Texas Legislative Wrap-Up: A Summary of Higher Education-Related Bills Passed by the 86th Legislature
Two weeks ago (and some change), the 86th Texas Legislative session officially concluded. After 140 days of grappling with a wide array of various issues and topics, Texas lawmakers were able to pass hundreds of bills through both of the state’s congressional chambers. These bills now sit atop the desk of Governor Greg Abbott, awaiting a final decision as to whether they will be fully enacted into law — or forced to lie fallow until the next legislative session.
As a graduate student studying higher education, I am particularly interested in the ways that new legislation affects the Texas higher education sector. For this reason, I have compiled the following summary of recent bills that directly impact Texas colleges and universities en masse.
1. Greater Institutional Accountability vis-à-vis Reporting and Responding to Allegations of Sexual Harassment, Sexual Assault, Dating Violence, and Stalking on College Campuses.
Data from recent studies reify the notion that, unfortunately, campus sexual violence remains a persistent issue that continues to affect many institutions of higher education today. In light of this reality, Texas lawmakers have recently passed legislation that calls for greater institutional accountability vis-à-vis reporting and responding to allegations of sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking on college campuses. In particular, there are two bills related to this topic that employees of Texas higher education institutions should become familiar with: SB 212 and HB 1735.
SB 212: Relating to a reporting requirement for certain incidents of sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, or stalking at public and private institutions of higher education; creating a criminal offense; authorizing administrative penalties.
Author: Huffman | et al.
SB 212 proposes to add a new subchapter to Chapter 51 of the Texas Education Code. This subchapter outlines the responsibility of individual employees in reporting incidents related to campus sexual violence (§ 51.252) and calls for administrators to take more action in the reporting of such incidents (§ 51.253).
SB 212 mandates that the Title IX coordinator at each institution shall submit a written report (concerning the reports received under § 51.252) to the institution’s chief executive officer every three months. Additionally, each institution’s chief executive officer is required to submit an annual report to the institution’s governing body (§ 51.253).
Furthermore, each institution’s chief executive officer must annually certify in writing that the institution complies with the requirements outlined in this subchapter (§ 51.258). If the coordinating board determines that an institution is not compliant, the coordinating board may assess an administrative penalty against the institution in an amount not to exceed $2 million (§ 51.258).
Finally, SB 212 states that the commissioner of higher education shall establish an advisory committee to develop recommended training for Title IX coordinators and deputy Title IX coordinators (§ 51.260). This advisory committee will consist of nine members: eight members who are chief executive officers of higher education institutions, and one member who is a representative of an advocacy organization for victims of sexual assault or family violence. The recommended training is expected to be developed no later than December 1st, 2019 (§ 51.260).
A pdf version of SB 212 can be found here.
HB 1735: Relating to sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking at public and private educational institutions; providing an administrative penalty.
Author: Howard | et al.
Similar to SB 212, HB 1735 proposes to add a new subchapter to Chapter 51 of the Texas Education Code. This subchapter provides a thorough outline of the requirements that each institution’s policy on sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking should include.
According to HB 1735, each institution’s policy must include the following: definitions of prohibited behavior, the protocol for reporting and responding to reports, interim measures to protect victims, and any other accommodations available to victims (§ 51.282). HB 1735 also requires each education institution to develop and implement a comprehensive prevention and outreach program that addresses a range of strategies to prevent such incidents, including a victim empowerment program, a public awareness campaign, primary prevention, bystander intervention, and risk reduction (§ 51.282).
Additionally, HB 1735 states that all institutions shall, to the greatest extent practicable, ensure that each alleged victim (or alleged perpetrator) of an incident of sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, or stalking is offered counseling by a counselor who does not provide counseling to any other person involved in the incident (§ 51.282). HB 1735 also requires each peace officer employed by a higher education institution to complete training on the trauma-informed investigation into allegations of sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking (§ 51.288).
Finally, HB 1735 calls for each institution to provide an option to electronically report an allegation of sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, or stalking committed against or witnessed by a student or employee, regardless of the location at which the alleged offense occurred (§ 51.283).
A pdf version of HB 1735 can be found here.
2. A Financial Aid Application Process that is More Accessible to Students who are Non-Citizens.
The Texas Application for State Financial Aid (TASFA) is a financial aid application form that is available to students who are not U.S. citizens but are considered residents of Texas (e.g., undocumented students). The TASFA is notorious for having a complicated application process that makes it rather difficult for students who are non-citizens to access state financial aid that they are likely eligible for. For instance, the TASFA form is only available on paper — in other words, in order to complete the TAFSA, a student must print and fill out the form, get it signed by the appropriate parties, gather all of the form’s required materials (e.g., completed tax return documents), and submit the completed form (via mail, fax, in-person, etc.) to each of his or her prospective universities.
It is apparent that complexity of the TAFSA can serve as a barrier to students applying for — and in turn receiving — state financial aid. One piece of recent legislation, however, aims to improve TAFSA filing among college-intending students.
HB 2140: Relating to creating an electronic application system for state student financial assistance.
Author: Neave | et al.
This bill proposes to enact a new statute — to be coded as Section 61.07762 — to Chapter 61 of the Texas Education Code. This statute calls for the coordinating board to adopt policies and procedures that allow a person to complete and submit the Texas Application for State Financial Aid (TASFA) by electronic submission.
Additionally, the coordinating board is required to appoint an advisory committee to assist in adopting the procedures required by HB 2140. This advisory committee is to be composed of financial aid personnel at institutions of higher education, as well as stakeholders who represent the needs of interested students.
By allowing TAFSA-eligible students to complete the TASFA online (similar to how FAFSA-eligible students complete the FAFSA online), the process for applying for financial aid becomes much more accessible to — and streamlined for — students who are non-citizens.
The changes in law made by HB 2140 begin with applications for state student financial assistance submitted for the 2022–2023 academic year.
A pdf version of HB 2140 can be found here.
3. Increased Efforts to Better Support Students Who Are or Were in Foster Care.
Per Texas statutory law, public institutions of higher education are required to provide designated campus liaisons to college students who were formerly enrolled in the foster care system (Tex. Educ. Code § 51.9356). These campus liaisons are familiar with the specific needs of students who were formerly in foster care and are professionally trained to help such students find information on housing, food and meal programs, counseling, financial aid, and other campus services that will help them to be successful in a college setting.
One piece of recent legislation, HB 1702, seeks to expand on this existing requirement, by mandating institutions to extend comparable services and personnel support to college students who are currently enrolled in the foster care system.
HB 1702: Relating to services provided for students at public institutions of higher education who are or were in foster care.
Author: Howard | et al.
This bill proposes to amend Section 51.9356 of the Texas Education Code so that each institution is required to designate at least one employee to act as a liaison officer for students (both current and incoming) who are currently in the conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective Services.
HB 1702 also requires each institution to publicize (via the institution’s website, social media, electronic mail, or other means of communication used by the institution) the following information: the name of and contact information for the institution’s liaison officer; and information regarding support services, and other resources available at the institution to the students described. Additionally, liaison officers are to participate in ongoing training that enables them to carry out their duties and coordinate with liaison officers at other educational institutions.
A pdf version of HB 1702 can be found here.
4.Gainful Employment Data that are More Accessible to Prospective Students.
Per federal requirements set forth by the U.S. Department of Education, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) is required to publish information regarding the gainful employment of students who graduate from Title IV-eligible programs (i.e., programs at public institutions). Currently, this information is publicly available via an online database maintained by the THECB. However, HB 277 seeks to make this data even more accessible — specifically for students going through the college application process.
HB 277: Relating to a requirement that online admission application forms for public institutions of higher education include a link to comparative gainful employment data.
Author: Oliverson | et al.
This bill proposes to amend Section 51.762 of Texas Education Code so that it requires the common admission application form used by students seeking freshmen admission at higher education institutions (i.e., the “common app”) to include a prominent link to comparative gainful employment data regarding institutions of higher education.
The gainful employment data that the THECB are required to disclose include the following: a list of occupations that a given program prepares students to enter; on-time graduation rate for students completing a given program; cost of tuition and fees, books and supplies, and median loan debt incurred by students who completed a given program; and job placement rate for students completing a given program.
A pdf version of HB 277 can be found here.
5. Greater Transparency in Reporting the Transferability of Academic Credit.
Per Section 51.403 of the Texas Education Code, public higher education institutions are required to solely offer courses that are “economically justified in the considered judgment of the appropriate governing board.” Pursuant to this, the chief executive officer of each institution is required to provide the governing board with two annual reports: one regarding the institution’s affordability and access (Tex. Educ. Code § 51.4031) and one regarding the composition of the institution’s entering class of students (Tex. Educ. Code § 51.4032).
One piece of recent legislation, SB 502, calls for administrators to submit two additional annual reports related to this area: one regarding the non-transferability of academic credit between institutions and one regarding the transferability of academic credit received from junior colleges.
SB 502: Relating to requiring certain institutions of higher education to issue reports on the transferability of credit.
Author: Seliger
This bill proposes to enact two new statutes — to be coded as Section 51.4033 and Section 51.4034, respectively — to Chapter 51 of the Texas Education Code.
This first statute, Section 51.4033, will require each institution to provide the coordinating board with an annual report describing any courses for which a student who transfers to the institution from another institution of higher education is not granted academic credit. This report must indicate the following: the course name and type; which institution provided academic credit for the course; and the reason why the receiving institution did not grant academic credit for the course.
The second statute, Section 51.4034, will require each public junior college to provide the coordinating board with an annual report on courses taken by students who, during the preceding academic year, transferred to another institution or earned an associate degree at the college. This report must indicate the following: the total number of courses and semester hours attempted and completed at the college, the total number of courses attempted and completed at the college that are not in the recommended core curriculum developed by the coordinating board, and the total number of dual credit courses.
Both of these reports are required to be submitted no later than March 1st of each year.
A pdf version of SB 502 can be found here.
Overall, it is my opinion that these new pieces of legislation offer a promising sign for Texas colleges and universities moving forward. By holding institutions more accountable for the well-being of students and passing laws that signify the need to create more inclusive and just spaces on our college campuses, Texas legislators have begun to make great strides toward encouraging academic success for all.
Edit: As of June 14th, all of the bills discussed in this article have been officially signed by Gov. Greg Abbott and are expected to take effect immediately.
