Bill Text: TX SB2068 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to the information maintained by the Texas Education Agency regarding postsecondary education and career opportunities.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-04-27 - Left pending in committee [SB2068 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-SB2068-Introduced.html

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88R7944 JTZ-F
By: Bettencourt S.B. No. 2068

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the information maintained by the Texas Education
Agency regarding postsecondary education and career opportunities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 7.040, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (c) and adding Subsection (a-1) to
read as follows:
(a) The agency shall prepare information comparing
institutions of higher education in this state and post the
information on the agency's Internet website. Information prepared
under this section shall be given to any [a] public or private
school student who requests the information. The information
shall:
(1) identify postsecondary education and career
opportunities, including information that states the benefits of
four-year and two-year higher education programs, postsecondary
technical education, skilled workforce careers, and career
education programs;
(2) assist prospective postsecondary students in
assessing the value of a certificate program, associate or
baccalaureate degree program, or other credential program offered
by an institution of higher education by comparing [compare] each
institution [of higher education] with other institutions
regarding:
(A) the relative cost of obtaining the
certificate, degree, or other credential, including:
(i) the total cost of attendance, based on
the most recent data released through the United States Department
of Education's College Scorecard online tool or a successor tool;
(ii) the total cost of tuition and fees;
(iii) the median cost of room and board;
(iv) the median student debt of students
who graduated with the certificate, degree, or other credential
from the institution as compared to the median student debt of all
students who graduated with the certificate, degree, or other
credential, based on the most recent data released through the
United States Department of Education's College Scorecard online
tool or a successor tool;
(v) the estimated monthly student loan
payment, computed using the standard 10-year repayment plan; and
(vi) the percentage of students who fully
repay student debt within the standard 10-year repayment period or,
if this information is not available for the program, the
percentage of students in all certificate programs, degree
programs, or other credential programs who fully repay student debt
within the standard 10-year repayment period [tuition];
(B) educational outcomes for [the retention rate
of] students seeking the certificate, degree, or other credential,
including:
(i) the percentage of students who continue
in the program after the first year of study;
(ii) the graduation rate; and
(iii) the percentage of graduates employed
in a field related to the certificate program, degree program, or
other credential program within one year of graduation; and
(C) the median earnings of graduates, expressed
as a yearly amount and as a percentage of median student debt, based
on the most recent data released through the United States
Department of Education's College Scorecard online tool or a
successor tool [the graduation rate of students];
[(D) the average student debt;
[(E) the loan repayment rate of students; and
[(F) the employment rate of students;]
(3) identify the state's future workforce needs, as
projected by the Texas Workforce Commission; and
(4) include annual wage information for the top 10
highest demand jobs in this state, as identified by the Texas
Workforce Commission.
(a-1) The information required under Subsections
(a)(2)(A)(i), (iv), and (vi) and (a)(2)(C) must be updated each
time new data described by that provision is released through the
United States Department of Education's College Scorecard online
tool or a successor tool.
(c) Each institution of higher education shall:
(1) include on its Internet website, in a prominent
location that is not more than three hyperlinks from the website's
home page, a link to the information posted on the agency's Internet
website under Subsection (a); and
(2) disclose to a student on the student's enrollment
in or transfer to a certificate program, associate or baccalaureate
degree program, or other credential program at the institution the
information posted on the agency's Internet website under
Subsection (a) relating to the program.
SECTION 2. Section 2308A.007, Government Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
(a-1) A credential library established under this section
must include the information described by Section 7.040(a),
Education Code.
SECTION 3. (a) As soon as practicable after the effective
date of this Act, the Texas Education Agency shall update the
information required under Section 7.040(a), Education Code, as
amended by this Act.
(b) As soon as practicable after the Texas Education Agency
completes the update required by Subsection (a) of this section,
the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall update the
comparative gainful employment data regarding public institutions
of higher education required to be maintained by the board under
Sections 51.762(b-1) and 51.763(b), Education Code, to include the
information required under Section 7.040(a), Education Code, as
amended by this Act.
(c) As soon as practicable after the Texas Education Agency
completes the update required by Subsection (a) of this section,
the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Texas
Workforce Commission shall jointly update the credential library
established under Section 2308A.007, Government Code, to include
the information required under Section 7.040(a), Education Code, as
amended by this Act.
SECTION 4. 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, 2023.