82R18522 KJM-F
By: Branch H.B. No. 2907
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2907:
By: Branch C.S.H.B. No. 2907
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the requirements for and procedures governing tuition
equalization grants.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 61.221 and 61.224, Education Code, are
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 61.221. TUITION EQUALIZATION GRANTS AUTHORIZED. In
order to provide the maximum possible utilization of existing
educational resources and facilities within this state, both public
and private, the coordinating board is authorized to provide
tuition equalization grants to Texas residents enrolled in any
approved private Texas college or university, based on student
financial need, but not to exceed a grant amount of more than that
specified in the appropriation by the legislature or as provided by
Section 61.227.
Sec. 61.224. APPLICATION OF GENERAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT
RIDERS. Those riders in the General Appropriations Act that apply
to expenditure of state funds at state-supported colleges and
universities shall also apply to expenditure of state funds at any
college or university attended by a [which any] student receiving
aid under this subchapter [may attend].
SECTION 2. Section 61.225(b), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) To be eligible for a tuition equalization grant, a
person must:
(1) be a Texas resident as defined under Subchapter B,
Chapter 54, [by the coordinating board] and meet, at a minimum, the
resident requirements defined by law for Texas resident tuition in
fully state-supported institutions of higher education;
(2) be enrolled for at least one-half of a full course
load conforming to an individual degree plan in an approved college
or university;
(3) be required to pay more tuition than is required at
a public college or university and be charged no less than the
regular tuition required of all students enrolled at the
institution;
(4) establish financial need in accordance with
procedures and regulations of the coordinating board;
(5) not be a recipient of any form of athletic
scholarship while receiving the tuition equalization grant; and
(6) have complied with other requirements adopted by
the coordinating board under this subchapter.
SECTION 3. Sections 61.2251(b), (c), and (e), Education
Code, as added by Chapter 1230 (H.B. 1172), Acts of the 79th
Legislature, Regular Session, 2005, are amended to read as follows:
(b) To be eligible for a tuition equalization grant in the
first academic year in which the person receives the grant, a person
must:
(1) be a Texas resident as defined under Subchapter B,
Chapter 54, [by the coordinating board] and meet, at a minimum, the
resident requirements defined by law for Texas resident tuition in
fully state-supported institutions of higher education;
(2) be enrolled in at least three-fourths of a full
course load conforming to an individual degree plan in an approved
college or university;
(3) be required to pay more tuition than is required at
a public college or university and be charged no less than the
regular tuition required of all students enrolled at the
institution;
(4) establish financial need in accordance with
procedures and regulations of the coordinating board;
(5) not be a recipient of any form of athletic
scholarship while receiving a tuition equalization grant;
(6) make satisfactory academic progress toward a
degree or certificate as determined by the institution at which the
person is enrolled; and
(7) have complied with other requirements adopted by
the coordinating board under this subchapter.
(c) After qualifying for a tuition equalization grant under
Subsection (b), a person may receive a tuition equalization grant
in a subsequent academic year in which the person is enrolled at an
approved institution only if the person:
(1) meets the requirements of Subsection (b),
including, as of the end of the full academic year in which the
person initially receives a tuition equalization grant, making
satisfactory academic progress toward a degree or certificate as
determined by the institution at which the person is enrolled;
(2) as of the end of each subsequent academic year in
which the person receives a tuition equalization grant, has
completed at least:
(A) 24 semester credit hours in the person's most
recent full academic year, if the person is enrolled in an
undergraduate degree or certificate program; or
(B) 18 semester credit hours in the person's most
recent full academic year, if the person is enrolled in a graduate
or professional degree program; [and]
(3) has earned an overall grade point average of at
least 2.5 on a four-point scale or the equivalent on coursework
previously attempted at public or private institutions of higher
education; and
(4) has completed at least 75 percent of the semester
credit hours attempted in the person's most recent full academic
year.
(e) The coordinating board shall adopt rules to allow a
person who is otherwise eligible to receive a tuition equalization
grant, in the event of a hardship or for other good cause shown, to
receive a tuition equalization grant if the person does not:
(1) make satisfactory academic progress as required
under Subsection (b)(6) or (c)(1);
(2) complete the semester credit hours required by
Subsection (c)(2) or (4);
(3) maintain the grade point average required by
Subsection (c)(3); or
(4) complete the person's certificate or degree
program within the period prescribed by Subsection (d).
SECTION 4. Section 61.2251, Education Code, as added by
Chapter 1181 (S.B. 1227), Acts of the 79th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2005, is redesignated as Section 61.2252, Education Code,
to read as follows:
Sec. 61.2252 [61.2251]. REESTABLISHING ELIGIBILITY FOR
GRANT. If a person who receives an initial tuition equalization
grant after the 2004-2005 academic year fails to meet any of the
applicable requirements of this subchapter after the completion of
any semester or term, the person may not receive a tuition
equalization grant during the next semester or term in which the
person enrolls. The person may become eligible to receive a
tuition equalization grant in a subsequent semester or term if the
person:
(1) completes a semester or term during which the
student is not eligible for a tuition equalization grant; and
(2) meets all the applicable requirements of this
subchapter.
SECTION 5. Sections 61.227(a), (b), (c), and (e), Education
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) On determination of a person's [receipt of a
certification of the amount of] financial need [from an approved
institution], the institution at which the student is enrolled
[coordinating board] shall certify the amount of the tuition
equalization grant based on financial need but not to exceed a grant
amount of more than that specified in the appropriation by the
legislature, or more than the difference between the tuition at the
private institution attended and the tuition at public colleges and
universities.
(b) The proper amount of the tuition equalization grant
shall be paid to the student through the college or university in
which the student [he] is enrolled.
(c) Unless the legislature specifies the tuition
equalization grant amount by legislative appropriation, a [In no
event shall a tuition equalization] grant paid pursuant to this
subchapter in behalf of any student during any one fiscal year may
not exceed an amount equal to 50 percent of the average state
appropriation in the biennium preceding the biennium in which the
grant is made for a full-time student or the equivalent at public
senior colleges and universities, as determined by the board.
(e) Notwithstanding any restrictions provided by Subsection
(c) on the amount of a grant, a tuition equalization grant for an
academic period for an undergraduate student who establishes
exceptional financial need in accordance with the procedures and
rules of the coordinating board may be certified by the institution
at which the undergraduate student is enrolled [coordinating board]
in an amount not to exceed 150 percent of the amount of the grant
that the student would otherwise have been awarded for that period
under the other provisions of this section.
SECTION 6. Section 61.230, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 61.230. ANNUAL REPORT. [(a)] The coordinating board
shall include in its annual report to the legislature on financial
aid in this state a breakdown of tuition equalization grant
recipients by ethnicity indicating the percentage of each ethnic
group that received tuition equalization grant money [for each
academic year] at each institution.
SECTION 7. The changes in law made by this Act apply
beginning with tuition equalization grants awarded for the
2011-2012 academic year. A tuition equalization grant awarded for
an academic year before that academic year is covered by the law in
effect when the grant was awarded, and that law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 8. 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, 2011.