this state that:

(A) provide educational services to students in this state; or

(B) collect data that:

(i) is relevant to current or former students of this state's public schools; and

(ii) is useful to the conduct of research that may benefit education in this state.

(o) The commissioner of education and the coordinating board may, on behalf of a center, enter into a data agreement with the state education agency of another state only if:

(1) the United States Department of Education reviews the agreement; and

(2) the state education agency of the other state agrees to comply with all data security measures required of a center.

SECTION 2. Chapter 1, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 1.006 to read as follows:

Sec. 1.006. JOINT ADVISORY BOARD FOR EDUCATION RESEARCH CENTERS. (a) In this section, "center" means a center for education research authorized by Section 1.005.

(b) The commissioner of education and the commissioner of higher education shall co-chair a joint advisory board to adopt policies governing the operations of the centers, including a process for review and approval of center research involving confidential information. The commissioner of education and the commissioner of higher education each may delegate duties as co-chair, including voting, to an employee of the Texas Education Agency or the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, as appropriate.

(c) The commissioner of education and the commissioner of higher education each shall appoint two additional members to the joint advisory board to serve one-year terms. The centers collectively shall appoint three additional members to the joint advisory board to serve one-year terms. The majority of the joint advisory board members must be educational researchers experienced in working with secure data. A member may be reappointed each year to an additional term.

(d) The joint advisory board shall meet at the call of the co-chairs at least once each quarter.

(e) The joint advisory board shall:

(1) establish a schedule of fees to fund the cost of data processing by the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board;

(2) develop a plan for establishing access at public institutions of higher education to data;

(3) develop policies to give state, regional, or local agencies acting for a governmental purpose and public entities performing studies authorized by the legislature priority in access to and use of center research;

(4) develop, in consultation with each center, a process for reviewing center research proposals and a set of criteria for evaluating proposal quality that is composed of measures that ensure:

(A) the potential of the proposed research to benefit education in this state;

(B) the use of social science research methods accepted as valid and reliable; and

(C) the data required to complete the proposed study is not readily available from other data sources;

(5) identify, in consultation with each center, the type of data that the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board must send annually to each center without the necessity of a request for that data by a center and a timely schedule on which the data is sent; and

(6) perform other duties as necessary to advise each center.

SECTION 3. 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, 2013.