Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB630 Compare Versions

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

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1	1	86R5380 KJE-D
2	2	By: Hernandez H.B. No. 630
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 Scholarship
8	8	Program for certain students at participating two-year public
9	9	institutions of higher 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 SCHOLARSHIP 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 a public junior
18	18	college, public technical institute, or public state college, as
19	19	those terms are defined by Section 61.003.
20	20	(3) "Participating institution" means an eligible
21	21	institution that elects to participate in the program under Section
22	22	56.524.
23	23	(4) "Program" means the Texas Promise Scholarship
24	24	Program established under this subchapter.
25	25	Sec. 56.522. PROGRAM. The Texas Promise Scholarship
26	26	Program is an optional program under which participating two-year
27	27	institutions of higher education may provide assistance in the
28	28	payment of tuition and mandatory fees to enable eligible students
29	29	to attend those institutions.
30	30	Sec. 56.523. ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM. The coordinating
31	31	board shall administer the program and adopt any rules necessary to
32	32	implement the program or this subchapter. The coordinating board
33	33	shall consult with the student financial aid officers of eligible
34	34	institutions in developing the rules.
35	35	Sec. 56.524. ELECTION TO PARTICIPATE; AWARD OF SCHOLARSHIP.
36	36	(a) An eligible institution may elect to participate in the program
37	37	by notifying the coordinating board of the institution's election.
38	38	(b) From money available for the purpose, each
39	39	participating institution shall award scholarships to eligible
40	40	students under the program. In determining who should receive a
41	41	scholarship under the program, the institution may give priority to
42	42	awarding scholarships to students in any major or certificate or
43	43	degree program designated by the institution.
44	44	Sec. 56.525. INITIAL ELIGIBILITY FOR SCHOLARSHIP. (a) To
45	45	be eligible initially for a scholarship under the program, a person
46	46	must:
47	47	(1) be a resident of this state as determined by
48	48	coordinating board rules;
49	49	(2) meet financial need requirements as defined by the
50	50	coordinating board;
51	51	(3) be enrolled in an associate degree or certificate
52	52	program at a participating institution;
53	53	(4) be enrolled as an entering student for at least
54	54	one-half of a full course load for an entering student in the
55	55	associate degree or certificate program, as determined by the
56	56	coordinating board;
57	57	(5) have applied for any available financial aid or
58	58	assistance; and
59	59	(6) comply with any additional nonacademic
60	60	requirement adopted by the coordinating board under this
61	61	subchapter.
62	62	(b) A person is not eligible to receive a scholarship under
63	63	the program if the person has been convicted of a felony or an
64	64	offense under Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, or under the law
65	65	of another jurisdiction involving a controlled substance as defined
66	66	by Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, unless the person has met
67	67	the other applicable eligibility requirements under the program and
68	68	has:
69	69	(1) received a certificate of discharge by the Texas
70	70	Department of Criminal Justice or a correctional facility or
71	71	completed a period of probation ordered by a court, and at least two
72	72	years have elapsed from the date of the receipt or completion; or
73	73	(2) been pardoned, had the record of the offense
74	74	expunged from the person's record, or otherwise been released from
75	75	the resulting ineligibility to receive a scholarship under the
76	76	program.
77	77	(c) A person is not eligible to receive a scholarship under
78	78	the program if the person has been granted an associate or
79	79	baccalaureate degree.
80	80	(d) A person may not receive a scholarship under the program
81	81	for more than 75 semester credit hours or the equivalent.
82	82	(e) A person's eligibility for a scholarship under the
83	83	program ends on the third anniversary of the initial award of a
84	84	scholarship under the program to the person and the person's
85	85	enrollment in a participating institution.
86	86	Sec. 56.526. CONTINUING ELIGIBILITY AND ACADEMIC
87	87	PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS. (a) After initially qualifying for a
88	88	scholarship under the program, a person may continue to receive a
89	89	scholarship under the program during each semester or term in which
90	90	the person is enrolled at a participating institution only if the
91	91	person:
92	92	(1) meets financial need requirements as defined by
93	93	the coordinating board;
94	94	(2) is enrolled in an associate degree or certificate
95	95	program at a participating institution;
96	96	(3) is enrolled for at least one-half of a full course
97	97	load for a student in an associate degree or certificate program, as
98	98	determined by the coordinating board;
99	99	(4) makes satisfactory academic progress toward an
100	100	associate degree or certificate; and
101	101	(5) complies with any additional nonacademic
102	102	requirement adopted by the coordinating board.
103	103	(b) A person is not eligible to continue to receive a
104	104	scholarship under this section if the person has been convicted of a
105	105	felony or an offense under Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, or
106	106	under the law of another jurisdiction involving a controlled
107	107	substance as defined by Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, unless
108	108	the person has met the other applicable eligibility requirements
109	109	under the program and has:
110	110	(1) received a certificate of discharge by the Texas
111	111	Department of Criminal Justice or a correctional facility or
112	112	completed a period of probation ordered by a court, and at least two
113	113	years have elapsed from the date of the receipt or completion; or
114	114	(2) been pardoned, had the record of the offense
115	115	expunged from the person's record, or otherwise been released from
116	116	the resulting ineligibility to receive a scholarship under the
117	117	program.
118	118	(c) If a person fails to meet any of the requirements of
119	119	Subsection (a) after the completion of any semester or term, the
120	120	person may not receive a scholarship under the program during the
121	121	next semester or term in which the person enrolls. A person may
122	122	become eligible to receive a scholarship under the program in a
123	123	subsequent semester or term if the person:
124	124	(1) completes a semester or term during which the
125	125	student is not eligible for a scholarship; and
126	126	(2) meets all the requirements of Subsection (a).
127	127	(d) For the purpose of this section, a person makes
128	128	satisfactory academic progress toward an associate degree or
129	129	certificate only if:
130	130	(1) in the person's first academic year, the person
131	131	meets the satisfactory academic progress requirements of the
132	132	institution at which the person is enrolled; and
133	133	(2) in the subsequent academic year, the person:
134	134	(A) completes at least 75 percent of the semester
135	135	credit hours attempted in the student's most recent academic year;
136	136	and
137	137	(B) has earned an overall grade point average of
138	138	at least 2.5 on a four-point scale or the equivalent on course work
139	139	previously attempted at institutions of higher education.
140	140	(e) A person who is eligible to receive a scholarship under
141	141	the program continues to remain eligible to receive the scholarship
142	142	if the person enrolls in or transfers to another participating
143	143	institution.
144	144	(f) The coordinating board shall adopt rules to allow a
145	145	person who is otherwise eligible to receive a scholarship under the
146	146	program, in the event of a hardship or for other good cause shown,
147	147	including a showing of a severe illness or other debilitating
148	148	condition that may affect the person's academic performance or that
149	149	the person is responsible for the care of a sick, injured, or needy
150	150	person and that the person's provision of care may affect the
151	151	person's academic performance, to receive a scholarship under the
152	152	program:
153	153	(1) while enrolled in a number of semester credit
154	154	hours that is less than the number of semester credit hours required
155	155	under Subsection (a)(3); or
156	156	(2) if the student's grade point average or completion
157	157	rate falls below the satisfactory academic progress requirements of
158	158	Subsection (d).
159	159	Sec. 56.527. SCHOLARSHIP USE. A scholarship awarded by a
160	160	participating institution under the program may be applied only to
161	161	the payment of tuition and mandatory fees at the institution.
162	162	Sec. 56.528. SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNT. (a) The amount of a
163	163	scholarship awarded by a participating institution to an eligible
164	164	student under the program for a semester or other academic term in
165	165	which the student is enrolled at the institution may not exceed the
166	166	difference between the amount of tuition and mandatory fees charged
167	167	to the student by the institution for that semester or term and the
168	168	amount of any other gift aid, including state or federal grants or
169	169	scholarships, awarded to the student for that semester or term.
170	170	(b) A scholarship 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 student's unmet financial need has been
174	174	established for purposes of determining the appropriate amount of
175	175	the student's scholarship under Subsection (a).
176	176	Sec. 56.529. NOTIFICATION OF PROGRAM; RESPONSIBILITIES OF
177	177	SCHOOL DISTRICTS. (a) The coordinating board, in consultation
178	178	with all participating institutions, shall prepare materials
179	179	designed to inform prospective students, their parents, and high
180	180	school counselors about the program, the institutions
181	181	participating in the program, and eligibility for a scholarship
182	182	under the program. The coordinating board shall distribute to each
183	183	eligible institution and to each school district a copy of the
184	184	materials prepared under this section.
185	185	(b) Each school district shall notify its high school
186	186	students, those students' teachers and school counselors, and those
187	187	students' parents or guardians of the program, the institutions
188	188	participating in the program, and the eligibility requirements of
189	189	the program.
190	190	Sec. 56.530. GIFTS, GRANTS, AND DONATIONS. In addition to
191	191	other money appropriated by the legislature, each participating
192	192	institution may solicit, accept, and spend gifts, grants, and
193	193	donations from any public or private source for the purposes of the
194	194	program.
195	195	SECTION 2. (a) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating
196	196	Board shall adopt rules to administer Subchapter T, Chapter 56,
197	197	Education Code, as added by this Act, as soon as practicable after
198	198	the effective date of this Act.
199	199	(b) Each two-year public institution of higher education
200	200	that elects to participate in the Texas Promise Scholarship Program
201	201	established under Subchapter T, Chapter 56, Education Code, as
202	202	added by this Act, shall begin awarding scholarships under that
203	203	subchapter for the first academic year for which money is available
204	204	for that purpose, except that an institution may not award
205	205	scholarships under that subchapter for an academic year before the
206	206	2020-2021 academic year.
207	207	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
208	208	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
209	209	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
210	210	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
211	211	Act takes effect September 1, 2019.