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Texas splits the job between two bodies. Education Code 28.009 requires districts to offer college credit courses and hands the Coordinating Board rulemaking power; Education Code 28.0095 created the FAST program that pays for them. The rules at 19 TAC Chapter 4, Subchapter D set the agreements, the eligibility, and the faculty standards.
For what the program costs and who is eligible, start at Dual credit in Texas. This page is the paper trail underneath it.
The statute
Tex. Educ. Code §§ 28.009, 28.0095
Education Code Chapter 28, Courses of Study . Chapter 28, Subchapter A.
Section 28.009 is the duty: a district has to make college credit courses available to high school students, and subsection (b) is the grant of rulemaking authority the Coordinating Board relies on for everything below. Section 28.0095 added the Financial Aid for Swift Transfer program, which is why the funding conversation in Texas is about FAST rather than about a tuition waiver. The two sections together are the statutory base the Coordinating Board cited when it adopted the current dual credit rules.
The administrative rule
19 Tex. Admin. Code §§ 4.81 to 4.87
Dual Credit Partnerships Between Secondary Schools and Texas Public Colleges . Subchapter D of Chapter 4.
The Coordinating Board’s rules, adopted in the Texas Register and aligned to the FAST program when the Legislature created it. Section 4.84 requires a written agreement approved by both governing boards before a district and a college may run dual credit together, which is the document that decides which courses transfer and who handles advising. Section 4.85 sets course eligibility, student eligibility, where and with whom the class may meet, and the standards the faculty teaching it have to hold.
Who pays, and under what authority
Financial Aid for Swift Transfer
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, FAST .
The state’s answer to who pays. FAST covers dual credit tuition for eligible students at participating institutions, and eligibility is set at the student level rather than the district level, so two students in the same classroom can be funded differently. A family being quoted a per-course price should ask whether the college participates in FAST and whether the student qualifies before treating the price as final.
FAST program guidelines, FY 2026
THECB, FAST program guidelines .
The operating manual behind the program: the rate the state pays a college per semester credit hour, which students count, and how an institution claims the money. It is the document to cite when a college and a district disagree about whether a particular course is inside the program, because the answer is usually a definition in here rather than a judgment call.
Agency guidance
THECB dual credit FAQ
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, dual credit frequently asked questions .
The Coordinating Board translating its own rules. Course eligibility, the Texas Success Initiative exemptions, and the routes by which a high school student can demonstrate college readiness are all restated here in something closer to plain English than the rule text. Start here, then go to the rule for the exact wording.
TEA dual credit
Texas Education Agency, Dual Credit .
The K-12 agency’s side: how dual credit fits a high school transcript and graduation plan, and how the Texas Success Initiative applies to a student still in high school. A counselor and a college registrar reading the same rule often reach different answers, and this page is the K-12 half of that conversation.
Who administers it
These are the offices that answer a question about Texas law rather than about one school or one campus. A district and a college can both be wrong about a state rule, and these pages are where the state's own position is published.
- Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board · Writes the dual credit rules and runs the FAST funding program.
- Texas Education Agency · Administers the high school side, including graduation plans and TSI.
- THECB financial aid programs, FAST · Where a family checks whether a college participates and who qualifies.
Frequently asked
Is there one Texas dual credit program?
No. Texas sets a statewide floor and leaves the program to each district and college pair, built on the written agreement that 19 TAC 4.84 requires. FAST is the statewide funding layer on top.
What is the agreement between a school and a college called?
The rules call it an institutional agreement, and districts often call it an articulation agreement, a partnership agreement, or a memorandum of understanding. Both governing boards have to approve it.
Where do the faculty standards come from?
From 19 TAC 4.85, which sets the standards for the faculty teaching a dual credit course along with the composition and location of the class.
Why is the rule text on the Secretary of State archive rather than the code browser?
The Secretary of State moved the Texas Administrative Code to a new rules portal. The Texas Register adoption notice carries the same rule text at a stable address, which is why it is the link here.
Sources
- Texas Education Code Chapter 28 · sections 28.009 and 28.0095
- Texas Register, adopted rules, 19 TAC 4.81 to 4.87
- THECB, Financial Aid for Swift Transfer
- THECB, FAST program guidelines FY 2026
- THECB, dual credit frequently asked questions
- Texas Education Agency, Dual Credit
Rules change. These were checked September 2026. Confirm the current version with your school before you act on any of it.
Reading the Texas rules with a decision in front of you?
Save this page and the citations sit next to the state's deadlines on your own My FastTrack page; the Texas guide saves separately. Which courses to take, in which order, so the credits still count at the college your teen ends up at, is the part we do with families.