Amend HB 766 (senate committee printing) by inserting the appropriately numbered sections and renumbering the remaining sections accordingly:
SECTION ___. The heading to Section 54.353, Education Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 54.353. FIREFIGHTERS OR PARAMEDICS ENROLLED IN FIRE SCIENCE COURSES.
SECTION ___. Section 54.353, Education Code, is amended by amending Subsections (a) and (f) and adding Subsection (e-1) to read as follows:
(a) The governing board of an institution of higher education shall exempt from the payment of tuition and laboratory fees any student enrolled in one or more courses offered as part of a fire science curriculum who:
(1) is employed as a firefighter or a paramedic by a political subdivision of this state; or
(2) is currently, and has been for at least one year, an active member of an organized volunteer fire department participating in the Texas Emergency Services Retirement System or a retirement system established under the Texas Local Fire Fighters Retirement Act (Article 6243e, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes) and who holds:
(A) an Accredited Advanced level of certification, or an equivalent success or certification, under the State Firemen's and Fire Marshals' Association of Texas volunteer certification program; or
(B) Phase V (Firefighter II) certification, or an equivalent successor certification, under the Texas Commission on Fire Protection's voluntary certification program under Section 419.071, Government Code.
(e-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the governing board of an institution of higher education may not provide exemptions under this section to students enrolled in a specific class in a number that exceeds 20 percent of the maximum student enrollment designated by the institution for that class.
(f) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall adopt:
(1) rules governing the granting or denial of an exemption under this section, including rules:
(A) prescribing the educational attainment or level of certification necessary to qualify for an exemption as a paramedic; and
(B) relating to the determination of a student's eligibility for an exemption; and
(2) a uniform listing of degree programs covered by the exemption under this section.
SECTION ___. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall adopt the rules required by Section 54.353(f), Education Code, as amended by this Act, as soon as practicable after the effective date of this Act.