Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2727 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	86R12351 KJE-F
2	2	By: Reynolds H.B. No. 2727
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) "Public junior college," "public technical
22	22	institute," and "public state college" have the meanings assigned
23	23	by Section 61.003.
24	24	(4) "Program" means the Texas Promise Grant Program
25	25	established under this subchapter.
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) have graduated from high school or received a high
42	42	school equivalency certificate within the last 12 months;
43	43	(3) be enrolled in an associate degree or certificate
44	44	program at an eligible institution;
45	45	(4) be enrolled as an entering student for at least
46	46	one-half of a full course load for an entering student in the
47	47	associate degree or certificate program, as determined by the
48	48	coordinating board;
49	49	(5) have applied for any available financial aid or
50	50	assistance; and
51	51	(6) comply with any additional nonacademic or
52	52	nonfinancial requirement adopted by the coordinating board under
53	53	this subchapter.
54	54	(b) A person is not eligible to receive a grant under the
55	55	program if the person has:
56	56	(1) been granted:
57	57	(A) a certificate for completion of a certificate
58	58	program; or
59	59	(B) an associate or baccalaureate degree; or
60	60	(2) completed more than 90 semester credit hours or
61	61	the equivalent at an institution of higher education, excluding
62	62	semester credit hours or the equivalent earned for a dual credit
63	63	course.
64	64	(c) A person may not receive a grant under the program for
65	65	more than 75 semester credit hours or the equivalent.
66	66	(d) A person's eligibility for a grant under the program
67	67	ends on the third anniversary of the initial award of a grant under
68	68	the program to the person and the person's enrollment in an eligible
69	69	institution.
70	70	Sec. 56.525. CONTINUING ELIGIBILITY AND ACADEMIC
71	71	PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS. (a) After initially qualifying for a
72	72	grant under the program, a person may continue to receive a grant
73	73	under the program during each semester or term in which the person
74	74	is enrolled at an eligible institution only if the person:
75	75	(1) is enrolled in an associate degree or certificate
76	76	program at an eligible institution;
77	77	(2) is enrolled for at least one-half of a full course
78	78	load for a student in an associate degree or certificate program, as
79	79	determined by the coordinating board;
80	80	(3) makes satisfactory academic progress toward an
81	81	associate degree or certificate; and
82	82	(4) complies with any additional nonacademic or
83	83	nonfinancial requirement adopted by the coordinating board.
84	84	(b) If a person fails to meet any of the requirements of
85	85	Subsection (a) after the completion of any semester or term, the
86	86	person may not receive a grant under the program during the next
87	87	semester or term in which the person enrolls. A person may become
88	88	eligible to receive a grant under the program in a subsequent
89	89	semester or term if the person:
90	90	(1) completes a semester or term during which the
91	91	student is not eligible for a grant; and
92	92	(2) meets all the requirements of Subsection (a).
93	93	(c) For the purpose of this section, a person makes
94	94	satisfactory academic progress toward an associate degree or
95	95	certificate only if:
96	96	(1) in the person's first academic year, the person
97	97	meets the satisfactory academic progress requirements of the
98	98	institution at which the person is enrolled; and
99	99	(2) in the subsequent academic year, the person:
100	100	(A) completes at least 75 percent of the semester
101	101	credit hours or the equivalent attempted in the person's most
102	102	recent academic year; and
103	103	(B) has earned an overall grade point average of
104	104	at least 2.5 on a four-point scale or the equivalent on course work
105	105	previously attempted at institutions of higher education.
106	106	(d) A person who is eligible to receive a grant under the
107	107	program continues to remain eligible to receive the grant if the
108	108	person enrolls in or transfers to another eligible institution.
109	109	(e) The coordinating board shall adopt rules to allow a
110	110	person who is otherwise eligible to receive a grant under the
111	111	program, in the event of a hardship or for other good cause shown,
112	112	including a showing of a severe illness or other debilitating
113	113	condition that may affect the person's academic performance or a
114	114	showing that the person is responsible for the care of a sick,
115	115	injured, or needy person and that the person's provision of care may
116	116	affect the person's academic performance, to receive a grant under
117	117	the program:
118	118	(1) while enrolled in a number of semester credit
119	119	hours that is less than the number of semester credit hours or the
120	120	equivalent required under Subsection (a)(2); or
121	121	(2) if the student's grade point average or completion
122	122	rate falls below the satisfactory academic progress requirements of
123	123	Subsection (c).
124	124	Sec. 56.526. GRANT USE. A grant awarded under the program
125	125	must be applied first to the payment of tuition and mandatory fees
126	126	at an eligible institution.
127	127	Sec. 56.527. GRANT AMOUNT. (a) The amount of a grant
128	128	awarded to an eligible student under the program for a semester or
129	129	other academic term in which the student is enrolled at an eligible
130	130	institution is an amount not to exceed the greater of:
131	131	(1) the difference between the amount of tuition and
132	132	mandatory fees charged to the student by the institution for that
133	133	semester or term and the amount of any other gift aid, including
134	134	state or federal grants or scholarships, awarded to the student for
135	135	that semester or term; or
136	136	(2) $1,000.
137	137	(b) The coordinating board may adopt rules that allow the
138	138	coordinating board to decrease, in proportion to the number of
139	139	semester credit hours or the equivalent in which a student is
140	140	enrolled, the amount of a grant award under Subsection (a)(2) to a
141	141	student who is enrolled in less than a full course load for a
142	142	student in an associate degree or certificate program, as
143	143	determined by the coordinating board.
144	144	(c) A grant may not be awarded under the program to an
145	145	eligible student for a semester or other academic term until any
146	146	other gift aid for which the student is eligible has been awarded to
147	147	the student and the amount of tuition and mandatory fees owed by the
148	148	student has been established for purposes of determining the
149	149	appropriate amount of the student's grant under Subsection (a).
150	150	(d) The coordinating board shall issue to each eligible
151	151	student a certificate indicating the amount of the grant awarded to
152	152	the student.
153	153	Sec. 56.528. NOTIFICATION OF PROGRAM; RESPONSIBILITIES OF
154	154	SCHOOL DISTRICTS. (a) The coordinating board, in consultation
155	155	with all eligible institutions, shall prepare materials designed to
156	156	inform prospective students, their parents, and high school
157	157	counselors about the program and eligibility for a grant under the
158	158	program. The coordinating board shall distribute to each eligible
159	159	institution and to each school district a copy of the materials
160	160	prepared under this section.
161	161	(b) Each school district shall notify its high school
162	162	students, those students' teachers and school counselors, and those
163	163	students' parents or guardians of the program and the eligibility
164	164	requirements of the program.
165	165	SECTION 2. (a) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating
166	166	Board shall adopt rules to administer Subchapter T, Chapter 56,
167	167	Education Code, as added by this Act, as soon as practicable after
168	168	the effective date of this Act. For that purpose, the coordinating
169	169	board may adopt the initial rules in the manner provided by law for
170	170	emergency rules.
171	171	(b) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
172	172	begin awarding grants under Subchapter T, Chapter 56, Education
173	173	Code, as added by this Act, for the first academic year for which
174	174	money is appropriated for that purpose, except that the
175	175	coordinating board may not award grants under that subchapter for
176	176	an academic year before the 2020-2021 academic year.
177	177	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
178	178	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
179	179	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
180	180	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
181	181	Act takes effect September 1, 2019.