Bill Text: TX HB2754 | 2013-2014 | 83rd Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to certain responsibilities of education research centers and to a joint advisory board for education research centers.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-03-18 - Referred to Higher Education [HB2754 Detail]
Download: Texas-2013-HB2754-Introduced.html
83R9135 VOO-F | ||
By: Branch | H.B. No. 2754 |
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relating to certain responsibilities of education research centers | ||
and to a joint advisory board for education research centers. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Section 1.005, Education Code, is amended by | ||
amending Subsections (b), (c), (e), (g), and (k) and adding | ||
Subsections (g-1), (g-2), (l), (m), (n), and (o) to read as follows: | ||
(b) The commissioner of education and the coordinating | ||
board shall [ |
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centers for education research for conducting research described by | ||
Subsections (e) and (f). Each center: | ||
(1) shall store in only one location confidential data | ||
used for research; and | ||
(2) may provide access to the confidential data from | ||
multiple secure locations in this state, each of which must be in a | ||
college or university described by Subsection (c)(3). | ||
(c) A center may be established as part of: | ||
(1) the Texas Education Agency; | ||
(2) the coordinating board; [ |
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(3) a public junior college, public senior college or | ||
university, or public state college, as those terms are defined by | ||
Section 61.003; or | ||
(4) a consortium of colleges or universities described | ||
by Subdivision (3). | ||
(e) A center shall conduct research for the benefit of | ||
education in this state, including research relating to the impact | ||
of local, regional, state, and federal education programs, the | ||
performance of educator preparation programs, public school | ||
finance, and the best practices of school districts with regard to | ||
classroom instruction, bilingual education programs, special | ||
language programs, and business practices. A center shall support | ||
education evaluation and policy and academic research, including | ||
graduate student research in this state. | ||
(g) In conducting research under this section, a center: | ||
(1) may use and store data [ |
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including data that is confidential under the Family Educational | ||
Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g), [ |
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coordinating board, any other state agency, any public or private | ||
institution of higher education, [ |
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provider of services to public or private institutions of higher | ||
education or to school districts, and any entity explicitly named | ||
in an approved research project of a center; and | ||
(2) shall comply with rules adopted by the | ||
commissioner of education and the coordinating board to protect the | ||
confidentiality of [ |
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center, including rules establishing procedures to ensure that | ||
confidential [ |
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from a center in an unauthorized manner. | ||
(g-1) Confidential information provided to a center by the | ||
Texas Education Agency or the coordinating board must be protected | ||
by procedures to ensure that any unique identifying number is not | ||
traceable to any individual. The procedures must be maintained as | ||
confidential by the Texas Education Agency and the coordinating | ||
board. The procedures may not be shared with a center or used for | ||
any purpose other than for purposes of this section. Social | ||
security numbers, names, and birth dates may not be accessed for the | ||
purpose of research at a center. | ||
(g-2) The Texas Education Agency and the coordinating board | ||
shall provide and longitudinally link all data under Subsection | ||
(g)(1) to the greatest extent practicable. | ||
(k) In implementing this section, the commissioner of | ||
education may use funds appropriated to the agency and available | ||
for the purpose of establishing the centers. After a center is | ||
established, the cost of complying with this section and Section | ||
1.006, including necessary personnel costs at the Texas Education | ||
Agency and the coordinating board and the costs of operation of each | ||
center, must be funded by gifts and grants accepted under | ||
Subsection (h)(1) and fees imposed under Subsection (h)(2). Fees | ||
adopted under Subsection (h)(2) must be set in an amount sufficient | ||
to provide for the continued operation of the center. A center | ||
shall report annually to the commissioner of education and the | ||
commissioner of higher education the total amount of fees collected | ||
by the center for each purpose for which a fee is imposed under | ||
Subsection (h)(2). | ||
(l) Each center shall administer the process for reviewing | ||
research proposals developed under Section 1.006(e)(4) and shall | ||
forward to the joint advisory board only proposals of high quality | ||
as determined using criteria developed under Section 1.006(e)(4). | ||
(m) On behalf of a center, the commissioner of education and | ||
the coordinating board shall pursue and enter into data agreements | ||
with another state agency of this state, such as the Texas Workforce | ||
Commission, or with a regional agency of this state for data | ||
collected by that agency that is: | ||
(1) required for approved research projects; | ||
(2) relevant to current or former students of this | ||
state's public schools; and | ||
(3) useful to the conduct of research that may benefit | ||
education in this state. | ||
(n) Subject to Subsection (o), on behalf of a center, the | ||
commissioner of education and the coordinating board may pursue and | ||
enter into data agreements for data required for approved research | ||
projects with: | ||
(1) the state education agency of another state, | ||
giving priority to the agencies of those states that send the | ||
highest number of students to this state or that receive the highest | ||
number of students from this state; and | ||
(2) local agencies or organizations of this state | ||
that: | ||
(A) provide educational services to students in | ||
this state; or | ||
(B) collect data that: | ||
(i) is relevant to current or former | ||
students of this state's public schools; and | ||
(ii) is useful to the conduct of research | ||
that may benefit education in this state. | ||
(o) The commissioner of education and the coordinating | ||
board may, on behalf of a center, enter into a data agreement with | ||
the state education agency of another state only if: | ||
(1) the United States Department of Education reviews | ||
the agreement; and | ||
(2) the state education agency of the other state | ||
agrees to comply with all data security measures required of a | ||
center. | ||
SECTION 2. Chapter 1, Education Code, is amended by adding | ||
Section 1.006 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 1.006. JOINT ADVISORY BOARD FOR EDUCATION RESEARCH | ||
CENTERS. (a) In this section, "center" means a center for education | ||
research authorized by Section 1.005. | ||
(b) The commissioner of education and the commissioner of | ||
higher education shall co-chair a joint advisory board to adopt | ||
policies governing the operations of the centers, including a | ||
process for review and approval of center research involving | ||
confidential information. The commissioner of education and the | ||
commissioner of higher education each may delegate duties as | ||
co-chair, including voting, to an employee of the Texas Education | ||
Agency or the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, as | ||
appropriate. | ||
(c) The commissioner of education and the commissioner of | ||
higher education each shall appoint two additional members to the | ||
joint advisory board to serve one-year terms. The centers | ||
collectively shall appoint three additional members to the joint | ||
advisory board to serve one-year terms. The majority of the joint | ||
advisory board members must be educational researchers experienced | ||
in working with secure data. A member may be reappointed each year | ||
to an additional term. | ||
(d) The joint advisory board shall meet at the call of the | ||
co-chairs at least once each quarter. | ||
(e) The joint advisory board shall: | ||
(1) establish a schedule of fees to fund the cost of | ||
data processing by the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Higher | ||
Education Coordinating Board; | ||
(2) develop a plan for establishing access at public | ||
institutions of higher education to data; | ||
(3) develop policies to give state, regional, or local | ||
agencies acting for a governmental purpose and public entities | ||
performing studies authorized by the legislature priority in access | ||
to and use of center research; | ||
(4) develop, in consultation with each center, a | ||
process for reviewing center research proposals and a set of | ||
criteria for evaluating proposal quality that is composed of | ||
measures that ensure: | ||
(A) the potential of the proposed research to | ||
benefit education in this state; | ||
(B) the use of social science research methods | ||
accepted as valid and reliable; and | ||
(C) the data required to complete the proposed | ||
study is not readily available from other data sources; | ||
(5) identify, in consultation with each center, the | ||
type of data that the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Higher | ||
Education Coordinating Board must send annually to each center | ||
without the necessity of a request for that data by a center and a | ||
timely schedule on which the data is sent; and | ||
(6) perform other duties as necessary to advise each | ||
center. | ||
SECTION 3. 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, 2013. |