By: Seliger S.B. No. 885
(In the Senate - Filed February 14, 2017; February 28, 2017,
read first time and referred to Committee on Higher Education;
May 1, 2017, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 1, 2017,
sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 885 By: Seliger
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the maximum number of semester credit hours allowed for
and funding sources used to supplement a TEXAS grant and to the
removal of obsolete references related to the Teach for Texas grant
program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter M, Chapter 56, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 56.3051 to read as follows:
Sec. 56.3051. MAXIMUM NUMBER OF SEMESTER CREDIT HOURS. A
person may not receive a TEXAS grant for more than the lesser of:
(1) 135 semester credit hours or the equivalent; or
(2) 15 semester credit hours, or the equivalent, in
addition to the number of credit hours needed to complete the
student's degree program.
SECTION 2. Section 56.307, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (j) to read as follows:
(j) A public institution of higher education shall use other
available sources of financial aid, other than a loan or work study,
to cover any difference in the amount of a TEXAS grant awarded to
the student and the actual amount of tuition and required fees at
the institution if the difference results from:
(1) a reduction in the amount of a TEXAS grant under
Subsection (i-1); or
(2) a deficiency in the amount of the grant as
established under Subsection (a) or (e), as applicable, to cover
the full amount of tuition and required fees charged to the student
by the institution.
SECTION 3. Section 56.308(b), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) Each school district shall:
(1) notify its middle school students, junior high
school students, and high school students, those students' teachers
and school counselors, and those students' parents of the TEXAS
grant program [and Teach for Texas grant programs], the eligibility
requirements of the [each] program, the need for students to make
informed curriculum choices to be prepared for success beyond high
school, and sources of information on higher education admissions
and financial aid in a manner that assists the district in
implementing a strategy adopted by the district under Section
11.252(a)(4); and
(2) ensure that each student's official transcript or
diploma indicates whether the student has completed or is on
schedule to complete:
(A) the recommended or advanced high school
curriculum required for grant eligibility under Section 28.002 or
28.025; or
(B) for a school district covered by Section
56.304(f)(1), the required portion of the recommended or advanced
high school curriculum in the manner described by Section
56.304(f)(2).
SECTION 4. Sections 56.311(a), (b), (c), (c-1), (e), and
(g), Education Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The Legislative Oversight Committee on the TEXAS grant
program [and Teach for Texas grant program] is composed of six
members as follows:
(1) three members of the senate appointed by the
lieutenant governor; and
(2) three members of the house of representatives
appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.
(b) The committee shall:
(1) meet at least twice a year with the coordinating
board; and
(2) receive information regarding rules relating to
the TEXAS grant program [and Teach for Texas grant program] that
have been adopted by the coordinating board or proposed for
adoption by the coordinating board.
(c) The committee may request reports and other information
from the coordinating board relating to the operation of the TEXAS
grant program [and Teach for Texas grant program] by the
coordinating board.
(c-1) The [Not later than September 1 of each year, the]
coordinating board shall include in its annual report to the
legislature on financial aid in this state [provide] a report to the
committee regarding the operation of the TEXAS grant program,
including information from the three preceding state fiscal years
as follows:
(1) allocations of TEXAS grants by eligible
institution, disaggregated by initial and subsequent awards;
(2) the number of TEXAS grants awarded to students
disaggregated by race, ethnicity, and expected family
contribution;
(3) disaggregated as required by Subdivision (2) and
reported both on a statewide basis and for each eligible
institution, the number of TEXAS grants awarded to students who
meet:
(A) only the eligibility criteria described by
Section 56.304; or
(B) the eligibility criteria described by
Section 56.3041(2)(A); and
(4) the persistence, retention, and graduation rates
of students receiving TEXAS grants.
(e) The committee shall monitor the operation of the TEXAS
grant program [and Teach for Texas grant program], with emphasis on
the manner of the award of grants, the number of grants awarded, and
the educational progress made by persons who have received grants
under the program [those programs].
(g) The report shall include identification of any problems
in the TEXAS grant program [and Teach for Texas grant program] with
recommended solutions for the coordinating board and for
legislative action.
SECTION 5. Section 56.304(d), Education Code, is repealed.
SECTION 6. The changes in law made by this Act apply
beginning with initial or subsequent TEXAS grants awarded for the
2018 fall semester. Initial or subsequent TEXAS grants awarded for
a semester or term before the 2018 fall semester are governed by the
applicable law in effect immediately before the effective date of
this Act, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 7. 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, 2017.
* * * * *