By: Watson S.B. No. 2025
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the establishment of a prepaid tuition unit reward and
incentive program for certain economically disadvantaged students
who achieve commended performance levels on standardized
assessments.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 39, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 39.0236 to read as follows:
Sec. 39.0236. NOTICE REGARDING ELIGIBILITY FOR PREPAID
TUITION UNIT REWARD AND INCENTIVE PROGRAM. (a) Each year, to
facilitate the administration of the prepaid tuition unit reward
and incentive program under Section 54.779, the agency shall:
(1) provide to the Prepaid Higher Education Tuition
Board, using codes or other methods as necessary to protect the
identity of students, a list of those seventh grade students
classified as economically disadvantaged students by the most
recent economically disadvantaged status report issued by the
agency whose performance on the seventh grade assessment
instruments administered under Section 39.023(a) in mathematics,
reading, and writing are identified by the State Board of Education
as commended; and
(2) provide to each school district the information
necessary for the school district to comply with Subsection (b).
(b) A school district, in a manner consistent with the
confidentiality requirements prescribed by Section 39.030, shall
notify the parents or guardians of each district student included
in the list described by Subsection (a) regarding:
(1) the student's eligibility for the prepaid tuition
unit reward and incentive program under Section 54.779;
(2) the educational benefits available to the student
under that program; and
(3) the procedure for claiming the student's benefits
as a beneficiary of a tuition unit account established by the
Prepaid Higher Education Tuition Board on behalf of the student
under that program.
SECTION 2. Subchapter H, Chapter 54, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 54.779 to read as follows:
Sec. 54.779. PREPAID TUITION UNIT REWARD AND INCENTIVE
PROGRAM. (a) In an effort to incentivize participation in the
prepaid tuition unit undergraduate education program by
economically disadvantaged families and to reward high-level
academic performance by economically disadvantaged students, the
board, using funds available for the purposes of this section,
shall develop and implement a prepaid tuition unit reward and
incentive program under which the board, based on the list provided
by the Texas Education Agency under Section 39.0236(a)(1):
(1) opens an access-restricted account under this
subchapter on behalf of each student included on the list provided
under Section 39.0236(a)(1);
(2) purchases for the student's account, at the time
the account is opened, 10 Type III tuition units or the equivalent
as determined by the board under this subchapter; and
(3) subject to the limitation prescribed by Subsection
(c), periodically purchases additional tuition units for the
student's account:
(A) to award continued academic achievement or
high-level performance on statewide assessment instruments by the
student; or
(B) to match purchases of tuition units made by
other persons on behalf of the student under a prepaid tuition
contract under this subchapter.
(b) The board, in collaboration with the Texas Education
Agency, shall:
(1) use codes or other methods as necessary to protect
the identity of eligible students in compliance with the Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section
1232g) or other law; and
(2) establish procedures by which the board may verify
the identity of a beneficiary who applies to the board to redeem
tuition units purchased on the beneficiary's behalf under the
program or to match purchases of tuition units under Subsection
(a)(3).
(c) The board may not purchase more than 100 Type III
tuition units or the equivalent under this subchapter for any
student under the reward and incentive program.
(d) Tuition units purchased by the board on behalf of a
student under this section may be redeemed only by the board or by a
qualified institution of higher education in the manner prescribed
by the board.
(e) The board, in consultation with the Texas Education
Agency, shall adopt rules for the administration of this section,
including rules:
(1) establishing a procedure by which an eligible
student may claim the student's benefits as a beneficiary of a
tuition unit account established by the board under this section;
(2) providing for the disposition of tuition units in
unclaimed accounts; and
(3) providing for the ongoing analysis and assessment
of:
(A) the level of participation in the reward and
incentive program among eligible students;
(B) the effectiveness of the reward and incentive
program in incentivizing:
(i) participation in the prepaid tuition
unit undergraduate education program by other persons on behalf of
eligible students; and
(ii) the enrollment of participating
students in institutions of higher education; and
(C) whether to expand the reward and incentive
program to include students enrolled in other grades at public
schools in this state.
(f) The board, in coordination with the Texas Education
Agency, may conduct outreach to the households of beneficiaries of
claimed accounts under this section for the purposes of providing
general information regarding the reward and incentive program,
federal income tax filing assistance, and other related financial
education assistance.
(g) The board may solicit and accept gifts, grants, and
donations from any public or private source for the purposes of this
section.
(h) If funds available for the purposes of this section in
any fiscal year are insufficient to purchase tuition units for all
eligible students, the board shall give priority to purchasing
tuition units for eligible students who achieved commended
performance levels on all of the assessment instruments
administered under Section 39.023(a).
SECTION 3. The Prepaid Higher Education Tuition Board shall
adopt rules to implement Section 54.779, Education Code, as added
by this Act, beginning with the 2010-2011 school year.
SECTION 4. This Act does not make an appropriation. This
Act takes effect only if a specific appropriation for the
implementation of the Act is provided in a general appropriations
act of the 81st Legislature.
SECTION 5. Except as otherwise provided by this Act, 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, 2009, except as otherwise provided by this Act.