By: Villarreal H.B. No. 2468
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to financial aid.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 61, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter I-1 to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER I-1. Study of Grant Aid and Participation and Success in
Higher Education.
Sec. 61.511. Study of Grant Aid and Participation and Success
in Higher Education. (a) The board shall design and implement a
series of randomized controlled trials with educational
institutions and analyze the results to determine the causal
relationship between the receipt of grant aid and student
participation, persistence and graduation. The core purposes in
these studies will be to determine the influence of grant aid in:
(1) the enrollment decisions of students from Texas public
high schools;
(2) the extent to which student responses to grant aid
change as students progress through the higher education pipeline;
and
(3) the extent to which student responses to grant aid
differ
(b) The board shall utilize the results of the randomized
controlled trials to:
(1) validate quasi-experimental methods that address the
same research questions using the data normally collected by the
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board for accountability
purposes;
(2) identify any additional required data elements to be
regularly collected by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating
Board in order to support the valid application of
quasi-experimental methodology; and
(3) develop a user-friendly tool based upon the validated
quasi-experimental methods that can be used to estimate the
likelihood of student participation, persistence, and graduation
as a function of financial aid.
(c) A student who participates in the study established by
this section is not subject to sections 56.307 (f), (i)(1) and (j)
of the Education Code.
(d) Notwithstanding any other section of the Education
Code, the maximum grant award for a student who participates in the
study established by this section is the amount determined by the
coordinating board as the average statewide amount of tuition,
required fees, and cost of instructional materials that a resident
student enrolled full-time in a baccalaureate degree
SECTION 2. Section 56.304, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) read as follows:
(a) To be eligible initially for a TEXAS grant, a person who
graduated from high school before May 1, 2013, must:
(1) be a resident of this state as determined by
coordinating board rules;
(2) meet one [either] of the following academic
requirements:
(A) be a graduate of a public or accredited
private high school in this state who graduated not earlier than the
1998-1999 school year and who completed the recommended or advanced
high school curriculum established under Section 28.002 or 28.025
or its equivalent; [or]
(B) have received an associate degree from a
public or private institution of higher education not earlier than
May 1, 2001; or
(C) be an undergraduate student who has:
(i) previously attended another
institution of higher education;
(ii) completed at least 24 semester credit
hours at any institution or institutions of higher education; and
(iii) earned an overall grade point average
of at least 2.5 on a four-point scale or the equivalent on all
course
read as follows:
Sec. 56.3041. INITIAL ELIGIBILITY OF PERSON GRADUATING FROM
HIGH SCHOOL ON OR AFTER MAY 1, 2013, AND ENROLLING IN A GENERAL
ACADEMIC TEACHING INSTITUTION]. (a) To [Notwithstanding Section
56.304(a), to] be eligible initially for a TEXAS grant, a person
graduating from high school on or after May 1, 2013, and enrolling
in a general academic teaching institution 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) or (D) 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 any two or more of the following:
(i) graduation under the advanced high
school program established under Section 28.025 or its equivalent,
successful completion of the course requirements of the
international baccalaureate diploma program, or earning of the
equivalent of at least 12 semester credit hours of college credit in
high school through courses described in Sections 28.009(a)(1),
(2), and (3);
(ii) satisfaction of the Texas Success
instrument designated by the coordinating board under Section
51.3062(c) [or (c)] or qualification for an exemption as described
by Section 51.3062(p), (q), or (q-1);
(iii) graduation in the top one-third of
the person's high school graduating class or graduation from high
school with a grade point average of at least 3.0 on a four-point
scale or the equivalent; or
(iv) completion for high school credit of
at least one advanced mathematics course following the successful
completion of an Algebra II course, as permitted by Section
28.025(b-3), or at least one advanced career and technical course,
as permitted by Section 28.025(b-2);
(B) have received an associate degree from a
public or private institution of higher education; or
(C) be an undergraduate student who has:
(i) previously attended another
institution of higher education;
(ii) completed at least 24 semester credit
hours at any institution or institutions of higher education; and
(iii) earned an overall grade point average
of at least 2.5 on a four-point scale or the equivalent on all
course work previously attempted or
(D) if sufficient money is available, meet the eligibility
coordinating board;
(4) be enrolled in an undergraduate degree or
certificate program at the general academic teaching institution;
(5) except as provided under rules adopted under
Section 56.304(h)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
calendar month in which the person graduated from high school;
(B) an entering undergraduate student who
entered military service not later than the first anniversary of
the date the person graduated from high school and who enrolled for
at least three-fourths of a full course load, as determined by the
coordinating board, at the general academic teaching institution
not later than 12 months after being honorably discharged from
military service; [or]
(C) an [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
calendar month in which the person received an associate degree
from a public or private institution of higher education; or
(D) an undergraduate student described by
Subdivision (2)(C) who has never previously received a TEXAS grant;
(2-a) "General academic teaching institution" has
the meaning assigned by Section 61.003.
SECTION 5. Section 56.305(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) After initially qualifying for a TEXAS grant, a person
may continue to receive a TEXAS grant during each semester or term
in which the person is enrolled at an eligible institution only if
the person:
(1) meets financial need requirements as defined by
the coordinating board;
(2) is enrolled in an undergraduate degree or
certificate program at an eligible institution;
(3) is enrolled for at least three-fourths of a full
course load for an undergraduate student, as determined by the
coordinating board;
(4) makes satisfactory academic progress toward an
undergraduate degree or certificate;
(5) if applicable under Section 56.3055, participates
in a student engagement program as required by that section; and
(6) [(5)] complies with any additional nonacademic
requirement adopted by the coordinating board.
SECTION 6. Subchapter M, Chapter 56, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 56.3055 to read as follows:
entering undergraduate student at a general academic teaching
institution and receives a TEXAS grant from that institution must
participate in a student engagement program sponsored by the
institution and selected for the person by the institution.
Subject to Subsection (e), the person must complete the program
during the person's first academic year at the institution.
(b) Before each academic year begins, a general academic
teaching institution awarding TEXAS grants shall:
(1) develop one or more student engagement programs
designed to increase student persistence, retention, and
graduation rates; and
(2) determine the degree of program participation
necessary for a grant recipient to satisfy Subsection (a) and the
manner in which to document that participation.
(c) Not later than the seventh class day of the fall
semester, the institution shall communicate to each applicable
grant recipient information regarding the program or programs
developed by the institution under Subsection (b) and the manner in
which the recipient may satisfy the requirements of this section.
(d) A student engagement program may be operated through any
appropriate means, including:
(1) mentoring activity;
(2) a small group seminar or other learning community;
(e) The coordinating board may adopt rules to administer
this section, including a rule to allow a person to receive a TEXAS
grant without participating in a student engagement program or
after delaying that participation if the person is able to show
hardship or other good cause that affects the person's ability to
satisfy the requirements of this section. For purposes of this
subsection, hardship or other good cause includes a severe illness
or other debilitating condition, responsibility for the care of a
sick, injured, or needy person, or active duty or other service in
the United States armed forces.
(f) In adopting rules under Subsection (e), the
coordinating board shall appoint and consult with an advisory
committee composed of institutional business officers, financial
aid administrators, recognized student engagement experts,
student engagement program administrators, and undergraduate
students.
(g) This section does not apply to a person who first
receives a TEXAS grant for a semester or term before the 2014 fall
semester.
(h) Not later than December 31, 2018, each general academic
teaching institution shall submit to the coordinating board a
report that contains the following:
(1) the rate of participation of the institution's
TEXAS grant recipients in student engagement programs;
students at the institution with similar characteristics, such as
college readiness, income, or racial or ethnic background; and
(3) the institution's plans for improving persistence,
retention, and graduation rates for its TEXAS grant recipients.
(i) Each general academic teaching institution shall
attempt to consolidate the report required by Subsection (h) with
its other relevant reports to the coordinating board regarding the
TEXAS grant program.
(j) Subsections (g), (h), and (i) and this subsection expire
December 31, 2019.
SECTION 7. 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, 2013.