Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB34 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87R2965 KJE-F
2	2	By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 34
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 U to read as follows:
13	13	SUBCHAPTER U. TEXAS PROMISE GRANT PROGRAM
14	14	Sec. 56.601. 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. 56.602. 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. 56.603. 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. 56.604. 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 three years;
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 been convicted of a felony or an offense
56	56	under Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code (Texas Controlled
57	57	Substances Act), or under the law of another jurisdiction involving
58	58	a controlled substance as defined by Chapter 481, Health and Safety
59	59	Code, unless the person has met the other applicable eligibility
60	60	requirements under the program and has:
61	61	(1) received a certificate of discharge by the Texas
62	62	Department of Criminal Justice or a correctional facility or
63	63	completed a period of probation ordered by a court, and at least two
64	64	years have elapsed from the date of the receipt or completion; or
65	65	(2) been pardoned, had the record of the offense
66	66	expunged from the person's record, or otherwise been released from
67	67	the resulting ineligibility to receive a grant under the program.
68	68	(c) A person is not eligible to receive a grant under the
69	69	program if the person has:
70	70	(1) been granted:
71	71	(A) a certificate for completion of a certificate
72	72	program; or
73	73	(B) an associate or baccalaureate degree; or
74	74	(2) completed more than 90 semester credit hours or
75	75	the equivalent at an institution of higher education, excluding
76	76	semester credit hours or the equivalent earned for a dual credit
77	77	course.
78	78	(d) A person may not receive a grant under the program for
79	79	more than 75 semester credit hours or the equivalent.
80	80	(e) A person's eligibility for a grant under the program
81	81	ends on the third anniversary of the initial award of a grant under
82	82	the program to the person and the person's enrollment in an eligible
83	83	institution.
84	84	Sec. 56.605. CONTINUING ELIGIBILITY AND ACADEMIC
85	85	PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS. (a) After initially qualifying for a
86	86	grant under the program, a person may continue to receive a grant
87	87	under the program during each semester or term in which the person
88	88	is enrolled at an eligible institution only if the person:
89	89	(1) is enrolled in an associate degree or certificate
90	90	program at an eligible institution;
91	91	(2) is enrolled for at least one-half of a full course
92	92	load for a student in an associate degree or certificate program, as
93	93	determined by the coordinating board;
94	94	(3) makes satisfactory academic progress toward an
95	95	associate degree or certificate; and
96	96	(4) complies with any additional nonacademic or
97	97	nonfinancial requirement adopted by the coordinating board.
98	98	(b) A person is not eligible to continue to receive a grant
99	99	under this section if the person has been convicted of a felony or
100	100	an offense under Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code (Texas
101	101	Controlled Substances Act), or under the law of another
102	102	jurisdiction involving a controlled substance as defined by Chapter
103	103	481, Health and Safety Code, unless the person has met the other
104	104	applicable eligibility requirements under this subchapter and has:
105	105	(1) received a certificate of discharge by the Texas
106	106	Department of Criminal Justice or a correctional facility or
107	107	completed a period of probation ordered by a court, and at least two
108	108	years have elapsed from the date of the receipt or completion; or
109	109	(2) been pardoned, had the record of the offense
110	110	expunged from the person's record, or otherwise been released from
111	111	the resulting ineligibility to receive a grant under the program.
112	112	(c) If a person fails to meet any of the requirements of
113	113	Subsection (a) after the completion of any semester or term, the
114	114	person may not receive a grant under the program during the next
115	115	semester or term in which the person enrolls. A person may become
116	116	eligible to receive a grant under the program in a subsequent
117	117	semester or term if the person:
118	118	(1) completes a semester or term during which the
119	119	student is not eligible for a grant; and
120	120	(2) meets all the requirements of Subsection (a).
121	121	(d) For the purpose of this section, a person makes
122	122	satisfactory academic progress toward an associate degree or
123	123	certificate only if:
124	124	(1) in the person's first academic year, the person
125	125	meets the satisfactory academic progress requirements of the
126	126	institution at which the person is enrolled; and
127	127	(2) in the subsequent academic year, the person:
128	128	(A) completes at least 75 percent of the semester
129	129	credit hours or the equivalent attempted in the person's most
130	130	recent academic year; and
131	131	(B) has earned an overall grade point average of
132	132	at least 2.5 on a four-point scale or the equivalent on coursework
133	133	previously attempted at institutions of higher education.
134	134	(e) A person who is eligible to receive a grant under the
135	135	program continues to remain eligible to receive the grant if the
136	136	person enrolls in or transfers to another eligible institution.
137	137	(f) The coordinating board shall adopt rules to allow a
138	138	person who is otherwise eligible to receive a grant under the
139	139	program, in the event of a hardship or for other good cause shown,
140	140	including a showing of a severe illness or other debilitating
141	141	condition that may affect the person's academic performance or a
142	142	showing that the person is responsible for the care of a sick,
143	143	injured, or needy person and that the person's provision of care may
144	144	affect the person's academic performance, to receive a grant under
145	145	the program:
146	146	(1) while enrolled in a number of semester credit
147	147	hours that is less than the number of semester credit hours or the
148	148	equivalent required under Subsection (a)(2); or
149	149	(2) if the student's grade point average or completion
150	150	rate falls below the satisfactory academic progress requirements of
151	151	Subsection (d).
152	152	Sec. 56.606. GRANT USE. A grant awarded under the program
153	153	must be applied first to the payment of tuition and mandatory fees
154	154	at an eligible institution.
155	155	Sec. 56.607. GRANT AMOUNT. (a) The amount of a grant
156	156	awarded to an eligible student under the program for a semester or
157	157	other academic term in which the student is enrolled at an eligible
158	158	institution is an amount not to exceed the greater of:
159	159	(1) the difference between the amount of tuition and
160	160	mandatory fees charged to the student by the institution for that
161	161	semester or term and the amount of any other gift aid, including
162	162	state or federal grants or scholarships, awarded to the student for
163	163	that semester or term; or
164	164	(2) $1,000.
165	165	(b) The coordinating board may adopt rules that allow the
166	166	coordinating board to decrease, in proportion to the number of
167	167	semester credit hours or the equivalent in which a student is
168	168	enrolled, the amount of a grant award under Subsection (a)(2) to a
169	169	student who is enrolled in less than a full course load for a
170	170	student in an associate degree or certificate program, as
171	171	determined by the coordinating board.
172	172	(c) A grant may not be awarded under the program to an
173	173	eligible student for a semester or other academic term until any
174	174	other gift aid for which the student is eligible has been awarded to
175	175	the student and the amount of tuition and mandatory fees owed by the
176	176	student has been established for purposes of determining the
177	177	appropriate amount of the student's grant under Subsection (a).
178	178	(d) The coordinating board shall issue to each eligible
179	179	student a certificate indicating the amount of the grant awarded to
180	180	the student.
181	181	Sec. 56.608. NOTIFICATION OF PROGRAM; RESPONSIBILITIES OF
182	182	SCHOOL DISTRICTS. (a) The coordinating board, in consultation
183	183	with all eligible institutions, shall prepare materials designed to
184	184	inform prospective students, their parents, and high school
185	185	counselors about the program and eligibility for a grant under the
186	186	program. The coordinating board shall distribute to each eligible
187	187	institution and to each school district a copy of the materials
188	188	prepared under this section.
189	189	(b) Each school district shall notify its high school
190	190	students, those students' teachers and school counselors, and those
191	191	students' parents or guardians of the program and the eligibility
192	192	requirements of the program.
193	193	SECTION 2. (a) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating
194	194	Board shall adopt rules to administer Subchapter U, Chapter 56,
195	195	Education Code, as added by this Act, as soon as practicable after
196	196	the effective date of this Act. For that purpose, the coordinating
197	197	board may adopt the initial rules in the manner provided by law for
198	198	emergency rules.
199	199	(b) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
200	200	begin awarding grants under Subchapter U, Chapter 56, Education
201	201	Code, as added by this Act, for the first academic year for which
202	202	money is appropriated for that purpose, except that the
203	203	coordinating board may not award grants under that subchapter for
204	204	an academic year before the 2022-2023 academic year.
205	205	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
206	206	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
207	207	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
208	208	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
209	209	Act takes effect September 1, 2021.