Education Code Chapter 61 — Zoe

us_tx statute

Education Code Chapter 61

In ForceUS_TX

Jurisdiction

us_tx

Act Number

ED:chapter-61

Collection

texas statutes

Plain English Summary

8/10 complexity

Mechanics: The chapter establishes and structures the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), its membership and ethics rules, and the commissioner's office; assigns THECB broad coordinating, planning, data, funding‑administration, compliance‑monitoring, and rulemaking duties across public and some private postsecondary institutions; creates enforcement tools (audits, adjustment of appropriations, withholding recommendations, certificates of authority and criminal penalties for unauthorized degree activity); requires public platforms and reporting (MyTexasFuture, public comparison/search tools, program‑level performance and cost data); mandates negotiated rulemaking for specified topics and sets limits on data collection; authorizes a range of grant and loan‑repayment programs and several time‑limited pilot studies and advisory councils (e.g., I/DD, digital course materials). (Secs. 61.001; 61.021–61.031; 61.031; 61.033–61.0341; 61.035; 61.051; 61.0511; 61.0902–61.09022; 61.0595–61.0596; 61.0667; 61.06641; 61.9725–61.9729; subchapter on private institutions, Secs. 61.301–61.310.)

Official purpose claims: The source frames THECB as the state’s coordinating authority to eliminate program duplication, promote efficient resource use, plan long‑range goals, advocate institution resources, administer certain financial aid and grants, and provide public information to help students choose programs and institutions (Secs. 61.002(a)–(d); 61.051(a)–(b); 61.0511; 61.09022). The Office of the Ombudsman is described as an intermediary for complaints and compliance monitoring (Sec. 61.031). THECB is also authorized to solicit gifts and participate in affiliated nonprofits to raise funds or provide services (Sec. 61.051(a)).

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Deep Dive

4,025 words · generated 05/05/2026

What it does

Chapter 61 is the Higher Education Coordinating Act of 1965. Section 61.001 supplies the short title, and Section 61.002 sets out the act's core purpose: provide leadership and coordination for the Texas higher education system, eliminate costly duplication, advocate for adequate resources, and remove financial barriers to postsecondary education. The chapter establishes and empowers the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board as the agency responsible for this function.

The chapter is enormous, running well over 6,000 lines and covering more than 400 sections. It is organized loosely into the following functional clusters: organizational provisions for the Coordinating Board (Sections 61.021 through 61.035); coordination of public higher education institutions (Sections 61.051 through 61.080); academic programs, financial aid policy, and reporting (Sections 61.0511 through 61.097); the Texas Tomorrow Funds and matching scholarships (Sections 61.087 and 61.0593); regulation of private and out-of-state postsecondary educational institutions (Sections 61.222 through 61.321); family practice residency training (Sections 61.501 through 61.506); the Common Course Numbering Subchapter and other transferability rules (Sections 61.821 through 61.832); and a long list of dedicated loan repayment, scholarship, and grant programs (Sections 61.601 through 61.9997) for teachers, attorneys, nurses, doctors, mental health professionals, dental hygienists, and others.

Functionally, Chapter 61 does six things. It establishes the Coordinating Board's existence, governance, and powers. It sets the regulatory perimeter for academic program approval and degree-granting authority. It protects the public from fraudulent or substandard degrees. It administers a long catalog of financial-aid programs. It coordinates compliance, data collection, and reporting across institutions. And it builds the regulatory infrastructure for areas like the Common Admission Application, MyTexasFuture.org, the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement, and the Office of the Ombudsman.

Current sections

Direct links to the current provisions in Education Code Chapter 61.

412

No section text is available for this item yet.

Main concepts

Coordinating Board or board (Section 61.003(1)) means the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. The board is a state agency with offices in Austin (Section 61.021).

Institution of higher education (Section 61.003(8)) is the umbrella term for any public technical institute, public junior college, public senior college or university, medical or dental unit, public state college, or other agency of higher education as defined by Section 61.003.

General academic teaching institution (Section 61.003(3)) lists by name dozens of institutions including the University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University, the University of Houston, Texas State University, and many others, plus any other institution so classified by law.

Public junior college (Section 61.003(2)) is any junior college associated with a junior college district described by Subchapter J, Chapter 130. Public technical institute (Section 61.003(7)) means the Lamar Institute of Technology or the Texas State Technical College System. Medical and dental unit (Section 61.003(5)) covers the named health science centers and medical schools.

Other agency of higher education (Section 61.003(6)) catches dozens of system administrations, museums, agricultural and engineering experiment stations, the Texas A&M Forest Service, the Texas Division of Emergency Management, and several other research and operational units.

Private or independent institution of higher education (Section 61.003(15)) means a private or independent college or university organized under the Texas Non-Profit Corporation Act, exempt from taxation under the Internal Revenue Code, and accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, or the American Bar Association.

Degree program (Section 61.003(11)) is a grouping of courses leading to a degree at a public senior college, university, medical or dental unit, or an academic associate degree or baccalaureate degree at a public junior college.

Recognized accrediting agency (Section 61.003(13)) is any association or organization so designated by the board.

Educational and general buildings and facilities (Section 61.003(14)) covers buildings and facilities essential to or commonly associated with teaching, research, or preservation of knowledge, excluding auxiliary enterprise facilities.

Key obligations

The board shall provide leadership and coordination for the Texas higher education system, develop a long-range master plan for higher education, and prepare a biennial report on progress (Section 61.051).

The board shall establish the Office of the Ombudsman to serve as an intermediary between the legislature, the public, and institutions of higher education, with the ombudsman appointed by the governor with senate advice and consent (Section 61.031). The office shall receive and investigate complaints regarding compliance with specified statutory provisions, including Sections 51.315, 51.3522, 51.3525, 51.3541, 51.9431, and 61.0522. The office shall maintain a complaint file and notify the institution's governing board within five days.

The board shall create, maintain, and administer the My Texas Future portal at MyTexasFuture.org (Section 61.0511). Texas school districts and open-enrollment charter schools shall annually notify each parent or guardian of a student who has earned at least three high school course credits about the option to create or update a profile.

The board shall approve academic programs offered by general academic teaching institutions, medical and dental units, and other agencies of higher education before the program is offered (Section 61.0512).

The board shall set semester credit hour minimums for baccalaureate and associate degrees (Sections 61.0515 and 61.05151).

A state agency proposing certain rules relating to admissions, financial aid allocation, data requests, compliance monitoring, or sexual harassment incident reporting shall use negotiated rulemaking under Government Code Chapter 2008 (Section 61.0331).

The board shall establish an agency-wide, risk-based compliance monitoring function for funds allocated to institutions and for data reported to the board (Section 61.035). The board shall train compliance monitoring staff and may partner with internal audit offices at institutions.

A general academic teaching institution shall provide annual performance data to the board, including entering freshman class qualifications, retention rates, six-year graduation rates, faculty-to-student ratios, and tuition and fees (Section 61.0902).

The board shall publish a comparison tool on its website allowing prospective students to compare general academic teaching institutions by selected criteria (Section 61.09021).

Each institution of higher education that offers an undergraduate degree or certificate program shall display cost-of-attendance information on its website in accordance with the board's uniform standards (Section 61.0777). The board shall provide a net-price calculator tool.

A private postsecondary educational institution shall not grant or offer to grant a degree, or use a "protected term" in its name, without authority granted by the board under Subchapter G (Sections 61.304 and 61.313).

The Coordinating Board shall conduct an annual state science and engineering fair (Section 61.089) for middle school, junior high school, and high school students.

The board shall develop and implement a policy to encourage negotiated rulemaking and alternative dispute resolution (Section 61.033).

A state agency or institution of higher education shall comply with the board's rules adopted to ensure proper accreditation under 20 U.S.C. Section 1070a (Section 61.051(a)(6)).

For each year an attorney serves with the office of the attorney general, the attorney may receive loan repayment assistance under Section 61.9724 in an amount not to exceed $6,000, capped at three years total.

Powers and discretions

The board has only the powers expressly provided by law or necessarily implied from an express grant of power (Section 61.002(d)). Functions or powers not expressly granted to the board are reserved to the institution's governing board, system administration, or institution.

The board may approve or disapprove new programs, departments, schools, and courses at institutions of higher education and may eliminate unnecessary duplication (Section 61.051).

The board may participate in establishing and operating an affiliated nonprofit organization to raise money or provide services for the board (Section 61.051(b)).

The board may issue civil investigative demands in the same manner as the procedures prescribed by Subchapter B, Chapter 140B, Civil Practice and Remedies Code (Section 61.031(n)).

If the Office of the Ombudsman determines that the board has not resolved noncompliance issues identified in a report, the office may recommend to the legislature that the institution not be allowed to spend appropriated money for a state fiscal year until the institution's governing board certifies compliance and the state auditor confirms compliance (Section 61.031(l)).

The board may adjust appropriations made to a public junior college for a fiscal year as necessary to account for corrected data, and shall calculate a revised appropriation amount for a general academic teaching institution, medical and dental unit, or public technical institute based on corrected data (Section 61.035(g)).

The board may seek technical assistance from the state auditor in establishing the compliance monitoring function (Section 61.035(i)).

The board may issue a certificate of authority to a private postsecondary educational institution to grant or offer to grant degrees in Texas (Section 61.306). The board may revoke a certificate of authority for cause (Section 61.309).

The board may impose administrative penalties on persons that violate Subchapter G (Section 61.316).

The Coordinating Board may enter into agreements with the National Geographic Society to operate the Texas Fund for Geography Education (Section 61.9683) and may transfer appropriated money to the society for deposit in the fund.

The board may select participants for the state science and engineering fair (Section 61.089). The amount of general revenue funds appropriated may not exceed $10,000 or the total amount of money received as gifts, grants, or donations, whichever is less.

For loan repayment assistance subchapters, the board may adopt rules necessary for administration (e.g., Section 61.9729 for attorneys, Section 61.9819 for dyslexia therapists, Section 61.9828 for math/science teachers).

Penalties and enforcement

Knowingly granting, offering to grant, or making representations regarding granting a degree without board authority is an offense and may also be enforced through civil and administrative remedies (Section 61.304). Improper use of a protected term in a private institution's name is also an offense (Section 61.313).

The board may impose administrative penalties on a person who violates Subchapter G in an amount, after considering the seriousness of the violation, the person's ability to pay, history of previous violations, the amount necessary to deter, and other matters (Section 61.316).

The board may seek injunctive relief through Section 61.318. The board may pursue civil penalties under Section 61.319.

Section 61.320 invokes Business and Commerce Code Section 17.46 (the Deceptive Trade Practices Act) to characterize certain misrepresentations as false, misleading, or deceptive acts or practices. This route gives consumers and the attorney general access to DTPA remedies.

Sections 61.301 through 61.321 also include record-keeping and academic-records repository requirements (Section 61.315) for closed institutions, with the board acting as the custodian or contractor.

The Office of the Ombudsman has process tools rather than direct penalties: investigation, written reports, recommendations to the institution, escalation to the ombudsman and state auditor (Section 61.031(k)), and the ombudsman's recommendation to the legislature to halt appropriations (Section 61.031(l)) until compliance is certified.

The compliance monitoring function under Section 61.035 enables the board to refer determinations of fund misuse to an institution's governing board, the governor, and the Legislative Budget Board, with an opportunity for institutional response. For data reporting errors, appropriations may be adjusted as described above.

A person who knowingly submits a false complaint to the Office of the Ombudsman shall be held responsible for any costs incurred by the office in conducting an investigation resulting from the false complaint (Section 61.031(d-3)).

Process and timelines

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board is subject to the Texas Sunset Act and is abolished, with the chapter expiring, on September 1, 2029, unless continued in existence (Section 61.0211).

The board shall consist of nine members appointed by the governor with senate advice and consent. Members serve staggered six-year terms (Section 61.022(a)).

The board shall meet not less than four times each year and may meet by teleconference (Section 61.025).

A new member of a governing board of an institution of higher education shall attend at least one training program during the member's first year of service (Section 61.084(a)). An appointive member is prohibited from voting on a budgetary or personnel matter related to system administration or institutions of higher education until the member completes the intensive short orientation course described in Section 61.0841.

The Office of the Ombudsman shall notify the governing board of an institution that is the subject of a complaint of noncompliance not later than the fifth day after the date the office receives the complaint (Section 61.031(g)). The institution shall respond not later than the 175th day after notice unless the office grants an extension. Information requests issued by the office must be responded to within 30 days (Section 61.031(h)). The office shall update the complainant and alleged participants at least quarterly (Section 61.031(j)). If the noncompliance is not resolved within 180 days of the office's report, the office shall escalate (Section 61.031(k)).

A general academic teaching institution shall provide performance data to the board no later than November 1 following the completion of an academic year (Section 61.0902(b)).

For loan repayment programs, applications and renewal processes are program-specific. Many programs cap the period of assistance at a specific number of years (e.g., three years for the attorney general program, varying for other professions).

The state authorization reciprocity agreement framework is set out in Section 61.05121.

Interactions with other law

Chapter 61 cross-references and is cross-referenced by hundreds of statutes. Outbound highlights:

Section 61.0225 references Education Code Section 51.355 for nonvoting student representative procedures.
Section 61.025 references Government Code Section 551.126 (open meetings via videoconference).
Section 61.0511 references Education Code Section 28.0257 (financial aid awareness).
Section 61.05122 references Education Code Section 58A.001 for graduate medical education residency requirements.
Section 61.0521 references Government Code Section 437.001 (Texas Military Forces).
Section 61.059 references Education Code Sections 54.0601 (financial aid setoffs), 29.908 (Hazlewood Act), and 56.521 (competency-based education).
Section 61.0594 references Education Code Section 58.008 for graduate medical education funding coordination.
Section 61.063 references Education Code Section 130.003 for junior college eligibility for state appropriations.
Section 61.0766 references Education Code Section 21.462 for math/science/technology teacher preparation academies.
Section 61.0778 references Education Code Section 51A.103 for online resumes of lower-division public institutions.
Section 61.08205 references Education Code Section 62.161 for health-related research.
Section 61.0821 references Government Code Section 2056.002 for the border region definition starting September 1, 2026.
Section 61.0909 references Family Code Section 262.201 and Education Code Section 1.005 for foster youth provisions.
Section 61.320 references Business and Commerce Code Section 17.46 (DTPA).
Section 61.506 references Government Code Section 481.001 (Texas Department of Economic Development).
Section 61.5392 references Government Code Section 403.095.
Section 61.603 references Health and Safety Code Section 552.0011.
Section 61.827 references Government Code Section 2001.031 (informal conferences and advisory committees in rulemaking).
Section 61.952 references Government Code Section 51.943.
Section 61.9641 references Health and Safety Code Section 104A.007.

Inbound: hundreds of provisions across the Education Code, Agriculture Code, Business and Commerce Code, Business Organizations Code, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, Family Code, Finance Code, Government Code, Health and Safety Code, Human Resources Code, Insurance Code, Labor Code, Local Government Code, Occupations Code, Property Code, Special District Local Laws Code, Tax Code, and Transportation Code reference Section 61.003 for the foundational definitions of "institution of higher education" and related terms.

The Texas Sunset Act (Government Code Chapter 325) controls the board's continued existence. The Texas Administrative Procedure Act (Government Code Chapter 2001) governs rulemaking for board rules adopted under the chapter. The Texas Public Information Act (Government Code Chapter 552) and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g) interact with Section 61.031(m) for student information held by the Office of the Ombudsman.

Gotchas

The Coordinating Board's powers are strictly construed. Section 61.002(d) provides that the board has only the powers expressly provided by law or necessarily implied from an express grant of power. Functions or powers not expressly granted are reserved to the institution's governing board, system administration, or the institution itself.

The chapter expires September 1, 2029 under Section 61.0211 unless the legislature continues the board through Sunset review.

The board's compliance monitoring function under Section 61.035 differs for public junior colleges and other types of institutions. For junior colleges, the board may adjust appropriations directly. For general academic teaching institutions, medical and dental units, and public technical institutes, the board calculates revised appropriation amounts and reports them to the governor and Legislative Budget Board for budget execution or other appropriate action.

The Office of the Ombudsman's complaint process under Section 61.031 is not a substitute for litigation. Complaints alleging the same or similar facts as a pending lawsuit or administrative complaint at another agency are dismissed automatically under Section 61.031(d-1) and (d-2). False complaints carry cost liability under Section 61.031(d-3).

Section 61.031(c) lists the specific provisions that the ombudsman can investigate noncompliance against. These are limited and currently include Sections 51.315, 51.3522, 51.3525, 51.3541, 51.9431, and 61.0522. Provisions outside this list are not within the ombudsman's complaint jurisdiction.

The Section 61.0511 obligation to notify parents about MyTexasFuture.org applies to school districts and open-enrollment charter schools as part of the high school registration process. Compliance failures could ripple into ESEA or Texas accountability concerns.

Section 61.0331 requires negotiated rulemaking for specific rule categories, including admissions and financial aid allocation. Adopting rules in those areas without engaging institutions in negotiated rulemaking under Government Code Chapter 2008 invites a procedural challenge.

A new appointive member of an institutional governing board is barred under Section 61.084(a-2) from voting on budgetary or personnel matters related to system administration or institutions until completion of the intensive short orientation course in Section 61.0841. That bar can persist if training opportunities are not promptly offered.

Section 61.05122 requires graduate medical education residency capacity for new medical degree programs. New programs proposing degrees that would impact GME demand should walk through the Section 61.05122 framework before submitting program approval requests.

Section 61.0664 and the inventory provisions in Section 61.0663 require collection and reporting of postsecondary education data on persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Failure to capture or report this data accurately can be picked up in compliance monitoring under Section 61.035.

Subchapter G regulates degree-granting authority of private postsecondary educational institutions, including out-of-state institutions operating in Texas. The "protected term" rules in Section 61.313 are broad and reach institutional names that imply degree-granting status.

The TEXAS Grant program (Toward Excellence, Access, and Success) sits in Education Code Chapter 56 Subchapter M, not Chapter 61, but Section 61.073 (allocation of funds for tuition and fee exemptions), Section 61.0731 (free college application week), and the financial aid programs in Subchapters M and beyond interact with TEXAS Grant administration.

Many loan repayment programs in the second half of the chapter have specific service-related eligibility tests. The attorney general program in Section 61.9722 requires at least one year of employment with the office before applying. The medical professionals programs include continuing employment requirements. Practitioners advising clients on these programs need to read each program's eligibility section carefully.

Section 61.087 (matching scholarships to retain students in Texas) does not require institutions to match an out-of-state offer. It only authorizes the use of board-approved funds for that purpose.

The Section 61.9683 endowment fund operated jointly with the National Geographic Society is unusual: appropriated state money is matched by other-source funds at the National Geographic Society and grants are awarded by the society. If the board determines that the public purposes are not being accomplished, the fund must be dissolved with one-half going to general revenue and the remainder returned to donors or transferred to the society.

Practical examples

A high school senior visiting MyTexasFuture.org receives a list of institutions she may be directly admitted to based on her profile (Section 61.0511(b)(2)) and a list of financial aid awards she may be eligible to receive (Section 61.0511(b)(3)). Her school district has notified her parents of the option to create or update her profile annually (Section 61.0511(c)).

A university creates a new graduate program in environmental engineering. The institution submits the program for board approval under Section 61.0512 before offering the program. The board reviews the program for duplication and resource efficiency under Section 61.051(a)(1).

A private out-of-state university wants to operate a satellite campus offering doctoral degrees in psychology. Under Subchapter G, the university must file an application for a certificate of authority under Section 61.305 and meet financial resource requirements under Section 61.3075. Operating without authority creates exposure under Section 61.304 (offenses), Section 61.316 (administrative penalties), Section 61.318 (injunctions), Section 61.319 (civil penalty), and Section 61.320 (DTPA application).

A student or faculty member believes her institution has failed to comply with one of the listed statutes (e.g., Section 51.9431 sexual harassment reporting). She submits a written complaint to the Office of the Ombudsman under Section 61.031(d). The office notifies the governing board within five days. The governing board has 175 days to respond. If the office determines noncompliance has not been resolved, it escalates under Section 61.031(k) and the ombudsman may recommend an appropriations halt under Section 61.031(l).

A licensed Texas attorney just employed for one year by the office of the attorney general applies for loan repayment assistance under Section 61.9722. If approved, she may receive up to $6,000 per year for up to three years (Section 61.9724). The board delivers payment in a lump sum payable to the lender and the attorney (Section 61.9726).

A dental hygiene student attending a Texas institution authorized to award a dental hygiene degree benefits indirectly from Section 61.9660. The institution sets aside two percent of tuition charges for resident students enrolled in the degree program. The set-aside is transferred to the comptroller and used solely for repayment of student loans of dental hygienists under Subchapter A-1 of Chapter 61.

A general academic teaching institution submits annual performance data to the board under Section 61.0902, including six-year graduation rate, faculty-to-student ratio, tuition costs, and job placement rates. The board publishes the data on its website (Section 61.0902(c)) and makes a comparison tool available to the public (Section 61.09021).

A Texas appellate court is presented with a claim that the Coordinating Board exceeded its statutory authority. The court reviews the claim through the lens of Section 61.002(d), which limits the board to powers expressly provided by law or necessarily implied from an express grant. Anything reserved to the institution's governing board, system administration, or the institution is outside the board's reach.

A school district forwards a request for a notice about MyTexasFuture.org to a student who has earned three high school course credits. The notice goes to the student's parent or guardian and is delivered annually as part of the high school registration process under Section 61.0511(c).

The Texas Sunset Advisory Commission begins reviewing the Coordinating Board in advance of the September 1, 2029 sunset date set by Section 61.0211. The board's continued existence depends on action by the legislature.