By: Burns H.B. No. 1590
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the establishment of the Texas Leadership Scholars
Program to serve as a merit-based scholarship and leadership
opportunity for high-achieving, emerging leaders with financial
need.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 61, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter N to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER N. TEXAS LEADERSHIP SCHOLARS PROGRAM
Sec. 61.751. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "program"
means the Texas Leadership Scholars Program established under this
subchapter.
Sec. 61.752. INITIATIVE: ESTABLISHMENT; ADMINISTRATION;
PURPOSE.
(a) The Texas Leadership Scholars Program is established.
(b) The board shall establish and administer, using funds
appropriated or otherwise available for the purpose, scholarships
for high-achieving, low-income students, and academic achievement
support and leadership development for student awarded program
scholarships.
(c) To qualify for a scholarship under this section, a
student must:
(1) be eligible for automatic admission in a general
academic teaching institution pursuant to Section 51.803 or be
nominated by their school district and have achieved another
academic distinction recognized by the Board; and
(2) be considered economically disadvantaged as
determined by board rule; and
(3) maintain a minimum overall grade point average at
a general academic teaching institution as determined by board
rule.
(d) The board may enter into agreements with general
academic teaching institutions or other agencies of higher
education to provide students in the program with research-based
support to make satisfactory academic progress, graduate on-time
and engage in leadership development opportunities, including but
not limited to program cohort learning communities, mentoring,
research and internship opportunities, networking with state
government, business, and civic leaders, and statewide cohort
learning institutes or seminars.
Sec. 61.753. GRANTS, GIFTS, AND DONATIONS. The board may
solicit, accept, and spend grants, gifts, and donations from any
public or private source for the purposes of this subchapter.
Sec. 61.754. RULES. The board shall adopt rules for the
administration of this subchapter, including rules providing for
the determination of scholarship amount, student scholarship
eligibility, satisfactory academic progress criteria, and program
administration.
SECTION 2. (a) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating
Board shall adopt rules to administer Subchapter N, Chapter 61,
Education Code, as added by this Act, as soon as practicable after
the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 3. 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, 2023.