RQ-0363-KP
Requestor:
The Honorable Mayes Middleton
Co-Chair, Joint Interim Committee to Study a Coastal Barrier System
Texas House of Representatives
Post Office Box 2910
Austin, Texas 78768-2910
Re: Extension of filing deadlines for elections postponed pursuant to the Governor's proclamation allowing for the postponement of the May 2020 local elections (RQ‑0363‑KP)
Briefs requested by July 29, 2020
For further information, please access the website at www.texasattorneygeneral.gov or call the Opinion Committee at (512) 463-2110.
TRD-202002914
Lesley French
General Counsel
Office of the Attorney General
Filed: July 15, 2020
Opinion No. KP-0320
Harrison Keller, Ph.D.
Commissioner of Higher Education
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
Post Office Box 12788
Austin, Texas 78711
Re: Whether Rider 52 to the Higher Education Coordinating Board's appropriation in the General Appropriations Act allows students to qualify for financial assistance through the Program to Encourage Certification to Teach Bilingual Education, English as a Second Language, or Spanish by taking an exam comparable to the State Board for Educator Certification Bilingual Target Language Proficiency Test or by passing a practice exam (RQ-0329-KP)
S U M M A R Y
The Eighty-Sixth Legislature appropriated funds to the Higher Education Coordinating Board for grants to encourage students to become certified to teach bilingual education, English as a Second Language, or Spanish in school districts with high critical needs. Pursuant to Rider 52 of the Board's appropriation, in order to qualify for the grants, students must "successfully pass the State Board for Educator Certification Bilingual Target Language Proficiency Test," among other requirements. Given the plain language of the General Appropriations Act, a court is unlikely to conclude that institutions of higher education may use passage of other exams for comparable programs to meet this qualification requirement or that passage of a practice exam satisfies the testing requirement.
For further information, please access the website at www.texasattorneygeneral.gov or call the Opinion Committee at (512) 463-2110.
TRD-202002915
Lesley French
General Counsel
Office of the Attorney General
Filed: July 15, 2020