By: Ogden S.B. No. 2084
(In the Senate - Filed March 13, 2009; March 31, 2009, read
first time and referred to Committee on Finance; May 1, 2009,
reported adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the
following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 5; May 1, 2009, sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 2084 By: Ogden
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to eligibility for a TEXAS grant and to administration of
the TEXAS grant program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subdivision (2), Section 56.301, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(2) "Eligible institution" means:
(A) for a person who graduates from high school
on or after May 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. Section 56.303, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsections (e), (f), and (g) to
read as follows:
(d) The coordinating board annually shall determine the
allocation among eligible institutions of money available for TEXAS
grants and shall distribute the money accordingly.
(e) In determining who should receive a TEXAS grant, the
coordinating board and the eligible institutions shall give highest
priority to awarding TEXAS grants to students who demonstrate the
greatest financial need.
(f) Beginning with TEXAS grants awarded for the 2010-2011
academic year, in determining who should receive an initial TEXAS
grant, each eligible institution, in addition to giving priority as
provided by Subsection (e), shall give highest priority to students
who meet the eligibility criteria described by Section
56.3041(a)(2)(A). If there is money available in excess of the
amount required to award an initial TEXAS grant to all students
meeting those criteria, an institution may make awards to other
students who meet the eligibility criteria described by Section
56.304(a)(2)(A).
(g) For the 2010-2011, 2011-2012, and 2012-2013 academic
years, each eligible institution shall give priority under
Subsections (e) and (f) in awarding TEXAS grants to the extent
required by Section 56.3041(a-1). This subsection expires June 1,
2013.
SECTION 3. 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 MAY 1, 2010. (a) To be eligible initially
for a TEXAS grant, a person graduating from high school on or after
May 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), (B), or (C) 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;
(B) have received an associate degree from a
public or private institution of higher education; or
(C) if sufficient money is available, meet the
eligibility criteria described by Section 56.304(a)(2)(A);
(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;
(B) an entering undergraduate student who
entered military service not later than 12 months after graduating
from high school and who enrolled at an eligible institution not
later than 12 months after being honorably discharged from military
service; or
(C) 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 May 1, 2010, but before May 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 May 1, 2011, but before May 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 May 1, 2012, but before May 1, 2013; and
(4) all students who graduate from high school on or
after May 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 six 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 4. This Act takes effect January 1, 2010.
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