Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB885 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Seliger S.B. No. 885
2	2	(In the Senate - Filed February 14, 2017; February 28, 2017,
3	3	read first time and referred to Committee on Higher Education;
4	4	May 1, 2017, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
5	5	Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 1, 2017,
6	6	sent to printer.)
7	7	Click here to see the committee vote
8	8	COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 885 By: Seliger
9	9
10	10
11	11	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
12	12	AN ACT
13	13	relating to the maximum number of semester credit hours allowed for
14	14	and funding sources used to supplement a TEXAS grant and to the
15	15	removal of obsolete references related to the Teach for Texas grant
16	16	program.
17	17	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
18	18	SECTION 1. Subchapter M, Chapter 56, Education Code, is
19	19	amended by adding Section 56.3051 to read as follows:
20	20	Sec. 56.3051. MAXIMUM NUMBER OF SEMESTER CREDIT HOURS. A
21	21	person may not receive a TEXAS grant for more than the lesser of:
22	22	(1) 135 semester credit hours or the equivalent; or
23	23	(2) 15 semester credit hours, or the equivalent, in
24	24	addition to the number of credit hours needed to complete the
25	25	student's degree program.
26	26	SECTION 2. Section 56.307, Education Code, is amended by
27	27	amending Subsection (j) to read as follows:
28	28	(j) A public institution of higher education shall use other
29	29	available sources of financial aid, other than a loan or work study,
30	30	to cover any difference in the amount of a TEXAS grant awarded to
31	31	the student and the actual amount of tuition and required fees at
32	32	the institution if the difference results from:
33	33	(1) a reduction in the amount of a TEXAS grant under
34	34	Subsection (i-1); or
35	35	(2) a deficiency in the amount of the grant as
36	36	established under Subsection (a) or (e), as applicable, to cover
37	37	the full amount of tuition and required fees charged to the student
38	38	by the institution.
39	39	SECTION 3. Section 56.308(b), Education Code, is amended to
40	40	read as follows:
41	41	(b) Each school district shall:
42	42	(1) notify its middle school students, junior high
43	43	school students, and high school students, those students' teachers
44	44	and school counselors, and those students' parents of the TEXAS
45	45	grant program [and Teach for Texas grant programs], the eligibility
46	46	requirements of the [each] program, the need for students to make
47	47	informed curriculum choices to be prepared for success beyond high
48	48	school, and sources of information on higher education admissions
49	49	and financial aid in a manner that assists the district in
50	50	implementing a strategy adopted by the district under Section
51	51	11.252(a)(4); and
52	52	(2) ensure that each student's official transcript or
53	53	diploma indicates whether the student has completed or is on
54	54	schedule to complete:
55	55	(A) the recommended or advanced high school
56	56	curriculum required for grant eligibility under Section 28.002 or
57	57	28.025; or
58	58	(B) for a school district covered by Section
59	59	56.304(f)(1), the required portion of the recommended or advanced
60	60	high school curriculum in the manner described by Section
61	61	56.304(f)(2).
62	62	SECTION 4. Sections 56.311(a), (b), (c), (c-1), (e), and
63	63	(g), Education Code, are amended to read as follows:
64	64	(a) The Legislative Oversight Committee on the TEXAS grant
65	65	program [and Teach for Texas grant program] is composed of six
66	66	members as follows:
67	67	(1) three members of the senate appointed by the
68	68	lieutenant governor; and
69	69	(2) three members of the house of representatives
70	70	appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.
71	71	(b) The committee shall:
72	72	(1) meet at least twice a year with the coordinating
73	73	board; and
74	74	(2) receive information regarding rules relating to
75	75	the TEXAS grant program [and Teach for Texas grant program] that
76	76	have been adopted by the coordinating board or proposed for
77	77	adoption by the coordinating board.
78	78	(c) The committee may request reports and other information
79	79	from the coordinating board relating to the operation of the TEXAS
80	80	grant program [and Teach for Texas grant program] by the
81	81	coordinating board.
82	82	(c-1) The [Not later than September 1 of each year, the]
83	83	coordinating board shall include in its annual report to the
84	84	legislature on financial aid in this state [provide] a report to the
85	85	committee regarding the operation of the TEXAS grant program,
86	86	including information from the three preceding state fiscal years
87	87	as follows:
88	88	(1) allocations of TEXAS grants by eligible
89	89	institution, disaggregated by initial and subsequent awards;
90	90	(2) the number of TEXAS grants awarded to students
91	91	disaggregated by race, ethnicity, and expected family
92	92	contribution;
93	93	(3) disaggregated as required by Subdivision (2) and
94	94	reported both on a statewide basis and for each eligible
95	95	institution, the number of TEXAS grants awarded to students who
96	96	meet:
97	97	(A) only the eligibility criteria described by
98	98	Section 56.304; or
99	99	(B) the eligibility criteria described by
100	100	Section 56.3041(2)(A); and
101	101	(4) the persistence, retention, and graduation rates
102	102	of students receiving TEXAS grants.
103	103	(e) The committee shall monitor the operation of the TEXAS
104	104	grant program [and Teach for Texas grant program], with emphasis on
105	105	the manner of the award of grants, the number of grants awarded, and
106	106	the educational progress made by persons who have received grants
107	107	under the program [those programs].
108	108	(g) The report shall include identification of any problems
109	109	in the TEXAS grant program [and Teach for Texas grant program] with
110	110	recommended solutions for the coordinating board and for
111	111	legislative action.
112	112	SECTION 5. Section 56.304(d), Education Code, is repealed.
113	113	SECTION 6. The changes in law made by this Act apply
114	114	beginning with initial or subsequent TEXAS grants awarded for the
115	115	2018 fall semester. Initial or subsequent TEXAS grants awarded for
116	116	a semester or term before the 2018 fall semester are governed by the
117	117	applicable law in effect immediately before the effective date of
118	118	this Act, and the former law is continued in effect for that
119	119	purpose.
120	120	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
121	121	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
122	122	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
123	123	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
124	124	Act takes effect September 1, 2017.
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