Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2887 Compare Versions

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

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1	1	By: Martinez Fischer H.B. No. 2887
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to the establishment of the Texas Promise Scholarship
7	7	Program for certain students at participating two-year public
8	8	institutions of higher education.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Chapter 56, Education Code, is amended by adding
11	11	Subchapter T to read as follows:
12	12	SUBCHAPTER T. TEXAS PROMISE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
13	13	Sec. 56.521. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
14	14	(1) "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher
15	15	Education Coordinating Board.
16	16	(2) "Eligible institution" means a public junior
17	17	college, public technical institute, or public state college, as
18	18	those terms are defined by Section 61.003.
19	19	(3) "Participating institution" means an eligible
20	20	institution that elects to participate in the program under Section
21	21	56.524.
22	22	(4) "Program" means the Texas Promise Scholarship
23	23	Program established under this subchapter.
24	24	Sec. 56.522. PROGRAM. The Texas Promise Scholarship
25	25	Program is an optional program under which participating two-year
26	26	institutions of higher education may provide assistance in the
27	27	payment of tuition and mandatory fees to enable eligible students
28	28	to attend those institutions.
29	29	Sec. 56.523. ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM. The coordinating
30	30	board shall administer the program and adopt any rules necessary to
31	31	implement the program or this subchapter. The coordinating board
32	32	shall consult with the student financial aid officers of eligible
33	33	institutions in developing the rules.
34	34	Sec. 56.524. ELECTION TO PARTICIPATE; AWARD OF SCHOLARSHIP.
35	35	(a) An eligible institution may elect to participate in the program
36	36	by notifying the coordinating board of the institution's election.
37	37	(b) From money available for the purpose, each
38	38	participating institution shall award scholarships to eligible
39	39	students under the program. In determining who should receive a
40	40	scholarship under the program, the institution may give priority to
41	41	awarding scholarships to students in any major or certificate or
42	42	degree program designated by the institution.
43	43	Sec. 56.525. INITIAL ELIGIBILITY FOR SCHOLARSHIP. (a) To
44	44	be eligible initially for a scholarship under the program, a person
45	45	must:
46	46	(1) be a resident of this state as determined by
47	47	coordinating board rules;
48	48	(2) meet financial need requirements as defined by the
49	49	coordinating board;
50	50	(3) be enrolled in an associate degree or certificate
51	51	program at a participating institution;
52	52	(4) be enrolled as an entering student for at least
53	53	one-half of a full course load for an entering student in the
54	54	associate degree or certificate program, as determined by the
55	55	coordinating board;
56	56	(5) have applied for any available financial aid or
57	57	assistance; and
58	58	(6) comply with any additional nonacademic
59	59	requirement adopted by the coordinating board under this
60	60	subchapter.
61	61	(b) person is not eligible to receive a scholarship under
62	62	the program if the person has been convicted of a felony or an
63	63	offense under Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, or under the law
64	64	of another jurisdiction involving a controlled substance as defined
65	65	by Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, unless the person has met
66	66	the other applicable eligibility requirements under the program and
67	67	has:
68	68	(1) received a certificate of discharge by the Texas
69	69	Department of Criminal Justice or a correctional facility or
70	70	completed a period of probation ordered by a court, and at least two
71	71	years have elapsed from the date of the receipt or completion; or
72	72	(2) been pardoned, had the record of the offense
73	73	expunged from the person's record, or otherwise been released from
74	74	the resulting ineligibility to receive a scholarship under the
75	75	program.
76	76	(c) person is not eligible to receive a scholarship under
77	77	the program if the person has been granted an associate or
78	78	baccalaureate degree.
79	79	(d) person may not receive a scholarship under the program
80	80	for more than 75 semester credit hours or the equivalent.
81	81	(e) person's eligibility for a scholarship under the
82	82	program ends on the third anniversary of the initial award of a
83	83	scholarship under the program to the person and the person's
84	84	enrollment in a participating institution.
85	85	Sec. 56.526. CONTINUING ELIGIBILITY AND ACADEMIC
86	86	PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS. (a) After initially qualifying for a
87	87	scholarship under the program, a person may continue to receive a
88	88	scholarship under the program during each semester or term in which
89	89	the person is enrolled at a participating institution only if the
90	90	person:
91	91	(1) meets financial need requirements as defined by
92	92	the coordinating board;
93	93	(2) is enrolled in an associate degree or certificate
94	94	program at a participating institution;
95	95	(3) is enrolled for at least one-half of a full course
96	96	load for a student in an associate degree or certificate program, as
97	97	determined by the coordinating board;
98	98	(4) makes satisfactory academic progress toward an
99	99	associate degree or certificate; and
100	100	(5) complies with any additional nonacademic
101	101	requirement adopted by the coordinating board.
102	102	(b) A person is not eligible to continue to receive a
103	103	scholarship under this section if the person has been convicted of a
104	104	felony or an offense under Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, or
105	105	under the law of another jurisdiction involving a controlled
106	106	substance as defined by Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, unless
107	107	the person has met the other applicable eligibility requirements
108	108	under the program and has:
109	109	(1) received a certificate of discharge by the Texas
110	110	Department of Criminal Justice or a correctional facility or
111	111	completed a period of probation ordered by a court, and at least two
112	112	years have elapsed from the date of the receipt or completion; or
113	113	(2) been pardoned, had the record of the offense
114	114	expunged from the person's record, or otherwise been released from
115	115	the resulting ineligibility to receive a scholarship under the
116	116	program.
117	117	(c) If a person fails to meet any of the requirements of
118	118	Subsection (a) after the completion of any semester or term, the
119	119	person may not receive a scholarship under the program during the
120	120	next semester or term in which the person enrolls. A person may
121	121	become eligible to receive a scholarship under the program in a
122	122	subsequent semester or term if the person:
123	123	(1) completes a semester or term during which the
124	124	student is not eligible for a scholarship; and
125	125	(2) meets all the requirements of Subsection (a).
126	126	(d) For the purpose of this section, a person makes
127	127	satisfactory academic progress toward an associate degree or
128	128	certificate only if:
129	129	(1) in the person's first academic year, the person
130	130	meets the satisfactory academic progress requirements of the
131	131	institution at which the person is enrolled; and
132	132	(2) in the subsequent academic year, the person:
133	133	(A) completes at least 75 percent of the semester
134	134	credit hours attempted in the student 's most recent academic year;
135	135	and
136	136	(B) has earned an overall grade point average of
137	137	at least 2.5 on a four-point scale or the equivalent on course work
138	138	previously attempted at institutions of higher education.
139	139	(e) A person who is eligible to receive a scholarship under
140	140	the program continues to remain eligible to receive the scholarship
141	141	if the person enrolls in or transfers to another participating
142	142	institution.
143	143	(f) The coordinating board shall adopt rules to allow a
144	144	person who is otherwise eligible to receive a scholarship under the
145	145	program, in the event of a hardship or for other good cause shown,
146	146	including a showing of a severe illness or other debilitating
147	147	condition that may affect the person's academic performance or that
148	148	the person is responsible for the care of a sick, injured, or needy
149	149	person and that the person's provision of care may affect the
150	150	person's academic performance, to receive a scholarship under the
151	151	program:
152	152	(1) while enrolled in a number of semester credit
153	153	hours that is less than the number of semester credit hours required
154	154	under Subsection (a)(3); or
155	155	(2) if the student's grade point average or completion
156	156	rate falls below the satisfactory academic progress requirements of
157	157	Subsection (d).
158	158	Sec. 56.527. SCHOLARSHIP USE. A scholarship awarded by a
159	159	participating institution under the program may be applied only to
160	160	the payment of tuition and mandatory fees at the institution.
161	161	Sec. 56.528. SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNT. (a) The amount of a
162	162	scholarship awarded by a participating institution to an eligible
163	163	student under the program for a semester or other academic term in
164	164	which the student is enrolled at the institution may not exceed the
165	165	difference between the amount of tuition and mandatory fees charged
166	166	to the student by the institution for that semester or term and the
167	167	amount of any other gift aid, including state or federal grants or
168	168	scholarships, awarded to the student for that semester or term.
169	169	(b) scholarship may not be awarded under the program to an
170	170	eligible student for a semester or other academic term until any
171	171	other gift aid for which the student is eligible has been awarded to
172	172	the student and the student's unmet financial need has been
173	173	established for purposes of determining the appropriate amount of
174	174	the student's scholarship under Subsection (a).
175	175	Sec. 56.529. NOTIFICATION OF PROGRAM; RESPONSIBILITIES OF
176	176	SCHOOL DISTRICTS. (a) The coordinating board, in consultation
177	177	with all participating institutions, shall prepare materials
178	178	designed to inform prospective students, their parents, and high
179	179	school counselors about the program, the institutions
180	180	participating in the program, and eligibility for a scholarship
181	181	under the program. The coordinating board shall distribute to each
182	182	eligible institution and to each school district a copy of the
183	183	materials prepared under this section.
184	184	(b) Each school district shall notify its high school
185	185	students, those students' teachers and school counselors, and those
186	186	students' parents or guardians of the program, the institutions
187	187	participating in the program, and the eligibility requirements of
188	188	the program.
189	189	Sec. 56.530. GIFTS, GRANTS, AND DONATIONS. In addition to
190	190	other money appropriated by the legislature, each participating
191	191	institution may solicit, accept, and spend gifts, grants, and
192	192	donations from any public or private source for the purposes of the
193	193	program.
194	194	SECTION 2. (a) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating
195	195	Board shall adopt rules to administer Subchapter T, Chapter 56,
196	196	Education Code, as added by this Act, as soon as practicable after
197	197	the effective date of this Act.
198	198	(b) Each two-year public institution of higher education
199	199	that elects to participate in the Texas Promise Scholarship Program
200	200	established under Subchapter T, Chapter 56, Education Code, as
201	201	added by this Act, shall begin awarding scholarships under that
202	202	subchapter for the first academic year for which money is available
203	203	for that purpose, except that an institution may not award
204	204	scholarships under that subchapter for an academic year before the
205	205	2020-2021 academic year.
206	206	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
207	207	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
208	208	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
209	209	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
210	210	Act takes effect September 1, 2019.