Texas 2013 - 83rd Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1668 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 1668
2	2	(In the Senate - Filed March 8, 2013; March 25, 2013, read
3	3	first time and referred to Committee on Higher Education;
4	4	April 15, 2013, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
5	5	Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 6, Nays 0; April 15, 2013,
6	6	sent to printer.)
7	7	COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1668 By: Zaffirini
8	8
9	9
10	10	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
11	11	AN ACT
12	12	relating to the institutions of higher education eligible to
13	13	participate in the Texas Science, Technology, Engineering, and
14	14	Mathematics (T-STEM) Challenge Scholarship program.
15	15	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
16	16	SECTION 1. Section 61.9792, Education Code, is amended to
17	17	read as follows:
18	18	Sec. 61.9792. SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM. The board shall
19	19	establish and administer, in accordance with this subchapter and
20	20	board rules, the Texas Science, Technology, Engineering, and
21	21	Mathematics (T-STEM) Challenge Scholarship program under which the
22	22	board provides a grant to an eligible institution for the purpose of
23	23	providing a scholarship to a student who meets the eligibility
24	24	criteria prescribed by Section 61.9793.
25	25	SECTION 2. Section 61.9794, Education Code, is amended to
26	26	read as follows:
27	27	Sec. 61.9794. ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION. (a) To qualify as an
28	28	eligible institution under this subchapter, an institution must:
29	29	(1) be one of the following:
30	30	(A) a public junior college, public junior
31	31	college district, or public technical institute that admits[;
32	32	[(2) admit] at least 50 students into a STEM program
33	33	each academic year; or
34	34	(B) a general academic teaching institution that
35	35	admits into a STEM program each academic year eligible students
36	36	who:
37	37	(i) previously participated in a T-STEM
38	38	Challenge Scholarship program at a public junior college or public
39	39	technical institute; and
40	40	(ii) completed at least 45 semester credit
41	41	hours at the college or institute before enrolling in the general
42	42	academic teaching institution; and
43	43	(2) [(3)] develop partnerships with business and
44	44	industry to:
45	45	(A) identify local employment needs in Science,
46	46	Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields; and
47	47	(B) provide part-time employment for students
48	48	enrolled in a STEM program.
49	49	(b) To maintain eligibility, beginning with the second year
50	50	following implementation of a scholarship program under this
51	51	subchapter, an institution must demonstrate to the board that at
52	52	least 70 percent of the institution's T-STEM Challenge Scholarship
53	53	graduates, within three months after graduation, are:
54	54	(1) employed by a business in a Science, Technology,
55	55	Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) field; or
56	56	(2) enrolled in upper-division courses leading to a
57	57	baccalaureate degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering, and
58	58	Mathematics (STEM) field.
59	59	SECTION 3. Section 61.9795, Education Code, is amended to
60	60	read as follows:
61	61	Sec. 61.9795. AMOUNT; FUNDING. (a) Subject to available
62	62	funding, the board shall award a grant to an eligible institution
63	63	for the purpose of providing scholarships, with at least 50 percent
64	64	of the amount awarded from private funds.
65	65	(b) Except as provided by Subsection (b-1), an [An] eligible
66	66	student may receive a scholarship awarded under this subchapter for
67	67	not more than two academic years.
68	68	(b-1) A student who previously participated in the T-STEM
69	69	Challenge Scholarship program at a public junior college or public
70	70	technical institute and completed at least 45 semester credit hours
71	71	at the college or institute, who then enrolls in a general academic
72	72	teaching institution, may receive a scholarship awarded under this
73	73	subchapter for two additional academic years. The student must
74	74	meet the eligibility requirements established pursuant to Section
75	75	61.9793.
76	76	(c) The board may use any available revenue, including
77	77	legislative appropriations, and may solicit and accept gifts and
78	78	grants for purposes of this subchapter.
79	79	SECTION 4. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
80	80	shall award scholarships under Subchapter GG, Chapter 61, Education
81	81	Code, as amended by this Act, beginning with the 2013-2014 academic
82	82	year. The coordinating board shall adopt the rules required by that
83	83	subchapter as soon as practicable after this Act takes effect.
84	84	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
85	85	* * * * *