Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2407 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Talarico H.B. No. 2407
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to the establishment of the Texas Promise Grant Program
7	7	for certain students at two-year public institutions of higher
8	8	education.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Chapter 56, Education Code, is amended by adding
11	11	Subchapter U to read as follows:
12	12	SUBCHAPTER U. TEXAS PROMISE GRANT PROGRAM
13	13	Sec. 56.601. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
14	14	(1) "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher
15	15	Education Coordinating Board.
16	16	(2) "Eligible institution" means:
17	17	(A) a public junior college;
18	18	(B) a public technical institute; or
19	19	(C) a public state college.
20	20	(3) "Public junior college," "public technical
21	21	institute," and "public state college" have the meanings assigned
22	22	by Section 61.003.
23	23	(4) "Program" means the Texas Promise Grant Program
24	24	established under this subchapter.
25	25	Sec. 56.602. PROGRAM PURPOSE. The purpose of the Texas
26	26	Promise Grant Program is to provide assistance in the payment of
27	27	tuition and mandatory fees to enable eligible students to attend
28	28	two-year institutions of higher education.
29	29	Sec. 56.603. ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM; AWARD OF GRANT.
30	30	(a) The coordinating board shall administer the program and adopt
31	31	any rules necessary to implement the program or this subchapter.
32	32	The coordinating board shall consult with the student financial aid
33	33	officers of eligible institutions in developing the rules.
34	34	(b) The coordinating board shall award a grant to each
35	35	eligible student under the program.
36	36	Sec. 56.604. INITIAL ELIGIBILITY FOR GRANT. (a) To be
37	37	eligible initially for a grant under the program, a person must:
38	38	(1) be a resident of this state as determined by
39	39	coordinating board rules;
40	40	(2) have graduated from high school or received a high
41	41	school equivalency certificate within the last three years;
42	42	(3) be enrolled in an associate degree or certificate
43	43	program at an eligible institution;
44	44	(4) be enrolled as an entering student for at least
45	45	one-half of a full course load for an entering student in the
46	46	associate degree or certificate program, as determined by the
47	47	coordinating board;
48	48	(5) have applied for any available financial aid or
49	49	assistance; and
50	50	(6) comply with any additional nonacademic or
51	51	nonfinancial requirement adopted by the coordinating board under
52	52	this subchapter.
53	53	(b) A person is not eligible to receive a grant under the
54	54	program if the person has been convicted of a felony or an offense
55	55	under Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code (Texas Controlled
56	56	Substances Act), or under the law of another jurisdiction involving
57	57	a controlled substance as defined by Chapter 481, Health and Safety
58	58	Code, unless the person has met the other applicable eligibility
59	59	requirements under the program and has:
60	60	(1) received a certificate of discharge by the Texas
61	61	Department of Criminal Justice or a correctional facility or
62	62	completed a period of probation ordered by a court, and at least two
63	63	years have elapsed from the date of the receipt or completion; or
64	64	(2) been pardoned, had the record of the offense
65	65	expunged from the person's record, or otherwise been released from
66	66	the resulting ineligibility to receive a grant under the program.
67	67	(c) A person is not eligible to receive a grant under the
68	68	program if the person has:
69	69	(1) been granted:
70	70	(A) a certificate for completion of a certificate
71	71	program; or
72	72	(B) an associate or baccalaureate degree; or
73	73	(2) completed more than 90 semester credit hours or
74	74	the equivalent at an institution of higher education, excluding
75	75	semester credit hours or the equivalent earned for a dual credit
76	76	course.
77	77	(d) A person may not receive a grant under the program for
78	78	more than 75 semester credit hours or the equivalent.
79	79	(e) A person's eligibility for a grant under the program
80	80	ends on the third anniversary of the initial award of a grant under
81	81	the program to the person and the person's enrollment in an eligible
82	82	institution.
83	83	Sec. 56.605. CONTINUING ELIGIBILITY AND ACADEMIC
84	84	PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS. (a) After initially qualifying for a
85	85	grant under the program, a person may continue to receive a grant
86	86	under the program during each semester or term in which the person
87	87	is enrolled at an eligible institution only if the person:
88	88	(1) is enrolled in an associate degree or certificate
89	89	program at an eligible institution;
90	90	(2) is enrolled for at least one-half of a full course
91	91	load for a student in an associate degree or certificate program, as
92	92	determined by the coordinating board;
93	93	(3) makes satisfactory academic progress toward an
94	94	associate degree or certificate; and
95	95	(4) complies with any additional nonacademic or
96	96	nonfinancial requirement adopted by the coordinating board.
97	97	(b) A person is not eligible to continue to receive a grant
98	98	under this section if the person has been convicted of a felony or
99	99	an offense under Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code (Texas
100	100	Controlled Substances Act), or under the law of another
101	101	jurisdiction involving a controlled substance as defined by Chapter
102	102	481, Health and Safety Code, unless the person has met the other
103	103	applicable eligibility requirements under this subchapter and has:
104	104	(1) received a certificate of discharge by the Texas
105	105	Department of Criminal Justice or a correctional facility or
106	106	completed a period of probation ordered by a court, and at least two
107	107	years have elapsed from the date of the receipt or completion; or
108	108	(2) been pardoned, had the record of the offense
109	109	expunged from the person's record, or otherwise been released from
110	110	the resulting ineligibility to receive a grant under the program.
111	111	(c) If a person fails to meet any of the requirements of
112	112	Subsection (a) after the completion of any semester or term, the
113	113	person may not receive a grant under the program during the next
114	114	semester or term in which the person enrolls. A person may become
115	115	eligible to receive a grant under the program in a subsequent
116	116	semester or term if the person:
117	117	(1) completes a semester or term during which the
118	118	student is not eligible for a grant; and
119	119	(2) meets all the requirements of Subsection (a).
120	120	(d) For the purpose of this section, a person makes
121	121	satisfactory academic progress toward an associate degree or
122	122	certificate only if:
123	123	(1) in the person's first academic year, the person
124	124	meets the satisfactory academic progress requirements of the
125	125	institution at which the person is enrolled; and
126	126	(2) in the subsequent academic year, the person:
127	127	(A) completes at least 75 percent of the semester
128	128	credit hours or the equivalent attempted in the person's most
129	129	recent academic year; and
130	130	(B) has earned an overall grade point average of
131	131	at least 2.5 on a four-point scale or the equivalent on coursework
132	132	previously attempted at institutions of higher education.
133	133	(e) A person who is eligible to receive a grant under the
134	134	program continues to remain eligible to receive the grant if the
135	135	person enrolls in or transfers to another eligible institution.
136	136	(f) The coordinating board shall adopt rules to allow a
137	137	person who is otherwise eligible to receive a grant under the
138	138	program, in the event of a hardship or for other good cause shown,
139	139	including a showing of a severe illness or other debilitating
140	140	condition that may affect the person's academic performance or a
141	141	showing that the person is responsible for the care of a sick,
142	142	injured, or needy person and that the person's provision of care may
143	143	affect the person's academic performance, to receive a grant under
144	144	the program:
145	145	(1) while enrolled in a number of semester credit
146	146	hours that is less than the number of semester credit hours or the
147	147	equivalent required under Subsection (a)(2); or
148	148	(2) if the student's grade point average or completion
149	149	rate falls below the satisfactory academic progress requirements of
150	150	Subsection (d).
151	151	Sec. 56.606. GRANT USE. A grant awarded under the program
152	152	must be applied first to the payment of tuition and mandatory fees
153	153	at an eligible institution.
154	154	Sec. 56.607. GRANT AMOUNT. (a) The amount of a grant
155	155	awarded to an eligible student under the program for a semester or
156	156	other academic term in which the student is enrolled at an eligible
157	157	institution is an amount not to exceed the greater of:
158	158	(1) the difference between the amount of tuition and
159	159	mandatory fees charged to the student by the institution for that
160	160	semester or term and the amount of any other gift aid, including
161	161	state or federal grants or scholarships, awarded to the student for
162	162	that semester or term; or
163	163	(2) $1,000.
164	164	(b) The coordinating board may adopt rules that allow the
165	165	coordinating board to decrease, in proportion to the number of
166	166	semester credit hours or the equivalent in which a student is
167	167	enrolled, the amount of a grant award under Subsection (a)(2) to a
168	168	student who is enrolled in less than a full course load for a
169	169	student in an associate degree or certificate program, as
170	170	determined by the coordinating board.
171	171	(c) A grant may not be awarded under the program to an
172	172	eligible student for a semester or other academic term until any
173	173	other gift aid for which the student is eligible has been awarded to
174	174	the student and the amount of tuition and mandatory fees owed by the
175	175	student has been established for purposes of determining the
176	176	appropriate amount of the student's grant under Subsection (a).
177	177	(d) The coordinating board shall issue to each eligible
178	178	student a certificate indicating the amount of the grant awarded to
179	179	the student.
180	180	Sec. 56.608. NOTIFICATION OF PROGRAM; RESPONSIBILITIES OF
181	181	SCHOOL DISTRICTS. (a) The coordinating board, in consultation
182	182	with all eligible institutions, shall prepare materials designed to
183	183	inform prospective students, their parents, and high school
184	184	counselors about the program and eligibility for a grant under the
185	185	program. The coordinating board shall distribute to each eligible
186	186	institution and to each school district a copy of the materials
187	187	prepared under this section.
188	188	(b) Each school district shall notify its high school
189	189	students, those students' teachers and school counselors, and those
190	190	students' parents or guardians of the program and the eligibility
191	191	requirements of the program.
192	192	SECTION 2. (a) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating
193	193	Board shall adopt rules to administer Subchapter U, Chapter 56,
194	194	Education Code, as added by this Act, as soon as practicable after
195	195	the effective date of this Act. For that purpose, the coordinating
196	196	board may adopt the initial rules in the manner provided by law for
197	197	emergency rules.
198	198	(b) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
199	199	begin awarding grants under Subchapter U, Chapter 56, Education
200	200	Code, as added by this Act, for the first academic year for which
201	201	money is appropriated for that purpose, except that the
202	202	coordinating board may not award grants under that subchapter for
203	203	an academic year before the 2024-2025 academic year.
204	204	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
205	205	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
206	206	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
207	207	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
208	208	Act takes effect September 1, 2023.