By: Seliger, Zaffirini  S.B. No. 828
         (In the Senate - Filed February 14, 2019; March 1, 2019,
  read first time and referred to Committee on Higher Education;
  March 21, 2019, reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 9,
  Nays 0; March 21, 2019, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to the name of the Southwest Collegiate Institute for the
  Deaf.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Chapter 131, Education Code, is amended to read
  as follows:
  CHAPTER 131.  SOUTHWEST COLLEGE [COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE] FOR THE DEAF
         Sec. 131.001.  SOUTHWEST COLLEGE [COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE] FOR
  THE DEAF. The Southwest College [Collegiate Institute] for the
  Deaf is a postsecondary educational institution providing
  instruction for hearing-impaired students preparing for a career or
  for enrollment in a senior college or university.
         Sec. 131.002.  ADMINISTRATION. (a)  The college
  [institute] is under the direct control and management of the board
  of trustees of the Howard Junior College District.
         (b)  The college [institute] and its programs shall be
  administered by personnel who are trained and qualified to work
  with hearing-impaired students and are fluent in manual
  communication skills.
         Sec. 131.003.  LOCATION. The college [institute] is located
  on land deeded to the governing board by the federal Department of
  Education for the purpose of operating the college [institute].
  The governing board may not conduct regular junior college programs
  for students with unimpaired hearing on the college [institute]
  campus except as an integral part of the program offered to
  hearing-impaired students when:
               (1)  it is educationally appropriate to enroll hearing
  students in classes for the hearing-impaired; or
               (2)  special programs are needed to train hearing and
  hearing-impaired persons to become professional service providers
  for the deaf.
         Sec. 131.004.  COURSES, PROGRAMS, AND SERVICES. (a)  The
  college [institute] shall offer, but is not limited to offering,
  the following courses, programs, and services for hearing-impaired
  post-secondary students:
               (1)  learning development services, including academic
  counseling, tutorial services, reading instruction, services to
  counter learning disabilities, and library-related services;
               (2)  communications services, including interpreters
  for academic and nonacademic functions, speech therapy, and
  auditory evaluation and training;
               (3)  academic college preparatory courses;
               (4)  career analysis services designed to assist each
  student in identifying a career interest, considering the student's
  aptitudes, abilities, and skills;
               (5)  regular college courses, including vocational and
  technical education and liberal arts courses;
               (6)  extracurricular activities, including intramural
  athletics; and
               (7)  postgraduation services, including job placement
  services and services designed to orient employers to
  hearing-impaired workers.
         (b)  The course work offered by the college [institute] shall
  emphasize self-contained classrooms with instruction conducted by
  instructors who are trained and qualified to work with
  hearing-impaired students and are fluent in manual communication
  skills. Hearing-impaired students may enroll in integrated classes
  that are regular classes offered to students with unimpaired
  hearing enrolled in the junior college.
         (c)  The programs, services, and facilities of the college
  [institute] shall be designed to be appropriate to the needs of
  hearing-impaired students.
         (d)  The executive director shall determine which courses
  offered by the college [institute] are appropriate for an
  electronic display on a screen or terminal, with less than 30
  seconds delay, of a speaker's spoken message. The college
  [institute] shall implement the electronic display in those
  courses.
         Sec. 131.005.  TUITION. (a)  A Texas resident student
  enrolled in the college [institute] is exempt from tuition fees
  under Section 54.364.
         (b)  A student who is not a resident of Texas shall pay
  tuition at a rate that is the lesser of:
               (1)  the rate provided by this code for a nonresident
  student enrolled at a general academic teaching institution; or
               (2)  a rate determined by the board of trustees and the
  Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board[, Texas College and
  University System] to be the approximate cost to the college
  [institute], not including room and board, of educating a student
  during the academic year beginning the next fall.
         Sec. 131.006.  APPROPRIATIONS; GRANTS. (a)  The governing
  board of the college [institute] may receive appropriations for the
  college's [institute's] operations only if the board operates the
  college [institute] in compliance with this chapter.
         (b)  The board may accept gifts, grants, or donations of
  money or property given to the college [institute] for the
  college's [institute's] exclusive use in carrying out the purposes
  of this subchapter.
         (c)  The board may expend appropriated funds for maintenance
  and operation, including the maintenance and operation of student
  housing and food service, unless the funds are specifically
  restricted to another purpose by the appropriation.
         SECTION 2.  Section 51.911(a)(1), Education Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
               (1)  "Institution of higher education" has the meaning
  assigned by [Subdivision (7) of] Section 61.003 of this code, but
  includes the Southwest College [Collegiate Institute] for the Deaf
  and Texas State Technical College System [Institute].
         SECTION 3.  Section 51.925(b), Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (b)  In this section, "institution of higher education" has
  the meaning assigned by [Subdivision (7) of] Section 61.003 of this
  code, except that the term includes the Southwest College
  [Collegiate Institute] for the Deaf and Texas State Technical
  College System [Institute].
         SECTION 4.  Section 54.364(a)(5), Education Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
               (5)  "Institution of higher education" has the meaning
  assigned by Section 61.003, except that the term includes the
  Southwest College [Collegiate Institute] for the Deaf.
         SECTION 5.  Section 31.001(8), Natural Resources Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
               (8)  "Institution of higher education" means the Texas
  State Technical College System, the Southwest College [Collegiate
  Institute] for the Deaf, or an institution of higher education,
  excluding a public junior college, as defined by Section 61.003,
  Education Code.
         SECTION 6.  (a)  The name of the Southwest Collegiate
  Institute for the Deaf is changed to the Southwest College for the
  Deaf.
         (b)  A reference in law to the Southwest Collegiate Institute
  for the Deaf means the Southwest College for the Deaf.
         (c)  An appropriation for the use or benefit of the Southwest
  Collegiate Institute for the Deaf is available for the use and
  benefit of the Southwest College for the Deaf.
         SECTION 7.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
 
  * * * * *