84R5618 KJE-D
By: Hernandez H.B. No. 2517
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the establishment of the Texas Promise Scholarship
Program for certain students at two-year public institutions of
higher education.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 56, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter T to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER T. TEXAS PROMISE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
Sec. 56.521. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board.
(2) "Eligible institution" means:
(A) a public junior college;
(B) a public technical institute; or
(C) a public state college.
(3) "Institution of higher education," "public junior
college," "public technical institute," and "public state college"
have the meanings assigned by Section 61.003.
(4) "Program" means the Texas Promise Scholarship
Program established under this subchapter.
Sec. 56.522. PROGRAM PURPOSE. The purpose of the Texas
Promise Scholarship Program is to provide assistance in the payment
of tuition and mandatory fees to enable eligible students to attend
two-year institutions of higher education.
Sec. 56.523. ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM; AWARD OF
SCHOLARSHIP. (a) The coordinating board shall administer the
program and adopt any rules necessary to implement the program or
this subchapter. The coordinating board shall consult with the
student financial aid officers of eligible institutions in
developing the rules.
(b) The coordinating board shall award scholarships to
eligible students under the program. In determining who should
receive a scholarship under the program, the coordinating board
shall give highest priority to awarding scholarships to students
who demonstrate the greatest financial need.
(c) An eligible institution shall provide to a student who
receives a scholarship under the program for a semester or other
academic term a credit in the amount of the scholarship, to be
applied toward the payment of tuition and mandatory fees charged by
the institution for that semester or term.
Sec. 56.524. INITIAL ELIGIBILITY FOR SCHOLARSHIP. (a) To
be eligible initially for a scholarship under the program, a person
must:
(1) be a resident of this state as determined by
coordinating board rules;
(2) meet financial need requirements as defined by the
coordinating board;
(3) be enrolled in an associate degree or certificate
program at an eligible institution;
(4) be enrolled as an entering student for at least
one-half of a full course load for an entering student in the
associate degree or certificate program, as determined by the
coordinating board;
(5) have applied for any available financial aid or
assistance; and
(6) comply with any additional nonacademic
requirement adopted by the coordinating board under this
subchapter.
(b) A person is not eligible to receive a scholarship under
the program if the person has been convicted of a felony or an
offense under Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code (Texas Controlled
Substances Act), 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 the program and has:
(1) received a certificate of discharge by 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 or 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 scholarship under the
program.
(c) A person is not eligible to receive a scholarship under
the program if the person has been granted an associate or
baccalaureate degree.
(d) A person may not receive a scholarship under the program
for more than 75 semester credit hours or the equivalent.
(e) A person's eligibility for a scholarship under the
program ends on the third anniversary of the initial award of a
scholarship under the program to the person and the person's
enrollment in an eligible institution.
Sec. 56.525. CONTINUING ELIGIBILITY AND ACADEMIC
PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS. (a) After initially qualifying for a
scholarship under the program, a person may continue to receive a
scholarship under the program 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 associate degree or certificate
program at an eligible institution;
(3) is enrolled for at least one-half of a full course
load for a student in an associate degree or certificate program, as
determined by the coordinating board;
(4) makes satisfactory academic progress toward an
associate degree or certificate; and
(5) complies with any additional nonacademic
requirement adopted by the coordinating board.
(b) A person is not eligible to continue to receive a
scholarship under this section if the person has been convicted of a
felony or an offense under Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code
(Texas Controlled Substances Act), 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 by 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 or 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 scholarship under the
program.
(c) If a person fails to meet any of the requirements of
Subsection (a) after the completion of any semester or term, the
person may not receive a scholarship under the program during the
next semester or term in which the person enrolls. A person may
become eligible to receive a scholarship under the program in a
subsequent semester or term if the person:
(1) completes a semester or term during which the
student is not eligible for a scholarship; and
(2) meets all the requirements of Subsection (a).
(d) For the purpose of this section, a person makes
satisfactory academic progress toward an associate degree or
certificate only if:
(1) in the person's first academic year, the person
meets the satisfactory academic progress requirements of the
institution at which the person is enrolled; and
(2) in the subsequent academic year, the person:
(A) completes at least 75 percent of the semester
credit hours attempted in the student's most recent academic year;
and
(B) has earned an overall grade point average of
at least 2.5 on a four-point scale or the equivalent on course work
previously attempted at institutions of higher education.
(e) A person who is eligible to receive a scholarship under
the program continues to remain eligible to receive the scholarship
if the person enrolls in or transfers to another eligible
institution.
(f) The coordinating board shall adopt rules to allow a
person who is otherwise eligible to receive a scholarship under the
program, 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 scholarship under the
program:
(1) while enrolled in a number of semester credit
hours that is less than the number of semester credit hours required
under Subsection (a)(3); or
(2) if the student's grade point average or completion
rate falls below the satisfactory academic progress requirements of
Subsection (d).
Sec. 56.526. SCHOLARSHIP USE. A scholarship awarded under
the program may be applied only to the payment of tuition and
mandatory fees at an eligible institution.
Sec. 56.527. SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNT. (a) The amount of a
scholarship awarded to an eligible student under the program for a
semester or other academic term in which the student is enrolled at
an eligible institution is an amount not to exceed the difference
between the amount of tuition and mandatory fees charged to the
student by the institution for that semester or term and the amount
of any other gift aid, including state or federal grants or
scholarships, awarded to the student for that semester or term.
(b) A scholarship may not be awarded under the program to an
eligible student for a semester or other academic term until any
other gift aid for which the student is eligible has been awarded to
the student and the student's unmet financial need has been
established for purposes of determining the appropriate amount of
the student's scholarship under Subsection (a).
(c) The coordinating board shall issue to each eligible
student a certificate indicating the amount of the scholarship
awarded to the student.
Sec. 56.528. NOTIFICATION OF PROGRAM; RESPONSIBILITIES OF
SCHOOL DISTRICTS. (a) The coordinating board, in consultation
with all eligible institutions, shall prepare materials designed to
inform prospective students, their parents, and high school
counselors about the program and eligibility for a scholarship
under the program. The coordinating board shall distribute to each
eligible institution and to each school district a copy of the
materials prepared under this section.
(b) Each school district shall notify its high school
students, those students' teachers and school counselors, and those
students' parents or guardians of the program and the eligibility
requirements of the program.
SECTION 2. (a) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating
Board shall adopt rules to administer Subchapter T, Chapter 56,
Education Code, as added by this Act, as soon as practicable after
the effective date of this Act. For that purpose, the coordinating
board may adopt the initial rules in the manner provided by law for
emergency rules.
(b) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
begin awarding scholarships under Subchapter T, Chapter 56,
Education Code, as added by this Act, for the first academic year
for which money is appropriated for that purpose, except that the
coordinating board may not award scholarships under that subchapter
for an academic year before the 2016-2017 academic year.
SECTION 3. 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, 2015.