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Texas Education Code - Section 54.2161. Pilot Project For Certain Students Enrolled In Junior College Courses For Concurrent High School And Higher Education Academic Credit

Legal Research Home > Texas Lawyer > Education Code > Texas Education Code - Section 54.2161. Pilot Project For Certain Students Enrolled In Junior College Courses For Concurrent High School And Higher Education Academic Credit

§ 54.2161. PILOT PROJECT FOR CERTAIN STUDENTS ENROLLED IN 
JUNIOR COLLEGE COURSES FOR CONCURRENT HIGH SCHOOL AND HIGHER 
EDUCATION ACADEMIC CREDIT.  

Text of section effective until August 15, 2009
	(a)  In this section:                                                          
		(1)  "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher 
Education Coordinating Board.
		(2)  "Public junior college" has the meaning assigned 
by Section 61.003.    
	(b)  Notwithstanding Section 54.002 or 54.216, the governing 
board of a public junior college participating in the pilot project 
established under this section shall waive the tuition and 
mandatory fees charged by the college for a student who:
		(1)  is educationally disadvantaged, as defined by 
Section 5.001;  and      
		(2)  is enrolled in a course offered by the college for 
which the student is entitled to simultaneously receive both:
			(A)  course credit toward the student's high 
school academic requirements;  and
			(B)  course credit toward a degree or certificate 
offered by the college.  
	(c)  A student described by Subsection (b) is entitled to 
free textbooks required for a course described by Subsection 
(b)(2).  The institution of higher education offering the course 
shall provide the textbooks to the student.  The school district in 
which the student attends school shall pay the costs of the 
textbooks in accordance with Section 31.031.
	(d)  The coordinating board shall adopt a procedure for a 
public junior college to use in applying to participate in the pilot 
project established under this section.  From among the public 
junior colleges that apply to participate under this subsection, 
the coordinating board shall select five to participate in the 
pilot project.  The public junior colleges selected by the board 
must:
		(1)  be located in various geographic regions of the 
state;                 
		(2)  vary significantly in the number of students 
enrolled;  and            
		(3)  satisfy any other requirements adopted by the 
board.                   
	(e)  The pilot project established under this section may not 
be implemented in a state fiscal year unless in the General 
Appropriations Act for that fiscal year the legislature accounts 
for the tuition and fee exemptions required by this section in a way 
that provides a corresponding increase in the general revenue funds 
appropriated to the public junior colleges that would be 
participating in the pilot project.  It is the intent of the 
legislature that the tuition and fee exemptions required by this 
section be financed by savings to the state resulting under this 
section from reductions in the number of courses taken by 
undergraduate students.
	(f)  If the pilot project established under this section is 
implemented, the commissioner of higher education shall conduct an 
ongoing evaluation of the effectiveness of the pilot project in 
encouraging students to graduate from public and private 
institutions of higher education in a timely manner and of any other 
benefits or any problems that result from the pilot project.  In 
making an evaluation under this subsection, the commissioner of 
higher education shall consult with the commissioner of education.  
The commissioner of higher education shall report the results of an 
evaluation under this subsection to the legislature not later than 
December 31, 2006, and December 31, 2008.
	(g)  The governing board of a public junior college may not 
waive tuition and fees under this section and a student is not 
entitled to free textbooks under this section for a semester or 
other academic term beginning before the 2005 fall semester.
	(h)  This section expires August 15, 2009.                                     

Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., ch. 1339, § 1, eff. June 18, 2005.          

Last modified: August 10, 2007