After last week’s Senate Bill 37 chaos in the Senate Education K-16 Committee, it was refreshing to see bills in the House Higher Education Committee that would support our community colleges and universities.
House Bill 2110 by Rep. Gary VanDeaver modifies the funding model for community colleges established in HB 8 from the 88th session in 2023. The bill would establish a new Financial Aid for Swift Transfer (FAST) program to exempt students from tuition and fees for dual-credit courses. It also expands eligible pathways for college transfers to include private and independent institutions.
The committee also heard the Academic Fresh Start bill, HB 1330 by Vice-Chair Donna Howard. This bill allows universities to waive a student’s previous higher education academic record if they wish to re-enroll at a university to complete their degree. Instead of requiring prospective students to wait 10 years before using the current fresh start program, under HB 1330, institutions could choose an amount of time between 5-10 years to make that fresh start available. HB 1330 is pivotal to ensuring adult and nontraditional students can achieve their educational and workforce goals.
House Joint Resolution 5 by Rep. Stan Lambert was the final bill on the docket. HJR 5 establishes a permanent endowment for Texas State Technical College, similar to the funding other university and college systems currently receive. One of the committee’s priorities is addressing the state’s workforce shortages. This funding will provide much-needed support towards expanding career and technical education programs and campus sites, especially in rural regions of Texas.
Other bills heard in committee dealt with scholarships and course registration policies for students serving in the military, and contracts concerning student athletes’ name, image, and likeness.
HB 2110, HB 1330, and HJR 5 were all voted out of committee on Thursday.