Bill Text: TX SB1192 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Relating to the Texas college work-study program and to establishing a program for the off-campus employment of certain students at public or private institutions of higher education.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2019-05-21 - Placed on General State Calendar [SB1192 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-SB1192-Comm_Sub.html
By: West, et al. | S.B. No. 1192 | |
(Turner of Tarrant) | ||
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relating to the Texas college work-study program and to | ||
establishing a program for the off-campus employment of certain | ||
students at public or private institutions of higher education. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Section 56.074, Education Code, is amended to | ||
read as follows: | ||
Sec. 56.074. ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION; PARTICIPATION | ||
REQUIREMENTS. (a) An eligible institution is: | ||
(1) an institution of higher education; or | ||
(2) a private or independent college, university, | ||
association, agency, institution, or facility that is located in | ||
this state which meets program standards and accreditation | ||
comparable to public institutions as determined by the board. | ||
(b) To participate in the Texas college work-study program, | ||
an eligible institution must: | ||
(1) provide employment to an eligible student in | ||
nonpartisan and nonsectarian activities; | ||
(2) provide, insofar as is practicable, employment to | ||
an eligible student that is related to the student's academic | ||
interests; | ||
(3) use work-study program positions only to | ||
supplement and not supplant positions normally filled by persons | ||
not eligible to participate in the work-study program; | ||
(4) provide from sources other than federal college | ||
work-study program funds a percentage of an employed student's | ||
wages that is equal to the percentage of a student's wages that the | ||
eligible institution would be required to provide to the student in | ||
that academic year under the federal college work-study program; | ||
and | ||
(5) provide from sources other than federal college | ||
work-study funds 100 percent of other employee benefits for the | ||
employed student. | ||
SECTION 2. Section 56.078, Education Code, is amended to | ||
read as follows: | ||
Sec. 56.078. FUNDING. Funding to cover the state's | ||
contribution toward the funding of the work-study program under | ||
this subchapter and the Texas WORKS internship program under | ||
Subchapter E-1 is payable from funds appropriated for that purpose. | ||
SECTION 3. Section 56.082, Education Code, is amended to | ||
read as follows: | ||
Sec. 56.082. ANNUAL REPORT. Not later than January 1 of | ||
each year, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall | ||
submit to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the | ||
house of representatives, and the standing legislative committees | ||
with primary jurisdiction over higher education and post on the | ||
coordinating board's Internet website a report on the Texas college | ||
work-study program and the Texas WORKS internship program under | ||
Subchapter E-1. The report must include the total number of | ||
students employed through the programs [ |
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by: | ||
(1) race, ethnicity, and gender; | ||
(2) major and certificate or degree program; | ||
(3) classification as a freshman, sophomore, junior, | ||
or senior or the equivalent; | ||
(4) enrollment in a full course load or less than a | ||
full course load, as determined by the coordinating board; | ||
(5) the employment position's location on or off | ||
campus; and | ||
(6) the employer's status as a for-profit or nonprofit | ||
entity. | ||
SECTION 4. Chapter 56, Education Code, is amended by adding | ||
Subchapter E-1 to read as follows: | ||
SUBCHAPTER E-1. TEXAS WORKING OFF-CAMPUS: REINFORCING KNOWLEDGE | ||
AND SKILLS (WORKS) INTERNSHIP PROGRAM | ||
Sec. 56.0851. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter: | ||
(1) "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher | ||
Education Coordinating Board. | ||
(2) "Eligible wages" means gross wages paid to an | ||
individual student in the student's program employment. | ||
(3) "Program" or "Texas WORKS internship program" | ||
means the Texas Working Off-Campus: Reinforcing Knowledge and | ||
Skills (WORKS) Internship Program. | ||
Sec. 56.0852. PROGRAM NAME. The student financial | ||
assistance program authorized by this subchapter is the Texas | ||
Working Off-Campus: Reinforcing Knowledge and Skills (WORKS) | ||
Internship Program. | ||
Sec. 56.0853. PURPOSE. The purpose of the program is to | ||
provide jobs funded in part by the State of Texas to enable students | ||
employed through the program to attend public or private | ||
institutions of higher education in Texas while exploring career | ||
options and strengthening marketable skills. | ||
Sec. 56.0854. ADMINISTRATION. (a) The coordinating board | ||
shall administer the program and collaborate with eligible | ||
employers to provide students employed through the program with | ||
employment funded in part by the state. | ||
(b) The coordinating board shall establish criteria to | ||
ensure that: | ||
(1) a participating employer is reimbursed under the | ||
program at the rate established by the coordinating board only for | ||
fully paid eligible wages; and | ||
(2) marketable skills to be strengthened or gained | ||
through a student's internship position are identified. | ||
(c) The coordinating board shall develop a standard | ||
contract establishing the roles and responsibilities of eligible | ||
employers, base wages and minimum work hours for students employed | ||
through the program, and any other provisions identified by the | ||
coordinating board as necessary to administer the program. The | ||
coordinating board shall use the standard contract as a model for | ||
the memorandum of understanding required to be entered into by | ||
eligible employers. | ||
(d) The coordinating board may use funds appropriated for | ||
the Texas college work-study program and the Texas WORKS internship | ||
program to establish and maintain an online portal for use by | ||
students and participating entities in fulfilling their | ||
responsibilities for participation in the Texas WORKS internship | ||
program. The coordinating board may use funds appropriated for the | ||
Texas college work-study program and the Texas WORKS internship | ||
program to cover the expenses and personnel costs of administering | ||
and assessing the Texas WORKS internship program. | ||
(e) If funding for the program is insufficient to cover the | ||
cost of all students eligible for the program, as provided by | ||
coordinating board rule, priority for funding is based on | ||
eligibility criteria established by coordinating board rule to | ||
further the purposes of the program. | ||
(f) Funds received by students employed through the program | ||
as eligible wages are not considered as financial aid for the | ||
academic year in which the funds are earned. | ||
Sec. 56.0855. ELIGIBLE EMPLOYER. (a) The coordinating | ||
board may enter into agreements with employers that participate in | ||
the program. | ||
(b) To be eligible to enter into an agreement with the | ||
coordinating board to participate in the program, an employer must: | ||
(1) except as provided by Subsection (c), be a private | ||
nonprofit or for-profit entity or a governmental entity; | ||
(2) demonstrate the administrative and financial | ||
capacity to carry out the employer's responsibilities under the | ||
program, including the ability to pay full wages and benefits to a | ||
student employed through the program; | ||
(3) enter into a memorandum of understanding with the | ||
coordinating board; | ||
(4) provide employment to a student employed through | ||
the program in nonpartisan and nonsectarian activities that relate | ||
to the student's long-term career interests; | ||
(5) use program positions only to supplement and not | ||
supplant positions normally filled by persons who are not eligible | ||
to participate in the program, as provided by coordinating board | ||
rule; | ||
(6) provide the entirety of an employed student's | ||
wages and employee benefits; | ||
(7) submit eligible wages to the coordinating board | ||
for reimbursement; and | ||
(8) comply with other requirements adopted by the | ||
coordinating board under this subchapter. | ||
(c) An employer is not eligible to participate in the | ||
program if the employer is: | ||
(1) a public or private institution of higher | ||
education in Texas; or | ||
(2) a career school or college, as defined by Section | ||
132.001. | ||
Sec. 56.0856. ADOPTION OF RULES. (a) The coordinating | ||
board shall adopt reasonable rules, consistent with the purpose of | ||
the program, to enforce the requirements, conditions, and | ||
limitations provided by this subchapter. | ||
(b) The coordinating board shall adopt rules necessary to | ||
ensure compliance with the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VI (Pub. | ||
L. No. 88-352), concerning nondiscrimination in admissions or | ||
employment. | ||
Sec. 56.0857. ONLINE LIST OF TEXAS WORKS EMPLOYMENT | ||
OPPORTUNITIES. The coordinating board shall: | ||
(1) establish and maintain an online listing of Texas | ||
WORKS internship program employment opportunities available to | ||
students, sortable by employer, and include other relevant features | ||
such as job description, job field, or skills required, as | ||
appropriate; and | ||
(2) ensure that the list is easily accessible to the | ||
public through a clearly identifiable link that appears in a | ||
prominent place on the coordinating board's Internet website. | ||
SECTION 5. Section 56.076(b), Education Code, is repealed. | ||
SECTION 6. (a) As soon as practicable after the effective | ||
date of this Act, the commissioner of the Texas Higher Education | ||
Coordinating Board shall develop the rules and procedures necessary | ||
for the implementation of Subchapter E-1, Chapter 56, Education | ||
Code, as added by this Act. | ||
(b) The changes in law made by this Act apply beginning with | ||
the 2020 summer term. | ||
SECTION 7. 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, 2019. |