Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2517 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	84R5618 KJE-D
2	2	By: Hernandez H.B. No. 2517
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the establishment of the Texas Promise Scholarship
8	8	Program for certain students at two-year public institutions of
9	9	higher education.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Chapter 56, Education Code, is amended by adding
12	12	Subchapter T to read as follows:
13	13	SUBCHAPTER T. TEXAS PROMISE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
14	14	Sec. 56.521. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
15	15	(1) "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher
16	16	Education Coordinating Board.
17	17	(2) "Eligible institution" means:
18	18	(A) a public junior college;
19	19	(B) a public technical institute; or
20	20	(C) a public state college.
21	21	(3) "Institution of higher education," "public junior
22	22	college," "public technical institute," and "public state college"
23	23	have the meanings assigned by Section 61.003.
24	24	(4) "Program" means the Texas Promise Scholarship
25	25	Program established under this subchapter.
26	26	Sec. 56.522. PROGRAM PURPOSE. The purpose of the Texas
27	27	Promise Scholarship Program is to provide assistance in the payment
28	28	of tuition and mandatory fees to enable eligible students to attend
29	29	two-year institutions of higher education.
30	30	Sec. 56.523. ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM; AWARD OF
31	31	SCHOLARSHIP. (a) The coordinating board shall administer the
32	32	program and adopt any rules necessary to implement the program or
33	33	this subchapter. The coordinating board shall consult with the
34	34	student financial aid officers of eligible institutions in
35	35	developing the rules.
36	36	(b) The coordinating board shall award scholarships to
37	37	eligible students under the program. In determining who should
38	38	receive a scholarship under the program, the coordinating board
39	39	shall give highest priority to awarding scholarships to students
40	40	who demonstrate the greatest financial need.
41	41	(c) An eligible institution shall provide to a student who
42	42	receives a scholarship under the program for a semester or other
43	43	academic term a credit in the amount of the scholarship, to be
44	44	applied toward the payment of tuition and mandatory fees charged by
45	45	the institution for that semester or term.
46	46	Sec. 56.524. INITIAL ELIGIBILITY FOR SCHOLARSHIP. (a) To
47	47	be eligible initially for a scholarship under the program, a person
48	48	must:
49	49	(1) be a resident of this state as determined by
50	50	coordinating board rules;
51	51	(2) meet financial need requirements as defined by the
52	52	coordinating board;
53	53	(3) be enrolled in an associate degree or certificate
54	54	program at an eligible institution;
55	55	(4) be enrolled as an entering student for at least
56	56	one-half of a full course load for an entering student in the
57	57	associate degree or certificate program, as determined by the
58	58	coordinating board;
59	59	(5) have applied for any available financial aid or
60	60	assistance; and
61	61	(6) comply with any additional nonacademic
62	62	requirement adopted by the coordinating board under this
63	63	subchapter.
64	64	(b) A person is not eligible to receive a scholarship under
65	65	the program if the person has been convicted of a felony or an
66	66	offense under Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code (Texas Controlled
67	67	Substances Act), or under the law of another jurisdiction involving
68	68	a controlled substance as defined by Chapter 481, Health and Safety
69	69	Code, unless the person has met the other applicable eligibility
70	70	requirements under the program and has:
71	71	(1) received a certificate of discharge by the Texas
72	72	Department of Criminal Justice or a correctional facility or
73	73	completed a period of probation ordered by a court, and at least two
74	74	years have elapsed from the date of the receipt or completion; or
75	75	(2) been pardoned, had the record of the offense
76	76	expunged from the person's record, or otherwise been released from
77	77	the resulting ineligibility to receive a scholarship under the
78	78	program.
79	79	(c) A person is not eligible to receive a scholarship under
80	80	the program if the person has been granted an associate or
81	81	baccalaureate degree.
82	82	(d) A person may not receive a scholarship under the program
83	83	for more than 75 semester credit hours or the equivalent.
84	84	(e) A person's eligibility for a scholarship under the
85	85	program ends on the third anniversary of the initial award of a
86	86	scholarship under the program to the person and the person's
87	87	enrollment in an eligible institution.
88	88	Sec. 56.525. CONTINUING ELIGIBILITY AND ACADEMIC
89	89	PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS. (a) After initially qualifying for a
90	90	scholarship under the program, a person may continue to receive a
91	91	scholarship under the program during each semester or term in which
92	92	the person is enrolled at an eligible institution only if the
93	93	person:
94	94	(1) meets financial need requirements as defined by
95	95	the coordinating board;
96	96	(2) is enrolled in an associate degree or certificate
97	97	program at an eligible institution;
98	98	(3) is enrolled for at least one-half of a full course
99	99	load for a student in an associate degree or certificate program, as
100	100	determined by the coordinating board;
101	101	(4) makes satisfactory academic progress toward an
102	102	associate degree or certificate; and
103	103	(5) complies with any additional nonacademic
104	104	requirement adopted by the coordinating board.
105	105	(b) A person is not eligible to continue to receive a
106	106	scholarship under this section if the person has been convicted of a
107	107	felony or an offense under Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code
108	108	(Texas Controlled Substances Act), or under the law of another
109	109	jurisdiction involving a controlled substance as defined by Chapter
110	110	481, Health and Safety Code, unless the person has met the other
111	111	applicable eligibility requirements under this subchapter and has:
112	112	(1) received a certificate of discharge by the Texas
113	113	Department of Criminal Justice or a correctional facility or
114	114	completed a period of probation ordered by a court, and at least two
115	115	years have elapsed from the date of the receipt or completion; or
116	116	(2) been pardoned, had the record of the offense
117	117	expunged from the person's record, or otherwise been released from
118	118	the resulting ineligibility to receive a scholarship under the
119	119	program.
120	120	(c) If a person fails to meet any of the requirements of
121	121	Subsection (a) after the completion of any semester or term, the
122	122	person may not receive a scholarship under the program during the
123	123	next semester or term in which the person enrolls. A person may
124	124	become eligible to receive a scholarship under the program in a
125	125	subsequent semester or term if the person:
126	126	(1) completes a semester or term during which the
127	127	student is not eligible for a scholarship; and
128	128	(2) meets all the requirements of Subsection (a).
129	129	(d) For the purpose of this section, a person makes
130	130	satisfactory academic progress toward an associate degree or
131	131	certificate only if:
132	132	(1) in the person's first academic year, the person
133	133	meets the satisfactory academic progress requirements of the
134	134	institution at which the person is enrolled; and
135	135	(2) in the subsequent academic year, the person:
136	136	(A) completes at least 75 percent of the semester
137	137	credit hours attempted in the student's most recent academic year;
138	138	and
139	139	(B) has earned an overall grade point average of
140	140	at least 2.5 on a four-point scale or the equivalent on course work
141	141	previously attempted at institutions of higher education.
142	142	(e) A person who is eligible to receive a scholarship under
143	143	the program continues to remain eligible to receive the scholarship
144	144	if the person enrolls in or transfers to another eligible
145	145	institution.
146	146	(f) The coordinating board shall adopt rules to allow a
147	147	person who is otherwise eligible to receive a scholarship under the
148	148	program, in the event of a hardship or for other good cause shown,
149	149	including a showing of a severe illness or other debilitating
150	150	condition that may affect the person's academic performance or that
151	151	the person is responsible for the care of a sick, injured, or needy
152	152	person and that the person's provision of care may affect the
153	153	person's academic performance, to receive a scholarship under the
154	154	program:
155	155	(1) while enrolled in a number of semester credit
156	156	hours that is less than the number of semester credit hours required
157	157	under Subsection (a)(3); or
158	158	(2) if the student's grade point average or completion
159	159	rate falls below the satisfactory academic progress requirements of
160	160	Subsection (d).
161	161	Sec. 56.526. SCHOLARSHIP USE. A scholarship awarded under
162	162	the program may be applied only to the payment of tuition and
163	163	mandatory fees at an eligible institution.
164	164	Sec. 56.527. SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNT. (a) The amount of a
165	165	scholarship awarded to an eligible student under the program for a
166	166	semester or other academic term in which the student is enrolled at
167	167	an eligible institution is an amount not to exceed the difference
168	168	between the amount of tuition and mandatory fees charged to the
169	169	student by the institution for that semester or term and the amount
170	170	of any other gift aid, including state or federal grants or
171	171	scholarships, awarded to the student for that semester or term.
172	172	(b) A scholarship may not be awarded under the program to an
173	173	eligible student for a semester or other academic term until any
174	174	other gift aid for which the student is eligible has been awarded to
175	175	the student and the student's unmet financial need has been
176	176	established for purposes of determining the appropriate amount of
177	177	the student's scholarship under Subsection (a).
178	178	(c) The coordinating board shall issue to each eligible
179	179	student a certificate indicating the amount of the scholarship
180	180	awarded to the student.
181	181	Sec. 56.528. NOTIFICATION OF PROGRAM; RESPONSIBILITIES OF
182	182	SCHOOL DISTRICTS. (a) The coordinating board, in consultation
183	183	with all eligible institutions, shall prepare materials designed to
184	184	inform prospective students, their parents, and high school
185	185	counselors about the program and eligibility for a scholarship
186	186	under the program. The coordinating board shall distribute to each
187	187	eligible institution and to each school district a copy of the
188	188	materials prepared under this section.
189	189	(b) Each school district shall notify its high school
190	190	students, those students' teachers and school counselors, and those
191	191	students' parents or guardians of the program and the eligibility
192	192	requirements of the program.
193	193	SECTION 2. (a) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating
194	194	Board shall adopt rules to administer Subchapter T, Chapter 56,
195	195	Education Code, as added by this Act, as soon as practicable after
196	196	the effective date of this Act. For that purpose, the coordinating
197	197	board may adopt the initial rules in the manner provided by law for
198	198	emergency rules.
199	199	(b) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
200	200	begin awarding scholarships under Subchapter T, Chapter 56,
201	201	Education Code, as added by this Act, for the first academic year
202	202	for which money is appropriated for that purpose, except that the
203	203	coordinating board may not award scholarships under that subchapter
204	204	for an academic year before the 2016-2017 academic year.
205	205	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
206	206	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
207	207	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
208	208	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
209	209	Act takes effect September 1, 2015.