Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1040 Compare Versions

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

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1	1	86R8585 KJE-D
2	2	By: Meza H.B. No. 1040
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 Grant Program
8	8	for certain students at two-year public institutions of higher
9	9	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 GRANT 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) "Program" means the Texas Promise Grant Program
22	22	established under this subchapter.
23	23	(4) "Public junior college," "public technical
24	24	institute," and "public state college" have the meanings assigned
25	25	by Section 61.003.
26	26	Sec. 56.522. PROGRAM PURPOSE. The purpose of the Texas
27	27	Promise Grant Program is to provide assistance in the payment of
28	28	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 GRANT.
31	31	(a) The coordinating board shall administer the program and adopt
32	32	any rules necessary to implement the program or this subchapter.
33	33	The coordinating board shall consult with the student financial aid
34	34	officers of eligible institutions in developing the rules.
35	35	(b) The coordinating board shall award a grant to each
36	36	eligible student under the program.
37	37	Sec. 56.524. INITIAL ELIGIBILITY FOR GRANT. (a) To be
38	38	eligible initially for a grant under the program, a person must:
39	39	(1) be a resident of this state as determined by
40	40	coordinating board rules;
41	41	(2) be enrolled in an associate degree or certificate
42	42	program at an eligible institution;
43	43	(3) be enrolled as an entering student for at least
44	44	one-half of a full course load for an entering student in the
45	45	associate degree or certificate program, as determined by the
46	46	coordinating board;
47	47	(4) have applied for any available financial aid or
48	48	assistance; and
49	49	(5) comply with any additional nonacademic or
50	50	nonfinancial requirement adopted by the coordinating board under
51	51	this subchapter.
52	52	(b) A person is not eligible to receive a grant under the
53	53	program if the person has been convicted of a felony or an offense
54	54	under Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code (Texas Controlled
55	55	Substances Act), or under the law of another jurisdiction involving
56	56	a controlled substance as defined by Chapter 481, Health and Safety
57	57	Code, unless the person has met the other applicable eligibility
58	58	requirements under the program and has:
59	59	(1) received a certificate of discharge by the Texas
60	60	Department of Criminal Justice or a correctional facility or
61	61	completed a period of probation ordered by a court, and at least two
62	62	years have elapsed from the date of the receipt or completion; or
63	63	(2) been pardoned, had the record of the offense
64	64	expunged from the person's record, or otherwise been released from
65	65	the resulting ineligibility to receive a grant under the program.
66	66	(c) A person is not eligible to receive a grant under the
67	67	program if the person has:
68	68	(1) been granted:
69	69	(A) a certificate for completion of a certificate
70	70	program; or
71	71	(B) an associate or baccalaureate degree; or
72	72	(2) completed more than 90 semester credit hours or
73	73	the equivalent at an institution of higher education, excluding
74	74	semester credit hours or the equivalent earned for a dual credit
75	75	course.
76	76	(d) A person may not receive a grant under the program for
77	77	more than 75 semester credit hours or the equivalent.
78	78	(e) A person's eligibility for a grant under the program
79	79	ends on the third anniversary of the initial award of a grant under
80	80	the program to the person and the person's enrollment in an eligible
81	81	institution.
82	82	Sec. 56.525. CONTINUING ELIGIBILITY AND ACADEMIC
83	83	PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS. (a) After initially qualifying for a
84	84	grant under the program, a person may continue to receive a grant
85	85	under the program during each semester or term in which the person
86	86	is enrolled at an eligible institution only if the person:
87	87	(1) is enrolled in an associate degree or certificate
88	88	program at an eligible institution;
89	89	(2) is enrolled for at least one-half of a full course
90	90	load for a student in an associate degree or certificate program, as
91	91	determined by the coordinating board;
92	92	(3) makes satisfactory academic progress toward an
93	93	associate degree or certificate; and
94	94	(4) complies with any additional nonacademic or
95	95	nonfinancial requirement adopted by the coordinating board.
96	96	(b) A person is not eligible to continue to receive a grant
97	97	under this section if the person has been convicted of a felony or
98	98	an offense under Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code (Texas
99	99	Controlled Substances Act), or under the law of another
100	100	jurisdiction involving a controlled substance as defined by Chapter
101	101	481, Health and Safety Code, unless the person has met the other
102	102	applicable eligibility requirements under this subchapter and has:
103	103	(1) received a certificate of discharge by the Texas
104	104	Department of Criminal Justice or a correctional facility or
105	105	completed a period of probation ordered by a court, and at least two
106	106	years have elapsed from the date of the receipt or completion; or
107	107	(2) been pardoned, had the record of the offense
108	108	expunged from the person's record, or otherwise been released from
109	109	the resulting ineligibility to receive a grant under the program.
110	110	(c) If a person fails to meet any of the requirements of
111	111	Subsection (a) after the completion of any semester or term, the
112	112	person may not receive a grant under the program during the next
113	113	semester or term in which the person enrolls. A person may become
114	114	eligible to receive a grant under the program in a subsequent
115	115	semester or term if the person:
116	116	(1) completes a semester or term during which the
117	117	student is not eligible for a grant; and
118	118	(2) meets all the requirements of Subsection (a).
119	119	(d) For the purpose of this section, a person makes
120	120	satisfactory academic progress toward an associate degree or
121	121	certificate only if:
122	122	(1) in the person's first academic year, the person
123	123	meets the satisfactory academic progress requirements of the
124	124	institution at which the person is enrolled; and
125	125	(2) in the subsequent academic year, the person:
126	126	(A) completes at least 75 percent of the semester
127	127	credit hours or the equivalent attempted in the person's most
128	128	recent academic year; and
129	129	(B) has earned an overall grade point average of
130	130	at least 2.5 on a four-point scale or the equivalent on course work
131	131	previously attempted at institutions of higher education.
132	132	(e) A person who is eligible to receive a grant under the
133	133	program continues to remain eligible to receive the grant if the
134	134	person enrolls in or transfers to another eligible institution.
135	135	(f) The coordinating board shall adopt rules to allow a
136	136	person who is otherwise eligible to receive a grant under the
137	137	program, in the event of a hardship or for other good cause shown,
138	138	including a showing of a severe illness or other debilitating
139	139	condition that may affect the person's academic performance or a
140	140	showing that the person is responsible for the care of a sick,
141	141	injured, or needy person and that the person's provision of care may
142	142	affect the person's academic performance, to receive a grant under
143	143	the program:
144	144	(1) while enrolled in a number of semester credit
145	145	hours that is less than the number of semester credit hours or the
146	146	equivalent required under Subsection (a)(2); or
147	147	(2) if the student's grade point average or completion
148	148	rate falls below the satisfactory academic progress requirements of
149	149	Subsection (d).
150	150	Sec. 56.526. GRANT USE. A grant awarded under the program
151	151	must be applied first to the payment of tuition and mandatory fees
152	152	at an eligible institution.
153	153	Sec. 56.527. GRANT AMOUNT. (a) The amount of a grant
154	154	awarded to an eligible student under the program for a semester or
155	155	other academic term in which the student is enrolled at an eligible
156	156	institution is an amount not to exceed the greater of:
157	157	(1) the difference between the amount of tuition and
158	158	mandatory fees charged to the student by the institution for that
159	159	semester or term and the amount of any other gift aid, including
160	160	state or federal grants or scholarships, awarded to the student for
161	161	that semester or term; or
162	162	(2) $1,000.
163	163	(b) The coordinating board may adopt rules that allow the
164	164	coordinating board to decrease, in proportion to the number of
165	165	semester credit hours or the equivalent in which a student is
166	166	enrolled, the amount of a grant award under Subsection (a)(2) to a
167	167	student who is enrolled in less than a full course load for a
168	168	student in an associate degree or certificate program, as
169	169	determined by the coordinating board.
170	170	(c) A grant may not be awarded under the program to an
171	171	eligible student for a semester or other academic term until any
172	172	other gift aid for which the student is eligible has been awarded to
173	173	the student and the amount of tuition and mandatory fees owed by the
174	174	student has been established for purposes of determining the
175	175	appropriate amount of the student's grant under Subsection (a).
176	176	(d) The coordinating board shall issue to each eligible
177	177	student a certificate indicating the amount of the grant awarded to
178	178	the student.
179	179	Sec. 56.528. NOTIFICATION OF PROGRAM; RESPONSIBILITIES OF
180	180	SCHOOL DISTRICTS. (a) The coordinating board, in consultation
181	181	with all eligible institutions, shall prepare materials designed to
182	182	inform prospective students, their parents, and high school
183	183	counselors about the program and eligibility for a grant under the
184	184	program. The coordinating board shall distribute to each eligible
185	185	institution and to each school district a copy of the materials
186	186	prepared under this section.
187	187	(b) Each school district shall notify its high school
188	188	students, those students' teachers and school counselors, and those
189	189	students' parents or guardians of the program and the eligibility
190	190	requirements of the program.
191	191	SECTION 2. (a) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating
192	192	Board shall adopt rules to administer Subchapter T, Chapter 56,
193	193	Education Code, as added by this Act, as soon as practicable after
194	194	the effective date of this Act. For that purpose, the coordinating
195	195	board may adopt the initial rules in the manner provided by law for
196	196	emergency rules.
197	197	(b) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
198	198	begin awarding grants under Subchapter T, Chapter 56, Education
199	199	Code, as added by this Act, for the first academic year for which
200	200	money is appropriated for that purpose, except that the
201	201	coordinating board may not award grants under that subchapter for
202	202	an academic year before the 2020-2021 academic year.
203	203	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
204	204	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
205	205	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
206	206	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
207	207	Act takes effect September 1, 2019.