Bill Text: TX HB67 | 2011-2012 | 82nd Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the creation of a literacy center pilot program by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-02-09 - Referred to Higher Education [HB67 Detail]
Download: Texas-2011-HB67-Introduced.html
| 82R1477 JRJ-D | ||
| By: Martinez | H.B. No. 67 | |
|
|
||
|
|
||
| relating to the creation of a literacy center pilot program by the | ||
| Texas Higher Education 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 Section 61.0621 to read as follows: | ||
| Sec. 61.0621. LITERACY CENTER PILOT PROGRAM. (a) The board | ||
| shall establish a pilot program to establish a literacy center as a | ||
| model for institutions of higher education. To implement and | ||
| administer the program, the board shall choose a public junior | ||
| college campus that: | ||
| (1) is located in a county with a population of at | ||
| least 300,000 and has a high need for literacy services; | ||
| (2) is considered to be a center for intellectual | ||
| activity in the region of the state in which the junior college | ||
| district that operates the campus is located; and | ||
| (3) has an established reading committee on the campus | ||
| that has participated in literacy and reading projects with other | ||
| entities in the community. | ||
| (b) The literacy center pilot program shall: | ||
| (1) emphasize advanced literacy, enhance reading | ||
| skills, and encourage voluntary reading; | ||
| (2) imbed reading throughout the curriculum; | ||
| (3) provide training to faculty concerning the | ||
| purposes of the program; | ||
| (4) have a primary focus on students of the | ||
| institution of higher education; | ||
| (5) provide outreach to local schools and the | ||
| community; and | ||
| (6) incorporate and coordinate with other national | ||
| efforts and programs in literacy, which may include those that | ||
| focus on science, health and wellness, civics, business and | ||
| finance, technology, sustainability and the environment, | ||
| philosophy, ethics, religion, and literature and the arts. | ||
| (c) The public junior college campus chosen by the board | ||
| shall cooperate with community libraries, local school districts, | ||
| and other local entities to implement and administer the program. | ||
| (d) The board shall allocate funds appropriated for | ||
| purposes of this section to support the pilot program. | ||
| (e) Not later than January 1, 2013, the governing board of | ||
| the junior college district that operates the campus selected to | ||
| administer the literacy center pilot program shall report to the | ||
| chairs of the standing committees of each house of the legislature | ||
| with jurisdiction over education. The report must include | ||
| information regarding the progress made in improving the literacy | ||
| of students on the campus that participated in the program and in | ||
| the community, and include recommendations for establishing | ||
| similar programs at other institutions of higher education. | ||
| (f) This section expires September 1, 2013. | ||
| SECTION 2. 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, 2011. | ||
