Relating to the Joint Admission Medical Program Council, the official text

H.B. No. 5154

AN ACT

relating to the Joint Admission Medical Program Council.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 51.822, Education Code, is amended to

read as follows:

Sec. 51.822. JOINT ADMISSION MEDICAL PROGRAM. The Joint

Admission Medical Program is a program administered by the Joint

Admission Medical Program Council to:

(1) provide mentoring and academic services to support

and encourage highly qualified, economically disadvantaged

students pursuing a medical education to complete a medical degree

and meet state workforce needs;

(2) award undergraduate and graduate scholarships and

summer stipends to those students; [and]

(3) guarantee and facilitate the admission of those

students to at least one participating medical school, subject to

the conditions under Section 51.827 and under other provisions of

this subchapter;

(4) align statewide educational and workforce goals to

increase medical jobs and stop workforce shortages; and

(5) promote the accessibility and equality of medical

education by addressing statewide barriers to entry and

participation for economically disadvantaged communities.

SECTION 2. Section 51.823, Education Code, is amended to

read as follows:

Sec. 51.823. COMPOSITION OF COUNCIL. (a) The

participating medical schools shall jointly establish the Joint

Admission Medical Program Council. The council shall consist

[consisting] of one faculty member employed by and representing

each of the participating medical schools.

(c) The council shall select one of its members to serve as

council chair for a term of two years. The chair shall:

(1) facilitate council meetings;

(2) ensure compliance with program goals; and

(3) represent the council in interactions with

relevant stakeholders, including the Texas Medical and Dental

Schools Application Service and legislative committees.

(d) The council shall establish clear policies to ensure

effective communication among council members, including:

(1) procedures for convening regular meetings to

review program implementation and evaluate outcomes;

(2) protocols for disseminating an agenda or report

before a meeting;

(3) mechanisms for soliciting feedback from council

members to promote transparency and collaboration; and

(4) procedures for promoting public meetings to

students.

SECTION 3. Subchapter V, Chapter 51, Education Code, is

amended by adding Section 51.8235 to read as follows:

Sec. 51.8235. COUNCIL MEETINGS. The council shall provide

notice of each council meeting, which must:

(1) be:

(A) posted in a place readily accessible and

available to the general public, including the program's Internet

website, at all times for at least 72 hours before the scheduled

time of the meeting; and

(B) distributed by e-mail, electronic media, or

other electronic notification sent directly to each participating

student at least 72 hours before the scheduled time of the meeting;

and

(2) include sufficient detail regarding the meeting's

agenda to inform participants and the general public of the topics

to be discussed or decided.

SECTION 4. Section 51.824(a), Education Code, is amended to

read as follows:

(a) The council shall:

(1) recruit eligible undergraduate students for

admission to the program;

(2) establish an application process for admitting

eligible undergraduate students to the program;

(3) evaluate applications for admission to the program

according to the procedures for selecting participating students

under Subsection (b) and for selecting program alternates under

Section 51.8245;

(4) monitor the implementation of the program;

(5) assist in developing services to support and

encourage the pursuit of a medical education by participating

students and program alternates;

(6) establish a process for participating students to:

(A) be matched to an internship program as

described by Subsection (c);

(B) be matched to any required undergraduate

mentoring program as described by Subsection (d);

(C) apply for admission to participating medical

schools;

(D) be matched to a participating medical school

as described by Subsection (e); and

(E) enroll in that school;

(7) award to participating students undergraduate

scholarships and summer stipends, including a summer stipend for a

student who is required to participate in an internship program in

the summer immediately following the student's senior year;

(8) award graduate scholarships to participating

students;

(9) enter into an agreement with each student admitted

to the program, each program alternate, each participating medical

school, and each general academic teaching institution or private

or independent institution of higher education as required by this

subchapter; [and]

(10) pursue opportunities to increase scholarship

money allocated to participating students to at least 30 percent of

the total amount appropriated for purposes of the program without

impeding the implementation of other program functions and goals,

including:

(A) coordinating efforts with the Texas Higher

Education Coordinating Board to request additional legislative

appropriations;

(B) soliciting gifts, grants, and donations

under Section 51.833;

(C) collaborating with private foundations,

corporations, and entities to secure supplemental funding; and

(D) prioritizing increasing the amount of

graduate medical scholarships over increasing the amount of other

scholarships;

(11) ensure that participating students are aware of

available counseling and relief services; and

(12) take any other action necessary to implement the

program.

SECTION 5. Section 51.834, Education Code, is amended by

amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (c) to read as

follows:

(b) The report must contain detailed information regarding:

(1) any problems the council identifies in

implementing the program, including external or internal

challenges, deficiencies, or obstacles, with recommended solutions

for those problems, including recommendations for legislative

action to streamline and enhance the implementation of the program;

(2) an accounting of all [the expenditure of any]

money spent and received under this subchapter, including:

(A) legislative appropriations and private

funding sources;

(B) breakdowns of disbursements;

(C) the specific purposes for which money was

used; and

(D) a statement of the ending balance and any

unobligated and unexpended money remaining for the state fiscal

year; [and]

(3) the total number of students who are admitted to

the program;

(4) the number of students who are admitted to the

program and who are enrolled in each year of a baccalaureate,

graduate, or professional degree program offered by:

(A) a general academic teaching institution;

(B) [,] a private or independent institution of

higher education; [,] or

(C) a participating medical school, as

applicable;

(5) the number of students, disaggregated by year of

enrollment, who, while enrolled in a baccalaureate, graduate, or

professional degree program at a general academic teaching

institution, private or independent institution of higher

education, or participating medical school, as applicable:

(A) were dismissed or withdrawn from the program

by the council;

(B) were placed on probation by the council; or

(C) voluntarily withdrew from the program;

(6) enrollment, withdrawal, and disciplinary data for

students described by Subdivision (5) for each academic year of a

baccalaureate, graduate, or professional degree program at a

general academic teaching institution, private or independent

institution of higher education, or participating medical school;

(7) expenditures for graduate scholarships awarded to

participating medical students, including:

(A) the amount awarded and disbursed to each

participating medical student;

(B) if there is unobligated and unexpended money

that may be spent on graduate scholarships at the end of a state

fiscal year, the reason why that money was not spent;

(C) any constraints delaying the reallocation of

unobligated money to medical school scholarship recipients,

including institutional policies; and

(D) a plan for applying or reallocating

unobligated money in a manner that ensures accountability and

sustainability;

(8) an estimate of the total amount of program funding

required for the next state fiscal biennium to maintain enrollment

and operations and increase the graduate scholarship amount for

medical school scholarship recipients, including requirements

under Section 51.824, including:

(A) projections based on current and anticipated

scholarship demands;

(B) recommendations for appropriations

specifying the additional money needed; and

(C) a formal request or petition for supplemental

funding to ensure the program's financial stability and capacity to

meet future demands;

(9) the amount of gifts, grants, and donations

received under Section 51.833; and

(10) any notes, agendas, minutes, and reports made in

regard to council meetings, including:

(A) the dates, times, and locations of all

council meetings;

(B) measures to ensure that students

participating in the program are informed of upcoming council

meetings in a timely and accessible manner, including through

direct communication;

(C) provisions to allow student participation in

the council meetings, including:

(i) opportunities for students to attend

meetings as observers, witnesses, and participants; and

(ii) procedures for soliciting student

feedback and input before the adoption of significant decisions

regarding the program; and

(D) policies to ensure the council does not

violate Chapter 551, Government Code.

(c) All data reported under this section must be:

(1) disaggregated by the type of institution and

academic year; and

(2) reported in a manner that ensures compliance with

the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C.

Section 1232g).

SECTION 6. Subchapter V, Chapter 51, Education Code, is

amended by adding Section 51.835 to read as follows:

Sec. 51.835. ONLINE FEEDBACK PORTAL. (a) The council shall

develop and maintain a secure online portal to allow students in the

program to submit anonymous or identified recommendations and

complaints regarding the program. The portal must:

(1) ensure anonymity for all submissions submitted

anonymously, using encryption and other privacy safeguards to

protect the identity of the student making the submission;

(2) be accessible through different platforms,

including mobile devices; and

(3) use an intuitive and user-friendly interface to

encourage participation and ease of use.

(b) The council shall review complaints or recommendations

submitted through the online portal on a regular basis to identify

potential areas for improvement.

(c) A complaint or recommendation submitted through the

online portal must be:

(1) shared with the Texas Medical and Dental Schools

Application Service and other relevant stakeholders, as authorized

by law; and

(2) compiled into a report to be:

(A) included in the council's report under

Section 51.834;

(B) posted on the council's Internet website; and

(C) submitted to participating students and the

standing legislative committees with primary jurisdiction over

higher education.

(d) The council shall establish procedures to ensure that

complaints and recommendations submitted through the online portal

are addressed in a timely and transparent manner, including by

developing:

(1) a tracking system to monitor the resolution of

complaints and recommendations;

(2) a mechanism to categorize submissions by topic and

urgency to prioritize responses effectively; and

(3) a process for notifying a student of actions taken

in response to the student's complaint or recommendation, excluding

information that would violate a student's expectation of privacy.

(e) The council shall promote the online portal to

participating students, including by providing information during

student orientation, via e-mail, and through the program's Internet

website.

SECTION 7. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives

a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as

provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this

Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this

Act takes effect September 1, 2025.

______________________________
______________________________

President of the Senate
Speaker of the House

I certify that H.B. No. 5154 was passed by the House on May

13, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 131, Nays 11, 3 present, not

voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.

No. 5154 on May 28, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 100, Nays 36,

1 present, not voting.

______________________________

Chief Clerk of the House

I certify that H.B. No. 5154 was passed by the Senate, with

amendments, on May 25, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays

0.

______________________________

Secretary of the Senate

APPROVED: __________________

Date

__________________

Governor