BILL ANALYSIS

 

 

Senate Research Center	S.B. 1794
85R3543 MM-F	By: Men�ndez
	Education
	4/25/2017
	As Filed

 

 

 

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

 

S.B. 1794 was filed as a result of a Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) legislative recommendation. Currently, two sections in the state's Education Code call for the establishment and development of a joint venture plan, coordinated between school districts and institutions of higher education (IHEs), meant to boost enrollment of the school district students into IHEs.

 

Legislation passed during the 77th legislative session added Section 29.904, Education Code, which called for the development of joint venture plans between school districts and higher education institutions. During the 83rd legislative session, Section 51.810 was added to the Education Code; it also called for the development of joint venture plans between school districts and higher education institutions.

 

Section 29.904 lays out ambiguous goals for the plan. It calls for "clear, achievable goals" but supplies little further information concerning the specifics of what those goals should look like. The legislative recommendation produced by THECB, which would leave Section 51.810 as the lone section calling for a joint venture plan, lays out a far more extensive assortment of goals, including providing enrollment information to prospective students, assisting with financial aid applications and increasing enrollment of African Americans and Hispanics.

 

With the statute in its current form, due to the ambiguity of one section and the specificity of the other, institutions and school districts are faced with a conflicting situation regarding their participation in the planning process. S.B. 1794 would repeal Section 29.904 and leave in place Section 51.810.

 

As proposed, S.B. 1794 amends current law relating to the elimination of a specific requirement that certain school districts develop and implement a plan to increase enrollment of the district's students at institutions of higher education.

 

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. Repealer: Section 29.904 (Plan to Increase Enrollment in Institutions of Higher Education), Education Code.

 

SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 2017.