free dual credit widens to grades 9 through 12

The text as introduced · 942 words

89R4380 KJE-F

By: Creighton
S.B. No. 1786

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to public higher education.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Sections 28.0095(c), (e), and (f), Education

Code, are amended to read as follows:

(c) A student is eligible to enroll at no cost in a dual

credit course under the program if the student:

(1) is enrolled:

(A) in a grade level from 9 through 12 [ high

school ] in a school district or charter school; and

(B) in a dual credit course at a participating

institution of higher education; and

(2) was educationally disadvantaged at any time

during :

(A) the school year in which the student enrolls

in the dual credit course described by Subdivision (1)(B); or

(B) the four school years preceding the student's

enrollment in the dual credit course described by Subdivision

(1)(B).

(e) Each school district or charter school shall:

(1) on the [ a high school student's ] enrollment of a

student in a grade level from 9 through 12 in a dual credit course,

determine whether the student meets the criteria for the program

under Subsection (c)(2); and

(2) notify the institution of higher education that

offers the dual credit course in which the student is enrolled of

the district's or school's determination under Subdivision (1).

(f) A school district or charter school may make the

determination under Subsection (e)(1) based on the district's or

school's records, the agency's records, or any other method

authorized by commissioner or coordinating board rule. If the

district or school bases the determination on a method other than

the agency's records, the district or school shall report the

method used and the data on which the method is based to the agency

for purposes of verification. The agency shall make available to

school districts and charter schools the data necessary for making

the determination required under Subsection (e)(1).

SECTION 2. Subchapter D, Chapter 54, Education Code, is

amended by adding Section 54.215 to read as follows:

Sec. 54.215. FINANCIAL AID FOR SWIFT TRANSFER (FAST)

PROGRAM. The governing board of an institution of higher education

participating in the Financial Aid for Swift Transfer (FAST)

program under Section 28.0095 shall exempt from the payment of

tuition and required fees for a dual credit course, as defined by

that section, a student who is eligible for the program.

SECTION 3. Section 61.003(2), Education Code, is amended to

read as follows:

(2) "Public junior college" means any junior college

associated with a junior college district described by Subchapter

J, Chapter 130 [ listed as a public junior college in accordance with

Section 61.063 ].

SECTION 4. Subchapter B, Chapter 61, Education Code, is

amended by adding Section 61.0275 to read as follows:

Sec. 61.0275. ADOPTION BY REFERENCE. The board may adopt by

reference a manual or policy document as a rule.

SECTION 5. Section 130A.005, Education Code, is amended by

adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:

(d) The coordinating board may use the emergency rulemaking

procedures established under Section 2001.034, Government Code, to

adopt rules necessary to align the funding formulas under this

chapter with appropriations or other legislative action. The

coordinating board is not required to make the finding described by

Section 2001.034(a), Government Code, to adopt rules under this

subsection.

SECTION 6. Section 130A.101(c), Education Code, is amended

to read as follows:

(c) The measurable outcomes considered for purposes of

performance tier funding are:

(1) the number of credentials of value awarded, as

determined by the coordinating board based on analyses of wages and

costs associated with the credential, including degrees,

certificates, and other credentials from credit and non-credit

programs that equip students for continued learning and greater

earnings in the state economy, with an additional weight for

placement of students who earn that credential in a high-demand

occupation, as defined by coordinating board rule, or an

appropriate proxy determined by the coordinating board based on

available data;

(2) the number of students who earn at least 15

semester credit hours or the equivalent at the junior college

district and:

(A) subsequently transfer to :

(i) a general academic teaching

institution, as that term is defined by Section 61.003; or

(ii) a private or independent institution

of higher education, as that term is defined by Section 61.003, that

offers four-year degree programs; or

(B) are enrolled in a structured co-enrollment

program, as authorized by coordinating board rule; and

(3) the number of students who complete a sequence of

at least 15 semester credit hours or the equivalent for dual credit

or dual enrollment courses, as defined by coordinating board rule,

that apply toward academic or workforce program requirements at the

postsecondary level.

SECTION 7. Section 28.0095, Education Code, as amended by

this Act, applies beginning with the 2025-2026 school year.

SECTION 8. Section 54.215, Education Code, as added by this

Act, applies beginning with tuition and required fees charged for

the 2025 fall semester. Tuition and required fees charged for an

academic period before that semester are 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 9. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this

section, this Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of

two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by

Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not

receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes

effect September 1, 2025.

(b) Section 130A.101(c), Education Code, as amended by this

Act, takes effect September 1, 2025.