Bill: SB 1004, 84(R) - 2015
Committee
Senate Education
Vote Recommendation
Vote Recommendation |
Economic Freedom |
Property Rights |
Personal Responsibility |
Limited Government |
Individual Liberty |
Yes |
Neutral |
Neutral |
Neutral |
Positive |
Neutral |
Author(s)
Paul Bettencourt
Bill Caption
Relating to the school district students to whom certain public junior colleges may offer certain courses and programs.
Fiscal Notes
No significant fiscal implication to the State.
Local Government
The
provisions of the bill would apply to 25 school districts located
wholly or partially within Harris County. These districts could incur
voluntary costs to contract with eligible junior colleges for remedial
programs and dropout recovery programs. Based on information provided by
a sample of public junior colleges, any costs associated with the
implementation of the bill could be absorbed within the institution's
existing resources.
Bill Analysis
SB 1004 would permit the Houston
Independent School District (HISD) and other school districts in Harris County
and surrounding counties to contract with any of the 10 community college
districts in the region to enter into an articulation
agreement for dropout recovery programs. The bill would permit the Houston
Independent School District (HISD) and other school districts in Harris County
and surrounding counties to contract with any of the 10 community college
districts in the region to
contract to provide remedial programs in preparation for graduation
from secondary school and entrance into college. Students
attending these school districts would not be limited to the number of
dual credit courses they could take. Public junior colleges in
the same service areas would be able to offer the same courses. Students in
eligible school districts would be able to enroll in a course in any public junior
college that had entered into an agreement with an eligible school
district.
Vote Recommendation Notes
This bill affirms the principle of limited government by allowing a school district for state education and community college districts to work together to alleviate the problem of students dropping out and not finishing their education.
It also would help provide quality education courses and expand the curriculum students have access to. For this reason, we support SB 1004 since it eliminates regulation that would not allow the district and community colleges to work together.