Relating to public higher education.

Contracts

• Payroll & PEO Vendors: You must amend Master Service Agreements (MSAs) with providers (e.g., ADP, Paychex) to ensure they are contractually obligated to support SB1786 data fields by the effective date. If their software is not ready, your business bears the non-compliance liability.
• Interlocal Agreements (ISDs/Colleges): School districts and higher education institutions must update MOUs to allow for the immediate transfer of "current year" economic disadvantage data for FAST eligibility.

Hiring/Training

• HR Classification Audit: HR departments must assign a standardized "Occupational Field" (likely a Standard Occupational Classification or SOC code) to every existing employee, not just new hires.
• Registrar Training: ISD staff must be retrained to verify FAST eligibility based on *current* year data rather than the previous four-year lookback period.

Reporting & Record-Keeping

• Enhanced Wage Filings (Employers): The TWC quarterly report will require three new mandatory fields per employee:
• 1. County of Primary Employment: Where the work is physically performed (critical for multi-site ops).
• 2. Remote Work Status: A specific designation for off-site employees.
• 3. Occupational Field: Job classification code.
• FAST Verification (ISDs): Districts using alternative methods to determine economic disadvantage must document the methodology and data used for TEA auditing.

Fees & Costs

• Administrative Overhead: Expect medium-level one-time costs associated with payroll system reconfiguration and data auditing.
• Tuition Waivers: Higher Education Institutions must absorb the administrative cost of processing mandatory FAST waivers, though formula funding is intended to offset this.