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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to authorization by the Texas Higher Education |
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Coordinating Board for certain public junior colleges to offer |
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baccalaureate degree programs. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 130.0012, Education Code, is amended by |
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amending Subsections (a) and (g) and adding Subsections (b-4) and |
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(g-1) to read as follows: |
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(a) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board may |
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[shall] authorize public junior colleges to offer baccalaureate |
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degree programs in the fields of applied science, [and] applied |
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technology, and nursing under this section. Offering a |
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baccalaureate degree program under this section does not otherwise |
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alter the role and mission of a public junior college. |
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(b-4) The coordinating board shall authorize a public |
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junior college with a service area located wholly or partly in a |
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county with a population of less than 500,000 adjacent to the |
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northern boundary of a county with a population of more than three |
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million to offer a baccalaureate degree program in the field of |
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nursing. A degree program authorized under this subsection may be |
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offered under an articulation agreement as provided by Section |
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29.908 with an early college education program located in the |
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service area of the public junior college. |
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(g) Except as provided by Subsection (g-1), in [In] its |
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recommendations to the legislature relating to state funding for |
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public junior colleges, the coordinating board shall recommend that |
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a public junior college receive substantially the same state |
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support for junior-level and senior-level courses offered under |
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this section as that provided to a general academic teaching |
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institution for substantially similar courses. In determining the |
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contact hours attributable to students enrolled in a junior-level |
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or senior-level course offered under this section used to determine |
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a public junior college's proportionate share of state |
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appropriations under Section 130.003, the coordinating board shall |
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weigh those contact hours as necessary to provide the junior |
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college the appropriate level of state support to the extent state |
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funds for those courses are included in the appropriations. This |
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subsection does not prohibit the legislature from directly |
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appropriating state funds to support junior-level and senior-level |
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courses offered under this section. |
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(g-1) A degree program created under Subsection (b-4) may be |
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funded only by a public junior college's proportionate share of |
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state appropriations under Section 130.003, local funds, and |
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private sources. This subsection does not require the legislature |
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to appropriate state funds to support a degree program created |
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under Subsection (b-4). |
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SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |