The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board approved Huntsville, Texas-based Sam Houston State University's plans to construct a medical school Aug. 14, according to the Houston-Chronicle.
The move comes just two months before the board is scheduled to consider a similar proposal from the University of Houston, whose board approved plans for a proposed medical school in November 2017.
Texas Commissioner of Higher Education Raymund Paredes said Sam Houston's approval will not affect UH's chances of receiving approval for their proposed plan, noting Sam Houston's osteopathic school will focus on training physicians to practice in rural areas in east Texas, while UH's allopathic medical school will focus on training physicians to practice in urban areas.
Sam Houston's medical school program includes affiliations with 26 east Texas hospitals and will be entirely self-funded, mostly through tuition.
The university's proposed plan still needs approval from the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation.