Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1323 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	88R3547 CXP-D
2	2	By: Talarico, Lujan, Raney, Cook, et al. H.B. No. 1323
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5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the measures to encourage eligible students to claim
8	8	certain tuition and fee exemptions at public institutions of higher
9	9	education for students who are or have been in foster or other
10	10	residential care.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Section 54.366(b), Education Code, is amended to
13	13	read as follows:
14	14	(b) The Texas Education Agency and the Texas Higher
15	15	Education Coordinating Board shall develop outreach programs to
16	16	ensure that students in the conservatorship of the Department of
17	17	Family and Protective Services and in grades 9 through 12 [9-12] are
18	18	aware of the availability of the exemption from the payment of
19	19	tuition and fees provided by this section. The outreach programs
20	20	must include the provision of informational materials regarding the
21	21	exemption to each:
22	22	(1) residential child-care facility as defined by
23	23	Section 42.002, Human Resources Code;
24	24	(2) foster parent or relative or other designated
25	25	caregiver for a student enrolled in grade 9 through 12; and
26	26	(3) school district, open-enrollment charter school,
27	27	and private school offering grade nine or above.
28	28	SECTION 2. Section 54.367(b), Education Code, is amended to
29	29	read as follows:
30	30	(b) The Texas Education Agency and the Texas Higher
31	31	Education Coordinating Board shall develop outreach programs to
32	32	ensure that adopted students in grades 9 through 12 [9-12] formerly
33	33	in foster or other residential care are aware of the availability of
34	34	the exemption from the payment of tuition and fees provided by this
35	35	section. The outreach programs must include the provision of
36	36	informational materials regarding the exemption to each:
37	37	(1) residential child-care facility as defined by
38	38	Section 42.002, Human Resources Code;
39	39	(2) adoptive parent of a student in grade 9 through 12
40	40	who was formerly in foster or other residential care; and
41	41	(3) school district, open-enrollment charter school,
42	42	and private school offering grade nine or above.
43	43	SECTION 3. Subchapter D, Chapter 54, Education Code, is
44	44	amended by adding Section 54.3671 to read as follows:
45	45	Sec. 54.3671. STREAMLINED ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATION AND
46	46	APPLICATION PROCESS FOR CERTAIN STUDENTS. The Texas Higher
47	47	Education Coordinating Board and the Department of Family and
48	48	Protective Services shall jointly design and implement a
49	49	streamlined eligibility determination and application process for
50	50	the tuition and fee exemptions provided by Sections 54.366 and
51	51	54.367. The streamlined process must:
52	52	(1) be designed to decrease the administrative burden
53	53	on the department and students in determining exemption eligibility
54	54	by reducing data collection, data entry, and the copying and
55	55	recopying of applications;
56	56	(2) include a system through which a student may apply
57	57	for an exemption electronically through the department's Internet
58	58	website; and
59	59	(3) for a student determined by the department to be
60	60	eligible for an exemption, provide for the automatic submission by
61	61	the department to the institution of higher education indicated by
62	62	the student of the tuition waiver letter or other documentation
63	63	required by the institution to verify the student's eligibility.
64	64	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
65	65	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
66	66	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
67	67	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
68	68	Act takes effect September 1, 2023.