By: González of El Paso	H.B. No. 4220

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to the regulation of certain degree-granting
	postsecondary educational institutions by the Texas Higher
	Education Coordinating Board; providing administrative penalties.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Subchapter G, Chapter 61, Education Code, is
	amended by adding Section 61.3025 to read as follows:
	Sec. 61.3025.  DEFINITION: ACADEMIC RECORDS. (a) In this
	subchapter, "academic records" means any information that is:
	(1)  directly related to a student's educational
	efforts;
	(2)  intended to support the student's progress toward
	completing a degree program; and
	(3)  regardless of the format or manner in which or the
	location where the information is held, maintained by an
	institution for the purpose of sharing among academic officials.
	(b)  The term "academic records" includes a student's
	educational history but does not include medical records, alumni
	records other than educational history, human resources records, or
	criminal history record information or other law enforcement
	records.
	SECTION 2.  Section 61.303, Education Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	Sec. 61.303.  EXEMPTIONS. (a) Unless specifically provided
	otherwise, the [The] provisions of this subchapter do not [in any
	way] apply to an institution that [which] is fully accredited by and
	in good standing with a recognized accrediting agency, or an
	institution or degree program that has received approval by a state
	agency authorizing the institution's graduates to take a
	professional or vocational state licensing examination
	administered by that agency. The granting of permission by a state
	agency to a graduate of an institution to take a licensing
	examination does not by itself constitute approval of the
	institution or degree program required for an exemption under this
	subsection.
	(b)  The exemptions provided by Subsection (a) apply only to
	the degree level for which an institution is accredited, and if an
	institution offers to award a degree at a level for which it is not
	accredited, the exemption does not apply.
	(c)  The board may issue to an [An] exempt institution or
	person [may be issued] 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 a certificate
	of authorization under this section.
	(d)  The board by rule may require an exempt institution or
	person to ensure that the financial resources and financial
	stability of the institution or person are adequate to provide
	education of a good quality and to fulfill the institution's or
	person's commitments to its enrolled students and may require the
	institution or person to provide to the board documentation of the
	institution's or person's compliance with those requirements.
	Rules adopted under this subsection must:
	(1)  require the institution or person to maintain
	reserves, lines of credit, or surety instruments that, when
	combined with tuition and fee receipts, are sufficient to allow the
	institution or person to fulfill its educational obligations to its
	enrolled students if the institution or person is unable to admit
	new students in an academic year for any reason; and
	(2)  require that the financial resources maintained
	under Subdivision (1) be conditioned to allow only the board to
	withdraw funds for the benefit of the institution's or person's
	enrolled students under the circumstance described by Subdivision
	(1).
	(e)  To enable the board to verify the conditions under which
	a certificate of authorization issued under this section is held,
	the board by rule may require an exempt institution or person to
	report to the board on a continuing basis other appropriate
	information in addition to the documentation required under
	Subsection (d).
	(f)  An exempt institution or person continues [would
	continue] in that status only if the institution or person
	maintains [so long as it maintained] accreditation by, and remains
	in good standing with, a recognized accrediting agency or otherwise
	meets [met] the provisions of Subsection (a).
	(g) [(e)]  The board by rule shall provide for due process
	and shall provide procedures for revoking or placing conditions on
	the exemption status of an institution or person or for revoking or
	placing conditions on a previously issued certificate of
	authorization.
	(h)  Under the rules described by Subsection (g), the board
	may revoke or place conditions on an institution's or person's
	exemption status or certificate of authorization only if the board
	has reasonable cause to believe that the institution or person has
	violated this subchapter or any rule adopted under this subchapter.
	(i)  Before revoking or placing conditions on an
	institution's or person's exemption status or certificate of
	authorization under Subsection (h), the board must provide to the
	institution or person written notice of the board's impending
	action and include the grounds for that action.
	(j)  If the board places conditions on an institution's or
	person's exemption status or certificate of authorization under
	Subsection (h), until the board removes the conditions, the board
	may reexamine the applicable institution or person at least twice
	annually following the date the board provided notice under
	Subsection (i).
	(k) [(f)]  A private postsecondary educational institution
	may not establish or operate a branch campus, extension center, or
	other off-campus unit in Texas except as provided by this
	subsection or the rules of the board. This subsection does not
	apply to a private or independent institution of higher education
	as defined by Section 61.003.
	SECTION 3.  Subchapter G, Chapter 61, Education Code, is
	amended by adding Section 61.3075 to read as follows:
	Sec. 61.3075.  REQUIRED FINANCIAL RESOURCES. The board by
	rule may require an institution operating under a certificate of
	authority, or seeking to operate under a certificate of authority,
	to ensure that the financial resources and financial stability of
	the institution are adequate to provide education of a good quality
	and to fulfill the institution's commitments to its enrolled
	students and may require the institution to provide to the board
	documentation of the institution's compliance with those
	requirements. Rules adopted under this subsection must:
	(1)  require the institution to maintain reserves,
	lines of credit, or surety instruments that, when combined with
	tuition and fee receipts, are sufficient to allow the institution
	to fulfill its educational obligations to its enrolled students if
	the institution is unable to admit new students in an academic year
	for any reason; and
	(2)  require that the financial resources maintained
	under Subdivision (1) be conditioned to allow only the board to
	withdraw funds for the benefit of the institution's enrolled
	students under the circumstance described by Subdivision (1).
	SECTION 4.  Section 61.315, Education Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	Sec. 61.315.  AGENTS AND RECORDS; ACADEMIC RECORDS
	REPOSITORY. (a) The authorized or certified institutions may be
	required to provide [furnish] a list of their agents to the board,
	and to maintain in a manner specified by the board the academic
	records of enrolled or former students [enrolled], including
	records of credits [awarded,] and degrees awarded, and provide
	those records to the board on request [in a manner specified by the
	board].
	(b)  The board may maintain a repository for academic records
	from closed institutions that were exempt or were authorized to
	operate under a certificate of authorization or certificate of
	authority. The board may discontinue its maintenance of the
	repository if adequate funding is not provided for that
	maintenance. The academic records repository is considered to be a
	repository of last resort. If a closed institution is part of a
	larger educational system or corporation, that system or
	corporation shall maintain the academic records. If students of
	the closed institution transfer to another institution through an
	agreement between the institutions to continue the students' degree
	programs, the institution responsible for accepting the
	transferring students shall maintain those academic records.
	SECTION 5.  Section 61.316, Education Code, is amended by
	adding Subsection (e-1) to read as follows:
	(e-1)  Any authorized or certified institution that fails to
	maintain in a manner specified by the board the academic records of
	enrolled or former students, including records of credits and
	degrees awarded, or that fails to protect the personally
	identifiable information of enrolled or former students shall be
	assessed an administrative penalty of not less than $100 or more
	than $500 for each student whose academic record was not maintained
	or whose personally identifiable information was not protected.
	SECTION 6.  The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
	shall adopt the rules required by Subchapter G, Chapter 61,
	Education Code, as amended by this Act, as soon as practicable after
	the effective date of this Act.
	SECTION 7.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.