BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center	S.B. 1276
	By: Powell
	Education
	5/24/2019
	Enrolled

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

Dual credit courses aim to better prepare high school students for postsecondary education by providing opportunities to get a head start on obtaining college credit, potentially saving students both time and money. The benefits of these dual credit programs cannot be fully realized by students, however, if courses taken in high school ultimately do not count toward their college majors.

High school endorsements as outlined under Section 28.025(c-1), Education Code, also intend to help students explore career interests while providing on-ramps to postsecondary education and career opportunities. For these on-ramps to be meaningful, however, school districts and institutions of higher educations must collaborate to ensure that there is alignment between district endorsements and postsecondary pathways.

Building this collaboration and alignment into dual credit agreements made between school districts and institutions of higher education would help to ensure that students are benefiting from these programs as intended.

S.B. 1276 aims to improve outcomes for students engaging in dual credit programs by strengthening these partnerships at the local level. The bill would help ensure that school districts and institutions of higher education are on the same page when it comes to student advising and district endorsements/postsecondary pathway alignment by building this collaboration into the dual credit agreements made between these bodies. (Original Author's/Sponsor's Statement of Intent)

S.B. 1276 amends current law relating to an agreement between a school district and public institution of higher education to provide a dual credit program to high school students enrolled in the district.

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. Amends Section 28.009(b-2), Education Code, as follows:

(b-2) Requires any agreement, including a memorandum of understanding or articulation agreement, between a school district and public institution of higher education to provide a dual credit program described by Subsection (b-1) (relating to requiring certain agencies to coordinate to adopt rules for the implementation of certain requirements relating to dual credit courses) to:

(1) makes no changes to this subdivision;

(2) establish common advising strategies and terminology related to dual credit and college readiness;

(3)  provide for the alignment of endorsements described by Section 28.025(c-1) (relating to authorizing a student to earn a certain endorsement and requiring the State Board of Education to make rules for earning the endorsement) offered by the district, and dual credit courses offered under the agreement that apply towards those endorsements, with postsecondary pathways and credentials at the institution and industry certifications;

(4)  identify tools, including tools developed by the Texas Education Agency, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, or the Texas Workforce Commission, to assist school counselors, students, and families in selecting endorsements offered by the district and dual credit courses offered under the agreement;

(5) creates this subdivision from existing text and makes no further changes; and

(6)�(9) redesignates existing Subdivisions (3)�(6) as Subdivisions (6)�(9) and makes no further changes.

SECTION 2. Makes application of this Act prospective.

SECTION 3. Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2019.