CHAPTER 135. TEXAS STATE TECHNICAL COLLEGE SYSTEM
EDUCATION CODE
TITLE 3. HIGHER EDUCATION
SUBTITLE G. NON-BACCALAUREATE SYSTEM
CHAPTER 135. TEXAS STATE TECHNICAL COLLEGE SYSTEM
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 135.01. TEXAS STATE TECHNICAL COLLEGE SYSTEM; ROLE AND
MISSION. (a) Texas State Technical College System is a
coeducational two-year institution of higher education offering
courses of study in technical-vocational education for which
there is demand within the State of Texas.
(b) Texas State Technical College System shall contribute to the
educational and economic development of the State of Texas by
offering occupationally oriented programs with supporting
academic course work, emphasizing highly specialized advanced and
emerging technical and vocational areas for certificates or
associate degrees. The Texas State Technical College System is
authorized to serve the State of Texas through excellence in
instruction, public service, faculty and manpower research, and
economic development. The system's economic development efforts
to improve the competitiveness of Texas business and industry
include exemplary centers of excellence in technical program
clusters on the system's campuses and support of educational
research commercialization initiatives. Through close
collaboration with business, industry, governmental agencies, and
communities, including public and private secondary and
postsecondary educational institutions, the system shall
facilitate and deliver an articulated and responsive technical
education system.
(c) In developing and offering highly specialized technical
programs with related supportive coursework, primary
consideration shall be placed on industrial and technological
manpower needs of the state. The emphasis of each Texas State
Technical College System campus shall be on advanced or emerging
technical programs not commonly offered by public junior
colleges.
Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 3316, ch. 1024, art. 1, Sec. 1, eff.
Sept. 1, 1971. Amended by Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 646, Sec. 6,
eff. Aug. 26, 1985; Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 823, Sec. 2.02,
eff. June 20, 1987; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 287, Sec. 1, eff.
Sept. 1, 1991.
Sec. 135.011. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Board" means the board of regents of the Texas State
Technical College System.
(2) "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board.
(3) "System" means the Texas State Technical College System.
(4) "Faculty research" means research using the system's
facilities and equipment that is:
(A) consistent with the system's mission; and
(B) funded by private sources, competitively acquired sources,
or appropriated public funding.
(5) "Campus" means a residential unit of the system that grants
associate degrees and certificates.
(6) "Extension center" means a site, operating under the
administration of a campus, that has an extension program.
(7) "Extension program" includes credit and noncredit
instruction in technical-vocational education.
Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 287, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1,
1991.
Amended by:
Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.
629, Sec. 1, eff. June 19, 2009.
Sec. 135.02. LOCATION. (a) The Texas State Technical College
System is composed of:
(1) a system office located in the city of Waco in McLennan
County;
(2) a campus located in the city of Harlingen in Cameron County;
(3) a campus located in the city of Sweetwater in Nolan County;
(4) a campus located in the city of Marshall in Harrison County;
(5) a campus located in the city of Waco in McLennan County;
(6) extension centers in the city of Brownwood in Brown County
and the city of Abilene in Taylor County and an extension program
offered through a rural technology center in the city of
Breckenridge in Stephens County; and
(7) other campuses assigned to the system from time to time by
specific legislative Act.
(b) The system may operate an extension center created after
September 1, 1991, in a city or county if:
(1) the coordinating board has given prior approval to the
extension center, after considering the role and mission of the
system, the needs of this state and of the community involved,
the actions of the legislature, if any, and the efficient and
effective use of the state's educational resources for the
economic development of this state;
(2) a political subdivision of this state provides and maintains
appropriate equipment and facilities for the delivery of
technical-vocational education, including maintenance and
utilities; and
(3) funding for the extension center is approved by specific
legislative Act.
Text of subsec. (c) as amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 268,
Sec. 1
(c) The board may accept or acquire by purchase in the name of
the State of Texas land and facilities in Cameron County, Potter
County, Harrison County, and Nolan County, subject to the
approval of the governor.
Text of subsec. (c) as amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 287,
Sec. 3
(c) The board may accept or acquire by purchase in the name of
the State of Texas land and facilities in any of the counties in
which a campus or extension center is located. The coordinating
board must review and approve the acceptance or acquisition of
any land and facilities if:
(1) the board of regents requests to place the land and
facilities on its educational and general buildings and
facilities inventory; and
(2) the combined value of the land and facilities is more than
$300,000 at the time the board of regents requests the property
to be added to the educational and general buildings and
facilities inventory.
(d), (e) Repealed by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1363, Sec. 3, eff.
September 1, 1999.
Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 3316, ch. 1024, art. 1, Sec. 1, eff.
Sept. 1, 1971. Amended by Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 3341, ch.
1024, art. 2, Sec. 10, eff. Sept. 1, 1971; Acts 1989, 71st Leg.,
ch. 464, Sec. 7, eff. June 14, 1989; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch.
268, Sec. 1 to 3, eff. Aug. 26, 1991; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch.
287, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1, 1991; Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 359,
Sec. 3; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1363, Sec. 1, 3, eff. Sept. 1,
1999; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 238, Sec. 1, eff. May 22, 2001.
Sec. 135.04. APPROVAL OF PROGRAMS. (a) Educational programs
wholly or partially financed from state funds are subject to the
prior approval or disapproval and continuing review of the
coordinating board.
(b) Before any program may be offered by a campus or extension
center within the tax district of a public junior college that is
operating a vocational and technical program, it must be
established that the public junior college is not capable of
offering or is unable to offer the program. After it is
established that a need for the program exists and that the
program is not locally available, the campus or extension center
may offer the program, provided approval is secured from the
coordinating board. Approval of technical-vocational programs
under this section does not apply to McLennan, Cameron, and
Potter counties.
(c) Where a local government, business, or industry located in a
county or a portion of a county that is not operating a public
junior college district requests that the campus or extension
center offer a program, the campus or extension center may offer
the program provided approval is secured from the coordinating
board.
Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 3316, ch. 1024, art. 1, Sec. 1, eff.
Sept. 1, 1971. Amended by Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 646, Sec. 8,
eff. Aug. 26, 1985; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 287, Sec. 4, eff.
Sept. 1, 1991.
Sec. 135.05. SERVICES FOR THE DEAF. (a) The system shall
provide qualified interpreters for deaf students in attendance at
each campus. In order to be qualified, an interpreter must:
(1) be capable of giving verbatim transliteration or
interpretation of the spoken word through finger spelling, the
language of signs, or speaking without voice;
(2) be capable of sign-to-voice interpretation from the language
of signs to the spoken word; and
Text of (3) as amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 287, Sec. 5
(3) hold a certificate from the National Registry of
Interpreters for the Deaf or an equivalent certificate issued by
the Texas Commission for the Deaf.
Text of (3) as amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 345, Sec. 3
(3) hold a Level III, IV, or V certificate issued by the Texas
Commission for the Deaf or other certificate approved by the
executive officer of the institute.
(b) The system shall also provide equipment, materials, and
services, including tutoring, counseling, and other support
services, necessary for the deaf student to take full advantage
of existing educational programs.
(c) The executive officer shall determine which courses offered
by the institute are appropriate for an electronic display on a
screen or terminal, with less than 30 seconds delay, of a
speaker's spoken message. The institute shall implement the
electronic display in those courses.
Added by Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 1034, ch. 379, Sec. 1, eff.
Aug. 29, 1977. Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 287, Sec. 5,
eff. Sept. 1, 1991; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 345, Sec. 3, eff.
Sept. 1, 1991.
Sec. 135.06. EXTENSION PROGRAM. (a) Texas State Technical
College System is authorized to provide extension programs of
training in the fields of Technical-Vocational Education as
temporary programs to address current unemployment problems.
(b) The system may accept in the name of the State of Texas any
real or personal properties. The system shall not be authorized
by this section to establish permanent programs or campuses.
(c) The system may operate an extension program by the use of
gifts and grants from any public or private source and other
legislative appropriations.
(d) The system may enter into contracts with existing political
subdivisions, state agencies, state institutions, private
entities, or federal agencies to carry out an extension program.
(e) The extension program shall be limited to the needs for
Technical-Vocational Training in the area being served and shall
be subject to the provisions of Subsections (e) and (j) of
Section 61.051 of this code.
(f) The system may not use legislative appropriations for
physical plant operations or utility costs of an extension
program or center created after September 1, 1991.
Added by Acts 1983, 68th Leg., p. 4527, ch. 742, Sec. 1, eff.
Aug. 29, 1983. Amended by Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 646, Sec. 9,
eff. Aug. 26, 1985; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 287, Sec. 6, eff.
Sept. 1, 1991.
Sec. 135.07. FUNDING; GIFTS AND GRANTS. (a) The legislature
shall appropriate funds for administration, instruction, and
physical plant operations and utilities for each campus of the
system and for each extension program created before September 1,
1991, on the basis of formulas developed by the coordinating
board.
(b) The legislature shall appropriate funds for administration
of and instruction at each extension program created after
September 1, 1991, and operated by the system on the basis of
formulas developed by the coordinating board.
(c) The system may accept gifts and grants from any public or
private source.
Added by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 823, Sec. 3.03, eff. June 20,
1987. Amended by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 882, Sec. 1, eff.
Sept. 1, 1989; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 287, Sec. 7, eff. Sept.
1, 1991.
Sec. 135.08. AIRPORT. (a) The Waco campus may operate its
airport as a public airport.
(b) The system may not use legislative appropriations for the
airport but may use federal or public agency grants for aviation
or economic development.
Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 287, Sec. 8, eff. Sept. 1,
1991.
SUBCHAPTER B. BOARD OF REGENTS; ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS
Sec. 135.21. BOARD OF REGENTS. The organization and control of
the system is vested in a board of nine regents.
Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 3317, ch. 1024, art. 1, Sec. 1, eff.
Sept. 1, 1971. Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 287, Sec. 9,
eff. Sept. 1, 1991.
Sec. 135.22. APPOINTMENT OF BOARD. The governor shall appoint
members of the board with the advice and consent of the senate.
In appointing members of the board the governor shall include
persons representing agriculture, business, industry, and labor.
Each member of the board shall be a citizen of Texas and shall
take the constitutional oath of office.
Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 3317, ch. 1024, art. 1, Sec. 1, eff.
Sept. 1, 1971.
Sec. 135.23. TERMS OF OFFICE. The term of office of each regent
is six years. Any vacancy that occurs on the board is filled for
the unexpired term by appointment of the governor.
Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 3317, ch. 1024, art. 1, Sec. 1, eff.
Sept. 1, 1971. Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 287, Sec. 10,
eff. Sept. 1, 1991.
Sec. 135.24. ORGANIZATION; BYLAWS. The board shall elect one of
the members chairman; elect other officers as it deems necessary;
and enact bylaws, rules, and regulations as it deems necessary
for the successful management and operation of the system.
Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 3317, ch. 1024, art. 1, Sec. 1, eff.
Sept. 1, 1971. Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 287, Sec. 11,
eff. Sept. 1, 1991.
Sec. 135.25. MEETINGS. The board shall meet as prescribed by
its bylaws.
Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 3317, ch. 1024, art. 1, Sec. 1, eff.
Sept. 1, 1971. Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 287, Sec. 12,
eff. Sept. 1, 1991.
Sec. 135.26. COMPENSATION. Members of the board may not receive
salary or compensation for their services, but they shall receive
reimbursement for their actual expenses incurred in attending to
the work of the board.
Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 3317, ch. 1024, art. 1, Sec. 1, eff.
Sept. 1, 1971. Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 287, Sec. 13,
eff. Sept. 1, 1991.
Sec. 135.27. SYSTEM CENTRAL ADMINISTRATION OFFICE; EXECUTIVE
OFFICER. (a) The central administration office of the system
shall provide oversight and coordination of the activities of
each component of the system.
(b) The board shall appoint an executive officer of the system
and determine the executive officer's term of office, salary, and
duties.
(c) The executive officer shall recommend a plan for the
organization of the system and the appointment of an executive
officer for each campus of the system.
(d) The executive officer of the system is responsible to the
board for the general management and success of the system, and
the board shall cooperate with the executive officer to carry out
that responsibility.
(e) In addition to other powers and duties provided by this code
or other law, the central administration office of the system
shall recommend necessary policies and rules to the governing
board of the system to ensure conformity with all laws and rules
and to provide uniformity in data collection and financial
reporting procedures.
Added by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 464, Sec. 8, eff. June 14,
1989. Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 287, Sec. 14, eff.
Sept. 1, 1991.
SUBCHAPTER C. BOARD OF REGENTS; POWERS AND DUTIES
Sec. 135.51. CERTIFICATES, DIPLOMAS, AND ASSOCIATE DEGREES. (a)
The board shall prescribe and award associate of applied science
degrees, certificates, and diplomas limited to those appropriate
to technical education.
(b) The board may offer and award an associate of science degree
in a field of study at Texas State Technical College--Harlingen
campus if the coordinating board determines that the degree in
that field of study:
(1) is appropriate to the role and mission of the system; and
(2) meets the educational or workforce needs of the region in
which the campus is located.
Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 3318, ch. 1024, art. 1, Sec. 1, eff.
Sept. 1, 1971. Amended by Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 646, Sec. 10,
eff. Aug. 26, 1985; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 287, Sec. 15, eff.
Sept. 1, 1991.
Amended by:
Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.
629, Sec. 2, eff. June 19, 2009.
Sec. 135.52. FEES AND TUITION. (a) The board shall collect
tuition at the rates provided by law and registration fees.
(b) The board may charge a student a higher rate of tuition than
the tuition that would otherwise be charged for a course in which
the student enrolls if:
(1) the student has previously enrolled in the same course or a
course of substantially the same content and level two or more
times; and
(2) the student's enrollment in the course is not included in
the contact hours used in the funding formulas established under
Section 61.059 for use in making appropriation recommendations
for the system.
(c) Subsection (b) does not apply to a non-degree-credit
developmental course.
(d) The total amount of tuition charged to the student under
Subsection (b) for the repeated course may not exceed the full
cost of instruction for the course with respect to the student.
Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 3318, ch. 1024, art. 1, Sec. 1, eff.
Sept. 1, 1971. Amended by Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 646, Sec. 11,
eff. Aug. 26, 1985.
Amended by:
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.
1220, Sec. 2, eff. June 18, 2005.
Sec. 135.53. NONRESIDENT FEE EXEMPTIONS. The board may enter
into cooperative agreements which exempt technical students from
nonresident fees when there are reciprocal privileges granted to
Texas residents.
Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 3318, ch. 1024, art. 1, Sec. 1, eff.
Sept. 1, 1971.
Sec. 135.54. CONTRACTS. The board may contract with
individuals, federal, state, and local agencies and departments,
corporations, and associations to provide:
(1) educational programs designed to meet the need for trained
personnel in Texas; or
(2) programs for economic development that benefit this state.
Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 3318, ch. 1024, art. 1, Sec. 1, eff.
Sept. 1, 1971. Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 287, Sec. 16,
eff. Sept. 1, 1991.
Sec. 135.55. SUITS; VENUE. The board may sue, and may be sued,
in the name of the Texas State Technical College System, with
venue being in either McLennan County or Travis County.
Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 3318, ch. 1024, art. 1, Sec. 1, eff.
Sept. 1, 1971. Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 287, Sec. 17,
eff. Sept. 1, 1991.
Sec. 135.56. BONDS AND NOTES; PLEDGE OF REVENUE. (a) The board
may irrevocably pledge the fees, charges, revenues, and the
proceeds of the lease, sale, transfer, or exchange of or from the
buildings, land, structures, and the additions to the existing
buildings and structures authorized to be constructed, improved,
or equipped and to pledge the revenue of the proceeds of the
lease, sale, transfer, or exchange of or from any other
revenue-producing buildings, structures, facilities, and other
property to the payment of the interest on and the principal of
bonds authorized to be issued by Chapter 55 of this code, and to
enter into agreements regarding the imposition of fees, charges,
and other revenue and the collection, pledge, and disposition as
the board deems appropriate. However, where land and improvements
on the land, the revenue of which has been pledged to pay bonds,
are to be sold, the sale is conditioned on the deposit by the
board of the proceeds of the sale to the sinking fund created by
the bond order of the issuing authority.
(b) All income received by the board under the provisions of
this section shall be accounted for and used in the same manner
as other money available to the board for the establishment or
operation of the system.
(c) The bonds authorized to be issued under Chapter 55 of this
code are special obligations of the board issuing the bonds and
are payable only from a pledge of the fees, charges, and other
revenues authorized by this section and from the proceeds of the
lease, sale, transfer, or exchange of land and improvements on
the land the revenue of which is pledged to secure the payment of
interest on and principal of the bonds.
(d) The board, in addition to the authority already provided,
may issue revenue bonds for the purposes authorized and in the
manner prescribed and under the terms and conditions set forth in
Chapter 55 of this code.
(e) The board may issue additional revenue bonds for the
purposes authorized and in the manner prescribed by 26 U.S.C.
Section 142, relating to airport development, water and sewage
treatment, residential construction, and other matters within the
role and scope of the system.
Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 3318, ch. 1024, art. 1, Sec. 1, eff.
Sept. 1, 1971. Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 287, Sec. 18,
eff. Sept. 1, 1991.
Sec. 135.561. USE OF PROPERTY. The board may lease, sell,
transfer, or exchange land and permanent improvements owned by
the system as the board determines is in the best interest of
fulfilling the mission of the system.
Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 287, Sec. 19, eff. Sept. 1,
1991.
Sec. 135.57. INSURANCE. The board may procure the property and
liability insurance coverages required by the United States to
protect it and its agencies against the possibility of loss or
liability in connection with property owned by the United States
and loaned to the system pursuant to the provisions of the
National Industrial Reserve Act of 1948, 50 U.S.C. Secs. 451-462.
Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 3319, ch. 1024, art. 1, Sec. 1, eff.
Sept. 1, 1971. Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 287, Sec. 20,
eff. Sept. 1, 1991.
Sec. 135.58. WORKERS' COMPENSATION INSURANCE. The board may
provide workers' compensation insurance for its employees
according to the provisions of Chapter 229, Acts of the 50th
Legislature, 1947, as amended (Article 8309b, Vernon's Texas
Civil Statutes).
Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 3319, ch. 1024, art. 1, Sec. 1, eff.
Sept. 1, 1971. Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 287, Sec. 21,
eff. Sept. 1, 1991.
Sec. 135.59. CONTRACTS WITH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION.
The board may enter into any contracts and agreements with an
institution of higher education, as defined by Section 61.003 of
this code, or a private or independent college or university that
is accredited by a recognized accrediting agency under Section
61.003 of this code, for joint participation in programs that may
be designed to benefit the State of Texas.
Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 3319, ch. 1024, art. 1, Sec. 1, eff.
Sept. 1, 1971. Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 287, Sec. 22,
eff. Sept. 1, 1991.
Sec. 135.60. EMINENT DOMAIN. (a) The board may exercise the
power of eminent domain to acquire land, clearance easements for
airport zoning, and facilities in any of the counties in which a
campus is located or in a county adjacent to one of those
counties.
(b) The board must exercise the power of eminent domain in the
manner provided by Chapter 21, Property Code, but the board is
not required to provide a bond for appeal or a bond for costs.
Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 287, Sec. 23, eff. Sept. 1,
1991.
Sec. 135.61. FORECASTING TECHNICAL EDUCATION PROGRAM NEEDS. (a)
The board shall develop and administer a program to forecast the
types of technical education programs that are needed to maintain
and improve the state's economic and technological
competitiveness.
(b) The program shall review the state's business and industry
workforce needs for trained and educated workers and suggest
specific technical education programs in specific areas that are
needed to ensure or that would enhance the state's economic and
technological competitiveness. The board may recommend the
creation of new technical education programs or new methods of
delivering technical education programs.
(c) The board shall provide information and recommendations
developed under the program to any institution of higher
education, as defined by Section 61.003, that:
(1) provides technical education programs; or
(2) the board determines should offer technical education
programs for the purpose of Subsection (a).
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1563, Sec. 1, eff. June 19,
1999.