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        |  | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED | 
      
        |  | AN ACT | 
      
        |  | relating to the hours of instruction required to obtain an operator | 
      
        |  | license to practice cosmetology. | 
      
        |  | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | 
      
        |  | SECTION 1.  Section 1602.254(b), Occupations Code, is | 
      
        |  | amended to read as follows: | 
      
        |  | (b)  To be eligible for an operator license, an applicant | 
      
        |  | must meet the requirements of Subsection (c) or: | 
      
        |  | (1)  be at least 17 years of age; | 
      
        |  | (2)  have obtained a high school diploma or the | 
      
        |  | equivalent of a high school diploma or have passed a valid | 
      
        |  | examination administered by a certified testing agency that | 
      
        |  | measures the person's ability to benefit from training; and | 
      
        |  | (3)  have completed: | 
      
        |  | (A)  1,000 [ 1,500] hours of instruction in a | 
      
        |  | licensed beauty culture school; or | 
      
        |  | (B)  1,000 hours of instruction in beauty culture | 
      
        |  | courses and 500 hours of related high school courses prescribed by | 
      
        |  | the commission in a vocational cosmetology program in a public | 
      
        |  | school. | 
      
        |  | SECTION 2.  Section 1602.451(a), Occupations Code, is | 
      
        |  | amended to read as follows: | 
      
        |  | (a)  The holder of a private beauty culture school license | 
      
        |  | shall: | 
      
        |  | (1)  maintain a sanitary establishment; | 
      
        |  | (2)  maintain on duty one licensed instructor for each | 
      
        |  | 25 students in attendance; | 
      
        |  | (3)  maintain a daily record of students' attendance; | 
      
        |  | (4)  establish regular class and instruction hours and | 
      
        |  | grades; | 
      
        |  | (5)  require a school term of not less than six [ nine] | 
      
        |  | months and not less than 1,000 [ 1,500] hours instruction for a | 
      
        |  | complete course in cosmetology; | 
      
        |  | (6)  require a school term of not less than 600 hours | 
      
        |  | instruction for a complete course in manicuring; | 
      
        |  | (7)  hold examinations before issuing diplomas; | 
      
        |  | (8)  maintain a copy of the school's curriculum in a | 
      
        |  | conspicuous place and verify that the curriculum is being followed; | 
      
        |  | (9)  publish in the school's catalogue and enrollment | 
      
        |  | contract a description of the refund policy required under Section | 
      
        |  | 1602.458; and | 
      
        |  | (10)  provide the department with information on: | 
      
        |  | (A)  the current course completion rates of | 
      
        |  | students who attend a course of instruction offered by the school; | 
      
        |  | and | 
      
        |  | (B)  job placement rates and employment rates of | 
      
        |  | students who complete the course of instruction. | 
      
        |  | SECTION 3.  Section 1603.255, Occupations Code, is amended | 
      
        |  | to read as follows: | 
      
        |  | Sec. 1603.255.  EARLY EXAMINATION.  The department may allow | 
      
        |  | for the early written examination of a student who has completed the | 
      
        |  | following number of hours of instruction in a department-approved | 
      
        |  | training program: | 
      
        |  | (1)  1,000 hours for a student seeking a Class A barber | 
      
        |  | certificate [ or operator license] in a private barber [or  | 
      
        |  | cosmetology] school; [or] | 
      
        |  | (2)  900 hours for a student seeking an operator | 
      
        |  | license in a private cosmetology school; or | 
      
        |  | (3)  900 hours for a student seeking a Class A barber | 
      
        |  | certificate or operator license in a publicly funded barber or | 
      
        |  | cosmetology school. | 
      
        |  | SECTION 4.  As soon as practicable after the effective date | 
      
        |  | of this Act, the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation shall | 
      
        |  | adopt rules implementing Chapter 1602, Occupations Code, as amended | 
      
        |  | by this Act. | 
      
        |  | SECTION 5.  The change in law made by this Act to Section | 
      
        |  | 1602.254(b), Occupations Code, applies only to an application for | 
      
        |  | an operator license submitted on or after September 1, 2020.  An | 
      
        |  | application for an operator license submitted before that date is | 
      
        |  | governed by the law in effect immediately before the effective date | 
      
        |  | of this Act, and the former law is continued in effect for that | 
      
        |  | purpose. | 
      
        |  | SECTION 6.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |