By: Creighton S.B. No. 1888
(Parker)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the establishment of certain programs to facilitate
early high school graduation and enrollment at public institutions
of higher education and to the repeal of the Early High School
Graduation Scholarship program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 28.0253, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 28.0253. TEXAS FIRST EARLY HIGH SCHOOL COMPLETION
[PILOT] PROGRAM[: HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMAS FOR STUDENTS WHO
DEMONSTRATE EARLY READINESS FOR COLLEGE]. (a) In this section:
(1) "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board.
(2) "Eligible institution" means an institution of
higher education that is designated as a research university or
emerging research university under the coordinating board's
accountability system.
(3) "Institution of higher education" has the meaning
assigned by Section 61.003.
(4) "Program" means the Texas First Early High School
Completion Program established under this section.
[(2) "Research university" means an institution of
higher education that is designated as a research university under
the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's accountability
system.]
(b) The agency, in coordination with the coordinating
board, shall establish the Texas First Early High School Completion
Program to allow public high school students who demonstrate early
readiness for college to graduate early from high school. The
purpose of the program, in conjunction with the Texas First
Scholarship Program established under Subchapter K-1, Chapter 56,
is to promote efficiency in the state public education system and
incentivize the enrollment of high performing students at eligible
institutions.
(c) The coordinating board, in consultation with the agency
and eligible institutions, [A research university that chooses to
participate in the pilot program] shall by rule establish[:
[(1) not later than September 1 of each year, make
available on the university's Internet website detailed] standards
for use in the program regarding:
(1) [(A)] the specific competencies that demonstrate
a student's mastery of each subject area for which the coordinating
board [Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board] and the
commissioner have adopted college readiness standards;
(2) [(B)] the specific competencies that demonstrate
a student's mastery of a language other than English; and
(3) [(C)] acceptable assessments or other means by
which a student may demonstrate the student's early readiness for
college with respect to each subject area and the language
described by Subdivision (2) [this subdivision], subject to
Subsection (d) [(c);
[(2) partner with at least 10 school districts that
reflect the geographic diversity of this state and the student
compositions of which reflect the socioeconomic diversity of this
state; and
[(3) assist school administrators, school counselors,
and other educators in each of those school districts in designing
the specific requirements of and implementing the program in the
district].
(d) [(c)] The assessments or other means the coordinating
board establishes [filed by a research university] under Subsection
(c)(3) [(b)(1)(C)] must be equivalent to the assessments or other
means eligible institutions commonly use [the university uses] to
place students at the institutions [university] in courses that may
be credited toward a degree requirement.
(e) [(d)] A [research university that partners with a]
school district or open-enrollment charter school [under this
section shall enter into an agreement with the district under which
the university and district agree that the district will assess a
student's mastery of the subject areas described by Subsection
(b)(1) and a language other than English in accordance with the
standards the university filed under Subsection (b)(1). The
district] may issue a high school diploma to a student under the
program if, using the standards established under Subsection (c),
the student demonstrates mastery of and early readiness for college
in each of the [those] subject areas described by that subsection
and in a language other than English, notwithstanding any other
local or state requirements.
(f) [(e)] A student who earns [receives] a high school
diploma through the [pilot] program is considered to have earned a
distinguished level of achievement under the foundation high school
program adopted under Section 28.025. The student is not
guaranteed admission to any institution of higher education or to
any academic program at an institution of higher education solely
on the basis of having received the diploma through the program.
The student may apply for admission to an institution of higher
education for the first semester or other academic term after the
semester or other academic term in which the student earns a diploma
through the [pilot] program.
(g) On a student's initial enrollment in high school in a
grade level below grade 12 in a school district or open-enrollment
charter school, the district or school shall provide to the student
and the student's parent or guardian information regarding:
(1) the requirements to earn a high school diploma
under the program; and
(2) the Texas First Scholarship Program established
under Subchapter K-1, Chapter 56.
(h) The agency and the coordinating board shall jointly
prepare and post on their respective Internet websites a
publication that includes the information required to be provided
under Subsection (g) in a form that enables a school district or
open-enrollment charter school to reproduce the publication for
distribution under that subsection.
[(f) A research university that participates in the pilot
program shall enter into an agreement with an education research
center established under Section 1.005 to conduct an evaluation of
the program with respect to that university and the school
districts with which the university partners. Not later than
January 1, 2013, the education research center shall provide a
written report of the evaluation to the commissioner and the
commissioner of higher education and make the report available on
the center's Internet website. The report may include an analysis
of the effects of the program on the university's admissions review
process.]
SECTION 2. Subchapter F, Chapter 48, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 48.2642 to read as follows:
Sec. 48.2642. ADJUSTMENTS FOR TEXAS FIRST EARLY HIGH SCHOOL
COMPLETION PROGRAM GRADUATES. (a) Notwithstanding any other
provision of this chapter, the commissioner shall count toward a
school district's or open-enrollment charter school's average daily
attendance under Section 48.005 each student who graduates early
from high school in the district or school under the Texas First
Early High School Completion Program established under Section
28.0253 for the period in which the student is enrolled at an
eligible institution using state credit awarded under the Texas
First Scholarship Program established under Subchapter K-1,
Chapter 56, based on a 100 percent attendance rate.
(b) As soon as practicable after receipt of the report under
Section 56.226, the commissioner shall reduce the amount of a
school district's or open-enrollment charter school's entitlement
under this chapter for the school year by an amount equal to the
total amount of state credit issued during the preceding school
year to the district's or school's high school graduates under the
Texas First Scholarship Program established under Subchapter K-1,
Chapter 56.
SECTION 3. Chapter 56, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter K-1 to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER K-1. TEXAS FIRST SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
Sec. 56.221. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board.
(2) "Eligible institution" means an institution of
higher education, as that term is defined by Section 61.003, that is
designated as a research university or emerging research university
under the coordinating board's accountability system.
(3) "Program" means the Texas First Scholarship
Program.
Sec. 56.222. PURPOSE. The purpose of the program, in
conjunction with the Texas Early High School Completion Program
established under Section 28.0253, is to promote efficiency in the
state public education system and incentivize the enrollment of
high performing students at eligible institutions.
Sec. 56.223. ELIGIBILITY. To be eligible for an award under
the program, a student must:
(1) be a resident of this state as determined by
coordinating board rules;
(2) have graduated early from high school under the
Texas First Early High School Completion Program established under
Section 28.0253; and
(3) comply with Section 28.0256.
Sec. 56.224. ENTITLEMENT; CALCULATION OF AID; EXPIRATION.
(a) The coordinating board shall award to each eligible student
state credit in an amount equal to:
(1) for a student who graduated from high school two or
more semesters or the equivalent earlier than the student's high
school cohort, the maximum annual TEXAS grant award determined by
the coordinating board for the applicable academic year under
Section 56.307; or
(2) for a student who graduated from high school less
than two semesters or the equivalent earlier than the student's
high school cohort, half of the amount described by Subdivision
(1).
(b) The amount of state credit awarded to a student under
the program may not be considered in the calculation of any state or
institutional need-based aid awards or the calculation of the
student's overall financial need, unless the combination of the
credit and other federal, state, and institutional financial aid
for which the student would otherwise be eligible exceeds the
estimated total cost of attendance at the eligible institution at
which the student is enrolled.
(c) The coordinating board shall issue to the student a
certificate indicating the amount of the state credit awarded under
this section.
(d) State credit awarded to a student under this section
expires at the end of the first academic year following the
student's graduation from high school.
Sec. 56.225. APPLICATION OF SCHOLARSHIP. On enrollment of
an eligible student at an eligible institution, the institution
shall apply to the student's charges for tuition, mandatory fees,
and other costs of attendance for the enrollment period an amount
equal to the lesser of:
(1) the amount of the state credit awarded to the
student under Section 56.224; or
(2) the student's actual tuition, mandatory fees, and
other costs of attendance at the institution.
Sec. 56.226. PAYMENT OF STATE CREDIT. (a) At least once
each year, the coordinating board shall submit to the commissioner
of education a report on state credit awarded under the program
during the preceding academic year. The report must include:
(1) the name of each student who used the state credit
during that academic year;
(2) the school district or open-enrollment charter
school from which each student graduated from high school; and
(3) the amount of the state credit used by each student
during that academic year.
(b) As soon as practicable after receipt of the report under
Subsection (a), the commissioner of education shall transfer to the
coordinating board an amount of funds equal to the total amount by
which school district and open-enrollment charter school
entitlements are reduced under Section 48.2642(b).
(c) As soon as practicable after receipt of funds
transferred under Subsection (b), the coordinating board shall
distribute to each eligible institution an amount of funds equal to
the amount of state credit applied by the institution under Section
56.225 during the preceding academic year.
Sec. 56.227. RULES. The coordinating board may adopt rules
necessary to implement this subchapter.
SECTION 4. Subchapter K, Chapter 56, Education Code, is
repealed.
SECTION 5. (a) As soon as practicable after the effective
date of this Act:
(1) the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board shall take all actions necessary to
implement the Texas First Early High School Completion Program
established under Section 28.0253, Education Code, as amended by
this Act; and
(2) the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
shall adopt rules to administer Subchapter K-1, Chapter 56,
Education Code, as added by this Act.
(b) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
begin awarding scholarships under Subchapter K-1, Chapter 56,
Education Code, as added by this Act, beginning with the 2021-2022
academic year.
SECTION 6. The Texas Education Agency and the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board are required to implement this Act
only if the legislature appropriates money specifically for that
purpose. If the legislature does not appropriate money
specifically for that purpose, the agency and the coordinating
board may, but are not required to, implement this Act using other
appropriations available for that purpose.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2021.