Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1947 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	85R9652 KJE-D
2	2	By: Hernandez H.B. No. 1947
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 participating two-year public
9	9	institutions of 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) "Participating institution" means an eligible
25	25	institution that elects to participate in the program under Section
26	26	56.524.
27	27	(5) "Program" means the Texas Promise Scholarship
28	28	Program established under this subchapter.
29	29	Sec. 56.522. PROGRAM. The Texas Promise Scholarship
30	30	Program is an optional program under which participating two-year
31	31	institutions of higher education may provide assistance in the
32	32	payment of tuition and mandatory fees to enable eligible students
33	33	to attend those institutions.
34	34	Sec. 56.523. ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM. The coordinating
35	35	board shall administer the program and adopt any rules necessary to
36	36	implement the program or this subchapter. The coordinating board
37	37	shall consult with the student financial aid officers of eligible
38	38	institutions in developing the rules.
39	39	Sec. 56.524. ELECTION TO PARTICIPATE; AWARD OF SCHOLARSHIP.
40	40	(a) An eligible institution may elect to participate in the program
41	41	by notifying the coordinating board of the institution's election.
42	42	(b) From money available for the purpose, each
43	43	participating institution shall award scholarships to eligible
44	44	students under the program. In determining who should receive a
45	45	scholarship under the program, the institution may give priority to
46	46	awarding scholarships to students in any major or certificate or
47	47	degree program designated by the institution.
48	48	Sec. 56.525. INITIAL ELIGIBILITY FOR SCHOLARSHIP. (a) To
49	49	be eligible initially for a scholarship under the program, a person
50	50	must:
51	51	(1) be a resident of this state as determined by
52	52	coordinating board rules;
53	53	(2) meet financial need requirements as defined by the
54	54	coordinating board;
55	55	(3) be enrolled in an associate degree or certificate
56	56	program at a participating institution;
57	57	(4) be enrolled as an entering student for at least
58	58	one-half of a full course load for an entering student in the
59	59	associate degree or certificate program, as determined by the
60	60	coordinating board;
61	61	(5) have applied for any available financial aid or
62	62	assistance; and
63	63	(6) comply with any additional nonacademic
64	64	requirement adopted by the coordinating board under this
65	65	subchapter.
66	66	(b) A person is not eligible to receive a scholarship under
67	67	the program if the person has been convicted of a felony or an
68	68	offense under Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, or under the law
69	69	of another jurisdiction involving a controlled substance as defined
70	70	by Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, unless the person has met
71	71	the other applicable eligibility requirements under the program and
72	72	has:
73	73	(1) received a certificate of discharge by the Texas
74	74	Department of Criminal Justice or a correctional facility or
75	75	completed a period of probation ordered by a court, and at least two
76	76	years have elapsed from the date of the receipt or completion; or
77	77	(2) been pardoned, had the record of the offense
78	78	expunged from the person's record, or otherwise been released from
79	79	the resulting ineligibility to receive a scholarship under the
80	80	program.
81	81	(c) A person is not eligible to receive a scholarship under
82	82	the program if the person has been granted an associate or
83	83	baccalaureate degree.
84	84	(d) A person may not receive a scholarship under the program
85	85	for more than 75 semester credit hours or the equivalent.
86	86	(e) A person's eligibility for a scholarship under the
87	87	program ends on the third anniversary of the initial award of a
88	88	scholarship under the program to the person and the person's
89	89	enrollment in a participating institution.
90	90	Sec. 56.526. CONTINUING ELIGIBILITY AND ACADEMIC
91	91	PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS. (a) After initially qualifying for a
92	92	scholarship under the program, a person may continue to receive a
93	93	scholarship under the program during each semester or term in which
94	94	the person is enrolled at a participating institution only if the
95	95	person:
96	96	(1) meets financial need requirements as defined by
97	97	the coordinating board;
98	98	(2) is enrolled in an associate degree or certificate
99	99	program at a participating institution;
100	100	(3) is enrolled for at least one-half of a full course
101	101	load for a student in an associate degree or certificate program, as
102	102	determined by the coordinating board;
103	103	(4) makes satisfactory academic progress toward an
104	104	associate degree or certificate; and
105	105	(5) complies with any additional nonacademic
106	106	requirement adopted by the coordinating board.
107	107	(b) A person is not eligible to continue to receive a
108	108	scholarship under this section if the person has been convicted of a
109	109	felony or an offense under Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, or
110	110	under the law of another jurisdiction involving a controlled
111	111	substance as defined by Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, unless
112	112	the person has met the other applicable eligibility requirements
113	113	under the program and has:
114	114	(1) received a certificate of discharge by the Texas
115	115	Department of Criminal Justice or a correctional facility or
116	116	completed a period of probation ordered by a court, and at least two
117	117	years have elapsed from the date of the receipt or completion; or
118	118	(2) been pardoned, had the record of the offense
119	119	expunged from the person's record, or otherwise been released from
120	120	the resulting ineligibility to receive a scholarship under the
121	121	program.
122	122	(c) If a person fails to meet any of the requirements of
123	123	Subsection (a) after the completion of any semester or term, the
124	124	person may not receive a scholarship under the program during the
125	125	next semester or term in which the person enrolls. A person may
126	126	become eligible to receive a scholarship under the program in a
127	127	subsequent semester or term if the person:
128	128	(1) completes a semester or term during which the
129	129	student is not eligible for a scholarship; and
130	130	(2) meets all the requirements of Subsection (a).
131	131	(d) For the purpose of this section, a person makes
132	132	satisfactory academic progress toward an associate degree or
133	133	certificate only if:
134	134	(1) in the person's first academic year, the person
135	135	meets the satisfactory academic progress requirements of the
136	136	institution at which the person is enrolled; and
137	137	(2) in the subsequent academic year, the person:
138	138	(A) completes at least 75 percent of the semester
139	139	credit hours attempted in the student's most recent academic year;
140	140	and
141	141	(B) has earned an overall grade point average of
142	142	at least 2.5 on a four-point scale or the equivalent on course work
143	143	previously attempted at institutions of higher education.
144	144	(e) A person who is eligible to receive a scholarship under
145	145	the program continues to remain eligible to receive the scholarship
146	146	if the person enrolls in or transfers to another participating
147	147	institution.
148	148	(f) The coordinating board shall adopt rules to allow a
149	149	person who is otherwise eligible to receive a scholarship under the
150	150	program, in the event of a hardship or for other good cause shown,
151	151	including a showing of a severe illness or other debilitating
152	152	condition that may affect the person's academic performance or that
153	153	the person is responsible for the care of a sick, injured, or needy
154	154	person and that the person's provision of care may affect the
155	155	person's academic performance, to receive a scholarship under the
156	156	program:
157	157	(1) while enrolled in a number of semester credit
158	158	hours that is less than the number of semester credit hours required
159	159	under Subsection (a)(3); or
160	160	(2) if the student's grade point average or completion
161	161	rate falls below the satisfactory academic progress requirements of
162	162	Subsection (d).
163	163	Sec. 56.527. SCHOLARSHIP USE. A scholarship awarded by a
164	164	participating institution under the program may be applied only to
165	165	the payment of tuition and mandatory fees at the institution.
166	166	Sec. 56.528. SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNT. (a) The amount of a
167	167	scholarship awarded by a participating institution to an eligible
168	168	student under the program for a semester or other academic term in
169	169	which the student is enrolled at the institution may not exceed the
170	170	difference between the amount of tuition and mandatory fees charged
171	171	to the student by the institution for that semester or term and the
172	172	amount of any other gift aid, including state or federal grants or
173	173	scholarships, awarded to the student for that semester or term.
174	174	(b) A scholarship may not be awarded under the program to an
175	175	eligible student for a semester or other academic term until any
176	176	other gift aid for which the student is eligible has been awarded to
177	177	the student and the student's unmet financial need has been
178	178	established for purposes of determining the appropriate amount of
179	179	the student's scholarship under Subsection (a).
180	180	Sec. 56.529. NOTIFICATION OF PROGRAM; RESPONSIBILITIES OF
181	181	SCHOOL DISTRICTS. (a) The coordinating board, in consultation
182	182	with all participating institutions, shall prepare materials
183	183	designed to inform prospective students, their parents, and high
184	184	school counselors about the program, the institutions
185	185	participating in 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, the institutions
192	192	participating in the program, and the eligibility requirements of
193	193	the program.
194	194	Sec. 56.530. GIFTS, GRANTS, AND DONATIONS. In addition to
195	195	other money appropriated by the legislature, each participating
196	196	institution may solicit, accept, and spend gifts, grants, and
197	197	donations from any public or private source for the purposes of the
198	198	program.
199	199	SECTION 2. (a) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating
200	200	Board shall adopt rules to administer Subchapter T, Chapter 56,
201	201	Education Code, as added by this Act, as soon as practicable after
202	202	the effective date of this Act.
203	203	(b) Each two-year public institution of higher education
204	204	that elects to participate in the Texas Promise Scholarship Program
205	205	established under Subchapter T, Chapter 56, Education Code, as
206	206	added by this Act, shall begin awarding scholarships under that
207	207	subchapter for the first academic year for which money is available
208	208	for that purpose, except that an institution may not award
209	209	scholarships under that subchapter for an academic year before the
210	210	2018-2019 academic year.
211	211	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
212	212	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
213	213	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
214	214	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
215	215	Act takes effect September 1, 2017.