By: Creighton S.B. No. 1490
 
 
 
   
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the authority of the Texas Higher Education
  Coordinating Board to issue a certificate of authority or
  certificate of authorization regarding professional degrees.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 61.303(c), Education Code, is amended as
  follows:
         (c)  The board may issueapprove the issuance of a
  certificate of authorization to grant degrees to an exempt
  institution or person a certificate of authorization to grant
  degrees. The board may adopt rules regarding a process to allow an
  exempt institution or person to apply for and receive approval for a
  certificate of authorization under this section. The board shall
  not issue a certificate of authorization to any institution
  offering a professional degree or representing its credits earned
  in this state are applicable toward a professional degree except to
  the extent allowed for an authorized institution operating under a
  State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA). In this
  subsection, "professional degree" includes Doctor of Medicine
  (M.D.), Doctor of Osteopathy (D.O.), Doctor of Dental Surgery
  (D.D.S.), Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.), Juris Doctor
  (J.D.), and Bachelor of Laws (LL.B).
         SECTION 2.  Section 61.306, Education Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
         (d)  The board may not issue a certificate of authority for a
  private postsecondary institution to grant a professional degree as
  defined in Sec. 61.306(c), or to represent that credits earned in
  this state are applicable toward a professional degree unless the
  Board determines that all of the following conditions have been
  met:
               (1)  the capacity and ability of similar professional
  degree programs at institutions of higher education and private or
  independent institutions of higher education, as those terms are
  defined in Sec. 61.003, are insufficient to meet the current market
  needs for the state;
               (2)  the institution seeking the certificate of
  authority has the necessary faculty and other resources to ensure
  student success;
               (3)  sufficient placements are available to students
  for required field-based experience, such as clinicals or
  clerkships, in the proposed professional degree; and
               (4)  the institution seeking the certificate of
  authority is subject to, and will meet, the same standard for
  approval and all academic criteria applicable to similar
  professional degree programs at institutions of higher education
  and private or independent institutions of higher education, as
  those terms are defined in Sec. 61.003.
         SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.