H.B. No. 2920
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to the distribution, posting, or provision of information
  regarding postsecondary education and career opportunities and to
  the confidentiality of certain information relating to persons
  provided assistance in accessing postsecondary education.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 7.040(a), Education Code, is amended 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 made publicly available in a manner that
  is accessible [given] to any [a] public or private school student
  seeking [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 using
  information included in the electronic tools or platforms developed
  by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board under Section
  61.09022(a) [regarding:
                     [(A)  the relative cost of tuition;
                     [(B)  the retention rate of students;
                     [(C)  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 starting wage information and
  educational requirements for the top 25 [10] highest demand jobs in
  this state, as identified by the Texas Workforce Commission;
               (5)  identify the 40 baccalaureate degree programs with
  the highest average annual wages following graduation; and
               (6)  identify the 20 associate degree or certificate
  programs with the highest average annual wages following
  graduation.
         SECTION 2.  Section 51.762(b-1), Education Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (b-1)  An electronic common admission application form
  adopted under this section must include a prominent link to the
  electronic tools or platforms developed by the board under Section
  61.09022 [comparative gainful employment data regarding
  institutions of higher education, including information described
  by Section 7.040, on a website maintained by the board using data
  compiled by the board in coordination with the Texas Workforce
  Commission].
         SECTION 3.  Section 51.763(b), Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (b)  The form must:
               (1)  allow each applicant to:
                     (A)  apply electronically to one or more of the
  general academic teaching institutions within the university
  system; and
                     (B)  indicate preferences for admission between
  those institutions; and
               (2)  include a prominent link to the electronic tools
  or platforms developed by the board under Section 61.09022
  [comparative gainful employment data regarding institutions of
  higher education, including information described by Section
  7.040, on a website maintained by the board using data compiled by
  the board in coordination with the Texas Workforce Commission].
         SECTION 4.  The heading to Section 61.031, Education Code,
  is amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 61.031.  PUBLIC [INTEREST] INFORMATION AND COMPLAINTS.
         SECTION 5.  Section 61.031, Education Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
         (d)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, information
  that relates to a current, former, or prospective applicant or
  student of an educational institution and that is obtained,
  received, or held by the board for the purpose of providing
  assistance with access to postsecondary education is confidential
  and excepted from disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code,
  and may only be released in conformity with the Family Educational
  Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g).  The board
  may withhold information prohibited from being disclosed under this
  subsection without requesting a decision from the attorney general
  under Subchapter G, Chapter 552, Government Code.
         SECTION 6.  Subchapter C, Chapter 61, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Section 61.09022 to read as follows:
         Sec. 61.09022.  INFORMATION TO ASSIST STUDENTS IN ASSESSING
  VALUE OF POSTSECONDARY CREDENTIALS. (a)  From money appropriated
  or otherwise available for the purpose, the board shall develop one
  or more electronic tools or platforms to provide information to
  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 or private or independent institution of higher education
  by comparing each institution with other institutions regarding:
               (1)  the relative cost of obtaining the certificate,
  degree, or other credential, based on the most recent data
  available to the board from the Texas Workforce Commission,
  institutions of higher education, the federal government, or any
  other source from which the board may obtain reliable data,
  including:
                     (A)  the cost for each of the following at the 25th
  percentile, the median, and the 75th percentile:
                           (i)  total cost of attendance;
                           (ii)  tuition and fees;
                           (iii)  room and board;
                           (iv)  books and supplies;
                           (v)  transportation; and
                           (vi)  other costs; and
                     (B)  the estimated net cost remaining after
  subtracting from the amount described by Paragraph (A) the average
  amount of scholarship and grant aid awarded to the typical student
  for the program;
               (2)  the value of the certificate, degree, or other
  credential as measured by comparing:
                     (A)  the median wage earned by students who
  graduated with the certificate, degree, or other credential from
  the institution; and
                     (B)  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 available to the board
  from the Texas Workforce Commission, institutions of higher
  education, the federal government, or any other source from which
  the board may obtain reliable data;
               (3)  the average student debt-to-income ratio of
  students who graduated with the certificate, degree, or other
  credential from the institution and have student debt, including
  the estimated monthly student loan payment, computed using the
  standard 10-year repayment plan;
               (4)  progress on repaying student loans by students who
  graduated with the certificate, degree, or other credential from
  the institution; and
               (5)  educational outcomes for students seeking the
  certificate, degree, or other credential, including:
                     (A)  for a program designed to be completed in
  more than one year, the percentage of students who continue in the
  program after the first year of study;
                     (B)  the completion rate;
                     (C)  the percentage of students who withdraw or
  transfer from the institution and subsequently graduate with the
  certificate, degree, or other credential from another institution
  of higher education or private or independent institution of higher
  education;
                     (D)  the percentage of students who withdraw from
  the institution and do not enroll in the program at another
  institution of higher education or private or independent
  institution of higher education within three years of the
  withdrawal; and
                     (E)  the percentage of graduates employed in the
  top five industries in this state, as identified by the Texas
  Workforce Commission, by certificate program, degree program, or
  other credential program within one year of graduation.
         (c)  The board may solicit and accept gifts, grants, and
  donations from any public or private source to implement this
  section.
         (d)  The board shall adopt rules as necessary to implement
  this section.
         SECTION 7.  Section 7.040(c), Education Code, is transferred
  to Section 61.09022, Education Code, as added by this Act,
  redesignated as Section 61.09022(b), Education Code, and amended to
  read as follows:
         (b) [(c)]  Each institution of higher education shall
  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 electronic tools or platforms developed by the board
  [information posted on the agency's Internet website] under
  Subsection (a).
         SECTION 8.  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 included in the electronic tools or
  platforms developed by the coordinating board under Section
  61.09022(a), Education Code.
         SECTION 9.  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.
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 2920 was passed by the House on April
  28, 2023, by the following vote:  Yeas 138, Nays 6, 2 present, not
  voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
  No. 2920 on May 24, 2023, by the following vote:  Yeas 144, Nays 0,
  1 present, not voting.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 2920 was passed by the Senate, with
  amendments, on May 19, 2023, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays
  0.
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate   
  APPROVED: __________________
                  Date       
   
           __________________
                Governor