Relating to a study on changes to performance tier funding for dual credit or dual enrollment courses under the public junior college state finance program and the capacity of the state's workforce to teach dual credit or dual enrollment courses.
LowStandard timeline
Low Cost
Effective:2025-06-20
Enforcing Agencies
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB)
01
Compliance Analysis
Key implementation requirements and action items for compliance with this legislation
Implementation Timeline
Effective Date: June 20, 2025 (Immediate).
Compliance Deadline:December 1, 2026 is the hard deadline for the THECB report; expect data calls to member institutions to begin Q3/Q4 2025.
Agency Rulemaking: The THECB will not issue new administrative rules immediately but will issue guidance on data collection methodologies for the study. The critical "regulatory gray zone" exists between now and the 2027 legislative session, where findings will likely dictate future funding statutes.
Immediate Action Plan
1.Isolate Data: Immediately task your Institutional Research (IR) or HR teams to segregate data on dual credit instructor applicants who were rejected in the last 24 months.
2.Model Revenue: Have your CFO run a pro-forma budget assuming a 9-hour funding threshold to understand the financial stakes for your institution in 2027.
3.Update MOUs: Add specific language to all new dual credit partnership contracts addressing potential statutory funding changes.
4.Engage THECB: Contact the THECB’s Strategic Planning division to request the specific data dictionary and submission format for the HB1868 study to avoid last-minute data scrubbing.
Operational Changes Required
Contracts
Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs): Review current multi-year agreements between Junior College Districts and ISDs or Industry Partners.
"Change in Law" Provisions: Insert clauses that trigger automatic renegotiation of revenue-sharing models if the state lowers the funding threshold to 9 hours in 2027. Do not lock in current revenue splits for future windfalls.
Hiring/Training
Credentialing Audits: You must track *why* potential adjunct instructors from industry partners are rejected. The study specifically requests data on "barriers to certification."
Workforce Rosters: Maintain a distinct roster of industry professionals who are willing to teach but currently ineligible due to accreditation rules; this data is now a strategic asset for the study.
Reporting & Record-Keeping
Data Aggregation: Prepare to report student progression data specifically comparing cohorts completing 9 credit hours versus 15 credit hours.
Barrier Documentation: Create a formal log of "Barriers to Certification" for workforce instructors (e.g., lack of Master’s degree, scheduling conflicts, pay disparity) to submit to the THECB.
Fees & Costs
No Immediate Impact: The $1.1 billion cost referenced in the Fiscal Note applies to the *implementation* of the funding change, not this study. There are no new fees for stakeholders, only administrative costs associated with data compliance.
Strategic Ambiguities & Considerations
Definition of "Barriers": The statute does not define "barriers to certification." The THECB has discretion to interpret this as strictly academic (accreditation issues) or operational (low adjunct pay). Stakeholders must advocate for the inclusion of operational barriers to ensure the study reflects reality.
"Equivalent" Hours: The study applies to "9 semester credit hours *or the equivalent*." For workforce and continuing education (CE) programs, the conversion formula for contact-hour equivalence is undefined in this specific context. This ambiguity puts trade-based dual credit funding at risk if the conversion rate is set unfavorably.
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The bill author has informed the committee that there is a disparity between the funding and accreditation for dual-credit classes between local independent school districts, who receive funding when students hit the nine-hour credit mark, and public junior colleges, who give these programs accreditation but do not receive state funding unless a student hits 15 credit hours. C.S.H.B. 1868 seeks to further understand this disparity by requiring the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to conduct a study assessing the feasibility and the fiscal and policy implications of decreasing the number of semester credit hours or the equivalent for certain dual credit or dual enrollment courses for purposes of performance tier funding within the public junior college state finance program in Texas.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 1868 amends the Education Code to require the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) to conduct a study to assess the feasibility and the fiscal and policy implications, including the fiscal impact to the state, of decreasing the number of semester credit hours or the equivalent for a sequence of dual credit or dual enrollment courses that apply toward academic or workforce program requirements at the postsecondary level for purposes of performance tier funding under the public junior college state finance program from 15 semester credit hours or the equivalent to nine semester credit hours or the equivalent. The bill requires the THECB to assess the following in conducting the study:
·the potential benefit to students of decreasing the required credit hours or the equivalent for such dual credit or dual enrollment courses, including:
oalignment with the public school accountability system;
oany reduction in the time to graduate with or the cost for an undergraduate degree at an institution of higher education; and
oa comparison of matriculation and completion rates for students who complete a sequence of 9 semester credit hours or the equivalent for dual credit or dual enrollment courses versus a sequence of 15 semester credit hours or the equivalent for those courses; and
·the current and projected capacity of the state's workforce to teach dual credit or dual enrollment courses, including the following:
oan estimate of the number of instructors currently eligible to teach dual credit or dual enrollment courses and the geographic distribution of those instructors;
oan analysis of barriers to certification or credentialing in teaching dual credit or dual enrollment courses; and
ostrategies to increase the number of instructors eligible to teach dual credit or dual enrollment courses, including professional development pathways, partnerships with public institutions of higher education, and targeted financial or academic support programs.
C.S.H.B. 1868 authorizes the THECB to consult with the Texas Education Agency and institutions of higher education in conducting the study. The bill requires the THECB, not later than December 1, 2026, to submit to the legislature a report on the results of the study and any recommendations for legislative or other action, including recommendations for actions to support an expanded workforce of dual credit or dual enrollment instructors. The bill's provisions expire September 1, 2027.
EFFECTIVE DATE
On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2025.
COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.H.B. 1868 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.
The introduced, for purposes of performance tier funding under the public junior college state finance program, decreased from 15 to nine the minimum number of semester credit hours to be considered for purposes of that funding with respect to the measurable outcome that is based on the number of students who complete a sequence of semester credit hours or the equivalent dual credit or dual enrollment courses that apply toward academic or workforce program requirements at the postsecondary level. The substitute does not include this provision.
Instead, the substitute requires the THECB to conduct a study to assess the feasibility and the fiscal and policy implications of making such a decrease and sets out provisions relating to the following:
·the factors the THECB must assess in conducting the study;
·the authority for the THECB to consult with TEA and institutions of higher education in conducting the study;
·the report on the results of the study the THECB must submit to the legislature; and
·the expiration of the bill's provisions.
The substitute changes the bill's effective date to provide for its possible immediate effect, contingent on receiving the requisite constitutional vote, whereas the introduced provided only for the bill to take effect September 1, 2025, with no possibility for immediate effect.
Honorable Terry M. Wilson, Chair, House Committee on Higher Education
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB1868 by Leo Wilson (Relating to performance tier funding under the public junior college state finance program.), As Introduced
Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for HB1868, As Introduced: a negative impact of ($1,105,465,895) through the biennium ending August 31, 2027.
The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of the bill.
General Revenue-Related Funds, Five- Year Impact:
Fiscal Year
Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds
2026
($539,585,025)
2027
($565,880,870)
2028
($595,534,110)
2029
($626,496,118)
2030
($658,822,103)
All Funds, Five-Year Impact:
Fiscal Year
Probable Savings/(Cost) from General Revenue Fund 1
2026
($539,585,025)
2027
($565,880,870)
2028
($595,534,110)
2029
($626,496,118)
2030
($658,822,103)
Fiscal Analysis
The bill would reduce the required number of semester credit hours or the equivalent of dual credit or dual enrollment courses completed by a student in order for community colleges to receive formula funding from fifteen to nine.
Methodology
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board estimated the number of students who will complete between nine and fourteen semester credit hours or the equivalent of dual credit or dual enrollment courses by using a forecast model based on historical actual certified data from 2018 to 2024 and assuming the fiscal year 2025 funding weights and rates remain constant through fiscal year 2030. The forecasted weighted dual credit or enrollment outcomes are estimated to be 154,167 in fiscal year 2026 and 161,680 in fiscal year 2027 followed by an expected upward trend through fiscal year 2030. The total number of such weighted outcomes multiplied by the fiscal year 2025 dual credit or enrollment outcome rate of $3,500 would result in an estimated cost of $539,585,025 in fiscal year 2026 and $565,880,870 in fiscal year 2027.
Local Government Impact
No fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.
Source Agencies:
781 Higher Education Coordinating Board, 966 Howard College, 978 San Jacinto College
LBB Staff:
JMc, FV, LBO, AO, NV
Related Legislation
Explore more bills from this author and on related topics
HB1868 mandates the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) to conduct a feasibility study on lowering the performance tier funding threshold for dual credit courses from 15 to 9 credit hours. While immediate funding formulas remain unchanged, Community Colleges and their workforce partners must prepare for aggressive data collection regarding instructor capacity and credentialing barriers to influence the 2027 legislative session. Implementation Timeline Effective Date: June 20, 2025 (Immediate).
Q
Who authored HB1868?
HB1868 was authored by Texas Representative Terri Leo-Wilson during the Regular Session.
Q
When was HB1868 signed into law?
HB1868 was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on June 20, 2025.
Q
Which agencies enforce HB1868?
HB1868 is enforced by Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB).
Q
How urgent is compliance with HB1868?
The compliance urgency for HB1868 is rated as "low". Businesses and organizations should review the requirements and timeline to ensure timely compliance.
Q
What is the cost impact of HB1868?
The cost impact of HB1868 is estimated as "low". This may vary based on industry and implementation requirements.
Q
What topics does HB1868 address?
HB1868 addresses topics including education, education--higher, education--higher--finance, education--junior college districts and interim studies.
Legislative data provided by LegiScanLast updated: November 25, 2025
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