81R9907 SJM-F
By: Ogden S.B. No. 2084
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to changing the eligibility for a tuition and fees
exemption under the TEXAS grant program to accommodate the amount
of funding available.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 56.301(2), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(2) "Eligible institution" means:
(A) for a person who graduates from high school
on or after June 1, 2010, a general academic teaching institution as
defined by Section 61.003; and
(B) for any other person, an institution of
higher education that offers one or more undergraduate degree or
certification programs.
SECTION 2. Subchapter M, Chapter 56, Education Code, is
amended by amending Section 56.3041 and adding Section 56.3042 to
read as follows:
Sec. 56.3041. INITIAL ELIGIBILITY OF PERSON GRADUATING FROM
HIGH SCHOOL ON OR AFTER JUNE 1, 2010. (a) To be eligible initially
for a TEXAS grant, a person graduating from high school on or after
June 1, 2010, must:
(1) be a resident of this state as determined by
coordinating board rules;
(2) meet the academic requirements prescribed by
Paragraph (A) or (B) as follows:
(A) be a graduate of a public or accredited
private high school in this state who completed the recommended
high school program established under Section 28.025 or its
equivalent and have accomplished at least two of the following:
(i) graduated under the advanced high
school program established under Section 28.025 or its equivalent
or successfully completed the international baccalaureate diploma
program, including program assessments;
(ii) graduated from high school with a
grade point average of at least 3.0 on a four-point scale or the
equivalent;
(iii) satisfied college readiness
benchmarks on the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) or ACT, as
determined by the coordinating board; or
(iv) be ranked in the top one-third of the
person's high school graduating class at the end of the semester
used by the applicable eligible institution for admissions
purposes; or
(B) have received an associate degree from a
public or private institution of higher education;
(3) meet financial need requirements established by
the coordinating board;
(4) be enrolled in an undergraduate degree program at
an eligible institution;
(5) except as provided under rules adopted under
Subsection (g), be enrolled as:
(A) an entering undergraduate student for at
least three-fourths of a full course load, as determined by the
coordinating board, not later than the 16th month after the date the
person graduates from high school; or
(B) a continuing undergraduate student for at
least three-fourths of a full course load, as determined by the
coordinating board, not later than the 12th month after the date the
person receives an associate degree from a public or private
institution of higher education;
(6) have applied for any available financial aid or
assistance; and
(7) comply with any additional nonacademic
requirements adopted by the coordinating board under this
subchapter.
(a-1) Subsection (a)(2)(A) applies to at least:
(1) 25 percent of the students who receive a TEXAS
grant under this section and who graduate from high school on or
after June 1, 2010, but before June 1, 2011;
(2) 50 percent of the students who receive a TEXAS
grant under this section and who graduate from high school on or
after June 1, 2011, but before June 1, 2012;
(3) 75 percent of the students who receive a TEXAS
grant under this section and who graduate from high school on or
after June 1, 2012, but before June 1, 2013; and
(4) all students who graduate from high school on or
after June 1, 2013.
(a-2) Subsection (a-1) and this subsection expire January
1, 2014.
(b) A person is not eligible to receive a TEXAS grant if the
person has been convicted of a felony or an offense under Chapter
481, Health and Safety Code, or under the law of another
jurisdiction involving a controlled substance as defined by Chapter
481, Health and Safety Code, unless the person has met the other
applicable eligibility requirements under this subchapter and has:
(1) received a certificate of discharge from the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice or a correctional facility or
completed a period of probation ordered by a court and at least two
years have elapsed from the date of the receipt of completion; or
(2) been pardoned, had the record of the offense
expunged from the person's record, or otherwise been released from
the resulting ineligibility to receive a grant under this
subchapter.
(c) A person is not eligible to receive a TEXAS grant if the
person has been granted a baccalaureate degree.
(d) A person may not receive a TEXAS grant for more than 150
semester credit hours or the equivalent.
(e) Except as provided under rules adopted under Subsection
(f), a person's eligibility for a TEXAS grant ends on:
(1) the fifth anniversary of the initial award of a
TEXAS grant to the person if the person is enrolled in a degree or
certificate program of four years or less; or
(2) the sixth anniversary of the initial award of a
TEXAS grant to the person if the person is enrolled in a degree or
certificate program of more than four years.
(f) The coordinating board shall adopt rules to provide a
person who is otherwise eligible to receive a TEXAS grant
additional time during which the person may receive a TEXAS grant in
the event of a hardship or other good cause shown that prevents the
person from continuing the person's enrollment during the period
the person would otherwise have been eligible to receive a TEXAS
grant, including a showing of:
(1) severe illness or other debilitating condition
experienced by the person; or
(2) responsibility of the person for the care of a
sick, injured, or needy person.
(g) The coordinating board shall adopt rules to allow a
person who is otherwise eligible to receive a TEXAS grant in the
event of a hardship or for other good cause shown, including a
showing of a severe illness or other debilitating condition that
may affect the person's academic performance or that the person is
responsible for the care of a sick, injured, or needy person and
that the person's provision of care may affect the person's academic
performance, to receive a TEXAS grant while enrolled in a number of
semester credit hours that is less than the number required by
Subsection (a)(5). The coordinating board may not allow a person to
receive a TEXAS grant while enrolled in fewer than 150 semester
credit hours or the equivalent.
Sec. 56.3042. INITIAL ELIGIBILITY OF PERSON ON TRACK TO
MEET MERIT REQUIREMENTS [COMPLETE RECOMMENDED OR ADVANCED
CURRICULUM]. (a) If at the time an eligible institution awards
TEXAS grants to initial recipients for an academic year an
applicant has not completed high school or the applicant's final
high school transcript is not yet available to the institution, the
student is considered to have satisfied the eligibility
requirements of Section 56.304(a)(2)(A) or 56.3041(a)(2)(A) if the
student's available high school transcript indicates that at the
time the transcript was prepared the student was on schedule to
graduate from high school and to meet the eligibility requirements
[complete the recommended or advanced high school curriculum or its
equivalent], as applicable to the student, in time to be eligible
for a TEXAS grant for the academic year.
(b) The coordinating board or the eligible institution may
require the student to forgo or repay the amount of an initial TEXAS
grant awarded to the student as described by Subsection (a) if the
student fails to meet the eligibility requirements of Section
56.3041(a)(2)(A) [complete the recommended or advanced high school
curriculum or its equivalent] after the issuance of the available
high school transcript.
(c) A person who is required to forgo or repay the amount of
an initial TEXAS grant under Subsection (b) may become eligible to
receive an initial TEXAS grant under Section 56.304 or 56.3041 by
satisfying the associate degree requirement prescribed by Section
56.304(a)(2)(B) or 56.3041(a)(2)(B) and the other applicable
requirements of the [that] section applicable to the person at the
time the person reapplies for the grant.
(d) A person who receives an initial TEXAS grant under
Subsection (a) and is not required to forgo or repay the amount of
the grant under Subsection (b) may become eligible to receive a
subsequent TEXAS grant under Section 56.305 only by satisfying the
associate degree requirement prescribed by Section 56.304(a)(2)(B)
or 56.3041(a)(2)(B), as applicable to the person, in addition to
the requirements of Section 56.305 at the time the person applies
for the subsequent grant.
SECTION 3. Section 56.307, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (m) to read as follows:
(m) A person who graduated from high school on or after June
1, 2010, and completed the advanced high school program established
under Section 28.025 or its equivalent is eligible to receive an
additional $1,000 during the first academic year in which the
person receives a TEXAS grant.
SECTION 4. Subchapter M, Chapter 56, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 56.312 to read as follows:
Sec. 56.312. APPLICATION OF MERIT CRITERIA. The
coordinating board by rule shall adopt policies to ensure that
applying the eligibility requirements of Section 56.3041(a)(2)(A)
does not disproportionately affect a particular category of
students.
SECTION 5. (a) Sections 1 through 4 of this Act take effect
only if:
(1) not later than September 1, 2009, a total of at
least $91 million is appropriated by the legislature to the Texas
Education Opportunity Grant Program under Subchapter P, Chapter 56,
Education Code, for use in the 2009-2010 academic year; and
(2) not later than September 1, 2009, a sufficient
amount of money is appropriated by the legislature for the TOWARD
EXCELLENCE, ACCESS, & SUCCESS (TEXAS) grant program under
Subchapter M, Chapter 56, Education Code, for use in the 2009-2010
academic year to award grants to at least the same number of
students who were awarded TEXAS grants for the 2007-2008 academic
year.
(b) Not later than September 10, 2009, the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board shall certify whether the amounts
described by Subsection (a) of this section were appropriated as
provided by that subsection.
SECTION 6. (a) Except as provided by Section 5 of this Act,
Sections 1 through 4 of this Act take effect January 1, 2010.
(b) This section and Section 5 of this Act take effect
September 1, 2009.