BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1233

By: Guillen

Higher Education

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The bill author has informed the committee that currently, students in Texas pursuing higher education can face challenges earning industry recognized credentials that align with
high-demand careers due to limited program integration, transferability issues, and regulatory barriers. The bill author has also informed the committee that these credentials are increasingly essential for workforce readiness, yet many institutions lack coordinated frameworks to support them internally and across institutions. C.S.H.B. 1233 seeks to address this gap by directing a feasibility study and pilot project to evaluate and expand the use of industry-recognized credentials within degree and certificate programs at public institutions.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1233 amends the Education Code to require the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), in coordination with the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) through the Tri-Agency Workforce Initiative, to conduct a comprehensive feasibility study on the role of industry-recognized credentials in supporting postsecondary success and positive labor market outcomes in Texas. The bill requires the study to do the following:

·       identify and assess:

o   the availability, use, and integration of industry-recognized credentials at public institutions of higher education;

o   barriers to incorporating industry-recognized credentials into degree and certificate pathways at institutions of higher education, including transferability among institutions of higher education;

o   opportunities to enable students at institutions of higher education to earn multiple industry-recognized credentials as part of a baccalaureate program;

o   the potential for developing regional and statewide frameworks to support cumulative, transferable credential pathways at institutions of higher education; and

o   the role of industry-recognized credentials in reducing time and cost to credential completion, increasing earning potential, and improving alignment with workforce needs; and

·       include a model framework to:

o   enable the creation of accredited degree and certificate programs at both
two- and four-year institutions of higher education that incorporate
industry-recognized credentials;

o   support high school students in earning credit toward those programs;

o   allow students to earn at least two industry-recognized credentials as part of a baccalaureate degree program at an institution of higher education; and

o   facilitate students earning a baccalaureate degree and at least two
industry-recognized credentials not later than four years after completing high school.

C.S.H.B. 1233 defines the following terms for purposes of the bill's provisions:

·       "industry-recognized credential" as a credential earned by a student in a high-demand, high-growth industry that leads to quality career opportunities, as determined by TWC in coordination with the THECB and TEA;

·       "high-demand, high-growth industry" as an industry identified by TWC as experiencing high demand and high growth in Texas based on current and projected job openings, wage thresholds, and employer demand in Texas' labor market;

·       "quality career opportunity" as employment that provides a self-sufficient wage that meets or exceeds a threshold established by the Tri-Agency Workforce Initiative for purposes of the bill's provisions and aligns with statewide and regional workforce development goals, as determined by the initiative; and

·       "self-sufficient wage" as the self-sufficient wage as determined by the initiative for purposes of the initiative.

C.S.H.B. 1233 requires the THECB, for purposes of supporting the study and using resources available within the institutional collaboration center established under applicable state law, to establish and administer a pilot project with at least one two-year institution of higher education and at least one four-year institution of higher education to reduce regulatory burdens and assist institutions of higher education in forming partnerships to encourage one of the following:

·       completion of industry-recognized credentials in satisfaction of certain required coursework under degree or certificate programs offered by institutions of higher education;

·       memoranda of understanding between institutions of higher education that offer industry-recognized credentials;

·       the transferability of course credit, particularly with regard to course credit leading to an industry-recognized credential;

·       the development of degree and certificate programs that enable students to earn a degree or certificate by completing parts of the program at different institutions of higher education; or

·       the applicability of grant, scholarship, and other student financial aid money toward costs related to earning industry-recognized credentials.

The bill authorizes the THECB, in coordination with TEA and TWC through the Tri-Agency Workforce Initiative, to consult with stakeholders to implement the bill's provisions, including public school districts, postsecondary educational institutions, accrediting agencies, employers, local workforce development boards, and faculty and curriculum experts.

C.S.H.B. 1233 requires the THECB, in coordination with TEA and TWC through the initiative, to submit the following reports to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the standing committee of each house of the legislature with primary jurisdiction over higher education:

·       a preliminary report on the study and the pilot project, including the THECB's findings and any recommendations for legislative or other action, not later than March 1, 2026; and

·       a final report on the study and the pilot project, including the THECB's findings and any recommendations for legislative or other action, not later than September 1, 2026.

The bill's provisions expire September 1, 2027.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2025.

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 1233 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute includes provisions providing for an industry-recognized credential feasibility study and pilot project to encourage the earning of industry-recognized credentials at institutions of higher education and does not include any provisions from the introduced, which did the following:

·       defined "credential of value" as an industry-recognized work-based learning credential in a high-demand, high-growth industry leading to quality career opportunities, as determined by TWC;

·       required the THECB to encourage the following:

o   completion of credentials of value in satisfaction of certain required coursework under degree or certificate programs offered by institutions of higher education;

o   memoranda of understanding between institutions of higher education that offer credentials of value;

o   transferability of course credit, particularly with regard to course credit leading to a credential of value;

o   development of degree and certificate programs that enable students to earn a degree or certificate by completing parts of the program at different institutions of higher education; and

o   applicability of grant, scholarship, and other financial aid money toward costs related to earning credentials of value;

·       required the THECB to award a successful outcomes distinction designation to an institution of higher education if at least eight percent of the institution's graduating class for the academic year earns a credential of value;

·       required the THECB, in coordination with TWC, to adopt rules necessary to implement the introduced version's provisions regarding credentials of values;

·       established that the bill's credentials of value provisions apply beginning with the 2025‑2026 academic year;

·       required the THECB to establish a task force to study and make recommendations related to promoting students earning credentials of value and to develop a model framework that does the following:

o   establishes accredited degree and certificate programs that enable students to earn a degree or certificate by completing parts of the program at different institutions of higher education; and

o   enables students to earn credit toward the completion of such degree and certificate programs while in high school, earn at least two credentials of value in such baccalaureate degree programs, and graduate with at least two credentials of value and a baccalaureate degree from an accredited degree and certificate program in four years or less after graduating from high school;

·       required the task force to include representatives from certain entities;

·       required the task force to submit to the THECB, TEA, and the legislature a preliminary report, a final report, and any recommendations for legislative or other action; and

·       established that the task force is abolished and the introduced version's provisions expire September 1, 2027.