Bettencourt Bill Posts What Each College Program’s Graduates Earn

The text as introduced · 1,353 words

89R14958 RDR-F

By: Bettencourt
S.B. No. 1961

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the reporting of data relating to postsecondary

education and workforce trends by the Texas Higher Education

Coordinating Board and the Texas Workforce Commission, to

performance tier funding under the public junior college finance

program, and to a biennial regional labor demand assessment by the

coordinating board.

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

SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 61, Education Code, is

amended by adding Sections 61.09023 and 61.09096 to read as

follows:

Sec. 61.09023. REPORTING ON POSTSECONDARY OUTCOMES. (a)

The board shall post on the board's Internet website the following

de-identified data, disaggregated by institution of higher

education and matriculating cohort:

(1) for students who graduate from a degree,

certificate, or other credential program:

(A) the program completed;

(B) the employment status of graduates from each

program, including, if known, the number of those graduates who

enrolled in additional postsecondary education; and

(C) the counties of employment and residence,

industries of employment, occupations, and wages of graduates from

each program; and

(2) for students who have not graduated from a degree,

certificate, or other credential program and are no longer enrolled

in that program:

(A) the program in which the student was most

recently enrolled;

(B) the number of credits remaining before the

student would complete the program;

(C) the student's employment status, including,

if known, whether the student is enrolled in another degree,

certificate, or other credential program at an institution of

higher education; and

(D) the counties and industries of employment,

occupations, and wages of those students.

(b) The board shall ensure the data posted under Subsection

(a) complies with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of

1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g).

Sec. 61.09096. BIENNIAL REGIONAL LABOR DEMAND ASSESSMENT.

(a) The board, in consultation with the Texas Workforce

Commission, shall conduct a biennial assessment of regional labor

demands across the state to allow institutions of higher education

to better align educational programs with workforce needs. In

conducting the assessment, the board shall:

(1) analyze current and projected workforce needs in

each region of the state over a 10-year period, disaggregated by

wage, industry, occupational field, full-time and part-time

status, county of primary employment, county of residence, and

remote work status;

(2) identify for each region and county the industries

and occupations that lead to a self-sufficient wage, as determined

under Section 2308A.012, Government Code, based on local labor

market conditions;

(3) provide a list of degrees, certificates, or other

credentials included in the library of credentials established

under Section 2308A.007, Government Code, that lead to jobs in the

industries or occupations identified under Subdivision (2); and

(4) provide information on outcomes relating to each

degree, certificate, or other credential listed under Subdivision

(3), including:

(A) the median wage earned by students who

graduated with the degree, certificate, or other credential in 1

year, 5 years, and 10 years after completion of the program; and

(B) job placement rates in six months of

completion of the degree, certificate, or other credential.

(b) To assist the board in conducting the assessment under

this section, the board, in coordination with other state agencies,

including the Texas Workforce Commission, the Texas Education

Agency, and other relevant entities, shall:

(1) access labor market information, employment data,

and workforce projections; and

(2) ensure that educational and training programs,

credentialing pathways, and career preparation efforts are

informed by comprehensive and accurate labor market data.

(c) The board shall provide the labor market information and

workforce projections obtained from the assessment conducted under

this section to institutions of higher education, school districts,

and open-enrollment charter schools to support program development

aligned with regional workforce needs.

(d) Not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year,

the board shall report the results of the assessment conducted

under this section to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the

speaker of the house of representatives, and the standing

legislative committees with primary jurisdiction over higher

education.

SECTION 2. 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 under Section 130A.102 [ 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 a general academic

teaching institution, as that term is defined by Section 61.003; 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 3. Subchapter C, Chapter 130A, Education Code, is

amended by adding Section 130A.102 to read as follows:

Sec. 130A.102. CREDENTIALS OF VALUE. (a) For purposes of

Section 130A.101(c)(1), the coordinating board shall designate a

postsecondary credential as a credential of value if the

credential:

(1) is aligned with regional or state workforce

demand;

(2) provides a positive return on investment within a

time frame relatively proportional, as determined by the

coordinating board, to the duration of the certificate or degree

program at a public junior college through which a person may earn

the credential; and

(3) ensures a person who graduates from a public

junior college with the credential achieves a minimum earnings

threshold as determined under Subsection (b).

(b) The coordinating board by rule shall establish a minimum

earnings threshold for a credential of value. In establishing the

threshold, the coordinating board must consider:

(1) the time frame in which earnings from the

credential exceed the total cost of attendance at a public junior

college, including foregone wages; and

(2) whether the earnings meet or exceed the amount of

the self-sufficient wage determined under Section 2308A.012,

Government Code, within a time frame relatively proportional, as

determined by the coordinating board, to the duration of the

certificate or degree program at a public junior college through

which a person may earn the credential.

(c) The coordinating board by rule may designate a

postsecondary credential as a credential of value regardless of

whether the credential meets the requirements under Subsection (a)

if the coordinating board determines the designation necessary. A

designation under this subsection expires on the second anniversary

of the date on which the designation was made unless renewed by the

coordinating board. In determining whether a designation is

necessary, the coordinating board shall consider:

(1) workforce demand in critical industries;

(2) alignment with state economic priorities;

(3) public service or essential workforce roles; and

(4) other considerations the coordinating board deems

necessary.

SECTION 4. Section 204.0025, Labor Code, is amended to read

as follows:

Sec. 204.0025. ADDITIONAL WORKFORCE DATA REPORTING. The

commission shall [ It is the intent of the legislature that the

commission, subject to the availability of federal funding or other

resources for the purpose, ] work with employers to enhance the

reporting of employment and earnings data by employers to the

commission as part of an employer's routine wage filings under this

subtitle or commission rule and consistent with federal law and

regulations. The enhanced wage filings must include information

related to wage, industry, occupational field, full-time and

part-time status, county of primary employment, county of

residence, remote work status, [ occupation ] and other important

employment information necessary to conduct the assessment

required under Section 61.09096, Education Code [ that would improve

the state's labor market information ].

SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.