Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HB653 Compare Versions

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1	1	85R3652 KJE-D
2	2	By: Clardy H.B. No. 653
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the Texas Educational Opportunity Grant program.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Section 56.402(b), Education Code, is amended to
10	10	read as follows:
11	11	(b) The purpose of this subchapter is to provide a grant of
12	12	money to enable eligible students to attend eligible [two-year
13	13	public] institutions [of higher education] in this state.
14	14	SECTION 2. Sections 56.404(a), (c), (d), and (f), Education
15	15	Code, are amended to read as follows:
16	16	(a) To be eligible initially for a grant under the grant
17	17	program, a person must:
18	18	(1) be a resident of this state as determined by
19	19	coordinating board rules;
20	20	(2) meet financial need requirements as defined by the
21	21	coordinating board;
22	22	(3) be enrolled in an associate or baccalaureate
23	23	degree program or a certificate program at an eligible institution;
24	24	(4) be enrolled as an entering student for at least
25	25	one-half of a full course load for an entering student in the
26	26	associate or baccalaureate degree program or a certificate program,
27	27	as determined by the coordinating board;
28	28	(5) have applied for any available financial aid or
29	29	assistance; and
30	30	(6) comply with any additional nonacademic
31	31	requirement adopted by the coordinating board under this
32	32	subchapter.
33	33	(c) A person is not eligible to receive a grant under this
34	34	subchapter if the person has been granted:
35	35	(1) an associate degree, if the person is enrolled in
36	36	an associate degree or certificate program; or
37	37	(2) a baccalaureate degree.
38	38	(d) A person may not receive a grant under this subchapter
39	39	for more than:
40	40	(1) for a person enrolled in an associate degree or
41	41	certificate program, 75 semester credit hours or the equivalent; or
42	42	(2) for a person enrolled in a baccalaureate degree
43	43	program, the greater of:
44	44	(A) 15 semester credit hours or the equivalent
45	45	more than the total number of semester credit hours or the
46	46	equivalent required by the institution for the degree program in
47	47	which the person is enrolled; or
48	48	(B) 135 semester credit hours or the equivalent.
49	49	(f) A person's eligibility for a grant under this subchapter
50	50	ends on:
51	51	(1) the fourth anniversary of the initial award of a
52	52	grant under this subchapter to the person and the person's
53	53	enrollment in an eligible institution, if the person is enrolled in
54	54	a degree or certificate program of two years or less; or
55	55	(2) the fifth anniversary of the initial award of a
56	56	grant under this subchapter to the person and the person's
57	57	enrollment in an eligible institution, if the person is enrolled in
58	58	a degree program of more than two years.
59	59	SECTION 3. Sections 56.405(a), (d), and (f), Education
60	60	Code, are amended to read as follows:
61	61	(a) After initially qualifying for a grant under this
62	62	subchapter, a person may continue to receive a grant under this
63	63	subchapter during each semester or term in which the person is
64	64	enrolled at an eligible institution only if the person:
65	65	(1) meets financial need requirements as defined by
66	66	the coordinating board;
67	67	(2) is enrolled in an associate or baccalaureate
68	68	degree program or a certificate program at an eligible institution;
69	69	(3) is enrolled for at least one-half of a full course
70	70	load for a student in an associate or baccalaureate degree program
71	71	or a certificate program, as determined by the coordinating board;
72	72	(4) makes satisfactory academic progress toward an
73	73	associate or baccalaureate degree or a certificate; and
74	74	(5) complies with any additional nonacademic
75	75	requirement adopted by the coordinating board.
76	76	(d) For the purpose of this section, a person makes
77	77	satisfactory academic progress toward an associate or
78	78	baccalaureate degree or a certificate only if:
79	79	(1) in the person's first academic year the person
80	80	meets the satisfactory academic progress requirements of the
81	81	institution at which the person is enrolled; and
82	82	(2) in a subsequent academic year, the person:
83	83	(A) completes at least 75 percent of the semester
84	84	credit hours attempted in the student's most recent academic year;
85	85	and
86	86	(B) has earned an overall grade point average of
87	87	at least 2.5 on a four-point scale or the equivalent on course work
88	88	previously attempted at institutions of higher education.
89	89	(f) The coordinating board shall adopt rules to allow a
90	90	person who is otherwise eligible to receive a grant under this
91	91	subchapter, in the event of a hardship or for other good cause
92	92	shown, including a showing of a severe illness or other
93	93	debilitating condition that may affect the person's academic
94	94	performance or that the person is responsible for the care of a
95	95	sick, injured, or needy person and that the person's provision of
96	96	care may affect the person's academic performance, to receive a
97	97	grant under this subchapter:
98	98	(1) while enrolled in a number of semester credit
99	99	hours that is less than the number of semester credit hours required
100	100	under Subsection (a)(3); [or]
101	101	(2) if the student's grade point average or completion
102	102	rate falls below the satisfactory academic progress requirements of
103	103	Subsection (d);
104	104	(3) for a number of semester credit hours that is
105	105	greater than the number of semester credit hours permitted under
106	106	Section 56.404(d); or
107	107	(4) for a number of years that is greater than the
108	108	number of years for which the person is eligible to receive a grant
109	109	under Section 56.404(f).
110	110	SECTION 4. Section 56.406, Education Code, is amended to
111	111	read as follows:
112	112	Sec. 56.406. GRANT USE. A person receiving a grant under
113	113	this subchapter may use the money only to pay the amount of tuition
114	114	and required fees and the cost of required textbooks [any usual and
115	115	customary cost of attendance] at an eligible institution incurred
116	116	by the student. The institution may disburse all or part of the
117	117	proceeds of a grant under this subchapter to an eligible person only
118	118	if the tuition and required fees incurred by the person at the
119	119	institution have been paid.
120	120	SECTION 5. Sections 56.407(a), (c), and (g), Education
121	121	Code, are amended to read as follows:
122	122	(a) The amount of a grant awarded to a student under this
123	123	subchapter for a semester or other academic term [for a student
124	124	enrolled full-time at an eligible institution] is an [the] amount
125	125	not to exceed the lesser of:
126	126	(1) the difference between:
127	127	(A) [determined by the coordinating board as] the
128	128	[average statewide] amount of tuition and required fees incurred by
129	129	the student at an eligible institution for that semester or term
130	130	plus a textbook stipend in an amount determined by the coordinating
131	131	board; and
132	132	(B) the amount of the Pell Grant for which the
133	133	student is eligible, if any; or
134	134	(2) the student's unmet financial need for that
135	135	semester or term [that a resident student enrolled full-time in an
136	136	associate degree or certificate program would be charged for that
137	137	semester or term at eligible institutions].
138	138	(c) Except as provided by Subsection (a)(1), the [The]
139	139	amount of a grant under this subchapter may not be reduced by any
140	140	gift aid for which the person receiving the grant is eligible,
141	141	unless the total amount of a person's grant plus any gift aid
142	142	received exceeds the student's financial need [total cost of
143	143	attendance at an eligible institution].
144	144	(g) An institution may use other available sources of
145	145	financial aid, other than a loan or work-study program [a Pell
146	146	grant], to cover any difference in the amount of a grant under this
147	147	subchapter and the actual amount of tuition and required fees at the
148	148	institution.
149	149	SECTION 6. Sections 56.407(b) and (d), Education Code, are
150	150	repealed.
151	151	SECTION 7. The changes in law made by this Act apply to
152	152	participation in the Texas Educational Opportunity Grant program
153	153	beginning with the 2018-2019 academic year. Participation in the
154	154	Texas Educational Opportunity Grant program for an academic year
155	155	before the 2018-2019 academic year is governed by the applicable
156	156	law in effect immediately before the effective date of this Act, and
157	157	the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
158	158	SECTION 8. This Act takes effect January 1, 2018.