Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB2025 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Watson S.B. No. 2025
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to the establishment of a prepaid tuition unit reward and
7	7	incentive program for certain economically disadvantaged students
8	8	who achieve commended performance levels on standardized
9	9	assessments.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 39, Education Code, is
12	12	amended by adding Section 39.0236 to read as follows:
13	13	Sec. 39.0236. NOTICE REGARDING ELIGIBILITY FOR PREPAID
14	14	TUITION UNIT REWARD AND INCENTIVE PROGRAM. (a) Each year, to
15	15	facilitate the administration of the prepaid tuition unit reward
16	16	and incentive program under Section 54.779, the agency shall:
17	17	(1) provide to the Prepaid Higher Education Tuition
18	18	Board, using codes or other methods as necessary to protect the
19	19	identity of students, a list of those seventh grade students
20	20	classified as economically disadvantaged students by the most
21	21	recent economically disadvantaged status report issued by the
22	22	agency whose performance on the seventh grade assessment
23	23	instruments administered under Section 39.023(a) in mathematics,
24	24	reading, and writing are identified by the State Board of Education
25	25	as commended; and
26	26	(2) provide to each school district the information
27	27	necessary for the school district to comply with Subsection (b).
28	28	(b) A school district, in a manner consistent with the
29	29	confidentiality requirements prescribed by Section 39.030, shall
30	30	notify the parents or guardians of each district student included
31	31	in the list described by Subsection (a) regarding:
32	32	(1) the student's eligibility for the prepaid tuition
33	33	unit reward and incentive program under Section 54.779;
34	34	(2) the educational benefits available to the student
35	35	under that program; and
36	36	(3) the procedure for claiming the student's benefits
37	37	as a beneficiary of a tuition unit account established by the
38	38	Prepaid Higher Education Tuition Board on behalf of the student
39	39	under that program.
40	40	SECTION 2. Subchapter H, Chapter 54, Education Code, is
41	41	amended by adding Section 54.779 to read as follows:
42	42	Sec. 54.779. PREPAID TUITION UNIT REWARD AND INCENTIVE
43	43	PROGRAM. (a) In an effort to incentivize participation in the
44	44	prepaid tuition unit undergraduate education program by
45	45	economically disadvantaged families and to reward high-level
46	46	academic performance by economically disadvantaged students, the
47	47	board, using funds available for the purposes of this section,
48	48	shall develop and implement a prepaid tuition unit reward and
49	49	incentive program under which the board, based on the list provided
50	50	by the Texas Education Agency under Section 39.0236(a)(1):
51	51	(1) opens an access-restricted account under this
52	52	subchapter on behalf of each student included on the list provided
53	53	under Section 39.0236(a)(1);
54	54	(2) purchases for the student's account, at the time
55	55	the account is opened, 10 Type III tuition units or the equivalent
56	56	as determined by the board under this subchapter; and
57	57	(3) subject to the limitation prescribed by Subsection
58	58	(c), periodically purchases additional tuition units for the
59	59	student's account:
60	60	(A) to award continued academic achievement or
61	61	high-level performance on statewide assessment instruments by the
62	62	student; or
63	63	(B) to match purchases of tuition units made by
64	64	other persons on behalf of the student under a prepaid tuition
65	65	contract under this subchapter.
66	66	(b) The board, in collaboration with the Texas Education
67	67	Agency, shall:
68	68	(1) use codes or other methods as necessary to protect
69	69	the identity of eligible students in compliance with the Family
70	70	Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section
71	71	1232g) or other law; and
72	72	(2) establish procedures by which the board may verify
73	73	the identity of a beneficiary who applies to the board to redeem
74	74	tuition units purchased on the beneficiary's behalf under the
75	75	program or to match purchases of tuition units under Subsection
76	76	(a)(3).
77	77	(c) The board may not purchase more than 100 Type III
78	78	tuition units or the equivalent under this subchapter for any
79	79	student under the reward and incentive program.
80	80	(d) Tuition units purchased by the board on behalf of a
81	81	student under this section may be redeemed only by the board or by a
82	82	qualified institution of higher education in the manner prescribed
83	83	by the board.
84	84	(e) The board, in consultation with the Texas Education
85	85	Agency, shall adopt rules for the administration of this section,
86	86	including rules:
87	87	(1) establishing a procedure by which an eligible
88	88	student may claim the student's benefits as a beneficiary of a
89	89	tuition unit account established by the board under this section;
90	90	(2) providing for the disposition of tuition units in
91	91	unclaimed accounts; and
92	92	(3) providing for the ongoing analysis and assessment
93	93	of:
94	94	(A) the level of participation in the reward and
95	95	incentive program among eligible students;
96	96	(B) the effectiveness of the reward and incentive
97	97	program in incentivizing:
98	98	(i) participation in the prepaid tuition
99	99	unit undergraduate education program by other persons on behalf of
100	100	eligible students; and
101	101	(ii) the enrollment of participating
102	102	students in institutions of higher education; and
103	103	(C) whether to expand the reward and incentive
104	104	program to include students enrolled in other grades at public
105	105	schools in this state.
106	106	(f) The board, in coordination with the Texas Education
107	107	Agency, may conduct outreach to the households of beneficiaries of
108	108	claimed accounts under this section for the purposes of providing
109	109	general information regarding the reward and incentive program,
110	110	federal income tax filing assistance, and other related financial
111	111	education assistance.
112	112	(g) The board may solicit and accept gifts, grants, and
113	113	donations from any public or private source for the purposes of this
114	114	section.
115	115	(h) If funds available for the purposes of this section in
116	116	any fiscal year are insufficient to purchase tuition units for all
117	117	eligible students, the board shall give priority to purchasing
118	118	tuition units for eligible students who achieved commended
119	119	performance levels on all of the assessment instruments
120	120	administered under Section 39.023(a).
121	121	SECTION 3. The Prepaid Higher Education Tuition Board shall
122	122	adopt rules to implement Section 54.779, Education Code, as added
123	123	by this Act, beginning with the 2010-2011 school year.
124	124	SECTION 4. This Act does not make an appropriation. This
125	125	Act takes effect only if a specific appropriation for the
126	126	implementation of the Act is provided in a general appropriations
127	127	act of the 81st Legislature.
128	128	SECTION 5. Except as otherwise provided by this Act, this
129	129	Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of
130	130	all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39,
131	131	Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the
132	132	vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect
133	133	September 1, 2009, except as otherwise provided by this Act.